Music final

Working definition of music

Music is a collection of sounds and silence organized in time by a human whose intent is to create music

3 elements of music

1. Pitch - The frequency of sound that you are hearing

2. Rhythm/Time - The organization of time in which the sound and silence occur

3. Timbre - The quality of the sound/the way in which the sound is created

Rhythm/Time

• Elements of time: beat, accent, meter, tempo

• Elements of Rhythm: Simple vs Compound meter & Syncopation - accents where we do'n’t expect accents

Beat

• The beat is the base unit we use to measure time

• Definition: A series of steady pulses

• Tempo is determined by the rate at which beats occur, typically measured in beats per minute

Accent

• The stress given to certain beats

• In typical rhythm structures, those accents fall in a consistent pattern of weak and strong beats

• An established pattern of weak and strong beats may form the structure for meter

Meter

• A recurring pattern of strong and weak beats

• Commonly organized in 2 (duple meter), 3 (triple meter), or 4 (quadruple meter)

• Typically grouped in either divisions of 2 (simple meter) or 3 (compound meter)

• Can exist outside of 2, 3, or 4

Extended Meter Examples

• Music of non-western cultures often use complex meters taht go beyond what is listed in the book

• Jazz and other musics of the African diaspora often use complex meters that go beyond what is lsited in the book

• Syncopation - an accent where we don’t expect an accent to occur

Pitch, Dyanmics, and Tone Color

• Pitch - how high or low a sound is as determined by the rate at which the sound source vibrates the air around it

• This sound source doesn’t need to be a traditional acoustic musical instrument or voice

- Electronic instruments/Sound Generators

-Found objects in everyday life

• Sounds are not made of one pure vibration - harmonic series

• Dynamics - The amplitude of the sound

• Range of dynamics from soft to loud -

-Pianissimo (pp)

-Piano (p)

-Mezzo Piano (mp)

-Mezzo Forte (mf)

-Forte (f)

-Fortissimo (f)

• Tone color

-Impacted by the harmonic series

-Impacted by how sounds are produced

-Impacted by the way that the player/singer chooses to use their sound source

Evolution of Modern Ensembles

• Choir - has existed much as they do today for many centuries

• Orchestra -

-Small ensembles that resemble modern orchestras - late 1600s-early 1700s

-Increases in size and instrumentation, largely dependent on resources available, throughout the 1700s

-Modern, large orchestra began to take shape in the early-mid 1800s, and expanded greatly through the 20th century

• Concert bands

-Early, small ensembles in the late 1700s/early 1800s

-Advances in technology throughout the 19th century

-Military bands/professional concert bands

-school band movements/school orchestra movement

Modern Instruments

• Strings -

-Easy string instruments differ from, but resemble modern string instruments in many ways

-Bowing technology

• Percussion -

-Standard drums are very similar to ancient drums

-Percussion instrument availability continues to evolve

• Woodwinds

-Standardized key systems helped more woodwinds forward in the early-mid 1800s

-Adolphe Sax - inventor of the saxophone family - late 1800s

• Brass

-Trombone is the earliest instrument

-Modernization of valves in the early 1800s

• Keyboards

• Pianos - evolved from harpsichords

-The ability to play both loud and soft (pianoforte)

-Strings inside the piano are struck rather than plucked

• Organ

-Similar to what existed centuries ago

-Modern electronics

Amplitude

• Dynamics can be used to describe

• Can also be thought of as the amount of energy a sound vibration contains and conveys

Tone color

Quality of sound

• Why a trumpet sounds different from a flute

Synonyms

Timbre - Tone color

Frequency - Pitch

Amplitude - Dynamics

Vibration

The phenomenon by which sound is produced

What is a scale?

• Any set collection of pitches used for constructing tonal music (pitched music)

Eg: Chromatic, diatonic, intervals (half steps vs whole steps), intervals (octaves), major, neutral minor

• Chromatic: Made up entirely of half steps

-Eg: HHHHHHHHHHHH

• Diatonic: A combination of 5 whole steps and 2 half steps

-Eg: WWHWWWH

Enharmonic

Notes that sound the same but are spelled different

Eg: D flat and C#, E flat and D sharp, A flat and G sharp

Melodies

• A series of pitches built from a scale

• Thought of in terms of a line (think connect the dots puzzle, but with sound)

• Tune - a simple, easily singable melody (think folk music, simple, repeatable pop tunes, Happy Birthday, etc.)

