Transcript Musical Elements - Fleming County Schools

Why study music?

More knowledge of music can allow you
to expand your enjoyment by
understanding the richness of your
listening/creating experience.

Historical evidence records that music
in some form is present in every
culture.

A growing body of new evidence is
showing us that our brains/bodies have
neural webs that activate only in the
presence of (or when even just thinking
of) music. We are literally hard-wired
to pay attention to music.
Music is in us?
 Yes…
 Watch
the following video…see
what happens when the
presenter teaches the audience
to sing…
 Bobby
Scale
McFerrin Pentatonic

What happened?
Wait…  Did he teach all of those notes to the
audience?

If he didn’t teach them all of the notes,
then how was the audience able to sing
them so well?

The scale he was singing/teaching is
called a pentatonic scale. Over its range
it repeats just 5 different pitches.

The pentatonic scale is used in many
cultures around the world and also forms
the basis of many children’s songs. In
every culture ever “discovered”, children
tease each other with the same sounds of
“nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, naaa…”
Always the same, no matter where…
Activity/Discussion Questions
Write answers to the questions chosen by your instructor (using
complete sentences and restating to ensure understanding). Share
these answers and discuss the range of differences.
When do you recall first becoming aware
of music?
 What are some of your favorite styles of
music?
 Who are some of your favorite
musicians/performers?
 Is it possible that your musical tastes will
change over time? Why might this
happen?
 What is music?


What is the purpose of music?
Purpose
The purpose of this section of Arts
and Humanities is to help gain a
basic understanding of music and its
role in our individual lives as well as
the role of music in the world as a
whole.

Purpose (cont.)

In order to gain a deeper
understanding of music, we must
establish a basic vocabulary of
terms. These terms allow us to
discuss music in greater depth
beyond the simple pleasures of
listening…to understand the science
that allows the art to come into
being. In addition, consistent use
of these terms may lead us to
greater understanding of our own
preferences in music.
Goal

The goals of the music section of Arts and
Humanities are:

1. To gain an awareness of the
development of aspects of music
throughout time and in different cultures

2. To gain an awareness of the
complexities of the construction of music

3. To gain knowledge of and ability to use
vocabulary that allows for in-depth
discussion of elements of music

4. To become an active listener to music
Listening to Music
Really…it takes practice!!
What is Music?

Listen to the following example.

Be sure to sit quietly and not
comment or move around.

John Cage: 4'33“

What did you notice during the
piece?

Why is this considered music?

What is the point of such a piece?
Music is…

…a form of art.

All art is a reflection of society as seen
through the vision of the artist. Art is
defined by its framework (in visual art,
this can be a literal frame, the size of a
sculpture, etc).

At its most inclusive, music is defined by
the framework of time. The artist
(composer) must declare a start and an
end.

So, music is human organized sound
and silence.
Goal

Compare the various levels of
listening to music, and explain how
perceptive listening can enhance
the listener’s appreciation.
Levels of Listening
Different levels of attentiveness
impact how we listen to music.
•
• Sometimes music blends into the
background becoming part of the
ambient or surrounding noise.
• As the listener YOU are in control
of how closely you are listening to a
piece of
music.
Terms

Perceptive listening - listening to
and appreciating a musical work for
its full range of technical and
expressive properties.

Aesthetic - characterized by a
heightened sensitivity to the
content, form, or emotional impact
of an artistic work or event.
Listening Chart
Activity

Write a persuasive letter addressed to
anyone living or

dead.

Begin with “I know you’ve been a casual
listener for a

long time but you should try to be a
perceptive

listener.”

Then give at least three (3) reasons why
they should

try to be more of a perceptive listener.
Activity
 Each
person on a piece of
paper make a list of three
songs you prefer to listen to by
yourself and why.
 Then
make a list of three songs
you prefer to experience with
others and why.
 The
“why” is the most
important part.
Experiencing Music
Alone

When we experience music alone,
we often choose music to match our
mood.

Because tastes vary, each of us
might choose different types of
music for particular moods.
Sometimes the music we choose
compliments our mood; sometimes
we choose music in contrast to our
mood.

What other factors might affect
how we choose music for solitary
listening?
Experiencing Music
Together

We often listen to music in the company of other
people.

Hearing live music in any setting can be exciting.

How you react to music depends on the type of
music, how it is being used, and where you hear
it.

At a baseball game, you probably would not
analyze the music played over the stadium’s
speaker system.

At a dance, music appeals to your sense of
movement and you react physically.

What other factors/ideas come to mind about
listening to music in a group?
Musical Elements
Basic Terms

Appreciation: to recognize the
worth of something

Like: to seek more of the same or
similar

Beat: the steady movement of time
in music

Meter: grouping of beats into
patterns

Tempo: the speed of the beat

Rhythm: movement of the music
around the beat

Melody: the easiest part of a song to hear
and remember

Sequence: repeating a musical idea
slightly higher or lower in pitch

Harmony: two or more notes sounding
simultaneously, often accompanies the
melody either as background or in parallel

Timbre: the unique quality of a sound or
combination of sounds

Texture: the “thickness” of sound
(monophonic, polyphonic, and
homophonic)
Basic Terms (continued)

Dynamics: the volume (loud and
soft) and volume changes in music

Style: the character of music (genre
such as country, rock, rap, etc.)

Form: the structure of a piece of
music (opera, symphony, fugue,
etc.)

