Music Appreciation a Guide free essay sample

They are responsible for our unique vectoring. They are located above the fundamental. Everyone has a unique voice print 2. Timbre- Color and quality. A tool by which we identify different voices and instruments. Very subjective- differently interpreted and heard and described. Ex: Gloomy, dark, clear, bright, harsh, rough, delicate, wide, narrow. ; Every person in the world has his or her own timbre because of overtones. Oscilloscope shows you your vectoring. 3. Dynamics- how loud or how soft. Volume In music.Pianissimo- (up) very soft Piano- (p) soft Mezzo Plano- (pm) medium soft Mezzo Forte- (MFC) medium loud Forte- (f) forte Fortissimo- (of very loud Crescendo- becoming louder Decrescendo/Outlined- becoming softer 4. Duration- Length Elements of Music 1. Melody- Meaningful succession of pitches; series of single tones that add up too recognizable whole. Phrase- sections that make up a melody, an Idea. Cadence- Points of rest Range- Difference from lowest to highest pitch 2. Harmony- more than one pitch; usually supports melody Chord- when 3 or more pitches are played at the same time Arpeggio- A broken chord. We will write a custom essay sample on Music Appreciation: a Guide or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page One after the other.Major/Minor- Major sounds happier, stable. Minor is depressing. Consonance- Stable, pleasant Dissonance- Clash. Creates tension. Which creates excitement 3. Texture- Weave of music; layers of music; melody/harmony Monophonic- melody alone Homophobic- melody and harmony Polyphonic- multiple melodies at once 4. Dynamics- how loud or soft 5. Timbre- Color and quality. 6. Tempo- Speed. Basic pace of music. Largo- Very slow Adagio- Slow Andante- Walking pace Allegro- fast Vice- lively Presto- very fast Fortissimo- as fast as possible Accelerated- Speeding up Retardation- Slowing down Metronome- A device used to divide time into units.Ex: 60 beats/minute 7. Rhythm- meter. Sounds, pauses, length of sounds. Beat- The pulse of the music. Constantly recurring. Beat is a steady recurring pulse that divides music into equal units of time. It is a basic unit of time by which all notes are measured in. Rhythm refers to a particular arrangement of sounds and silences in a piece of music. It is an essential feature of a personality of a piece. We can recognize pieces based on rhythm only. Meter: Some beats are more stressed than others. Stress has to come regularly. Meter refers to the pattern of strong and Neck beats. The downbeat is the strong beat.Pieces can be in triple meter, duple meter, or mixed meter. 8. Form/Structure Music Eras: Middle Ages (400-1450) Renaissance (1450-1600) Baroque (1600-1750) Classical (1750- 1825) Romantic (1825-1900) 20th century (1900-2000) Contemporary (2000- ) Instruments of the Orchestra Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion, (keyboard) Sting Family Timbre associated with the human voice. (warmth, emotion) Long string-Low note Shorter string-higher pitch (more rapid vibrations) Unstopped string-open string Played with bow Fingers pressed on the string makes it shorter, thus raising the pitch The Noodle body vibrates and acts as a resonatorMute dampens the vibrations and softens the sound. Pizzicato- plucking the string Vibrato- slight wavering of the tone Concertmaster- leader of the stings, first violinist Examples: Violin Viola Double Bass Harp- Strings are plucked. 47 strings, color coordinated. Seven pedals raise or lower the pitches Guitar Woodwinds Tones are produced by blowing across a reed, causing the air and reed to vibrate Covering the holes make the tube longer-lowers the pitch Most are made of metal (except recorders, made of plastic. Different materials create different sound. No reed-flute, Piccolo, Recorder (generally has a gentle airy sound) Single Reeds-clarinet, Saxophone (generally has smooth, clear sound) Double Reeds- Oboes, Bassoons (has nasal quality, like a duck) Recorder Flute, Piccolo Played sideways. O No reed. Tone is produced by blowing across mouthpiece. Air vibrates. O Piccolo means small in Italian. Clarinets O Single reed attached to the mouthpiece. The breath or tongue and breath set the reed in