Transcript Theme and Variations

Theme and Variations
Hinchingbrooke School
Music Department
Spot the difference
• My dog Rex is friendly.
• My pet dog called Rex is friendly.
• My dog’s name is Rex. He’s friendly.
• Rex is my dog. He is a friendly dog.
• My canine companion goes by the
name Rex. His behaviour is friendly,
but he slobbers sometimes!
So what is Theme and
Variations?
• The theme is the original melody.
• Variations are different versions of the theme.
• Composers can change the theme in many
ways.
• In this module we will learn how to develop a
theme melody into variations.
• We will also learn about different ways of
combining melody and harmony.
Listening exercise
• What is the name of this well known
melody?
• How many different parts can you hear
playing?
• What happens to the music the second time
we hear it?
• Can you still hear the melody? In which
part?
Writing your theme
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In each bar there is a chord.
In each chord there is 3 notes.
Choose 2 notes for your melody in each bar.
In the last bar of each line just choose 1 note.
Does your theme flow?
• Are there big jumps? Adjust your
theme to get rid of these!
• Does the leading note rise to the
tonic? If it doesn’t, then adjust this too.
An example theme
Listening 2
• What instrument is playing?
• What happens to the music each
time the ground bass is heard?
• How many beats are there in a bar?
• How does the piece end? (2.53)
Variation 1 – passing notes
Variation 2 – passing notes
and more harmony notes.
Variation 3 – dotted
rhythms
Extension ideas
• Do you have to have 4 beats in
each bar? How would you handle
this? What would need to change?
• Do you have to use the key of C
major? Could you change it to a
minor key? Could you transpose a
section into another key?
Listening 3
• Name 2 ways in which the melody
differs each time it is heard.
• Name 5 instruments you can hear
playing
• What is the name for a group of
instruments like this?
Changing the texture – a more
adventurous lower part!
• To begin with we only used chords in the
lower part, these work well, but can be
boring after a while.
• By breaking these chords up into a
repeating pattern, called an ostinato, we
can create different textures.
The original chords
• In this version, the chords are held for 4 beats.
The chords are broken into minims.
• In this version, the root note of each chord is held
for 2 beats and the others are held for 2 beats.
The chords are broken into crotchets
• In this version, the notes of the chord are played
one at a time. The root is always played first, and
one note must be repeated.
The chords are broken into quavers
• This version is similar to the crotchets version,
except that quavers are used instead.
The possibilities are endless!
• This version mixes up different note lengths. Did
you notice that there are still repeating patters?