• All tunes are melodies, but not all melodies are tunes

• Motive - a distinct fragment of a melody, can be used to call attention to a character’s feelings, or call you back to a place, and the emotions with that place

-Many famous examples, eg: Jaws, Two Notes, Michael Myers, three march Darth Vader’s theme, Mia and Seb’s theme, Leia’s Theme

-Can be repeated to form a larger melodic structure

• Theme - the basic subject matter of a larger piece of music

-Can be constructed of motives

• Phrases - Sections of melodies

-Think poetic lines or sentence structure

-Can be parallel or contrasting

• Climax - the high point of a melody, piece, phrase

-Music generally has layers of structures, each can have its own high point

• Cadence - a stopping or pausing place in the music

-Found at the ends of phrases

Sequence

When the same melodic idea is repeated at different pitch levels

Eg: 2 phrases of the National Anthem: “and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air”

Countour

• Term for the shape of a melody

• Determined by the direction of notes (up, down, repeating the same note)

Parallel phrases

The first phrase has the same pitches and rhythm as the second phrase

Song

A tune that has words

Harmony

• Melody = One line playing/singing alone

• Harmony = Two or more lines, which can include

-Chords or other accompaniment figures

-Counterpoint = a different line in contrast to the melody, could be like a second melody line (countermelody)

-Imitative melodies moving independently of one another

-Two or more independent parts performed simultaneously

• Consonance and Dissonance

-Contrast in music often is what makes it interesting

-Leading from the tension of dissonance to consonance can create a very stirring effect

-Dissonance can also just mean that a chord feels unresolved, needs to lead somewhere

-Resolution

-Cadence

Texture

• Monophonic/Monophony

-One line, independent

-Gregorian chant

-Singing to a baby or child to comfort them

-Singing alone

• Homophonic/Homophony

-One line, accompanied

-Singer accompanying themselves on piano or guitar

-Band accompanying a lead singer

• Polyphonic/Polyphony

-Considered by many to be the single most important innovation in Western art music

-ca: 1200 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

-Evolved in chord and instrumental music, particularly in the Baroque era (1600-1750)

Tonality

• Often refers to the key, and quality of a piece of music

• Major and Minor Modes

-Patterns of whole and half steps help to construct this

-Certain patterns of harmonic structure to help to establish this - connected to physics of sound

-Can lead to repeition, even if you don’t immediately recognize this repetition

How many pitches does an octave have?

12 pitches

Texture type

Polyphony - 2 or more simultaneous melodies

Monophony - One melody, no accompaniment

Homophony - One melody with harmonic accompaniment

Modulation

When the tonic changes within a piece of music

The qualities that affect whether a chord is consonant or dissonant depend primarily on what?

The pitch combinations used in the chord

Chords

A grouping of pitches played and heard simultaneously

To change minor into major

Raise the third, sixth, and seventh notes of the scale

Identifying tonic

• Identify the key of the piece. The name of the key will also give you the name of the tonic.

• Sing the melody all the way through. The last note is almost always the tonic.

Minor Mode

Whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole

• No matter which note you start on, using this pattern of whole and half steps will always create a minor mode.

• A-to-A pattern

Major Mode

Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half

• C-to-C pattern

• Diatonic C major scale: (no black keys) C, D, E, F, G, A, B

Form

• Elements of music combine to create form

-Rhythm

-Melody

-Harmony

-Dynamics

-Tone color

-Texture

• Almost all pieces of music have a discernible form

• Form can be constructed from

-Repetition

-Contrast

-Defining markers of time

• The ability to connect “a beginning, middle, and end.”

