K. 5, Minuet in F Major

K. 5, Minuet in F Major

Ok.  Another opportunity to illustrate why my blog is call ‘tone-deaf troglodyte.’  So I noticed that many of his earlier works are all Minuets in F major.  First, I’m trying to hear if I can figure out what makes a minuet, a minuet.  Until this one, I thought maybe I had it figured out, because all the other ones had a similar feel to them.  K. 5 has a brisker pace.  Of course, I have looked up the definition, but even then it defines a minuet with terms I am still unable to grasp.  However, I know tempo is a large part of what differentiates a minuet, from an allegro, from an adagio, etc. Maybe with practice and work, I’ll be able to recognize one from the other. 

The next part, I think I can recognize by ear—but don’t understand—is the difference between minor and major.  I had a musician friend explain it to me one time.  He said majors tend to be happier, lighter tunes.  Minors are darker, sadder ones.  I can usually hear that.  But, the denotative elements with semitones and intervals confuse me.  Again, I don’t play or read music.  And, what was up with young Mozart liking F major?  There's probably a music reason for it that escapes me.  

Yet considering all my non-understanding, there is hope that my tone-deafness is fading. Listening to the classical station, I turned it on the radio to a song that I had never heard.  After some listening, I said, ‘This has to be Mozart.’  I had confidence.  I knew it to be so.  And, I was right.  It was his Symphony No. 35.  Needless to say—but I’m saying it anyway—I was proud of myself.