Tonality is when you say, “This song is in the key of C major, or D flat major,” or whatever it is. Without going too far with musical jargon, the tonality never feels truly secure in this piece. One of my favorite parts of the piece, and one of the most recognizable parts, is on the second page when all the notes come together, still very quietly, but the effect is powerful. There’s a lot of open, empty space in the first part, which is just as captivating as if there were lots of fast, rapid notes like in the second section. You already heard the introduction at the beginning of this video – it’s very sparse and lacks any distinctive rhythm.Ĭlaude Debussy has a quote that goes something like, “Music is the space between the notes,” and you can really feel his meaning by the intro alone. Though it doesn’t have a formal structure, can be loosely divided into three different sections – a type of ternary form, or three part form. So now we’re going to look at the different parts, and do an analysis of Clair de Lune. There will not be, between two restatements of the same characteristic theme, a hasty and superfluous ‘filling in’.”īasically his intent wasn’t to write a catchy tune, but rather an experience, a song that sets a scene and takes you through it.
#Calair de lune tab free
“I should like to see the creation…of a kind of music free from themes or motives…which nothing interrupts and which never returns upon itself. He was opposed to the Romantic style of playing with chord patterns and themes. Whether you’re learning this song or just appreciating it, it’s important to know where Debussy was coming from as a songwriter. In the poem “Clair de Lune”, bergamasks are referenced in the second line, which loosely ties things together. So it’s interesting that such a tender, lovely piece like Clair de Lune would be part of a collection of tunes about clumsy dancing.īut if you especially take a listen to the minuet (the second movement), you can definitely hear a bit of goofiness coming through.Īdditionally, it isn’t entirely random that Debussy threw in this tender piece in the middle of a rather oddball assortment of tunes. See, a Bergamask is basically a clumsy, clownish dance – like the kind of exaggerated dance you’d do if you were joking around. It’s interesting because we have this perception of Clair de Lune being this ridiculously beautiful song – which it is – but in the context of the entire Suite Bergamasque, it really stands out. Analysis of Clair de Lune and Suite Bergamasque Let’s take a really quick listen to the intro of Clair de Lune, in case you haven’t heard it or need a refresher on what it sounds like. It’s actually a super awesome poem – even the translation – so I’ll link it below if you want to check it out. A lot of composers took inspiration from poetry, and Debussy was no exception. The title is French for “Moonlight”, and is based off a poem by Paul Verlaine. This means it was written in the 20 th Century era of music, also referred to as the modern era (100 years ago might not seem modern, but it is compared to music from 1000 years ago).Ĭlair de Lune is the third movement of the four-movement suite. The suite was published in 1905 by the French composer Claude Debussy. It’s part of a larger whole – a suite called “Suite bergamasque”. And if there’s anything you’d like to add, feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts – it’s great for me to read, but also great for other people who watch these videos as well.Ĭlair de Lune isn’t actually even a standalone piece.
That said, it’s a fine line between getting super nerdy, and watering down the content too much, so I’m trying to strike a balance. As per the title, “For Casual Music Fans”, I wanted to create a video that even non-nerdy music listeners could understand. My intention for this video isn’t to do a heavy, academic analysis of Clair de Lune – if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll definitely be disappointed. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about the history of the piece, its interpretation, sound and style, and then listen to some audio clips and dissect it a little. So as per a request on this channel, I decided that it would be fun to do a discussion on the tune. G|-5-5-5-7-7-7-7-7-7-| x12 or something.Probably one of the most well-known piano songs of all time is Debussy’s Clair de Lune.
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