(PP. 32-35) Music S1: Texture, Counterpoint, Instrumentation, and More Timbre → Elements of Form (ACADEC '25-'26)

What is texture in music?

The number of things that are going on at once in a piece of music

What are the 4 types of texture in Western music?

Monophony, homophony, polyphony, and heterophony

What is monophonic music?

A single, unaccompanied melodic line. Multiple instruments or voices may be presenting that melody, but they're performing in unison

What does homophonic texture consist of?

A melody and a harmonic accompaniment

In what listening example is a piano accompaniment playing a series of steady quarter-note chords underneath the bluesy violin melody?

The "Blues" from Ravel's Violin Sonata

Nearly all popular songs today employ what type of texture?

Homophonic texture

What are the melodies not in homophonic texture?

They aren't independent

What is polyphonic texture?

Two or more separate melodies unfold simultaneously

Why do composer create polyphonic texture?

To relate melodies to each other on a note-by-note basis while retaining their independence

What are the 2 types of polyphonic texture?

Counterpoint and imitative polyphony

What is polyphonic counterpoint?

Two or more separate melodies that unfold simultaneously are usually in different registers; the melodies hold different pitches, contour, shape, and rhythm, but follow the same beat and fit into the same harmonic progression

The rules of polyphonic counterpoint are similar to what?

Grammar rules; they were created to describe a complex process, but can also be used in a prescriptive way to create successful sentences

What is composing counterpoint compared to?

Completing a difficult number puzzle, like Sudoku, or a diagramless crossword puzzle

What is imitative polyphony?

One melody, but it is played by multiple people at staggered intervals

What popular song is imitative polyphony?

"Are You Sleeping?"

What listening example presents a fugue, starting with the low-pitched double bass?

Tableau I of La creation du monde

What is heterophony?

Two performers produce variants of the same melody at the same time, but are not playing in precise unison

What is heterophonic texture sometimes called?

"Collective improvisation"

What is the rarest texture in Western music?

Heterophony

What listening examples employ heterophony?

"Dippermouth Blues," "Hotter Than That," and "The Charleston"

What is instrumentation?

The instrument or combination of instruments used

What is arranging?

Taking an existing piece of music (melody, harmony, rhythm) and giving instructions as to what each individual performer should play

Each instrument has a unique pattern of?

Overtones

What partials are very strong on a clarinet?

The first and third partials

What does a clarinet's sound wave look similar to?

A pure sine wave, with a little ambiguity in pitch

Why does a clarinet's sound wave look similar to a pure sine wave?

Partials that produce other pitches (besides the first and third partials) are relatively very weak on the clarinet

What instrument has overtones so strong that it seems to drown out the fundamental?

Church bells

How is timbre pronounced?

TAMber

What is timbre of a pitch affected by?

The thickness and density of an instrument's material and the amount of resonance

What is timbre also called?

Tone color

What plays a central role in making each piece a unique work of art?

The choice and instruments and the way they are combined

What are instrumentalists frequently asked to modify their timbres with?

A mute

What does a mute do?

Not only quiets the volume but alters the tone color of an instrument

What do modern composition use to mark changes in form in the absence of common-practice harmony?

Changes in timbre

What musical styles can be distinguished from after hearing just a few seconds due to the differences in characteristic combinations of instruments and timbres?

Rockabilly, Motown, bluegrass, disco, punk, or house

What are dynamics?

The loudness and softness of a sound

In what purposes are dynamics useful to performers and composers?

Expressive purposes

What is the full name of the modern piano?

Pianoforte

What does piano mean?

Quietly

What does forte mean?

Loudly

What is a crescendo?

A gradual increase in dynamics

How is crescendo pronounced?

cre-SHEN-doe

What is a decrescendo?

A gradual decrease in dynamics

What is a decrescendo also called?

Diminuendo

How is crescendo notated in music?

Either cresc. or <

How is decrescendo notated in music?

Either dim. or >

What is an example of the dynamic level for a single pitch changing multiple times because of its length?

The first syllable of the "A-men" at the end of a sacred piece of music

What are the expressive factors affecting the sound of a piece?

Dynamics, articulation, and ornamentation

What is articulation?

The mechanics of starting and ending a sound

What does staccato indicate?

