Experiencing Music
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Transcript Experiencing Music
Experiencing Music
Chapter 3
What You Will Learn
Compare the various levels of listening to music, and explain
how perceptive listening can enhance the listener’s
appreciation
Identify the intervals found within a major scale
Compare the experience of Listening to music alone with
that of listening in the company of others
Vocabulary
Aural
Texture
Perceptive listening
Ensemble
Aesthetic
Monophonic
Scale
Mariachi
Major scale
Virtuoso
interval
Listening to Music
Aural:
Hearing related
Levels of listening
Different levels of attentiveness impact how we listen to music
Casual - Some music blends into the background (ambient)
You may listen casually or tune this music out
Sensuous listening – “goosebump” listening
Involves an emotional reaction
Perceptive listening:
Listening to and appreciation a musical work for its full range of technical and
expressive properties
Perceptive listening
Listeners analyze the structure and elements of the music
Accentuates the expressive power of music
The more we understand music, the more likely we are to
have a peak experience – heightened response when we listen
both sensuously and perceptively
Aesthetic:
Characterized by a heightened sensitivity to the content, form,
or emotional impact of an artistic work or event
Activity 1, p. 52 CD 2:7
Listen to an excerpt from John Philip Sousa’s “Washington
Post March”
Becoming a Perceptive Listener
When we listen perceptively we rely on our knowledge of music
Scale
Most music is based on some type of scale:
A sequence of tones arranged in rising pitches
Major scale
A sequence of eight pitches built on the pattern of two whole steps, one half step,
three whole steps, and one half step.
Activity 3, p. 53 CD 2:8
“Do, Re Mi”
Intervals
The way a melody is constructed often influences the way a
piec of music affects us
Interval:
Distance in pitch between two tones
Most intervals are categorized as minor (meaning small), major
(meaning large), or perfect(meaning fourths, fifths, and octaves,
which are never major or minor)
Activity 3, p. 54
How We Experience Music
Listening to music at high volume levels can seriously damage
hearing
Activity 5, p. 55 (handout)
Experience music alone
When alone, we choose music to match our mood
Activity 6, p. 56 CD 1:1-6
For each of the 6 examples, answer the following questions
Would you categorize this music as classical, traditional, or
popular?
What sort of mood does this music create?
Where would one listen to this music?
What is the source of sound? Is it sung? Instrumental? If so,
what instruments were used?
What is the function of the music?
Where might it be played
What elements are most prominent in this music?
Experiencing music together
How you react to music depends on the type of music and
how it is being used
The context can dictate the audience’s reaction
Sometimes the music is secondary to the main purpose of th
event.
Activity 7, p. 57 CD 2:12-15
Listen to the 4 examples and answer the questions
What is the main function of the music?
Describe your reaction to the music. How would you react?
What is the appropriate audience behavior?
How would the event be different without the music.
Performing Music Alone
Making music is like other artistic expressions
People enjoy expressing themselves through solo
performance
When people make music they become their own audience
Activity 8, p. 59 CD 2:16-17
Listen to two Asian solo instrumental performances
Categorize each instrument (idiophone, membranophone,
aerophone, etc.)
Select four words that accurately describe the timbre of each
instrument
Speculate in what setting each piece might be performed
Tuning a Guitar
Some call the guitar the most important musical instrument of
the past 50 years
The guitar has 6 strings each tuned to a specific pitch
The thickest string produces the lowest tone
Activity 9, p. 61
DVD – “Tuning a Guitar”
CD 2:14 “Hip Song”
The Native American Flute
The flute is a common instrument to many cultures around the world
Made from natural a manufactured materials
During the late 19th and early 20th century, Native American flute
playing nearly became extinct
According to legend, the flute was given to the Native American people
by the Creator for enjoyment, to ease loneliness
Some tribe sue it for quiet moments
Some use it for courting purposes
A young man would sit outside the home of the woman he likes and play
the flute, if she was interested she would come sit beside him
Today there is renewed interest
Activity 10, p. 62 CD 2:18 “Northern Plains”
Performing Music Together
Music often functions as a form of group expression
A group can provide more texture The way sounds are woven together
Ensemble
Cooperative musical expression
Organizing people to function together in a musically cohesive
manner requires cooperation
Monophonic In unison with everyone sounding the same pitch or octave at the same time
Call and Response
Question and answer
Combines solo and choral response
The leader must know all the lyrics while the choirs response is
simple
Call and response is found in spirituals and gospel music
Its influence today is heard in jazz, blues, rock, rap, folk songs, and
backup vocals
Mixed ensembles
Some ensembles may alternate between a featured soloist and the
group but not in call and response
Activity 11, p. 64 CD 2:19 /TRB 3-4
“Oh Happy Day”
How many responses did you hear in the first chorus?
Seven responses
Are all the responses exact repetitions of the call? If not,
where did they change
“Oh Happy Day” is exact but changes when “washed our sins
away” is responded to with the words “Oh Happy Day”
Does the verse use call and response?
The verse uses call and response, but the soloist responds to the
call by the chorus, rather than the reverse as in the choruses.