• The ability to extend (and connect) a piece of music

Common Small Forms in Music

• AB - Binary (Two Part) Form

Eg: Somebody That I Used To Know

• ABA - Ternary (Three Part) Form

• AABA

• AAB - Common in blues

• Ballad form - Often like a poem or story set to music

Style

• Each era throughout history has a distinct sound/style

• Within each era, there are many different musical genres

• Art is almost always a response to the time period it is created in

-Music during times of peace - personal or global

-Music during times of turmoil - personal or global

-Music after large life events for the composer

Letter Diagram uses

• Repetition

• Contrast

• Variation

-Not for genre or style

Form

• Almost all pieces of music have a discernable form

• Form can be constructed from

Common Small Forms in Music

• AB - Binary

Larger Forms

• Rondo - A, B, A, C, A, D…

• Theme and Variation

• Strophic Form - A, A, A, A… -Verse form

-Think hymms, folk songs, children’s songs, etc.

• Through composed - Music that is a continious, non-repetitive, changes throughout the music

Style

• Each era throughout history has a distinct sound/style

• Within each era, there are many different musical genres

• Art is almost always a response to the time period it is created in

- Music during times of peace - personal or global

-Music during times of turmoil - personal or global

-Music after large life events for the composer

Music of the Middle Ages

• Large time period - ca. 400-1400 ce

• While our study is dominated by music of the church and western European courts, this is not only music happening

• Surviving music is dominated by certain characteristics, but likely other styles of music were present, we just don’t know

Music Makers

• Church - Monks, priests, nuns

• Common People - Minstrels and Jongleurs

• Co-opted by Royalty - Troubadours, Trouveres, Minnesingers, Meistersingers

Music of the Church

• Plainchant

• Strictly organized by liturgy and liturgical season

• Book of plainchant was chained to the altar

• Simple notations, very different than what we use today

Mass Ordinary

• Kyrie - “Lord have mercy”

• Gloria - “Glory to God in the highest”

• Credo - The Nicene Creed

• Sanctus - “Holy, holy, holy”

• Agnus Dei - “Lamb of God”

Mass Proper

• Introit

• Gradual/Alleluia/Tract - Chants before scripture reading

• Offertory

• Communion

Modes

• Other diatonic scales

-Eg:

• CDEFGABC - C Major

• DEFGABCD - d dorian

• GABCDEFG - G Mixolydian

• GABCDEF#G - G Major

• ABCDEF#GA - a dorian

Hildegard von Bingen

• First recorded female composer

• Referred to by contemporaries as “The Trumpet of God”

• Wrote music that differed from that of the church

-Used influences from folk music

-Used instruments

Courtly Music

• Troubadours (southern France/Spain), Trouveres (France), Minnesingers (southern Germany), Meistersingers (northern Germany)

• Could contain instruments - Often drones

• Men and women

Polyphonic Evolution

• Organum

-Two or more parts moving in parallel

• Notre Dame Polyphony

-Major force moving multi-textured music forward

-Expanded upon organum

While credit is often given to Leonin and Perotin (Notre Dame), Hildegard was writing polyphonic music about 200 years prior

-Ars Nova vs Ars Antiqua

-Chansons - France

-Madrigals

The Renaissance

• ca. 1400-1600 ce

• Both forward and backward looking simultaneously

• An age more of humankind and the natural world than of religion

-Discovery

-Innovation

-Exploration

Music of. the Renaissance

• Art became more of a function of human desire and needs rather than a function of religious hierarchy

• Music still existed in religious and noble settings, and much of that was slower to change

• Blurring of styles at the turn of an era

• Large secular music output

• Emphasis on the beauty and symmetry of music

Music of the Church

• Paraphrase

• Ornamentation of plainchant

• Less adherence to traditions

• More melodic, starting to focus on the art of making music as much as the delivery of text

• Composers standardized mass parts for original compositions

-Kyrie

-Gloria

-Credo

-Sanctus

-Agnus Del

• This approach to mass composition stayed after 1600

• The mass proper can be augmented with other works

Secular Music

• Madrigals

-Italian vs. English

-Often texts regarding love

-Replacing the parts of the text that were not repeatable in public

• Still acapaella - without accompaniment, “of the chapel.”

