Transcript Harmony, Key, and Texture from 11/13/14 and

Terms cont’d.
Harmony, Texture, and Form
“The Ball”
• Watching an unfamiliar sporting event
It is difficult to try to absorb all the rules and protocols
immediately
• My advice, “Watch the ball”. The ball is the object of primary
importance.
• Watch the ball to try to follow gameplay.
In music, the melody is “the Ball”.
Pitch = Frequency
• Frequency is measured in Hertz, or cycles per second.
The sound wave vibrates a number of times per second, and it
in turn produces a specific pitch or note.
• A=440 is a standard tuning pitch for instruments. 440 cycles per
second is the pitch A.
Frequency
• 440 Hertz is a tuning A.
• Human hearing commonly extends from 20 Hertz to 20,000
Hertz (or 20 KiloHertz KHz).
Equalizer
• An Equalizer is a device that electronically
boosts or cuts specific frequency ranges to
tailor the TIMBRE of a musical selection.
• On sound systems, usually 6-10 or more
sliding “faders” for adjusting different
frequencies.
• iTunes has an Equalizer you can modify
Harmony
• Two or more pitches played at the same
time
Harmony
• Key/Tonality - the idea of building a piece
of music around a central or “home sound”
Harmony
• Consonance - stability. Pitch combinations
that sound pleasant or stable
• Dissonance - instability. Pitch combinations
that sound unpleasant or unstable
Harmony
• Scale - a series of pitches played in order
from low to high or high to low.
• Major Scale - do re mi fa sol la ti do.The
most common musical "menu" from which
to choose pitches.
• Minor Scale - The scale with a darker
quality, often times more emotional.
Harmony
• Drone - one repeated pitch among other
changing pitches - more of a "folksy"
quality.
Texture
• The interweaving of melody and harmony
Texture
• The interweaving of melody and harmony
• Monophonic - one unaccompanied melody
• Homophonic - one melody with some type of
accompaniment (most common texture)
• Polyphonic - two or more melodies at the same
time.May be with or without accompaniment. This
is "the crowning achievement of Western Music".
Form
• Musical structure and design
Form
• Form. = formula; format = recipe.
Form
• Form can be followed by identifying repetition,
variation, and contrast.
• Repetition - literal repeats of the same material.
• Contrast - completely new material from the first
musical idea
• Variation - when the original material is slightly
changed to create interest
• The above three methods used in conjunction are
the methods used in achieving musical interest.
Form
• Theme - the tune in classical music.Not just
repeated, but expanded and "developed"
• A motive is a part of a phrase. A
complete phrase combines with other
complete phrases to form a section.
• The Form of a composition is discussed
in sections, not phrases or themes.
Form
• Thematic development - when a theme is
fragmented and used in different ways.
• Motive - a fragment of a melody.Very little piece
that is recognizable, but not as long as a phrase.
• Sequence - the repetition of a motive at a higher or
lower pitch.
• Ostinato - a short musical pattern that is repeated
over and over as the basis of a musical
composition.
Classic vs. Romantic
• Classic - form, symmetry, balance, emotional
detachment.
• Adoration of the Magi by Botticelli
• Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David
Adoration of the Magi
Death of Socrates
Classic vs. Romantic
• Romantic - freedom, emotion, drama,
individual
• Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek
by Peter Paul Rubens
• Traveler Looking Over A Sea of Fog by
Caspar David
Meeting of Abraham and
Melchizedek
Traveler Looking Over A Sea
of Fog
Common Practice Period
• 1600-1900
• Composers use the common language
of “tonality”
• Music is written using a central key or
“home sound”
• Can be both Classic and/or Romantic