GACE Music Aural Skills & Analysis

Describe the use of vowel modification, dynamics and vocal vibrato to achieve choral blend

Choral Blend is Uniform Sound, Texture, and Tone

Minimum Vibrato for Choral Blend

Dynamics must be Adjusted for Weaker singers and Stronger singers

Vowel Modification is a singer’s ability to adjust vowels to improve tone quality.

Describe the negative results of a singer who cannot hear themself in a choral setting

Bad Intonation affects the whole group

No Active listening means there is no adjustments

Describe the negative results of an instrumentalist who cannot hear themself in an ensemble

This causes Inaccurate tuning, rhythm, Phrasing, and no Productive Collaboration

Identify key musical elements of a unified ensemble performance

Tuning, Balance, Phrasing, Articulation, Cut-offs, and Sound intensity 

Compare and Contrast choral balance and choral blend

Choral Balance =  Equal levels from all ranges

Choral Blend - Uniformity of Vowel Formation and tone

Compare and contrast the desired timbre for classical singing traditions and popular music traditions

Classical: High palate Pure Vowels & lots of vibrato

Pop: Flexible shape, High & low palates & Less Vibrato

Name and describe the three principal registers commonly referred to in the classically trained voice

Men: Chest, Head, Falsetto

Women: Chest, Middle, Head

Describe the physiological mechanisms of singing

Air Supply: Lungs

Vibrators: Vocal folds

Pharynx/Mouth: Resonator

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Describe how the tonal characteristics of instruments relate to their use in orchestration

Strings: Melody/Harmony/Rhythm

High Brass: Melody/Rhythmic flourish

Low Brass: Bass lines/Rhythmic motives

Woodwinds: Melody/Harmony 

Percussive: Mainly Rhythmic/some Melody

Describe how sound is produced on brass instruments

Lips act as a valve that produces air.

Valves and Slides allow them to change pitch

Trumpets & Trombones: Sharp & Clear

French Horns & Euphoniums: Warmer & Darker

Describe how sound is produced on a stringed instrument

Through vibrations of the strings 

High tension = High pitch

Thicker string = Low pitch

Longer string = Low pitch

Describe how sound is produced on woodwind instruments

Air is blown through the reed which vibrates against the mouthpiece.

Shortening or lengthening the air column and covering holes or keys changes the pitch

Describe how sound is produced on percussion instruments

By being hit, scraped, or rubbed

Membranophones are Drums
Idiophones are Marimbas and Cymbals

Describe how to manipulate stringed instruments to produce dynamic changes

Forte is fast bow and more pressure

Piano is slow bow and less pressure

Pizzicato is a sharp pluck is louder

Describe how to manipulate brass instruments to produce dynamic changes

Volume is the amount of air

Steady embouchure means the pitch is stable

Playing softer needs a tighter embouchure

Describe how eight to ten dynamic markings commonly used in music

Pp p mp mf F FF

Crescendo is louder

Diminuendo is quieter

Briefly explain the physical properties behind sound production

Needs vibration to produce through a medium to the ear to the brain

A simple resonator is pressure fluctuations. 

The vibrations are complex sound waves

Describe the difference between a pure tone and one produced by an instrument

A Pure tone is a simple sine wave with a Constant frequency

An instrument produces Complex Waves with a Fundamental frequency and  Harmonics & Overtones

Describe the role of resonance in enabling a singer’s voice to “carry” better

Resonance is when an instrument vibrates at its natural frequency which amplifies its sound.

Singers create more space in their oral cavity & relax their vocal tract. 

Describe the most important properties of sound that contribute to an instrument’s tone quality

A Complex Wave has many partial frequencies.

The body and shape affects its tone.

Describe the acoustical implications of blocked section, mixed, and column choral formations

Blocked better for homophony

Column has parts in columns

Mixed has the SATB alternating pattern and is better for intonation

Describe key acoustical considerations for instrumental ensemble arrangement

Soft instruments sit in the front for melody

Similar parts sit together

List the following in order of increasing reverberation time, and explain: rehearsal room, concert hall, football field, and cathedral

Field has no reverb

Rehearsal room has some reverb

Concert hall has more reverb and more blend

Cathedral has the max reverb

Describe reverberation time

Time it takes for sound to drop 60 decibels

Size, materials, ceiling, shape, and people affect reverb

Describe how reflected sound interacts with direct sound within a performance space

Direct sound follows a straight path

Reflection, diffraction, and refraction alter the sound

Absorbed sound turns into heat 

Describe the relationship between frequency and perceived pitch

Frequency is cycles/second (Hz)

Pitch is the perception of the Fundamental 

Concert “A” 440 HZ standard pitch for 20th Century

Describe how variations in amplitude are perceived

Amplitude is the height of the sound wave (dB) 

Variations in Amplitude are Loudness

Vibratos are Frequency Modulation

Tremolos are Amplitude Modulation

Define and explain partials

All sine waves in a sound

Fundamental is the lowest partial

Overtones are the highest partials 

Partials shape timbre

Define and explain overtones

The higher frequencies that join the Fundamental.

