![]() The initial melody is called the leader (or dux), while the imitative melody, which is played in a different voice, is called the follower (or comes). Canon- A canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g. ![]() The following notations indicate gradual changes in dynamics. The most common terms are: For extremes of softness and loudness, composers use ppp or pppp and fff or ffff. When notating music, composers have traditionally used Italian words, and their abbreviations, to indicate dynamics. A good understanding of these elements aids one in writing the analysis essay because it provides a starting point for writing your essay.Elements of Music by Jean Ong 1. These elements will be used throughout our study of music to analyze specific pieces. There are six major musical periods we will study. the composer’s life, musical styles of the time, instruments of the period, political happenings, etc. The context of a piece of music refers to the general time period of the work and external influences on the piece of music. Saxophone (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass, Double Bass, Contra Bass, Sub-Contra Bass).Piano (sometimes considered percussion).Harpsichord (Found in Baroque Music, predecessor to Piano). ![]() To analyze the medium of a piece, one needs to have a strong understanding of the various commonly used instruments. If the piece being analyzed is a violin sonata, then the medium will be a violin and a piano. If the piece being analyzed is a symphony, then the medium will be an orchestra. Medium refers to the instruments that play a piece of music. Some useful sites with short listening examples of the different types of textures Medium Polyphonic texture in an excerpt from Bach's Invention No. Leaps are longer risings or fallings of the melody (e.g. Steps are short risings or fallings of the melody (e.g. These phrases are then made up of steps and leaps. A melody is comprised of multiple musical “sentences,” called phrases. While there is no good formal definition of "melody," it is loosely, the “song of the song,” or the “hummable” part of a piece. Melody is the most difficult of the characteristics to define. IB analyzes a piece of music using seven characteristics. The formal definition of a dynamic is the amplitude of a sound wave. Timbre is also called the “tone quality” or “tone color.” This is the characteristic of a sound that makes a piano sound different from a trumpet or violin, even when they all are playing at the same pitch. This is what distinguishes an A from a B. More loosely, it is the "highness" or "lowness" of a sound. These are:įormally defined, pitch is the frequency of a sound wave. There are three characteristics of sound that differentiate one sound from the next. The reason we can have music is because sounds can be different. Sound can only be music if someone wants it to be music. Otherwise, a speech, which is organized sound with intention, would be considered music as well. Also, as obvious as it might seem, the intention needs to have a 'musical' intention, not just an intention. Though 4’33” is comprised of randomly produced sounds by the audience, Cage exerts his control over the sound by limiting it to four minutes and thirty-three seconds. Otherwise, a composer could pronounce a street corner to be “music.” The composer must intervene at some point to control the sound. The sound must also be organized in some manner. A street corner produces noise, but there is no musical intention, so it is not music. This sound needs to have some sort of musical intention as well. Even in bizarre examples such as 4'33", there still is sound- it’s just not produced by the performer. Music is organized sound with musical intention.įirst and foremost, music must have some sort of sound. One good definition that might serve as a starting point for the reader is: The music of the piece is created by the audience in their shuffling, coughing, wondering what happened to the music, etc.Ī definition of music is an individual definition, but it must discern between random street noise and contemporary music, or between the ordered music of Haydn and the ordered sound of a speech. This piece consists of complete silence for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. One has to distinguish between the well-known music of Mozart, the random noise of traffic, and the bizarre styles of contemporary music that might combine traffic and Mozart!Ī particularly good example of music that pushes the traditionally accepted boundary of music is 4’33" by John Cage. Defining music is more difficult than it sounds. In order to properly study music, we must have a working definition of what music is. 3.5.3 Other, perhaps less used Woodwindsĭefinition of Music.
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