Sacred Response

• Motets

• Polyphonic, similiar in texture to madrigals

• Sacred texts

• Often still in Latin (exceptions for the Church of England)

The Renaissance

• ca 1400-1600 ce

• Both forward and backward looking simultaneously

• An age more of humankind and the natural world than of religion

-Discovery

-Innovation

-Exploration

Other Notable Information

• Guido d’Arezzo (1033 ce)

• Guidonean Hard

• Adaptation to handwritten scores (ca 13th century)

• invention of the printing press (ca. 1441)

Secular Music

• Madrigals

-Italian vs English

-Often texts regarding love

-Replacing the parts of the text were not repeatable in public

• Still acapella - without accompaniment, “of the chapel”

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

• Noted for developing a style that blended music of the time with the desires of the Roman Catholic church

-Clarity of line maintained in polyphony

-Communication of texts

-”stile antica” - Antique style of strict counterpoint creates symmetry and balance within musical structures

• Pope Marcellus Mass - Noted for convincing the church to not eliminate polyphony at the Council of Trent (1563)

Renaissance Instrumental Music

• Many early forms of modern instruments

-Flutes/recorders

-Lutes

-Early bowed string instruments

-Drums

• Early dance forms

-Pavan/Pavanne (duple meter)

-Galliard (triple meter)

Early Opera

• Evolved from musical story telling traditions

• Earliest forms sound quite sparse compared to what you may be familiar with

• Common stories pulled from Greek and Roman mythology

-Daphnis and Chice

-Orpheus and Eurydice

A revolt against madrigals

• “Why cause words to be sung by four or five voices so that they cannot be distinguished, when the ancient Greeks aroused the strongest passions by means of a single voice supported by a lyre? Renounce counterpoint…and return to simplicity!”

Extravagance vs Control

• Baroque Period (1600-1750)

• Larger, more structured ensembles

• More ornate, but more formally structured

• Acceptance of homophonic and polyphonic music by the establishment led to a more formalized music making process

Baroque Characteristics

• Emphasis on rhythmic structure

-Rhythmic Motives

• Basso continuo

• Reliance on structured, functional harmony (rather than free-flowing polyphony of the Renaissance)

• Ground bass

• Ostinato

• Borrowed from art history - “large pearls of irregular shape.”

• Imperfect

• Bizarre

• Erratic

• Absolutism vs Age of Science

• Pomp and extravagance vs Calculation and math

-Tempered scales

-Logical usage of key centers

-Bach - The Well-Tempered Klavier

-Descartes - apply thought to the analysis of human emotions

• Patronage

-A king or other noble could show off their power in the number and quality of musicians they had

• Mastery of individual composers/performers

-Churches - Life of Bach

-In Courts - Life of Handel

• Travel

• Popularity waned for a large period of time

-Rebirth in the early 1800s

• “Period instruments” and “Historically informed performances”

• Popularity today

Functional Harmony

• Abandonment (mostly) of the modes for major/minor tonality

• Logical progression of chords in relation to one another

• “Common Practice Era”

• Gives the music of “this is going where we expect it to go.”

• Steady, cadence, and phrase patterns

St. Mark’s Cathedral - Venice

• Andrea Gabrieli (1510-1586) and Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612)

• Antiphonal choirs

• Instrumental and Vocal Music

-Large choirs of both

Opera Part 2

• Began as musical drama for entertainment at large events for the wealthy

• Venice Opera Theatre - 1637

• Types of songs

-Instrumental - Overture

-Recitative - Level, even solo musical delivery of text

-Aria - Ornate solo works

-Chorus - Large numbers sung by many people

-Dance Music - Instrumental

-Entre Acts/Introduction/Act Preludes - Instrumental

Instrumental Music

• Evolution of instruments

• Virtuosity

• Transcription of vocal music

• Dance music

• New form begin to emerge

• Fugue

• Sonata - Continue accompaniment

-Solo Sonata

-Trio Sonata

• Concierto - Ensemble accompaniment

Late Baroque Style

• Methodical

• Rhythms - “Marking time”

• Presence of dynamics

• Sophisticated tone quality - Tied to patronage

• Complex melodies

Baroque Orchestra

• Larger compliments of traditional string instruments

• Occasional addition of winds or percussion based on needs for a particular situation