Harmonic Overtones are Integral multiples

Non-Harmonic Overtones are not

Define and explain harmonics

The overtones that are multiples of the fundamental which have pure tones

1st Harmonic is an octave

2nd Harmonic is a fifth

3rd Harmonic is a fourth

The Harmonic series helps define the perception of pitch

Name all scale degrees and describe how they are usually indicated in musical notation

Scale Degree are assigned numbers and they are labeled 1-7 

Major key: I ii iii IV V vi viiᵒ 

minor key: i IIᵒ III iv V VI VII 

I - Tonic
II - Supertonic
III -  Mediant
IV - Submediant
V - Dominant
VI - Subdominant
VII - Leading tone or Subtone

List and name all inversions of triads and seventh chords

Root pos. has the Root is lowest pitch

1st Inv has the Third is Lowest

2nd Inv has the Fifth is Lowest

7th Chords have a 3rd Inv

3rd Inv has the Seventh is Lowest

Describe the nomenclature used in harmonic analysis

diminished “ᵒ” (viiᵒ)

1st inv. “6” (I⁶)

2nd inv. “6/4” (IV⁶⁄₄)

7th chord in Root pos. “7” (V⁷)

7th chord in 1st inv. “6/5” (V⁶⁄₅)

7th chord in 2nd inv. “4/3” (V⁴⁄₃)

7th chord in 3rd inv. “4/2” (V⁴⁄₂)

Define the authentic cadence and its role in tonal music

(V-I) (V-i)

(PAC) Perfect has Both roots in bass

(IAC) Imperfect has no roots in bass

Define the plagal cadence and its common usage in Protestant hymns

(IV-I) (iv-i)

No leading tone

The “Amen Cadence” 

Describe the half cadence

(IV-I) (iv-i)

No leading tone

The “Amen Cadence” 

Describe the deceptive cadence

(IV-I) (iv-i)

No leading tone

The “Amen Cadence” 

Describe the circle of fifths

The relationship and pattern of Major and minor keys. 

The right side is the Sharps. Left side is the Flats 

12 keys back to C

Compare and contrast the natural, melodic, and harmonic minors

Natural minor has no changes

Harmonic minor has a raised 7th

Melodic minor has a raised 6th & 7th up; and then lowered down

Compare and contrast the whole tone scale and the chromatic scale

Whole tone scale has all whole steps, feels spacious, and has no tonal center

Chromatic scale has all half steps, is complex, and has no tonal center

Describe 12-tone music and its origin

All 12 notes of the chromatic scale are sounded equally with no tonal center

Schoenberg adopted this abstract style

Describe the difference between a tonal and real answer to a fugal subject

A Fugue is a Form of imitative counterpoint

A Real Answer  is an exact transposition in the dominant key 

A Tonal Answer is loosely transposed in the dominant key

Describe a tone cluster and the origin of the term

Group of close spaced notes played at the same time

Diatonic clusters

Chromatic clusters

Dia - Chromatic clusters

List four to five Italian tempo markings and their relative designations

Adagio “at ease” 

Andante “walking pace”

Moderato “moderately” 

Allegro “lively”

Presto “very fast”

Prestissimo as fast as possible.

Define hemiola

The rhythm of 3 notes in a space of 2 notes.

Horizontal Hemiola is a duple rhythm written in a triple meter

Vertical Hemiola is when rhythms of twos and threes are played simultaneously

Describe the different forms of metrical accenting

The Natural stresses on certain beats of a meter.

3/4 its beat 1

4/4 its beat 1 and 3; in jazz its beat 2 and 4

6/8 its beat 1 in each group of 3

Compare and contrast compound and simple meters

Simple meters cannot be subdivided 

Compound meters Can be subdivided into groups of three 

Discuss simple and compound musical form, giving examples of each

Simple Form is a work NOT divisible into smaller ones like Binary & Ternary

Compound Form are works that CAN be divided into smaller ones like Sonata movements, & Symphony movements

Compare and contrast binary and rounded binary form

Binary Form has 2 sections (AB) 

Simple Binary is an Open form 

Rounded Binary Returns back to original ABA

Describe ternary form

Ternary form 3 sections with the 1st & 3rd in the HOME key. 

A Contrasting 2nd section is a Closely related key

Its a Closed form

Describe monophony, homophony, polyphony, heterophony

Monophony has one melody

Homophony has a melody and an accompaniment

Polyphony has multiple melodies

Heterophony has simultaneous variations

Define equal and unequal-voice polyphony

Equal has the same theme in all voices

Unequal has some voices being more important