Classical Music

[thewhitrbbit]

I was listening to a classical cd my mom has and it was playing Wagner-Flight of the Valkyates and Symphony No 11

Shouldn't these songs be public domain? I mean Wagner and Bethoveen been dead a long time.

[Kyle06]

yes I think "music" pataents should become expired after so long and be public domain but with the way the laws are now they are not...

[CCSDUDE]

The pieces are but there are no recordings that old therefore all the stuff you hear was played by a certain 'group'.

I assume they would nail you for grabbing that groups copyrighted set.

Try Debussy....most of it's for piano but once orchestrated it sounds good.

Also try "Yoko Kanno" most of it is poppy/ect but a few tracks are pure classical that mirror Debussy and others. Very British..

[Pebbles100]

Hmm...Hitler liked Wagner's music. Isn't there somthing sinister about it? I think sinister's the right word - maybe dark, angry and powerful also. Kinda like it.

[tMoD]

A PERFORMANCE of a public domain piece can be copyrighted.

[eclectica]

Originally posted by Pebbles100
Hmm...Hitler liked Wagner's music. Isn't there somthing sinister about it? I think sinister's the right word - maybe dark, angry and powerful also. Kinda like it.
I wouldn't say that about Wagner's music. I think Hitler liked the music because of its common and simple appeal to the masses.

[MainManMoe]

Well, Hitlers taste for Wagner is somewhat more complex than that, it goes with the whole Nietzche/über-mensch theory constructed by the nazis. Wagner worked with an Aryan/nordic theme coated in the grandeur of viking halls and honourfull convictions and was idolized by the nazis. If anyone has ever been to a Wagner opera they know some of these can last up to more than twelve hours!

I agree it is powerfull, and maybe at times dark (in modern terms), but not angry. It is overwhelming and very serious, and as it is about "great deeds" and viking blood and honour, the music can be very sinister. Wagner certainly does not belong in the "lighter" classical music, with Chopin or Debussys pianopieces. He is bombastic, with very large choirs and orchestras, and it could well been he who fathered the expression "it aint over till the fat lady sings" Lol

Im not sure what classical pieces one may use freely. It is true some is considered public as musicpieces, while most of the records by various orchestras ofcourse are copyrighted. I know for instance that some renditions of Mozarts operas can be freely used, even for public performances with ticketsales. I would however think that most studio recorded versions of classical pieces are copyright protected.

[jonnymnemonic]

Screw all those rich, fat-cat classical music performers! Er, waitaminute... ;)

[thewhitrbbit]

What were the valakytes then? Some sort of hilter army?

[fernandez]

Originally posted by thewhitrbbit
What were the valakytes then? Some sort of hilter army?

Valkyries were maidens in Norse mythology who decided the fate of warriors in battle.

[Truncheon]

You can always get an orchestral score or piano reduction and use a program such as Logic or Cubase to actually do your own Midi sequence of the piece. Then you could copyright that arrangement and sell it ! You could also put it in your shared folder (without copyright) P2P in public domain and it would all be legal!

[Theinfamousone]

The pure music is not copyrighted. But any time it's been written in a book, the book is copyrighted, and if it's performed, the artist has the performance copyrighted usually.

I do however believe that it is legal to share PDF files of the sheet music. I have downloaded lots of sheet music in PDF format.

[eclectica]

Originally posted by Theinfamousone
I do however believe that it is legal to share PDF files of the sheet music. I have downloaded lots of sheet music in PDF format.
Probably the most efficient way to store instrumental music would be in the form of something like a midi file, and then have it played on a synthesizer. You could fit hundreds of years of music on one hard drive. Then all people would have to do is trade their midi files, which would be like trading sheet music.

[NDGAARONDI]

Performances can be copyrighted. But classical music is different because the original piece is not copyrighted anyway. I didn't think copyright acted retrospectivelly?