vibration, which travel down through the tube producing tone O Made in several keys, a-Flat most used. Range of over three octaves, variety of tonal colors and moods O Very athletic plays comfortably in any key Bass clarinet- Twice as long; sounds an octave lower Saxophones (capable of being emotionally expressive Soprano, alto, tenor, bass O Similar to clarinet, but made of bass Oboe(soprano), English Horn(Alto) (duck-like sound) Double reed- two small bound reeds O Air is blown through them and produces a nasal tone O orchestra the A-440 to tune English Horn-alto oboe, sounds lower O NOT a horn.NOT English Bassoons Double Reed 8 feet long tube, bent for convenience The oboe gives the Contrabass- 16 feet long; LOWEST instrument of the orchestra (lower than double bass or the tuba! ) Brass Family Long ado, men blew into horns of animals and produced pitches-beginning of rays Brass tubes or coiled or bent into convenient shapes The longer the tube, the lower the tone cup shaped mouthpieces Tones are produced by buzzing the lips in the mouthpiece Embouchure tightness of lips, mouth, bre ath) also controls the pitch Trumpet (bright loud, high pitched, pipe sound) Small brass instrument, produces the highest pitches.French Horn (lower, softer) Also called the horn Mellow timbre Often combined with woodwinds. Trombone (majestic) Means big trumpet Made of two brass tubes No valves or keys Slide is moved by sliding in and out of each other- to vary the pitch Tuba (very low, tuff, kind of a fart like sound) Largest of the brass 16 feet tubing Percussion Details All the things you hit, shakePitched- produces pitches, plays melodies Unpredicted- used for rhythm and sound effects Percussion Family Pitched Snare Drums (Keyboard) Xylophone Marimba Castanets Celesta Cymbals Chinese Block Unpredicted Timpani (Kettle Drums) Tom Toms (Keyboard) Tambourine (Keyboard) Glockenspiel Triangle Chimes Gongs Wood Block Timpani are struck with mallets with a soft material at the end (ex: rubber). Dynamics, duration, and timbre will vary. Mallets) Xylophones and Marimbas have huge wooden bars in keyboard arrangements. Bony). Black and white keys in groupings of threes and twos.Different sized blocks. Smaller the tube, higher the pitch. Marimbas have tubes. Xylophones dont. Marimba resonates, sustains the pitch. Glockenspiel sounds high and cute. It doesnt resonate. It is known as bells. 30 steel bar arrangement. Keyboard with metal bars. If you are a percussionist, you play all the instruments. Celesta Looks like a small piano. Chimes Hollow tubes Produce ringing tone Top of the tube is struck to produce a tone The longer the tube, the shorter the pitch. Snare drums room Toms Tambourine- Small drum. Shake and hit it. CastanetsCymbals- two plates that hit each other Song- huge plate Chinese block- a stick that hits a block of wood Noodle block- More blocks Keyboards (formation) Piano (percussion) Harpsichord (strings)- clippers. Baroque era instrument. Two sets of keys. White and black switched. ; Clavichord (strings)- clippers Organ (wind)-An instrument that produces sound by forcing pressurized air (wind) through a series of pipes. The size of organs varies greatly. The smallest may have only a few dozen pipes, the largest may have tens of thousands. A swell box is a shutter. Its position determines the dynamics. Can play different timbres. Xylophone (percussion) Marimba (percussion) Ensembles Orchestra- strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion Band; marching band (no strings). Stage band; Jazz band (weird) Chorus, choir Chamber music- one player per part; no conductor; intimate music making. 