non-book canons

November 28, 2007 1:41 PM

Canon-filter: Other lists/programs that are like the Great Books lists (that is, not a "best-of" but a course of study), only not for books?
posted by mundy to education (7 comments total)

I'm not sure I'm understanding the question right but my jazz student roommate in college was required to get a Real Book which has all the standards every jazz musician must know.
posted by otio at 2:08 PM on November 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

Roger Ebert's Great Movies.
posted by Sticherbeast at 2:11 PM on November 28, 2007

The AFI 100 - 100 best films picked by the American Film Journalists society.
posted by Miko at 2:15 PM on November 28, 2007

Most musicians refer to the "Standard Rep[ertoire]". The list varies greatly between instruments. The first things that come to mind for the violin would be Mozart's violin concertos #4 and #5, the Bach double, Bach Partitas. Or the Kyrie from Mozart's requiem is the only example I can think of for other instruments (It's standard rep for trombones).
posted by kiltedtaco at 3:06 PM on November 28, 2007 [1 favorite]

None of these are courses of study, but they might be helpful in formulating one:

• Criticisms of the AFI "100 Years... 100 Movies" list and an "Alternate 100" from film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum - "my impulse is to defend the breadth, richness, and intelligence of the American cinema against its self-appointed custodians, who seem to want to lock us into an eternity of Oscar nights"

• Senses of Cinema "Top Tens" - annotated ten-best-films-ever lists submitted by whoever wants

• BFI top ten poll 2002 - the results of the most recent Sight & Sound poll on the best films of all time, with the individual ballots of the 253 participating critics and directors; link to historical results at the bottom of the page
posted by electric water kettle at 5:07 PM on November 28, 2007

Are you familiar with listsofbests.com? A lot of these are just personal lists. But a lot of published/"official" lists end up here, too. Books, movies, music, places to see before you die. That sort of thing.
posted by wheat at 10:01 PM on November 28, 2007

Classical.net Basic Repertoire

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (2nd ed.)
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
1001 Gardens You Must See Before You Die
1001 Natural Wonders You Must See Before You Die
1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:03 AM on November 29, 2007