- Track 1: Brandenburg Concerto (First Movement)
- Track 7: Johnny B. Goode
- Track 10: Gavotte en rondeaux
- Track 11: The Magic Flute (Queen of the Night aria)
- Track 12: Tchakrulo
- Track 14: Melancholy Blues
- Track 16: Rite of Spring (Sacrificial Dance)
- Track 17: The Well-Tempered Clavier
- Track 18: Fifth Symphony (First Movement)
- Track 21: The Fairie Round
When listening to the Golden Record, I was immediately more drawn to songs that were familiar to me. Although I listened to all of the songs, knowing the song and being able to connect to it was definitely something that influenced my choices. Smith (1999) mentioned that digital information is not fixed in the way that text is printed on paper and that permanence and authenticity are not gained by digitizing resources. This made me think about how we have access to these pieces of music. For instance, Bach and Beethoven performing live would have been a much different experience than the recordings that we have, but because we don’t have the opportunity to listen to them live the only way we know of their music is through printed sheet music or recordings.
These particular ten selections allowed me to reflect on my experiences in studying music. For example, playing the piano I have been able to play pieces by Bach or Beethoven that may not be exact versions of their original scores, but are renditions of the original that I would not otherwise know if not for a recording or score having been preserved. Additionally, having been a part of an orchestra and jazz band as a flute player, the orchestral arrangement of Sacrificial Dance, the flue-type sounds in Fairie Round, and the jazz of Louis Armstrong reminded me of these times in my life. In the song ‘Johnny B Goode’ Chuck Berry discusses how Johnny, who doesn’t read or write well but plays his guitar, is able to communicate through his instrument. This is indicative of the communication that music can offer to a wide audience. These ten selections reminded me that music can connect people all over the world as both musicians and listeners. As a musician we didn’t have to talk with words to understand one another, we could use the language of music. The history of the songs we learn and perform connects us to our past in a way that digitized tracks alone cannot.
References
Smith, A. (1999). Why digitize? Retrieved June 15, 2019, from Council on Library and Information Resources.