• Sometimes based on availability

Concerto

• Concerto - Soloist with orchestra

• Concerto grosso - Solists (plural) with orchestra

• Concertino vs ripleno

• Multi-movement

• Ritomeilo - creates stability, predictability

• Similiar to Sonata

Fugue

• Usually three-part or four-part

• A musical chase

• Fugue subject - theme

• Exposition

• Fugue devices

-Episodes, subject entries

-Countersubject

-Inversion

Patronage

• There was a vast difference between the output of those employed by the church vs those employed by nobility

• Musicians often functioned in a servant role, meaning that their output was more about what their employer wanted than their own artistic ideas

Dance Music

• Often derived from French (or neighboring) styles

• Often associated with France, but spread extensively throughout Europe

• Frequently written (outside of France especially) by composers employed by nobility

Baroque Musical Expression

• Simplification and categorization of human emotion

• Playing out in vocal music

-Sometimes in partnership with instrumentation or accompaniment

-Sometimes significant by certain rhythms or melodic gestures

Opera Part 3

• Primary secular vocal music form

• Rapid spread throughout the 17th and 18th centuries

• Baroque audiences, particularly the nobility, were fascinated by the spectacle of opera

-Rapid scenic changes

-Combination of multiple art forms (“multimedia experience of the day”)

-Ability to communicate extradordinary ranges of emotions

• Opera seria - “Serious” or dramatic opera

• Many plots tied to historical events or mythology

• Castrati

• Tenors and basses typically played villains

• Libretto

Oratorio

• Similarly to opera, but without the dramatic and staged elements

• Occassionally borrows from opera seria

-Handel did this often - The Messiah

• Often sacred music

• Features a narrative plot told through music

• Uses many of the same musical elements found in opera

The Church Cantata

• Oratorio-like

• The Chorale - a hymn like song used within a cantata

• Often tied to the Lutheran church and Martin Luther’s emphasis on singing during the Lutheran reformation

• Mix of voices

-Not the traditional role of tenors and basses playing the villain

-Tended to match voice range with characters in the stories

Other Vocal Music

• Modern church hymns - Often developed from chorales

• Ceremonial music - Some still used today

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

• Philosopher, Novelist, Self-Taught Composer

• “Natural Man is born pure, but corrupted by society

-Idealized people from outside European society

-Called out aristocratically inspired plots of Baroque opera

-Desired an opera “for the common people”

-Opera buffa - Comic opera

Opera Buffa

• Opera Buffa parallels the evolution of the modern novel

-Voltaire - Candide

-Jane Austen

• Many Mozart examples of Opera Buffa are similar in style to the works of Jane Austen

Public Concerts

• Concert promoters

• Charity concerts

• Public venues - Cafes, taverns, etc

• Despite growing public support and the availability of public concerts, many composers primary income still came from the patronage system

• Mozart (1756-1791)

-Often rebelled against patrons, functioned mainly in the public scene instead

-Income from the public was sparse, could be cited for Mozart’s early illness and death

• Haydn (1732-1809)

-Worked in the Esterhazy court much of his life

-Only relied on public conerts towards the end of his career (and end of this era)

Characteristics of Classicism

• Natural

• Pleasing Variety

• Slower harmonic rhythm than Baroque music

• Transparency, structure, form, and variety were paramount

• Rhythm - Non-formulaic, non-repetitive, highly flexible

• Dynamics - Variety and flexibility, subtly, crescendo and decrescendo

• Instrumentation - Consistent wind and percussion section, larger orchestras - Effects - The Mannheim Steamroller

• Melodies - Tunes became prevalent

• Thematic repeats

• Distinct sections of pieces - Transparency

• Further refinement of functional harmony

Classical Era

• Classical Era - 1750-ca. 1810

• Some musical pioneers of this style in Germany and Italy

• Major Composers

-Franz Joseph Haydn

-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

-Ludwig von Beethoven (transition figure into the next era)

-Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges

Classical Instremental Music

• The Symphony - Major, large scale work for orchestra

-Brought about standardization of orchestral instrumentation

-Typically in four movements

• Fast movement in Sonata Allegro form

• Show movement (sonata allegro, rondo, theme and variations, etc.)

• Minuet and Trio (dance, in triple, meter)

• Fast movement (sonata, allegro, rondo, theme and variations, etc.)