12 players or less. Conductors use batons. Jean-Baptists De Lully (Italian born French composer from Baroque) worked for the court of Louis the 14th. Baroque didnt have conductors. In every orchestra, there would be a player at the harpsichord signaling. Human Voices Female Coloratura Soprano (highest female voice.Can sing coloratura passages) Soprano ex: dramatic Alto/Mezzo soprano Contralto (very rare, extremely low) Counter Tenor- trained falsetto. Used in opera, classical music, and pop. Reno Baritone Bass Basso Profound (extremely low) Coloratura-Musical passages that have very fast notes, scales, long passages, and extreme ranges. They were important in the Baroque era. Opera- Like a play, but Instead of speaking, you sing. Aria- Solo song that is always accompanied by an orchestra. Rough Composed- A piece that has different music for each section Strophic form- ere same music for each section.Falsetto Falsetto- males singing with false chords Popular songs from the sasss. Uses baby chords. Middle Ages 950-1450) Most of the music from the middle ages is religious or sacred because of the patronage (sponsorship) from the church. Gregorian Chant- early music of the Christian Church- an,deed after Pope Gregory the Great who organized chants. Chants are an example of worship. It gives a calming and relaxing effect. It shows respect and is more simple than music. The church didnt want people coming for the music. Chants dont use instruments.A chapels. Pitches are changed frequently. All male. Narrow range. Unison- same pitch at the same time. Monophonic texture. Latin. Metric. Text is more dominant. Uses Mellissa. Mellissa- Singing many notes for one syllable. Common feature for Gregorian Chants. Sacred- Religious Secular- Non-religious or earthly Mode- An ancient scale. Chants usually dont use major or minor scales. Childrens voices dont have vibrato. They wing with a straight tone (no vibrato, cold, lacks warmth, pure). Vibrato adds emotion, it is warmer, and projects more. BAROQUE!!!Main Characteristics: 1600-1750 Absolute Monarchy Huge gap between the rich and the poor ere rich lived a very wasteful luxurious life. Wore fancy wigs and dresses Poverty was appalling Long days Ordinary people worked a lot. Served the Upper Class Baroque Characteristics Birth of opera Basso continuo Clavier- organ, harpsichord Orchestra- 20-30, mainly strings, different sizes, different instruments in each one Orchestra NON standardized Steady beat, vigorous rhythm Continuous expansion of melody 1 main melody in piece 1 main emotion in piece Tonality- major/minor Picador Third- Only refers to the Baroque.Changing the third scale note to major. They thought ending a piece with major was more stable than ending with minor. Raced Dynamics Improvisation Ornamentation Polyphonic texture is emphasized Fugue is king Absolute music is emphasized Contrast highlighted Word painting Castrato Doctrine of Affections-Word Painting Word painting= music mirrors text It was accepted that music ought to arouse the emotions (affections) ex: Joy, anger, love, fear, exaltation An entire piece or movement was built on a single affection= The opening musical idea established the mood of the doctrine of affections piece, which prevailed until the works end.Renaissance = plain, simple Baroque = decorated When composers wrote their music down, they left a great deal up to the performer, who was expected to decorate the piece with ornaments. They were not Mitten down! Performers would improvise and show off their special skills and talents. Some example of ornamentation: rill- rapid movement between two neighboring pitches Tremolo- rapid movement between two far away pitches Grace Note- a very quick note that precedes the main note Strong emotions dramatic way. Contrast was also used to express strong emotions.Music No radios, cassettes, CDC Aristocrats had private concerts played by their own musicians ; Musicians Mere employed, they were servants Composers worked in a Church, or for aristocratic court They kept their Jobs as long as the employers were satisfied Working for the Court Composers at the court had the status similar to that of the head chef. They had to supply constant new music. Working for the Church A musician (Bach) who worked for the church were paid to write music for church services, to play the organ, conduct the orchestra, and even train the choirboys.Rhythm Steady pulse gave music a driving energy A single rhythm was maintained throughout one piece Bar lines appeared and made music obvious Strong beat was empathetic by a certain instrument Birth of Opera Refer- The first opera. Performed in 1607 Opera- grand musical productions with soloists, a chorus, and an orchestra. They tell stories that touch the emotions, sung with dramatic expression by servants Nearing gorgeous costumes on