Mariachi tradition
Mariachi
A musical group with several violins, trumpets, large
bass guitar, and special five and six-string guitars
Bass guitar – guitarron
Five-string guitar(short and used as rhythm guitar) vihuela
The two most popular types of Mariachi music
Son jalisciense – song for Jalisco
Cancion ranchera – a country song
“La Negra” is the most well known of the sones
jaliscienses
Activity 13, p. 65 CD 2:20
Critiquing Music
Acquiring criteria for evaluating music performances
Opinions are never wrong – they are a matter of taste
Opinion is not enough in judging a work or genre
Every performance must be judged on its own merits
Music critics
Professionals who write about musical events, performances, and
albums
Criteria for critiquing music
Timber – quality of tone, range, variety, appropriateness and
appeal
Expressiveness – interpretation
Technique – performer’s skills
Presentation – choice and appropriateness of the music
Impact – artist’s charisma
Activity 13, p. 67, CD 3:1-3 TRB 3-6
The role of a critic
A responsible critic will do more than condemn or rave about a
performance
They must be perceptive listeners
They must analyze and communicate their opinions
A good critic takes in non-musical aspect such as the conductor,
acoustics, and size and reaction of the audience.
Music Critics influence public opinion which is a big
responsibility.
Your job when reading a review is to distinguish between fact and
opinion
Activity 14, p. 67, TRB 3-7
Luciano Pavarotti 1935-2007
One of the most famous opera singers
Born in Modena, Italy
As a child he sang in the local chorus with his father
Performed in his first opera at age 26
Numerous recordings
Stadium crowds
“Nessum Dorma”
“My first, my last, my everything” with Barry White
Assignment
Activity 15, p. 68 Fact & Opinion
Read the column from The NewYork Times (TRB 3-8).
Underline the words or phrases that provide basic information.
Circle the words or phrases that are clearly the reviewer’s opinions
Is it clear that the reviewer was well informed?
Was he able to back up the views expressed
Did the review seem credible to you?
How do you know?
Assignment
Cultivating the language of criticism
Critics use colorful language to communicate their reactions and
judgments
Fair assessments
Activity 16, p. 68 From the Top CD 1:5
Listen to Elena Urioste play the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin
Concerto. What are some adjectives you would use to describe
her performance?
Read the 2004 review of Elena Urioste’s debut with the Cleveland
Orchestra (TRB 3-9). Identify and circle all the “color words” –
descriptive nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs – that indicate whether
the critic’s reaction was favorable or unfavorable. Use the “Critical
Words Worksheet” to list the positive and negative terms used.
How well do they match the descriptive vocabulary you used?
Musical Artistry in Schools
Activity 17, p. 70, CD 3:4-7
Identify difference among student musical ensembles
Listen to two recordings of “Hodie Christus Natus Est.”
One is sung by a junior high school choir, and the other by a high school
group
What are some of the main differences between the performances?
List to two recordings of “Colonel Bogey March.”
One is performed by a junior high band and the other by a high school
band.
Which is performed by a high school band?
How do you know?
Assignment
Activity 18, p. 71 CD 3:8-9
Listen to and analyze the quality of performances by two
different choirs. Then write a critique comparing the two
groups. Which choir would be more likely to receive a
higher score from a panel of judges? Why?
Assignment
Activity 19, p. 71 CD 3:10-11
Listen to the recordings by two high school jazz bands, and answer
the following questions.
Aside from the different timbres of vocal sounds and instrumental
sounds, which performance has the stronger jazz feel?
Does one ensemble seem more accomplished that the other? Why?
If you could choose, which of the recordings would you buy? Why?
Review - terms
Mariachi
A musical group with several violins, two trumpets, large bass guitar,
and special five and six string guitar
Aural
Hearing related experiences, such as listening
Review – more terms
Texture
The way sounds are woven together
Aesthetic
Heightened sensitivity to the content, form, or emotional impact of
an artistic work or event
Interval
The distance in pitch between two tones
Review – even more terms
Scale
A sequence of tones arranged in rising pitches
Virtuoso
A performer with a brilliant, flawless technique
Ensemble
Another name for a musical group
Review – misc.
What was the most important musical instrument of the past 20
years?
Electric guitar
From where is mariachi style music?
Mexico
Who decides how much attention a listener give to the music
The listener
How much influence do music critics have on public opinion?
A great deal
How do most people play guitar?
The left hand presses down the strings and the right hand strums
Flute
A melodic instrument used most widely by the Native Americans
What is a Call and response style of music?
A question and answer pattern in which a group responds to a
leader
Explain the differences among casual listening, sensuous
listening, and perceptive listening.
Casual listening means not giving the music your full attention
Sensuous listening means being absorbed in the music and allowing
the music to move you emotionally
Perceptive listening is listening to and appreciating a musical work
for its full range of technical and expressive qualities
How is listening alone different from listening in the company of
others?
Experiencing music alone allows you to choose the music to match
your mood
Experiencing music with others depends on the type of music and
the context in which the music is performed