music appreciation

Class Logistics and Week Overview

  • Review deadlines via calendar; discussion posts = quizzes. Early assignment extension this week, then strict late policy.

  • This week: 1 new assignment; typically 3/week after (discussion, quiz, listening).

  • Early material takes time to grasp.

Core Topics from Week 1

  • Elements of music: essential vocabulary.

  • Art, folk, pop music; genre vs style.

  • Instrumentation: voice types, instrument families (aerophones, chordophones, ideophones, membranophones; strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard).

  • Focus: melody and harmony.

Melody: Definition and Significance

  • Definition: coherent succession of pitches in time (the tune).

  • Central to most music, analyzable by range, register, contour, phrasing, motive, sequencing.

Melodic Range

  • Range: distance between lowest and highest notes.

  • Narrow (≤5\le 5), medium (6−86-8), wide (>8) notes.

Register and Melodic Range

  • Register: low, middle, high placement of melody.

  • Melodic fragments can shift register.

Melodic Motion: Conjunct vs Disjunct

  • Conjunct: steps (adjacent).

  • Disjunct: skips/leaps (larger intervals).

  • Most melodies mix both.

Contour (Shape) of a Melody

  • Contour: overall trajectory (ascending, descending, wave-like, arch).

Phrasing, Motives, and Sequencing

  • Phrase: complete musical thought.

  • Motive: smallest melodic unit (3–4 notes).

  • Sequencing: repeating motives at different pitch levels.

Case Studies: Melody Analysis

  • Examples (Ode to Joy, Joy to the World, Ride of the Valkyries, Row Row Row Your Boat) illustrate range, contour, motion, motives, sequencing.

Harmony: Definition and Core Concepts

  • Harmony: multiple pitches sounding simultaneously (vertical).

  • Includes chords, key, tonality, consonance/dissonance, scales.

  • Key/Tonic: home note/scale type for tonal music; atonal lacks tonic.

  • Diatonic: notes within key (stable). Chromatic: outside key (tension/color).

  • Consonance: stability (simple ratios). Dissonance: tension (complex ratios), often resolves.

Scales and Their Roles in Harmony

  • Scales: blueprints for melodies/harmonies; chords built from scale degrees.

  • Major scales: brighter, WWHWWWHW W H W W W H ([2,2,1,2,2,2,1][2,2,1,2,2,2,1]).

  • Minor scales: darker, 3 forms (Natural, Harmonic, Melodic).

Key, Tonic, and Tonality

  • Tonic: "home" pitch.

  • Key: tonic + scale type.

  • Diatonic = in key; Chromatic = out of key.

Consonants, Dissonants, and Chord Colors

  • Consonance/dissonance = stability/tension.

  • Simple ratios = consonance; complex = dissonance.

  • Used for color and direction.

Building Chords from the Scale

  • Chord: ≥3\ge 3 notes; triads (root, 3rd, 5th) are basic.

  • Major key diatonic triads: I(M), II(m), III(m), IV(M), V(M), VI(m), VII(dim).

Common Chord Progressions and Their Functions

  • Most common: I – IV – V – I (resolves to tonic).

  • E.g., C major: C(I) – F(IV) – G(V) – C(I). Widely applicable.

Practical Takeaways

  • Harmony = chords, key, tonality; major/minor scales affect mood.

  • Diatonic vs chromatic, consonance/dissonance/resolution.

  • I–IV–V–I is foundational.

  • Motives/sequences build melodies.

  • Analyze melodies (range, register, contour, motion, phrasing).

  • Study: understand concepts and identify examples.