absolute music
- noun
- /ˈæb.sə.luːt ˈmjuː.zɪk/
- Specialized
:
música absoluta
- Many listeners enjoy absolute music because it allows them to experience emotions solely through the melodies and harmonies rather than through a story.
Examples
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Now, the number that opens our Fantasia programme, the "Toccata and Fugue," is music of this third kind, what we call absolute music.
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Don't feel bad about not grasping the concept of "Absolute music" unless you too just did a head plant off your skateboard after drinking a shoplifted 6-pack of generic beer.
Blog text (7) -
Beethoven's 5th Symphony is often cited as a classic example of absolute music, as it is appreciated for its structure and form without any narrative intent.
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In a concert dedicated to absolute music, the audience can immerse themselves in the rhythms and themes that exist independently of any external concept.
Antonyms
How Programmatic
- Specialized
1
8.0
- Specialized
5
4.1
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'absolute' (complete/pure) and 'music' (organized sound) give a clear clue that the phrase refers to a kind of 'pure' or 'unqualified' music, so learners can form a rough sense from the parts. However, the specific musicological meaning — music not referring to any external idea or text — is a specialized, technical sense that is not fully predictable from the constituents for a B1 learner, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Absolute music comes from the idea that the word absolute means 'standing alone' and music is sound, so the image is music that stands by itself like a picture with no story. It means music that is not 'about' a story, poem, or picture but exists for its own sound and shape.