Whenever I put on my headphones, I do it with the intention to escape the real world and create my own through my perception of the music. The music I listen to has words that help me visualize the story the artist is trying to tell. Since I could not rely on words to create a story for Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, I let my imagination do the work. Beethoven had an intense introduction and made me think of soldiers preparing to attack in the pouring rain. The intensity declined at 6:55, and the orchestra began playing a completely different tune. The image of a bloody war was replaced with my memories of watching loony tunes. When the music became suspenseful, I could imagine the wolf plotting how to catch and eat Daffy Duck. And when the pace of the music suddenly increased all I could think about was how the wolf would run after Daffy Duck after all his traps failed. Although I did not watch the performance of swan lake, I knew it was a ballet, therefore I listened to Tchaikovsky piece through a sensuous plane and let myself daydream. Since the piece did not have any dramatic changes in tune like Beethoven, I was able to visualize dancers moving to the rhythm without being distracted. I found Tchaikovsky piece to be more calming than Beethoven’s because the tune was more soothing and consistent. Beethoven, however, had several different stories in one piece, and sudden shift in tunes kept me on my toes. Just as Copeland had stated in his book, it is a person’s perception that makes them feel a certain way; the piece itself does not contain a specific emotion. What I felt listening to these pieces could be completely different from that of my classmates. That is why I hold great value for art, my perception is my own regardless of the artist, the piece or the audience.
