Fine Art Music: Exam 1

Art is…

Inherently Good

Personalized Experience

we all have our own, different experiences with music

Intention

If what you hear was intended or created as music, then it is music

Perception

if you perceive what you hear to be music, then it is music

Definition of Music

organized sound and silence

John Cage

“Silent Piece” 4’33

Science of Sound

sound begins when an object is set into motion and caused to vibrate which creates sound waves that travel through the air to your ear

Sound and the Ear

• sound waves travel through air to your ear and vibrate your eardrum, a thin membrane.

• vibrates three small bones: hammer (malleus), anvil (incas), and stirrup (stapes)

• vibrations are transferred to cochlea, a snail-shaped, fluid-filled structure lined with sensitive hairs which converts the vibrations into electrical nerve impulses that are sent to your brain

Sound and the Brain

• impulses from cochlea are sent to the auditory cortex of your brain located in the temporal lobe (processing sounds)

• occipital lobe (visual center; reading music), parietal lobe (motor cortex; move their fingers)

• frontal lobe (listeners)

Sound and the Body

• musical creativity and expression are healthy for your well-being, music provides an enhanced quality of life, and music helps you live a significant, meaningful life

Hearing vs. Listening

• hearing - unintentional

• listening - intentional

Sensory Listening

listening to music, allowing it to swirl around you and thinking of only your emotional reaction to it and how the music makes you feel

Associative Listening

associating what you have listened to a memory, event, or something else outside of the music

Two Problems with Sensory & Associative Listening

• only surface-level that do not make a great listening experience

• no one can teach you sensory or associative listening bc they are subjective ways to listen to music and are different for each person

Intellectual Listening

begins with sensory and associative listening but moves further into listening actively and attentively (solely focused on and engaged in the music, seeking to understand)

Is Music a Universal Language?

Yes, however cultures around the world define music and use it in many different ways

Four Properties of Music

pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and tone color

Pitch

high-low, frequency of vibrations (cycles per second)

Definite vs. Indefinite Pitches

Specific measurable frequency/consistent sound vs. so many pitches that they are unclear

Ledger Lines

line going through the middle of the note

Treble Clef vs. Bass Clef

G clef vs. F clef

Grand Staff and Middle C

combination of both the treble and bass clef / c situated in the middle of the treble and bass clef

Note Names on the Piano

BUNNY

Accidentals

Flats, Sharps, & Naturals

Rhythm/Duration

Long-short, flow of music through time (arrangement of note lengths in music)

Beat

a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equally spaced units of time

Tempo

speed of the beat or pace of the music

Presto

Very fast

Allegro

Fast

Andante

Moderate

Adagio

Slow

Largo

Very slow

Non troppo

Not too much

Molto

Very

Accelerando

Gradually faster

Ritardando

Gradually slower

Meno Mosso

Less motion

Piu Mosso

More motion

Duple Meter

a meter with two beats

Triple Meter

a meter with three beats

Quadruple Meter

a meter with four beats

Quintuple Meter

a meter with five beats

Septuple Meter

a meter with seven beats

Time Signature

tells us the meter of music and is made up of two numbers stacked one on top of the other (top number - how many beats occur each measure, bottom number - which notated rhythm gets the beat)

Non-Metric Music

no beat, no meter

Mixed Meter Music

Either has a repeated pattern of mixed meters or each measure may be in a different meter

Measure

space between each bar line

Measure Line/Bar lines

vertical lines between the meter patterns

Downbeat

first, strongest beat (conductor make downward motion)

Stems

vertical line connected to the note head

Flags

attached to vertical stems

Beams

often connect eighth and sixteenth notes

Rests

notate silence

Accent vs. Natural Stress

usually written in music by the composer with a > symbol, note is emphasized or performed louder vs. regular emphasis along rhythm

Backbeat

emphasis on beats 2 and 4 rather than 1 and 3

Syncopation

rhythms that occur between the regular beats

Up-Beats

unaccented weaker beat that immediately precedes a downbeat

Dynamics

volume, spectrum of loud to soft, relative and open to interpretation

Decibels

measurement of volume

pp

pianissimo (very soft)

p

piano (soft)

mp

mezzo piano (medium soft)

mf

mezzo forte (medium loud)

f

forte (loud)

ff

fortissimo (very loud)

crescendo

gradually louder

decrescendo

gradually softer

volume

how loud or soft, directly related to strength of vibrations (amplitude)

Amplitude

strength of vibrations

Tone Color/Timbre

characteristics of sound (bright, dark, mellow, rich, etc.)

Idiophones

“self-sound”, instruments that produce sound via vibration of their entire body

Membranophones

produce sound through the vibration of a membrane

Chordophones

produce sound through the vibration of strings stretched over a body

Aerophones

produce sound through the vibration of an air column

Electronic Instruments

sound made electronically (keyboard synthesizers, personal computers, digital samplers, etc.)

Hybrid Instruments

combine characteristics of multiple classification categories (tambourines, electronic drum sets, etc.)

Compound Instruments

made up of multiple separate classifications of instruments (modern drum set)

Tension & Release

building up and releasing tension to manipulate the expectations of the listener

Melody

organized set of pitches that can be thought of as the main idea or focal point of a piece of music

Characteristics of a Melody

recognizable, overall up-&-down shape, climax, steps & leaps, shorts & longs, pitch range, phrases, cadences, layers of meaning

Harmony

the pitches used to support a melody without stealing the spotlight

Scales

groups of pitches that serve as the basis of a piece of music

Tonality

begin on, stray from and return to the central or most important tone of a scale

Chromatic Scale

made up of all twelve pitches on a piano

Western Scales

seven pitches (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do)

Key

the central scale and tone around which a piece of music is built

Chords

made up of three or more simultaneous pitches

Harmonization

number of distinct ways in blending with a melody

Consonant Chords

restful, stable-sounding pitch combinations most often heard at points of arrival, rest or harmonic resolution

Dissonant Chords

tense, unstable-sounding pitch combinations that increase tension and demand resolution

Triads

most common chords, made up of three notes sounded simultaneously, made up of alternating tones of a scale

Major Chords vs. Minor Chords

• happy, bright, triumphant vs. sad, dark, somber

• share the same root and fifths

• minor made by lowering or flatting the third of a major chord by a half-step

Tonic Chord

a triad or chord built on the first note of the scale (most stable, consonant, and conclusive chord)

Dominant Chord

triad or chord built on the fifth note of the scale (creates great amount of tension)

Pull of Dominant to Tonic

pull from tension to resolution

Music Texture

refers to how many layers of sound are heard at once and the relationships between those layers

Monophonic Texture

a single melodic line without accompaniment

Homophonic Texture

made up of a main melody with some sort of accompaniment that typically has a rhythm similar to the melody

Polyphonic Texture

made when two or more melodies of equal interest and identity are sounded simultaneously

Musical Form

the organization of its largest sections (listening for the path a piece of music takes and marking the landmarks in between)