assignment 1/2 Flashcards
(41 cards)
Who is Murray Schafer?
- A Canadian composer who recognized the importance of listening to soundscapes and acoustic ecology. He believed that every sound in the world is music and “if there isn’t a word to describe what something is, then it doesn’t exist”. So he created the word soundscape.
What is Acoustic Ecology
AKA soundscape studies, is a discipline studying the relationship, mediated through sound, between human beings and their environment. Started by Murray Schafer as part of the World Soundscape Project.
Define “soundscape”
word was created by Murray Schafer to describe any collection of sounds such as the sounds of the landscape around you or a virtual environment. Murray Schafer believes that the soundscape now a days is quieter than in the past as novel technologies has reduced some of the previous noise emission
Discuss the question, “What is music?”
Sound organized in an intentional, meaningful way, and may include a melody, harmony, rhythm, and form. It is a language of its own with expressive and communicative elements.
-Repetition, variation, and contrast basic to all musical forms
What are the elements of music?
A. Melody- B. Rhythm C. Texture D. Timbre E. Harmony F. Dynamics G. Word-Music Relationships
H. Form
I. Genre
Melody
Melody – a recognizable piece of music that includes different notes, or pitches, and rhythm in an organized way. Melody stands out from the background musical material because it is stronger, louder and played more aggressively. Can be simple or complex and can be comprised of smaller pieces called “motifs”.
-notes, scales, octave, conjunct, disjunct, tonic, cadence, phrase, theme, motiv
Rhythm
the systematic arrangement of musical sounds which may include a strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound
-Beat, Tempo, Duration, Repetition, Motives, duple, triple, simple, compound
Texture
term that describes what is going on in the music at any moment.
Musical texture is the way that melody, harmony, and rhythm work together.
Texture can be described in musical terms, such as monophonic, homophonic, and
polyphonic—or with adjectives, like “thin,” “thick,” and “rich.”
Timbre
or tone quality, describes the quality of a musical sound. Timbre is generally discussed using adjectives, like “bright,” “dark,” “buzzy,” “airy,” “thin,” and “smooth.” Many different adjectives can be effectively used to describe timbre, based on your perceptions and opinions about what you hear in the sound.
Harmony
refers to the vertical relationship between pitches and is created when two or more notes are sounded at the same time. Two main types of harmony
generally exist in Western music—homophony and polyphony. One additional musical
texture, monophony, does not include any harmony
Dynamics
refer to the changing volume levels of musical sounds. Dynamics can
range from softer than piano (soft or quiet) to fortissimo possibile (loudest
possible). Dynamics can also change, getting louder (crescendo) and getting softer (diminuendo). Dynamics and changing dynamics give the music expression, make it interesting, and add variety
Word-Music Relationships
difference between syllables that are sung to a single note and those that are sung to many notes.
-sung or talked
Form
is the organization and structure of a musical selection. The form of a work may include repeating large sections, repeating a theme or motif, or non-repeating sections. Large parts within a musical form are usually labeled with capital letters, like “A” and “B,” so we can discuss them.
Genre
Musical genres are broad categories used to classify music. Some genres that will be presented in Music Appreciation include Western classical and art music, world music, jazz, rock, pop, and other modern genres. Sometimes, music is grouped by instrumentation as a
genre, such as “symphony” or “string quartet.”
Monophony
one melody, no accompaniment
- For example some types of early chant, a solo singer, or an unaccompanied instrument—like a trumpet or flute.
Homophony
melody with accompaniment
-one clear melody with harmony or background material. In homophony, both the melody and its harmony can share similar rhythms
Polyphony
several equal melodies at the same time
-Two or more melodies may compete for importance. Rounds, canons, fugues, and many selections from the Baroque period, provide good examples of polyphony.
Syllabic vs. Melismatic
one note per syllable(can get story out easier/faster, provides clarity of text) vs many notes per syllable (emphasizes certain key words)
Concerto Grosso
Baroque piece for orchestra and soloist (s)
Ritornello
repeated section for full orchestra
Fugal Texture
imitative style of composition important in the baroque period
Tonic vs Dominant
1st note of a scale vs 5th note of a scale
Harpsichord
Keyboard instrument used in most Baroque instrumental ensemble music.
-accompanied with some kind of base instrument such as the cello, bassoon, trombone or bass that plays the baseline.
Behold Spring, Francesco Landini
polyphonic, 2 melodies