Trumpet guy

How come it seems that older, more classical style (Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary) music is considered more serious music than movie scores and video game music?

I've heard several solo pieces and classical style music that are whimsical and "happy" like some modern music and modern music that has engaging solos and beautifully written parts like the classical solos.

Now, auditions at my school for class placement next year are a choose your own solo pieces to perform for one part. And when I asked what kind of music would be good to select, I got a big warning away from modern music like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Final Fantasy, and the like even though I know there are several solo worthy pieces from each of those, for the musicianship display if not the technical display. What is the reason for this?

__________________

Daniel Lan
"In you're not improving, you're falling behind." - My Trumpet Teacher, Steve

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Berkeley Picc. Trumpet - Vincent Bach Corp. Mt.Vernon N.Y 10 1/2 DW
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Olds Ambassador Fullerton Trombone - Olds 12C

speakingmusic

It has a lot more to do with the perception of difficulty in both performance and composition of the piece. A great deal of film and pop scores do not get "credit" because they are based and fairly elementary concepts, harmonic progressions - orchestrations are simple or at least formulaic. Pop music is (for the most part) strophic which is considered a simple form of music structure. The music composed in computer games tends to be very short and based on loops.

Having said all that - I do not want to say I think the above mentioned compositions are simple.

Trying to score a film is a craft all it's own, trying to get the elements of music to represent what best enhances the images on the screen is extremely difficult (IMHO). John Williams gets raked over the coals for everything sounding the same - however, Star Wars is very different from Schinder's List which is very different from Catch Me If You Can. And all of his music is thoroughly composed, not simple structures, harmonic progression or traditional orchestrations.

The composers who are writing music using new electronic tools are creating some amazing new sounds. Perhaps, written on a piece of paper the music isn't particularly complex harmonically or structurally, but the layering of sounds is certainly as complex as anything Mozart did - just in a very different way.

Computer composers are difficult in their need to create music which can be migrated as situations in the game change. Some do it very well, with the music seemly to move seamlessly from one scene to the next, while others the music seems to jump and jerk throughout. So, with all forms of music, you have some good and some not so good.

It terms of getting to perform the music for competition - you have to deal with the Educational Establishment which (unjustifiably) looks down on these forms.

Chip
Interchanging Idioms