EVDOL 025 - Common Tones: Classical and Pop Music Connections

Mika Sasaki, Mitchell Lyon
Does 20th-century pop music have anything in common with Western classical music? What does the Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?” share with a Schumann song? Behind the differences in style and scope, we find common building blocks between these two seemingly disparate genres as well as artists whose work broke down existing conventions, subverted audience expectations, and led us down new paths of musical expression. In this class, we gain insights into form, harmony, and music’s other essential ingredients by tracing groundbreaking techniques shared between the classical repertory and popular hits. We explore common characteristics between the styles through a selection of works by Schubert, Schumann, Bartók, and Steve Reich, among others, and the songs of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, ABBA, Elvis Presley, Prince, Adele, and other pop giants. In-class demonstrations and performances, audio selections, basic score analyses, and class discussions illuminate the common threads that give music power and meaning across genre and epoch.

Saturday, June 8

10am–5pm ET, with one hour lunch break

In Person Only

$240