This one’s classic, what can I say? It just needs to be on the list.
We sometimes use the word “color“ to discuss musical harmonies. Debussy’s music was groundbreaking in this area, can you hear it? Clair de Lune may seem old hat to us now, but it’s approach to harmonic coloring was radical at the time. The establishment hated it at first!
Questions to answer in your response:
1. Do you remember the first time you heard this song, or the first time it really made an impression on you? Discuss.
2. Describe the "color" in this music. What color is it...Blue? Red?
3. Is there a better metaphor than color to refer to musical harmonies? How else could we discuss musical harmony?
4. Remember our friend Bill Evans? Some say he was influenced by Debussy, why would they say that?