GCSE Music

How can you use instrumentation to create an excited/dramatic/triumphant/feeling of battle mood?

Brass- generates heroic/triumphant mood, powerful, bold

-Percussion- generates excitement, battle

How can you use instrumentation to create a sad/ romantic mood?

-Strings- romance, sad, loneliness, passionate, vibrato=romantic/passionate

Single instruments- lonely, sad

How can you use instrumentation to create a magical/ spacelike ?

- Vibraphone/celesta/harp/glockenspeil- eerie, magical mood

How can you use instrumentation to add interest?

Subject/Answer between instruments- to add interest

Alter number of parts to create variety

Melody shared between instruments to create interest

How can tonality create different moods?- ominous, mystery, calm, feeling of resolution?

Obvious key at start- establishes a mood

Major key- positive, heroic mood, confident, happy

Modulation- changes mood, suggests something is going to happen- good or bad

Dissonance- tension, unease, sadness

Minor- dark mood, sad, sombre, serious, unease, something is going to happen, unknown

Tonality ambiguous- creates ominous mood, or represent double life

How can vocal melody change moods? Calm, exciting, grief?

Falling melismas- show remorse

Some leaps- emphasise important words, make it fun

Higher pitch/register- desperation/pleading/exciting, also exploits singer’s range

Syllabic- makes text clear

Short phrases- exciting/breathless

Irregular phrase length- unpredictable

Word painting

Wide leaps- expressive melodic feature

Suspensions- generate tension

Accented passing notes- add expression

How can tempo change mood?

Changes in tempo- create drama

Rallentandro- generate tension/ can emphasise words (if vocals)

Finishes with different tempo- dramatic ending

Fast- exciting

Accelerando- generates tension

How can rhythm change mood? Drama, excitement, tension, climax, momentum

Syncopation- creates drama, agitated

Triplets- sense of flying

Musical climax- on beat, long notes in vocals, semi quavers in drums Repeated rhythmic patterns- generates momentum

How use rhythm to create tension- polyrhythmic , dotted, triplets

Rhythm to create excitement- ostinato, repeated semi-quavers, swung quavers, syncpation, accented off-beats, dotted, push rhythm

How can harmony change mood? Excitement, drama, sadness, thrilling

Create excitement- chromatic, dissonant, extended/added chords, pedal

Create sense of calm- ground bass/repeated chord progression, perfect cadences, suspensions/resolutions

Harmony (tonic chord, quartal)

2 features to create sad mood low register, minor key, portamento/slides, quiet dynamics, slow tempo