500words essay about music

PART II: Musical Character When talking about music, discussing musical character can either be really fun or really frustrating. What's fun about it is that anyone can do it. There are no standard musical terms for discussing the character of a music, and so any description is allowed and the more creative the better! But what can be frustrating is not being able to put your finger on the exact right word to describe the music. The words in this section are just a starting point. Feel free to expand upon them.

Basic Characteristics energy - Music is energy. Compositions are often referred to as having high energy or low energy.

Composing music is a process of manipulating the flow of energy through a composition. Very often composers will talk about building energy (for example, towards the climax of the work) and releasing energy (i.e. giving the listener a chance to take a breath before launching into the next thing).

sounds like <xxx> - You should never be afraid to say "This work sounds like <xxx>" as long as <xxx> is

not another composer. Comparing one composer to another is considered to be poor taste (and not that useful) in most composer circles.

However, saying that a composition is like "dawn at the beginning of a hot summer day", "sharks at a

feeding frenzy", or "the dance of planets through the cosmos" is great! Just be creative and have fun with it.

human characteristics - Human characteristics, as long as they aren't too general or intellectual, can be used to describe music. For example, all of the following are good descriptions of musical character: obsessive, flighty, fixated, crazy, eccentric, naïve, child-like, temperamental, unpredictable, conventional, gentle.

emotions - Emotions are also good descriptions of music as long as they are not too general or intellectual. Good examples include: angry, violent, delightful, loving, tender, irritating, reverential, sleepy, excited, anxious, sentimental, nostalgic.

Some opposites The following are some common opposites used to describe musical character. Note that of the following, light and heavy are used the most frequently. light - has the following characteristics: lower volume, higher notes, softer, smoother instruments (e.g. flute is lighter than trumpet), fewer instruments, gentler articulations, more silences, fewer simultaneous instruments playing at the same time.

heavy - has the following characteristics: loud, lower notes, stronger and harsher instruments, more instruments, less silence, harsher articulations, many instruments playing simultaneously.

stable - recognizable, repeating patterns, unchanging harmonies (or harmonic patterns) and keys. The melody may change, but generally all of the other elements in the sound world are either held constant or repeat in recognizable patterns.

unstable - constantly changing patterns, harmonies, and keys. Unstable music does not repeat (very much) and goes from place to place quickly without stopping or returning to music from earlier in the composition.

stasis - More stable than "stable". Music which is in "stasis" is unchanging almost to the point of boredom. Also often used for slower music with long held notes.

motion - Has many meanings: 1) a synonym for "unstable", 2) fast tempo, 3) fast repeated notes, 4) sounds like transportation (i.e. trains, planes, running, galloping, etc.)

grounded - Music often has a "home place," usually a collection of sounds, harmonies, or a key which feels the most relaxed and satisfying. Grounded music 1) has a "home place" which is firmly established, and 2) spends a lot of time in its "home place". In addition, it generally feels stable, solid, and understandable.

suspended - This is tricky. Music which is purposefully held away from its home place (see "grounded") for extended periods of time is called "suspended". The feeling for the listener is very much the same as being suspended by a rope above the ground. Also, in order for music to feel "suspended" it must also be fairly stable (see above). It just has to be held in a place which has not quite yet returned to "home".

sparse - lots of rests, lots of space, infrequently occurring musical "events" (i.e. new notes or sounds), small number of instruments playing simultaneously, generally slow.

dense - usually means "many things going on simultaneously" (many instruments playing many complex patterns simultaneously). But it can also be used as a synonym for "intense" (see below).

smooth - no sharp contrasts, gentle attacks to notes, longer notes, slower tempo (though not always), gradual transitions from section to section or phrase to phrase, melody lines with few (if any) skips or leaps, i.e. mostly stepwise

jagged - sharp contrasts, harsh attacks, often shorter notes and somewhat faster tempi, sharp (or non-existent) transitions from section to section and phrase to phrase, widely ranging melody lines with large skips and leaps

