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Background to Western Classical Music and to the musical devices relevant to our first set work
1600-1750
What instruments can you hear?
What are your first thoughts listening to this piece?
Do you know who might have composed this?
- simple melodies at start of era, long and complex by end of era
- ornaments and terraced dynamics
- energetic rhythmic movement
- strong homophonic writing, and complex polyphony
- Handel
- Vivaldi
- Bach
- Corelli
- Lully
- Purcell
- Orchestras were made up of mainly string sections
- Also contained wind instruments such as recorders, flutes, horns and oboes
- The harpsichord is a key instrument from this era - an early piano
1750-1810
Any ideas who might have written this?
What differences can you spot to the Baroque era?
- Clear-cut, balanced melodies
- Variety and contrast, wider range of dynamics
- homophonic textures prominent
- less dependence on harpsichord, development of the pianoforte
- elegant, graceful style
- orchestra increased in size
Mozart
Beethoven
Haydn
1810-1910
How would you describe this music?
What emotions are portrayed?
- Distinctive themes, lyrical melodies, use of leitmotifs
- More expressive, emotive, increased variation in dynamics
- Richer harmonies, chromaticism, more adventurous use of keys
- Further expansion of orchestra and instruments eg development of brass section
- Chopin
- Liszt
- Tchaikovsky
- Schubert
- Mendelssohn
1. Pick a composer from any era you would like to learn more about
2. Do some research on their life and their pieces (branch out from wikipedia! Documentaries? Articles?)
3. Create a google slides presentation containing the following info:
- A brief history/bio
- Information on 3 pieces - what is your analysis compared to the features we discussed? Have a listen on youtube/spotify
- Finally, your ideas of why this composer is so influential
4. Hand in your slides in the relevant place on google classroom
How the Music is Organised
- Binary
- Ternary
- Minuet and Trio
- Rondo
- Variation
- Strophic
Two Sections - A and B
A
Starts in tonic key (eg: chord I), usually ends in Dominant key (chord V), usually repeated
B
Starts in Dominant key (or whichever key A ended in), usually works its way back to the tonic
Three Sections: ABA
eg: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
B
Contrasting section
A
Initial ideas introduced, usually ends with a perfect cadence
A
Either an exact repetition or slightly altered version of Section A
Built on a recurring 'A' Theme
A B A C A
time signature
key signature
chords
texture
melody
rhythm
A A A
All verses are sung to the same music/melody
Sometimes known as 'verse repeating form' or 'one part song form'
A B A
RONDO
A B A C A
STROPHIC
A A A
TERNARY
A B
BINARY
Useful things to know before beginning your set work!
What is rhythm?
What is metre?
How the notes are organised in the bar
3
4
4
4
6
8
1. Ostinato
2. Syncopation
3. Dotted rhythms
1. Ostinato
A continually repeated musical phrase
2. Syncopation
Music played on the off-beat
3. Dotted rhythms
- repetition
- contrast
- anacrusis
- imitation
- sequence
- canon
- conjunct movement
- disjunct movement
- broken chord/arpeggios
- alberti bass
- regular phrasing
- motifs
- Repetition
an exact repetition of a musical idea
- Contrast
a change in the musical content
- Anacrusis
a note (or notes) before the first strong beat
Contrast
Anacrusis
- Imitation
When a musical idea is copied in another part
- Sequence
Repetition of a motif with the same rhythm but different pitch
- Canon
The melody is repeated exactly in another part while the initial melody is still being played
Imitation
Sequence
Canon
- Conjunct movement
Small gaps between notes in the melody - the melody moves mainly by step
- Disjunct movement
Large gaps between notes - the melody leaps from one note to another
- Broken Chords/Arpeggios
A chord played as separate notes
Conjunct movement
Disjunct movement
Broken chords/arpeggios
- Alberti Bass
A type of broken-chord accompaniment
- Regular phrasing
Balanced parts of a melody
- Motifs
A short melodic or rhythmic idea that has a distinctive character
Alberti Bass
Regular Phrasing
- Chord progression
- Cadences
- Modulation
- Pedal
- Drone
A two-chord progression found at the end of a phrase or section
Perfect cadence
Chords V-I
sounds final, the 'end' of a piece
Imperfect cadence
Ends on chord V (most commonly I-V or IV-V)
sounds incomplete - not found at the end of a piece, but often found at the end of a phrase
Plagal cadence
Chords IV-I
Also sounds 'final', but softer - often found at the end of hymns; sometimes called the 'Amen' cadence
Interrupted cadence
Chords V-VI
Ends unexpectedly on a minor chord - sometimes called a 'surprise' candence
Primary Chords, Secondary Chords
Common progression: I - V- Vi- IV
- the process of changing key
- you can spot a modulation by noticing an 'accidental' in the music
- An accidental is a note 'foreign' to the home key (usually a sharpened or flattened note that is not in the key signature)
- Drone: a repeated note held throughout a passage of music
- Pedal - a held or repeated note against changing harmonies
key words:
arpeggio/broken chord, quaver, semiquaver, descending, ascending, conjunct movement
Root
C E G
Second inversion
G C E
First inversion
E G C
Key Words: tonality, sequence
Key words: semiquavers, sequence, conjunct, disjunct, trill
Monophonic
Homophonic
Polyphonic
Melody & Accompaniment
Monophonic
- Parts have the same notes, and move at the same time (parts are in unison)
Homophonic
- Parts have different notes, but move at the same time (eg: power chords)
Polyphonic
- Parts have different notes and move at different times
Melody & Accompaniment
- Cleary defined melody and backing parts
- You will create a revision guide to studying Badinerie, focusing on:
1. The Motifs
x, y
Y1, X1, X2, X3
2. How the motifs are changed eg: used in retrograde, ending of motif altered
Use your notes and screenshots of the motifs
It can be a google site, google slides or a google doc
Make it clear and well-presented - this should be a guide for your revision, for our second PROGRESS CHECK next Tuesday 13th December.