Music Listening & Analysis Assignment on The Flower Duet by Leo Delibes and The Selection of Your Choosing by The Composer of That Selection

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Music APPRECIATION 105

An introduction to music – Travel – culture

Emily Smith

Unit 1 PART 1: Listening and the Basic Elements of Music

What is Music?

Music is sound caused by vibration

It can be perceived as music (positive communication)

How it is perceived depends on the listener

or noise (negative communication)

Positive vs Negative

Communication

Example: Parents telling kids to turn down that “noise” (Generation Gap)

You do not have to LIKE a musical composition to appreciate it and transform your listening ear from hearing NOISE to MUSIC

Solution: Becoming informed about the history, cultures, and development of different musical styles can create an appreciation for different types of music

What one person perceives as music another perceives as noise

This is where we learn to listen to different types of music with different ears

Ex. If you like Rap you have to change your thinking when you listen to Mozart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urzWY6sqVGw

One Song in 20 Different Styles: Learning to Appreciate Music Outside of Your Comfort Zone

How do we Listen: Listening Levels

Emotions – music relates to deep personal feelings and evokes or expresses emotions

Music appreciation largely depends on experiences and context

Multiple listening levels can occur at the same time

Subtleties of Musical Arrangement – hearing new things in music that take on a new meaning

Music in Context – listening to the Star Spangled Banner on the 4th of July

Story Line – music has personal meaning and you add personal thoughts to what you are hearing (create a new story)

Passive Listening – music as background noise largely unnoticed

What do we listen for?

1. The Arrangement: All music is arranged so

you have to know what is going on in sound

2. Your Attention: How you focus your

attention is extremely important

3. Listener’s Toolbox: The Basic Elements of Music

THE BASIC Elements of Music

Basic Elements of Music

I. Melody

II. Harmony

III. Rhythm

IV. Texture

V. Timbre

VI. Dynamics

VII. Form

I. Melody

1. Conjunct – moves in small steps, easy to sing

2. Disjunct – moves in large leaps and jumps, difficult to sing

2 Types:

An organized sequence of pitches

Most melodies combine the two

Ex. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Disjunct

Conjunct

Related Terms

Phrase – melodic statement similar to a sentence. Two phrases equal a complete melodic thought

Cadence – a chord progression of at least 2 chords that ends a phrase or a section of a piece of music

Motive – a musical idea, the shortest kind of melody

Theme – the main melody, generally much longer than a motive

Ex. “Amen” sung at the end of a Hymn

II. Harmony

The combination of two or more pitches

2 Types:

Consonance – harmoniously pleasing, “sounds nice”

Dissonance – not harmoniously pleasing, creates tension

Related Terms

Chord – three or more

notes sounding together

Interval – the distance between two notes

III. Rhythm

The duration of sound; how long or short the notes are

The measured flow or movement of the music

Has the ability to push or pull the music; can slow things down or speed things up

3 Parts of Rhythm:

1. Beat – the pulse, rhythmic unit of time

a. Downbeat – the strong part of the beat

b. Upbeat – the weak part of the beat

2. Tempo – the speed of the beat, how fast or slow the music is

3. Meter – the organization of strong and weak beats into groups; indicated by measures and time signature

Related Terms

Syncopation – a shift of the normal accent; the Downbeat becomes the weak beat and the Upbeat becomes the strong beat

Rhythmic Ostinato – a constantly repeated rhythmic pattern

https://youtu.be/cLycJDCVDAc?t=12s

Star Wars: Downbeat vs Upbeat and Syncopation

IV. Texture

How the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements are combined; overall quality of sound of a piece

3 Types:

Monophonic – single melody with no accompaniment or harmony

Ex. Gregorian Chant

2. Polyphonic – two or more melodies at the same time

Ex. J. S. Bach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bL7oyuqEwA

Bach Invention in C Major

Melody 1

Melody 2

3. Homophonic – single melody with chordal/harmonic accompaniment

Ex. Hymns and Popular Music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-VfFTVu-6E

Contemporary Hymn

Melody

Chordal Accompaniment

V. Timbre

The characteristic quality of a sound, independent of pitch and loudness, from which its source or manner of production can be inferred

Depends on the relative strengths of the components of different frequencies, which are determined by resonance

Also known as tone color/quality

This sound is determined by:

1. Energy Source

2. Vibrating Element

3. Resonating Chamber

Ex. A violin has four strings and is played with a bow or the index finger plucking the strings.

The hollow body of the instrument is the Resonating Chamber

The strings are the Vibrating Element

The bow and index finger are the Energy Source

VI. Dynamics

The volume of the sound, how loud or soft the music is

ff or fortissimo = “very loud”

p or piano = “soft”

f or forte = “loud”

More subtle degrees of loudness or softness are:

mp or mezzo-piano = “moderately soft”

mf or mezzo-forte = “moderately loud”

pp or pianissimo = “very soft”

The main dynamic levels are:

Stronger degrees of loudness or softness are:

The order of dynamic markings from soft to loud: pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff

Crescendo – a gradual increase in volume

Decrescendo – a gradual decrease in volume

Also called Diminuendo

Dynamics are relative and do not refer to specific volume levels

VII. Form

Structure of the music

4 Basic Forms:

Binary Form

Ternary Form

Strophic Form

Through-Composed

1. Binary Form – a two-part form in which both main sections are repeated. The basic premise of this form is CONTRAST:

2. Ternary Form – a three-part form featuring a return of the initial music after a contrasting section

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7gxQpjezXA

Ternary Form: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

3. Strophic Form – a design in VOCAL music in which the same music is used for several different verses (strophes) of words.

Ex: "Deck the Halls" has many verses of words sung to the same music: Verse 1 . . . Verse 2 . . . Verse 3 (etc.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgEVI8DEkF8

Deck the Halls – Nat King Cole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_dighphz_A

Erlkönig (The Erl/Elf King)

4. Through-composed – a structure in which there is no repeat or return of any large-scale musical section.

Example: Schubert's "Erlkönig“: A B C D E . . .