Concepts of Music

Concepts of Music-Review

Duration

• ·       Rhythm

o   Repetition

o   Who has the melody and rhythm

o   Time signature-beats in a bar 4/4, 3/4 (Waltz), 2/4/-simple and 12/8, 6/8, 7/8-compound

• ·       Syncopation-off beats (weak beats)
• ·       Lengths of notes and rests-semibreve and minim (long note duration) etc. long and short notes are often contrasted

o   Accents, staccatos and tenuto

o   Articulation affects the lengths of notes and rests

"Water"-Blue King Brown uses syncopation at 0.23 and keyboard ostinato at 0.33

"A-Punk"-Vampire Weekend uses articulation at 0.10 (guitar plays notes of short value)

Dynamics and Expressive Techniques

• Volume level

o   Forte (loud), piano (soft)

o   Crescendo

o   Decrescendo

o   Sforzando

o   Ornamentation

• ·       Expressive techniques and effects

o   Articulation

§  Vocal melismas

§  Mute

§  Glissando

§  Pizzicato

§  Flutter tonguing

§  Trill

§  Tenuto

"Blackbird" by Katie Noonan-vocal melisma at 2.45

"Sing, Sing, Sing"-at 1.33 the trumpets use mutes to play their melody and create interest.

• ·       Pauses/silences

o   Often used to separate (differ) sections

"Revolution" by The Beatles, uses a pause/silence at 1.01 to differ the verse from the chorus.

• ·       Stylistic indications e.g. dolce, marcato

o   Changes in tempo

• ·       Ornamentation

o   How the note is decorated e.g. trill, glissando, roll

• ·       Phrasing

o   How phrases are marked

• ·       Electronic manipulation of sound

o   Guitar pedal

o   Amp

Pitch

• ·       Highness and lowness of sounds
• ·       Range

o   distance between the highest and lowest note

o   can be whole ensemble or one part

"Daniel"-Lior. Broad vocal range at 0.53

• ·       melody and harmonies-steps/leaps, repetition, tonality
• ·       tonality -major/minor/other (atonal)

"Symphony no. 9 in A minor" By Beethoven is a piece with a minor key

"Symphony no. 41 in C major" (4th movement) by Mozart is a piece with a major key

• ·       dissonant (clashing and ugly) or consonant (pretty)

Structure

• ·       the way a piece of music is laid out/written

o   binary

o   ternary

o   ABA

o   ABAC

o   Sonata

o   Fugal

o   Strophic

o   Rondo

o   12 bar blues

"Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley is a song that uses the 12 bar blues in the electric guitar line. 

• ·       Repetition

o   Repeated sections

o   Repeated melodies/harmonies/riffs

• ·       Develops themes and motifs in the music which could be repeated
• ·       Creates contrast and interest

"Moment in the Sun"-The Living End. Drums play a fill at 0.08 and 1.12 to separate the previous section from the new one and to lead into this new section. 

Texture

• ·       Layers of sound and their role
• ·       Densities of sound

o   Solid

o   Thin

o   Sparse

o   Rich

o   Airy etc

• ·       Monophonic

o   one layer of sound (solo)

"Ocean" by John Butler is monophonic

• ·       Homophonic

o   two layers of sound (melody and accompaniment)

o   most common

"The Entertainer" by Scott Joplin is homophonic

• ·       Polyphonic

o   Many layers of sound of equal importance

"Canon" by Johann Pachelbel is polyphonic

• ·       Relationships between layers

Tone Colour

• ·       How instruments sound
• ·       What you are hearing
• ·       How is the sound made

"Rabbit Song" by Boy & Bear. At 0.40 the drums play a rim click (hitting the drum on the edge, not the skin). This gives a different tone colour. 

o   blown (reed, no reed)

o   pluck or bow or strum

o   hit with a mallet or hand, something plastic or fluffy etc

"War" by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, has a brassy tone colour especially the trumpet (main melody)

• ·       The instruments

o   start at ensemble and then work down to families and then individual instruments

§  families:

·       woodwind

·       brass

·       percussion

·       string

·       voices