Elizabeth Pham

Mr. Mullinax
Vocal Music III
21 December 2016

Claude Debussy

Debussy was an important French composer who wrote many

wonderful piano pieces. He wrote music that was unlike anything people in
this time period had heard before. He experimented with new ideas and
sounds, and created beautiful pictures with his compositions. He is
recognized as one of the most important composers of the early 20th
century.
Debussy grew up in a poor family just outside of Paris, France. When he
was seven years old, Debussy began piano lessons and it was clear that he
was very talented. He was such a good pianist that he was admitted to the
Paris Conservatory when he was ten. The Paris Conservatory is a famous
music school that many great musicians have attended. He went to school
there for ten years, winning prizes for his piano playing. He was also very
talented in sight reading. He could have gone on to be a professional pianist,
however he became more interested in composing music. While taking
lessons, Debussy would argue with his teachers and this sparked the
different sound that is heard in his music.

Debussy wanted his music to sound fresh and different from the other
music during his time. He loved to experiment with unusual sounds and often
used large chords. Sometimes he wrote the melody in one key and the
harmony in a different key. Debussys music could be compared the the way
artists use paint to create a picture. On the piano he often used the pedal to
create rich, overlapping harmonies. In his orchestral pieces, he wrote
glissandos and fast running passages to suggest sliding from one note to the
next. HIs music can be described as delicate, soft, and shimmering. He
regarded melodies as the most important part of music. Debussys music has
had a long lasting influence on many musicians throughout the 20th century.