The performer should shorten the duration of a note rather than let it sound for its full value

What articulation technique makes a musical phrase sound crispier or choppier?

Staccato

What is legato?

Multiple pitches are played in a smooth, connected but not overlapping manner

How can one produce a staccato on a keyboard?

Poising the finger above a key and pecking it down quickly, then quickly returning the finger to its original position

What is pizzicato?

Plucking the strings of a violin or other stringed instrument with one's finger

Which listening example has a pizzicato performed at its opening?

The "Blues" in Ravel's Violin Sonata

What are examples of instruments that are plucked or strummed?

Violin, harp, lute, guitar, and electric bass

What do legato passes played on a piano involve?

Leaving the finger (w/ the weight of the arm balanced on it) on the key until it is time for the next pitch, at which time the weight is transferred to another finger on the next key

What does an accent involve in articulation?

A more sudden sound than a staccato, and, unlike staccato, silent space before the next pitch is not required

What all contributes to types of articulation?

Various degrees of pressure, tonguing, and bow pressure

What does ornamentation refer to?

Localized embellishments that are often not written down

What is a trill?

A rapid oscillation between two adjacent notes

What are 2 common examples of ornamentation?

A pop singer swooping into a pitch or a trumpet player adding a trill to the last pitch of a melody as a grand finale

What listening example includes the singer adding numerous ornaments?

Bessie Smith's "Lost Your Head Blues"

What is form in music?

How music is organized on a larger time scale

What is the architecture of music?

Form

What visual representations do most people use to think about a music's overall form?

Scores (music notation) and diagrams

What are key components to the listening experience?

Memory and anticipation

What results will a listener who expects a dissonant passage to resolve encounter?

Either met, thwarted, or deferred

What's the primary way that tension is created is through?

Harmonic dissonance

Besides dissonance, how can tension be created?

Increased dynamic level, increased tempo, or increased rhythmic activity using shorter durations

A combination of what factors that create tension are needed to sustain and release tension throughout a composition more than a minute or two in length?

Increased dynamic level, increased tempo, or increased rhythmic activity using shorter durations

What is a motive also called?

A motif

What is a motive?

The smallest identifiable recurring musical idea

What does a motive possess?

A distinctive melodic and rhythmic profile

In what common song are the first 4 notes a motive?

"Happy Birthday"

How could you describe Happy Birthday's motive's melodic contour?

It rises and falls

What is an ostinato?

A melodic or rhythmic motive that is repeated many times in immediate succession

What Italian word does ostinato come from?

Obstinate

What language does ostinato come from?

Italian

What listening examples all contain distinctive, repeated motives?

"The Stampede," "The Charleston," and "Tea for Two"

What is a phrase?

A cohesive musical thought

Where is the short phrase in "Happy Birthday"?

The first four words

What do phrases often come in?

Related pairs

What is an antecedent phrase?

The first member of a pair of phrases

What is a consequent phrase?

The second member of a pair of phrases

How does the antecedent phrase in Happy Birthday end?

It comes to rest on a downbeat ("you"), but the harmony supporting the end of the phrase is a dominant harmony, and the melodic pitch is scale degree seven, the leading tone

What does the consequent phrase of Happy Birthday start with?

Parallel structure

How does the consequent phrase of Happy Birthday end?

It comes to a more restful end than the antecedent phrase

How do the last two pitches of the antecedent phrase and consequent phrase change in Happy Birthday?

Scale degree 1-7 changes to 2-1

What is a cadence?

A resting point in a piece of music

What does a half cadence rest on?

The dominant harmony, like the first short phrase of "Happy Birthday"

What is a full cadence also called?

An authentic cadence

What progression does a full cadence use?

V-I

What progression does the second short phrase of Happy Birthday use?

V-I, or an authentic cadence

What are full cadences broken down further by?

The degree of finality they convey

What is a cadence analogous to in language?

A comma, semicolon, or period

When do cadences normally occur?

The ends of most phrases, themes, larger sections, and entire pieces of music

What is a theme in music?

A set of phrases that make a complete melody, which plays a prominent role in a longer piece of music

What could the entire song "Happy Birthday" be used as the main theme of?

A 12 minute composition called "Variations on a Birthday Tune, for Concert Band"

What is an introduction in music?

Music that precedes the first main theme of the piece