Miscellaneous useful descriptive words Here are some other, generally useful descriptions of musical character. angular - mostly a synonym for "jagged" above, but more focused on the themes or melodies used in the

work. Usually contains widely ranging melodies with large skips and leaps that often go up and down and up and down.

lyrical - means "singing". Any music that sounds like it could be easily sung is lyrical. Usually focused on the melody lines and themes in the music.

square, blocky - Often used pejoratively, square or blocky music is considered to be "too regular", with very clear, regular sections and phrases that are all about the same size. predictable is also often used.

clashing - most often used for harmonies and melodies. Clashing is where two recognizable sounds are put together to create harsh (i.e. dissonant) sounds via their juxtaposition. When two things clash, generally the components can still be heard, as well as the harsh sounds of their combination.

crashing - harsh, violent, aggressive music. wandering, stumbling - music which is unstable (see above). These words further imply that the music has

no clear direction or goal. intensity - Compositions are intense when they are complex (i.e. many instruments and a lot of different

things going on), abstract, and dissonant. Also, any music which requires extra effort on the part of the listener (such as formal training, very careful listening, multiple listenings, etc.) is considered to be intense.

Curiously, "intensity" has little relation to the speed or volume of the composition. bite - For any music that has some attitude to it, typically with harsh, grating sounds, strong attacks, etc. When using any of these words, feel free to use adverbs. For example, "delightfully wandering", "crazy

Contrast the urban sound environment to one which is more mystical and ethereal, such as might be created by Kaija Saariaho (a modern art-music composer), or Enya (a new-age composer), or even Alanis Morrisette (example: "Uninvited"). These different sound worlds are primarily created by carefully choosing instruments for their timbre - their sound qualities.

instrumentation - The list of instruments which are needed to perform a musical work. Some common opposites: The following words are often used when talking about timbre: wet, resonant - Used for sounds that resonate for a long time, meaning it takes a long time for the sound to die away, even after the instrument has been silenced. For example, playing the piano with the pedal held down. Also, standard instruments will sound wet if they play in a very resonant, echo-y space, such as a cave, or tile bathroom. Usually used for the entire sound of a musical work (i.e. all instruments put together, not just a single instrument). When discussing instruments, those which produce "wet" sounds are those which ring or resonate for a long time, such as bells, gongs, vibraphone, guitar (esp. electric guitar), etc.

dry - A dry sound or space is one that has no resonance, echo, or reverberation in the sound. Standard instruments will sound dry if they are played in a "dry space", such as outside in a field, in a tent (or some other space where all the walls are covered with fabric), or an "anechoic chamber", like a recording studio. Similarly, with instruments, dry sounds are those which do not resonate much. Examples include wood block, violin pizzicato, ratchet, snare drum, etc.

dark - Dark sounds are those which are more woody and mellow. Examples of instruments which are especially dark include double-bass, viola, bass voice, bassoon, French horn. Most instruments will sound darker as they play lower and lower pitches. For example, flute, clarinet, and alto voice all sound wonderfully dark when they produce low notes.

bright - Bright sounds are more sharp, piercing and metallic (imagine a metal plate being dropped on the ground) Examples include trumpet, violin, glockenspiel (in fact, most mallet instruments), bells, and oboe. Most instruments will sound brighter as they play higher and higher pitches. For example, violoncello and French horn can both sound very bright when they play high notes.

warm - Very similar to "dark", used for mellow, comforting sounds.

cool, icy - Often high-pitched, crystalline, and metallic.

lush - Rich and warm sonorities, often flowing music with many instruments, full sounds, and sweet harmonies.

spare - Very few instruments playing simultaneously, dry sounds, lots of silence.

sweet - Can be used for female voices that are light and innocent, or for music which is harmonious, consonant, and generally soothing.

harsh, grating - Abrasive music with lots of dissonance and scratchy ugly sounds.

muddy - when "lush" goes too far it becomes clear, clean - used when the music can be

muddy, too many instruments playing legato music at the same time and in the same pitch range.

perceived and understood quickly and when the major lines and important points are clearly highlighted to the ear. Music without extraneous sounds, instruments, and melodies is usually very clean.

