People have always sought ways to describe music in terms they could visualize. Even the concept of up and down is an inherently visual one, unrelated to the truer notion of faster and slower frequencies. So it also goes for the sounds of instruments. Choices of particular instrumental sounds are said to be choices of "color." The same pitch played on a bassoon sounds quite different when played on a cello. The note, or pitch, is the same, but the color is different.
What makes Scheherazade sound "eastern"?
Like Richard Danielpour, Rimsky-Korsakov employs the western orchestra to evoke thoughts and imaginings of the East. One of the secrets to the success of this piece is its combinations of orchestral colors.
With repeated listenings, have students focus on the use of 1) the cymbals 2) the woodwinds, and finally, 3) the brass. In this short excerpt, how does Rimsky-Korsakov conjur up the "exotic?"