Sonata Allegro Form

• Introduction

• Exposition

-Primary/Theme - Transition - Secondary Theme (In a new key)

• Development

-Fragmented - Rapidly changing keys - Concluded with a re-transition

• Recapitulation

• Coda

Concerto

• Derived from Baroque concerto form

• Typically one soloist vs concerto grosso of the Baroque era

• Multi-movement -

-Fast

-Slow

-Fast

Tale of Two Careers

• Haydn

-Worked primarily in the royal courts

-Considered the master of two major classical forms - Symphony and String Quartet

• Mozart

-Style is progresive, emotional, complex

The Enlightenment

• Baroque era - arts for the purpose of instructing or impressing

• Classical era - arts for the purpose of entertainment and enjoyment

• Composers began to think about ways in which to please their audiences, rather than create works to please their master

Classical Instrument Music

• The Symphony - Major, large scale work for orchestra

• Brought about standardization of orchestral instrumentation

• Typically in four movements

Concerto

• Derived from Baroque concerto form

• Typically one soloist vs concerto grosso of the Baroque era

Jean-Jacque Rousseau

• Philosopher, Novelist, Self-Taught Composer

• “Natural Man” is born pure, but corrupted by society

• Idealized people from outside European society

• Called out aristocratically inspired plots of Baroque opera

• Desired an opera “for the common people”

• Opera buffa - Comic opera

Opera Buffa

• Libretto - an opera text

• Required acting, not just singing, in order to be funny

• While many librettos still in Itallian (like most opera seria), some are written in the vernacular of their country of origin

• Three of Mozart’s six opera buffa are written in German ofr a Viennese audience

• Many elements of opera seria remain

• Overture and Entr’actes - Instrumental

• Arias and Recitative - Solo

• Chorus - Full, large ensemble

• Introduction of ensemble pieces

• Direct predessor of modern day musical theater

Finale - Cosi fan tutte Act 1

• In this scene -

• Two disguised men (Ferrando and Guglielmo) fake their deaths by drinking fake poison to trick Fiordiligi and Dorabella to fall in love with them

• Despina, disguised as a doctor, revives them with a magnet, poling fun at medical practices of the day, leading to a dramatic scene and requests for kisses, which the sisters consider but refuse

• Don Alfonso and Despina have a bet that the sisters will fall in love and help to try to faciliate this scene

Classical Chamber Music

• Chamber Music - Small or smaller ensemble music

• Designed to be performed in “a chamber”, or a smaller space than a large concert ensemble like an orchesra

-Palace drawing room

-Salon

-Dining room

• Common chamber ensembles

-Piano trio (violin, cello, piano)

-String quartet (2 violins, viola, cello)

• Wind octet (2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 clarinets, 2 horns)

The Classical String Quartet

• Typically in four movements, similiar to the symphony

-Fast/Moderate - Sonata form

-Slow/Very Slow - Sonata form, theme and variations, rondo, etc.

-Moderate/Fast - Minuet and Trio

-Fast/Very Fast - Sonata form, theme and variations, rondo, etc.

• Can’t create the same power as an orchestra, but was not meant for a large hall like an orchestra

• Small audiences

• Delicate, nuanced playing

• No conductor, dependent on non-verbal communication between musicians

• One on a part versus large string sections all playing the same part

Classical Wind Chamber Music

• Takes advantage of technological advances in wind instrument key systems and production

• Many works for wind chamber ensembles by Mozart, Krommer, Beethoven

• Direct predecessor to modern day concert band music

• Many follow similiar movement patterns to symphonies and string quartets

Classical Solo Piano Music

• The pianoforte (later just piano) was a major innovation in the mid-18th century

• While some solo keyboard music existed prior to 1750 (see Bach and his myriad organ and harpischord works), the invention of the piano and its versatility led to greater possiblities for artistic expression

• Composers who were piano players could put on full concerts without having to hire musicians

Classical Sonata

• Not the same as sonata or sonata allegro form

• Wind or string soloist with piano accompaniment

• Piano alone

• Multi-movement, similiar to a concerto but with piano accompaniment instead of orchestral accompaniment

Other Chamber Music

• Piano trios and quarterts

• Wind instrument solos with string chamber ensembles