Notation: a system of writing down
music

Phrase: a complete musical thought
(think of it as a sentence, as
phrases can have smaller segments,
just as sentences do)
Advanced Terms
Tempo

Largo: very slow

Adagio: slow, but not as slow as largo

Andante: slow

Moderato: a moderate tempo

Allegro: a walking tempo

Presto: fast

Prestissimo: very fast

Accelerando-accel.-to get faster

Decelerando-decel.-to get slower (ritardando)
Advanced Terms
Dynamics
 Pianissimo-pp-very
soft
 Piano-p-soft
 Mezzo
piano-mp-medium soft
 Mezzo
forte-mf-medium loud
 Forte-f-loud
 Fortissimo-ff-very
loud
 Crescendo-cresc.-to
get louder
 Decrescendo-decresc.-to
get softer
Notation
Notation
is a system used
for representing the
complexities of music in
written form.
Notation specifies two main
elements:
 Rhythm-duration
of a sound in time
 Pitch-how high or low a note sounds
Rhythmic Notation
Indicating the duration of each note
Less ink=longer notes; more ink=faster notes
Letter Notation
Indicating the pitch (the lower it’s written the
lower it sounds) These letters are written on
the Grand Staff, which shows both high and low
pitched notes.
Song Notation
Combining rhythm and letter notation.
Music looks like how it sounds and sounds like how it looks. If
the written notes move down, so does the sound. If the note
has more space in the middle, it takes up more space in time.
Clef Signs
Clef signs designate the names of the lines and
spaces. Higher pitched sounds are traditionally
Treble clef, while lower sounds are traditionally
Bass clef.
Accidentals
Accidentals raise or lower a note from it’s
original sounding pitch.
Meter Signature
Meter defines both the number of beats in a
measure and which note receives one beat.
Key Signature
Key signatures determine the “center” pitch of a
song by mandating a set of sharps or flats to be
played throughout the entire piece
Single line sheet music
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=JBzT3TD8hMs
Grand staff sheet music
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=V4t-HOxkZX0
Full score sheet music
https://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=LGvW6jHUHiY
Musical
Instruments and
Voices
Keyboards

Harpsichord: strings plucked by
mechanical action (plectra carved
from crow feathers)

Piano: strings struck by hammers
(originally called “piano e forte”
because it could play more
dynamics, invented by Cristofori in
1709)

Pipe organ: uses air blown across
tuned pipes to create tones
Listening examples

Harpsichord
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpq
m1hxgH-w

Piano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNlK
GUU36XE

Organ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnuq
9PXbywA
Woodwinds

Single reeds

Clarinet (soprano, alto, bass,
contra-alto, contra-bass)

Saxophone (soprano, alto, tenor,
baritone, bass)

Aerophone (works by air alone)

Flute (piccolo, flute, alto, bass)
Woodwinds (continued)
Double
reeds
Oboe
Bassoon
(contra-bassoon)
English Horn
Listening examples

Flute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u0XXpVGUwk

Clarinet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqymshfwGEE

Oboe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-pIudhSCSg

Bassoon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ1Nz3UOOas
Saxophone Family
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU97G
fSdUnk
Brass
 The
larger the instrument,
the lower the sound
 Trumpet (piccolo, trumpet,
bass)
 French horn
 Trombone (bass trombone)
 Tuba
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=Ut_vq0eN1WA
Percussion
 Pitched
 Non-pitched
percussion  Snare drum
 Bells
 Bass drum
 Xylophone
 Cymbals
 Vibraphone
 Marimba
 Timpani
Bells
Xylophone
Vibraphone
Marimba
Timpani
Non-pitched Percussion

Snare Drum

Bass Drum

Cymbals
Percussion Ensemble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Yx
-ztwrpw

Marching percussion ensemble

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHyQ
UabGuyM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktLG
g2xGQGM
Strings

Violin

Viola

Cello

Bass

Harp

Guitar
“Adagio for Strings”
Samuel Barber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcflwUYYoXk

This work was originally submitted in 1938 to the NBC Radio Orchestra,
which was conducted by a legendary Italian named Arturo Toscanini, a man
noted for openly scorning American composers. The music was returned
to Barber several weeks later with no notes, so Barber thought it had been
rejected. Instead, the piece was so well loved by Toscanini and the
orchestra that they had memorized it almost immediately. The piece
generated a huge standing ovation at its first performance and helped
launch Barber’s career.

http://www.npr.org/2010/03/09/124459453/barbers-adagio-nakedexpression-of-emotion
Activity

Listen to the following examples. List the different
instruments that you hear.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2W1Wi2U9sQ

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l45DAuXYSIs

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmDDOFXSgAs

4.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWNFgT9QcpE&li
st=RDrWNFgT9QcpE

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrz8NuALuj8

Compare the experience of listening to music alone

with that of listening in the company of others.
Voices
Female

Soprano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urW9CbAFVjs

Alto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AAgGsx0mko
Male

Tenor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTFUM4Uh_6Y

Bass

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cb1QmTkOAI (the ghostly character)

Watch how a composer uses the different voices to construct an entire work.
Each part is not complex or interesting in itself, but the combination of all
voices with the instruments creates one of the most enduring pieces in all of
Western music, the “Requiem Mass” by Mozart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlPQD04tn88
Activity

Answer the following in complete sentences:

Of the music you have listened to ask yourself:

Who uses the music?

What is it used for?

How and why was it created?

Explain how your ability to hear and understand music
has changed in this class so far.
The Big Takeaway…

Music is art approached through science.
Science demands method, and methods
require a consistent vocabulary for
understanding and sharing of ideas.

The many elements of music all combine
to produce an effect that an aware
listener realizes reveals new
understanding of either music, their own
perception, or both…an “aesthetic
experience”.