Some other common timbre descriptions: nasal, pinched - Hold your nose and sing. Like that. Often used for oboe, English horn, and muted brass

instruments (a mute is a cone that is stuck into the end of the instrument to make the sound more pinched and nasal).

brassy - Like brass instruments. Also used for very strong female voices in the middle register (like Ethel Merman or Liza Minnelli).

woody - Used for instruments that are made of wood, like clarinets, oboes, wood flutes, marimba, etc. velvety, soft, breathy - Anything with lots of "h" and "s" in the sound, such as flute, soft whistling, very

soft strings, etc. noisy, dirty, scratchy, raspy - Anything with lots of noise (i.e. static, scratches, etc.) in the sound, such as

very loud and harsh string playing, and some older singers who have had too many cigarettes. A variety of other qualitative descriptions: Use these whenever appropriate clangy, glistening, bell-like, crystalline, buzzy, razzy, incisive, piercing, brushy, shriek, growly, mystical, ethereal, otherworldly, honk

Lines or Layers of Music This section contains terms which specify methods for playing notes together at the same time, the "vertical" dimension of music (see horizontal and vertical, above). chord - A chord is a set of three or more notes played at the same time. One note is just a note, two notes

make an interval, three or more notes make a chord. Chords are used everywhere in music. For example, many songs are simply a singer singing the melody while someone plays chords on the piano or on a guitar.

Chords are important in determining harmony (see Part V below). melody, accompaniment - When music has multiple layers, often one line will be the most prominent. This

is usually the line which is highest and/or the loudest, and is often called the melody. In a pop song, it is the person singing. In a violin concerto, it's usually the violin, etc.

The rest of the music, everything but the most prominent line, is called the accompaniment, because

it accompanies the melody line. If there is a single person playing all of the rest of the music (for example, someone playing the piano to accompany a singer), that person is called the accompanist.

polyphonic - When music has multiple layers and the layers are very nearly equally important, it is called

polyphonic music. Many choral works are polyphonic, most notably the choral music of Bach. homophonic - Sometimes, in polyphonic music, the different instruments or singers will be tied tightly

together, playing or singing different notes but together, in the same rhythmic patterns, and roughly at the same time creating a series of chords. This is called homophonic music. Examples of homophonic music include barbershop quartet songs and brass fanfares.

contrapuntal - When the different layers are more independent, playing different notes at different times with different rhythms and patterns, this is called contrapuntal music. Music which is polyphonic is also typically contrapuntal. The best examples of contrapuntal music are the preludes, fugues, inventions of J. S. Bach.

monophonic - If there is only a single instrument or singer singing or playing a single line, this is called monophonic or solo music. For example, a saxophone player in a subway station plays monophonic music.

Environmental Sound Worlds All music tries to create a world of sound which evokes emotions and creates an environment that draws in the audience. Texture is a key component (perhaps the single most important component) in creating these worlds of sound. Very often, modern music is less concerned with independent lines of music and more interested in the overall effect. Many times it may be hard to hear lines at all. Instead, the music may sound more like "clouds of shimmering sounds" gently shifting in color, or "speckled, disjointed organic patterns". Don't worry if this is the case. Not all music is made up of independent layers or lines or repeating patterns. And so there are many, many different kinds of texture, most of which do not have specific musical terminology to describe them. When this is the case, refer to Part II above, "Musical Character", for help in describing these unique types of musical texture.

Here are some additional words to use when talking about texture: dense - many instruments playing many different notes all at different times thin, sparse - a small number of performers, playing notes only every so often gnarly - highly complex, often non-repeating patterns (like the gnarled patterns in the grain of wood) busy - fast, complex music, often used as a pejorative to indicate that the music is too complex intricate - many intertwining lines of music pulsing - slow repeated notes