wonderful stage sets. Claudio Monteverdi made opera into an intense dramatic form by making the music as expressive as the poetry, and including ballet with elaborate sets.Baroque Opera, the favorite entertainment of the aristocracy, told stories of gods and heroes of antiquity in whom the nobility and courtiers saw flattering liken esses of themselves. Opera includes: -An orchestral overture -Solo arias (songs) Recitatives (solo speech- like declarations) Ensemble numbers (choruses ) Castrato-the rock stars of Baroque In the Baroque era, they learned that is a childs testicles were cut off, their voices Mould stay high for the rest of their lives. This wasnt legal. Many people and churches objected, so excuses and lies were made that said that they had to castrate them.The voices (the good ones) went into womens range, had the purity of a child, still had vibrato, had incredible vocal ability (could hold notes for a long time), and had a mans power. Sometimes, they castrated too late, the operations werent successful, and some boys Just werent good singers. Only about 2% were successful. Hey boys didnt have a say in it. Voice talent scout would buy children from poor parents. Castrato- male singer who was castrated during boyhood in order to preserve the soprano or alto register of his voice for the rest of his life.Castrato had vice of enormous range, powered by breath control unrivaled by most singers today, and with the brilliance of the female upper register. Fairfield (Carlo Bronchi) One of the greatest castrate. Alexandra Memories was born in the mid sass. He died near the beginning of the 20th century. He was the last castrato who lived. George Frederic Handel 685-1759) German Oratorio English text- appealed to middle class, who did not feel at home with aristocratic entertainment of opera in Italian. ; Cheaper than opera Concert version of opera-not staged. No costumes, scenery Solos, chorus, orchestra Libretti)- Sacred or serious subject.The text or words of an opera or similar extended musical composition. Handel wrote 25 oratorios and 40 operas! Messiah (tremendous unusual appeal to people) (Deals with topics in all religions) Handels most famous oratorio. Written in 1741 (took him 23 days to write it! ) Premiered in Dublin, Ireland) King George II was in the audience (King of England) . 5 hours long, 3 parts, 53 movements (individual compositions) the hungry, clothed the naked, fostered the orphan) Selection From Messiah Aria- Solo emotional expression; display of virtuosity- skills, coloratura, Messiah fed ornamentation, improvisation.The focus is on the music. Recitative- Sung speech, fluctuation of the text, the words are more important, moves the plot along. Has a lot of text. No Mellissa. A bunch of different notes. The focus is on the words. Chorus- represents people commenting on the action, its not the individual expression, but that of the masses. Overture- Orchestral introduction to an opera, oratorio, or another large work. Before a big action. Sets you in the mood. Prepares you for whats coming up. Always orchestral. Holding a note for a long time, while the harmony is moving in different pitches/ notes.That causes dissonance. Pedal Point- Long, sustaining note Pedal Point Harmony => Dissonance => Tension => Resolution Forms nary- two part form. ABA Ternary- three part form. ABA Terraced Dynamics- Sudden dynamic change Can ascend and descend) Instrumental Music of the Baroque Harpsichord and organ were the primary keyboard instruments of the Baroque Every orchestra had a keyboard instrument, which was used to provide harmony (chords) and beat. It was called basso continuo- continuing bass line. Keyboards or low string instruments would keep it.Generally, a keyboard player Mould conduct from the keyboard. Polyphony was a favored texture in the Baroque period. Polyphony- many melodies (or voices, melodic voice, not human) occurring simultaneously. Round- 1 melody that occurs simultaneously in multiple voices at different times. (Row, row, row your boat). Canon- 2+ melodies are entered in every voice in the same chronological order Fugue- the most complex form of loophole based on imitation- subject (main idea of a fugue) can occur anywhere, at anytime.