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musicfinalpaper1.docxName: Lakpa Sherpa
Music 115
Date of submission: 12/09/2017
Final paper (Listening Number 4)
I did my final paper on analyzing the unknown piece No 4. After taking music 115, we have been able to analyze any given piece of music by applying some musical terms and elements we learned in our class. The particular piece I analyzed is considered as a song. A song is a vocal line with text or lyrics that is supported by the background music. This particular piece has a vocal singing with lyrics and accompaniment.
Instrumentation is one of the most essential elements of a music. Instruments work as a background that support the music or most of the time give melody to the piece. Instruments used in this piece are voice and strings. Guitar is used as a string instruments in this piece followed by a male voice. There aren’t multiple voices in this particular piece. Guitar is the only string instruments used in this piece. There isn’t any violin, viola or other string instruments. It feels like Harmonica is also used in the piece which is similar to wood wind instruments.
The unknown piece is also an example of acoustic music. Acoustic music is a piece of music without electronics or electric instruments. Throughout the whole song, acoustic guitar has been used which is different than electric guitar. Electric guitar is usually connected to amplifier for creating electric sound. It seems like few of the notes are played with electric guitar but most of the time, acoustic guitar dominated the whole song.
Furthermore, this piece is also performed by only one performer and it can be considered as a solo piece. Any piece which is performed by only one performer is a solo piece. There aren’t multiple performers in this song. It is a same male singer throughout the whole song.
Musical piece can be analyzed by the type of texture found in that particular piece. Texture is defined as number of musical lines or layers used in the musical work. The texture doesn’t depend on number of instruments used but rather depends on the layers or musical lines in the piece. The unknown listening No 4 has a homophonic texture because it is composed of two layers or musical lines. Homophonic texture is defined as a single melodic line with accompaniment. Guitar gives the melody to the song which is later supported by a male voice which can be considered as a harmony in the piece. We can also analyze the piece by figuring out their melodic range. The distance between the highest and lowest pitches in the instrument is defined as a range. This song is mostly played in conjunct motion because there isn’t a huge difference between the two pitches in the instruments. The movement of pitches from one to another is done by steps without leaving any gaps or leap between the two pitches. The two pitches are played near to each other with less gaps in between them.
Dynamics is defined as the loudness and softness of the piece. The dynamics of the unknown listening is moderate. It is not very loud and is played gently and softly with moderate dynamics. The dynamics of the song is between mezzo piano and mezzo forte which is defined as moderately soft and moderately loud. The form of the music is the overall structure of the piece of the music. It also describes the layout of the composition as divided into sections. This particular song has a verse chorus form. In verse chorus form, we find the alternating sections known as verses and choruses. In verse we get new words and lyrics and which is followed by chorus which mostly consist of the same repeated words or lyrics. The chorus part also tends to give important message in the piece. This particular piece starts with a verse and which is later followed by a chorus. The repeated section with same lyrics in the song is the chorus section of the piece. The last chord is a major chord in the piece.
Final paper (Reflection of the course)
After taking music 115, I have been able to learn the basic components and elements of music which are really important in order to understand and master your skills in music. This class has been very important for me because I was able to learn the basic structure of music. I am a guitar and viola player and I never learned the basic elements of music before learning these instruments. I just watched few you tube videos to learn how to play these instruments but never learned the basic form of it. I didn’t know what exactly was a chord or how it works in the piece. I just learned how to play it by following the instructions of the musician in YouTube. After taking this class, I have been able to figure the type of beats a song or a piece has and how to count them according to the notes. I also learned the difference between verse and chorus. Every time I used to search for lyrics , every lyrics has verse or chorus written on the side but I was never curious to learn about it. Music 115 helped me figure out the difference between verse and chorus and its importance in the piece. After taking MUS 115, I have been able to figure out different dynamics of the piece. I am also able to figure out different textures in the piece. MUS 115 helped me figure out differences between various textures such as monophony, homophony and polyphony. Melody and harmony was always a confusing term for me and I didn’t know the exact difference or similarities between them. After taking 115, I have been able to figure out how melody and harmony play huge role in the piece and how they are related to each other. I learned how a particular piece is composed with different forms. I also learned the difference between major and minor chord. When I play guitar I never bothered learning about why a particular chord is called major or minor chord. I had no idea on figuring the difference between major and minor chord. These basic elements were very essential in learning how to play any instrument. But after taking MUS 115, I am able to figure out the difference between major and minor chords played in the instrument. I also learned about how musical instruments are classified according to their physical characteristics and the way they are played. I learned that my favorite instrument guitar is a string instrument.
The course overall is doable but there are few challenges I faced during the completion of the course. My attendance was a bit poor for the class because the class was early morning and I was not able to make in on time because of my house location from the campus. Because of missing attendance, I missed a lots of participation points. I also missed many deadlines for online discussion questions because I wasn’t keeping to up to date with the deadlines of the discussion post. The concert essay paper was another challenging component of the course. I almost missed the concert date and had to go to the last concerts in order to write my essay. I went to many concerts but some of them didn’t really help me write my essay so I had to go more than 3 because some of the concerts I attended wasn’t related to what I learned in the class. The quizzes and other components were less challenging than what I expected. Since, the class didn’t have any notes slide, I was struggling to keep up with the notes and take notes everyday coming to class.
The most meaningful components of the course was a online discussion post. Online discussion was the most meaningful of all because it helped us to gather different opinions on music and its impact to our world. Most of the questions asked on the post was related to how music can impact the world and how it is essential in our daily life. The online discussion was one of the creative components in this course. We had to come up with our own thoughts, opinions and ideas about how important is music in todays society and how it makes a difference in our culture, race, religion, color and ethnicity. We were able to compare and contrast our ideas with other students and find similarities and differences between what we think about music and society. We were able to help each by posting our answers to their questions. We were able to comment our thoughts about their discussion post.
This course can be a useful tool for us to succeed in other classes. We learned about different types of music that would help us focus on our studies. Ambient music is one of the great example of it. We can use ambient music in order to focus more on our studies and concentration instead of using other types of music. Ambient music mostly focuses of tune and sound instead of instruments and lyrics. Ambient music is very useful for relaxation and meditation. We can make a whole playlist of ambient music for studying and focusing on the other courses. From music 115 I learned about music culture in India which would give me some background knowledge in my HINDI 101 class. I can apply what I learned about Bollywood movies songs in the class and present to my Hindi class. We also learned about how music plays a huge role in our phycology of mood and behavior and how much has a positive impact on our thoughts and emotion. We can apply these ideas in our biology and phycology courses and learn more about how music will impact our behavior.
After taking this class, I learned a lot about the basic elements of music which I can apply in my real life. Since I play guitar, I learned a lot more about the basic elements of music and it would definitely help me play better in the future. Counting the beats is very important skills while playing the instrument which I learned from the class. I would be able to take any piece of music and analyze their forms. From now, whenever I listen to music, I would listen to something that would make me motivated, strong and active .
• What did you learn through this course? • What was the most challenging course component for you? • What was the most meaningful course component for you? • What about the course surprised you the most? • Out of the many listening examples I provided, which one did you enjoy the most and why? • How will you apply what you have learned in this course to your major? o Note: You may have to think creatively for this question. Saying “It does not” will not earn you full credit. It can relate to the course content, or perhaps what you will apply is something about listening, studying, or approaching new material. Feel free to ask myself or William for assistance if you are struggling to answer this question. • How will you apply what you have learned in this course to your life?
