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tonebase Guitar Course

On Musical Grammar

Taught by renowned guitarist 

Emmanuel Sowicz

While there are virtually no rules when it comes
to making music, there are many customs that
have become standard to Western Classical Music. Identifying and practicing these customs will help you decide how to interpret a piece of music with no markings made by a composer, and allow you to communicate more effectively to an audience. Emmanuel Sowicz identifies a number of basic rules of “musical grammar” and groups them into five general categories. Just as a writer or speaker learns the rules of a language to clearly communicate to others, musicians should study the rules of their language to clearly and effectively express a piece of music. Music is, in this way, discourse, that allows people to communicate and develop one another’s ideas.<br><br>In this lesson, Emmanuel dives deep into the logic behind this grammar, and uses many examples from great classical guitar composers to develop his ideas. From the physics of harmony and dissonance, to the aesthetic of texture and melody, this lesson covers huge ground in great detail.<br><br>Finally, Emmanuel breaks down the process of deducing all this information from a score, using a piece by Sor as an example. Hopefully you find this lesson to be a tremendous help as you develop your musicianship and your technique!

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    Difficulty: 
    Intermediate
  • checkmark icon
    Duration: 
    c. 
    1
     hours
     hour
All courses on tonebase include subtitles in English and Spanish

Course Syllabus

On Musical Grammar

While there are virtually no rules when it comes
to making music, there are many customs that
have become standard to Western Classical Music. Identifying and practicing these customs will help you decide how to interpret a piece of music with no markings made by a composer, and allow you to communicate more effectively to an audience. Emmanuel Sowicz identifies a number of basic rules of “musical grammar” and groups them into five general categories. Just as a writer or speaker learns the rules of a language to clearly communicate to others, musicians should study the rules of their language to clearly and effectively express a piece of music. Music is, in this way, discourse, that allows people to communicate and develop one another’s ideas.

In this lesson, Emmanuel dives deep into the logic behind this grammar, and uses many examples from great classical guitar composers to develop his ideas. From the physics of harmony and dissonance, to the aesthetic of texture and melody, this lesson covers huge ground in great detail.

Finally, Emmanuel breaks down the process of deducing all this information from a score, using a piece by Sor as an example. Hopefully you find this lesson to be a tremendous help as you develop your musicianship and your technique!

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Emmanuel Sowicz
meet YOUR INSTRUCTOR

Emmanuel Sowicz

Chilean virtuoso Emmanuel Sowicz is rising star in the classical guitar world with several international competition wins under his belt including the recent London International Guitar Competition.

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Emmanuel Sowicz
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