What is symphonic music?

You've listened to songs on the radio haven't you? You probably know the biggest difference between those tunes and a symphony is their length. A song on the radio lasts about three minutes. A symphony can last over an hour! Now that we got that simple fact out of the way, let's look at other ways symphonic music is different from the music you hear on the radio. What makes symphonic music different from other kinds of music is its development. This is how the music changes from the beginning to end. All music develops, even simple little tunes. But they usually develop by repeating themselves. Symphonic music also repeats, but not in exactly the same way. It is those non-exact ways of repeating that makes music symphonic. Remember this important rule: The more the music develops, the more symphonic it is.