Sunday 18 December 2011

A Look At Ballet Class Music

By Frank Halbers


Do You Know Anything About It?

Ballet Class Music is a sort of music that most people aren't currently knowledgeable about. As is the case with any musical style, there's a lot of music for ballet class that isn't worth listening to. There is however a significant amount of amazing music written for classes that the majority won't have the occassion to hear, for the simple reason that if you don't happen to be a ballet instructor or a ballet student it is improbable that you are going to ever encounter recordings of ballet class music.

A Quick Definition

When ballet instructors teach, they use a specific kind of music. There are around fourteen exercises that the ballet students practice during the course of class, and the music for these exercises is always solo piano music. All ballet terms are in French, so the exercises have names such as Ronds de Jambe, Petite Battement and Tendu. The composer or pianist will supply music that matches the requirements of each exercise. In a ballet class for top level dance companies, a pianist will be present to provide the music. But most instructors will simply use CDs.

How It's Done

When composers play the piano for a ballet class or produce a recording, every musical selection must be at an exact pace, with the required phrasing and personality that goes with each individual exercise. Subsequently, there are numerous rules which apply to composing ballet class music but the rules can result in some astonishing musical material. In any ballet class you will hear a big variety of musical styles and moods. There may be animated rhythms, beautiful tunes, romantic music, funny music as well as music that inspires and music that is sad, sweet, joyful, or just there, keeping time.

How Do You Find It?

You can find some of the most stunning music ever written in the collections of ballet class music and lots of fun and interesting musical ideas as well. If you like piano music this is something you'll wish to check out. If you'd like to hear some samples, you can browse through a good assortment of selections in CDBaby's ballet class music catalog.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment