Transcript Making Musical Decisions

Identify the musical elements composers
use to create
 Describe the distinction between
composers and arrangers
 Explain the musical form of theme and
variations
 List the responsibilities of the conductor
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Minor scale
Symphony
“felt” time
Arranger
Transcriptions
Theme and variations
Harmony
Primary chords
Conductor
Rubato
Bright Sheng
Marin Alsop
Composing music involves making decisions
 Decisions involve the base building blocks
of music
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› Form
 Structure and design of a composition
› Melody
 Intentionally organized succession of musical tones
› Timbre
 Distinct tonal quality
› Rhythm
 Combinations of long and short sounds
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Form:
› The structure and design of a composition,
incorporating repetition, contrast, unity, and
variety
› It gives shape and direction
› 12 bar blues – three lines of lyrics in AAB form
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Activity 1, p. 147 CD 4:35
› “Rock Around the Clock” Bill Haley and His
Comets
Melodies may be flowing or angular, narrow
or wide, short or long
 Melodies are almost always built on a
musical scale
 Minor scale:
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› A sequence of eight pitches built on the pattern
of one whole step, one half step, two whole
steps, one half step, and two whole steps
› Singing a major scale from LA to LA instead of
DO to DO gives the relative minor scale
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Symphony No. 1 in D Minor by Gustav
Mahler
› Used the tune Frere Jacques in the third
movement
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Symphony:
› An extended work for orchestra with several
contrasting movements
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“I Got It Bad and That Ain’t
Good” by Duke Ellington sung by
Sarah Vaughan
Octave displacement:
› Melodic intervals that jump up or
down from the original octave
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How would you describe the
emotional affect of
accentuating the words “treats
me” in this way?
What does this do to accentuate
the words “treats me”?
Composers choose from a palette of
colors(tone color) or timbre
 Some composers use conventional
instruments in unconventional ways
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Tuned differently
Played differently
Manipulated sound
Using timbres from non-Western cultures
Some composers use unconventional
instruments – found instruments
Born in Shanghai, China
 Sutdied piano
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› Was discovered by Chairman Mao’s wife and
allowed to continue studying
Moved to New York and studied with
Leonard Bernstein
 In 2001 he won the MacArthur foundation
Fellowship(genius grant)
 Under the grant he composed his opera
Madame Mao – the story of Chairman Mao’s
wife, who was one of the leaders of China’s
cultural revolution
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Tibetan Dance by Bright Sheng
› You’ll hear the pipa (Chinese lute) and
the cello
› How does the pipa give the piece a
dance like feeling?
› Beyond the timbre itself, can you
identify any musical elements that
sound unusual to your ears?
Compose a rhythm score
 Select 4 different timbres from rhythm
instruments
 Compose a short 8 bar piece that you
can play with several classmates
 As you create, answer these questions
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› How will you provide musical unity and
variety?
› Make a list of all the musical decisions you
must make.
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Felt time:
› An aspect of music that controls the
listener’s sense of how much time has passed
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Activity 6, p. 152 CD 5:4-5
› Adagio for Strings
› “Badinerie” from Orchestral Suite No. 2
Which words characterize both
selections?
 Which piece of music feels longer? Why?
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Choose one of the musical elements:
form, melody, timbre, or rhythm
 Create a list of decisions that composers
have to make about the assigned
musical element.
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Composers arrange all the elements of
music when creating a work
 Arranger:
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› A musician who reworks existing musical
material
› Adapts a composition written for one
performing medium to another
› Recomposes a work to suit different
circumstances
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Jazz songs written to be sung with lyrics
are commonly arranged as purely
instrumental tunes
› Sometimes the lyrics are dropped and the
part is assigned to an instrument
› Arrangers make artistic choices and can be
just as creative as composers
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“What’s New” by Johnny Burke and Bob Haggart in 1939
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Compare the role of the voice in the Benny Goodman
version with that in the arrangement sung by Billie Holiday
› Goodman – the voice is secondary to the clarinet and
instrumental improvisations
› Holiday – the voice is the primary focal point
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Even when there is no singer, as heard in the version
performed by J.J. Johnson, can you match the lyrics with
the melody?
How did each of the arrangers differ in their approach to
the piece
› Goodman- it’s for big band with vocalist, featured clarinet slower
› Johnson – slower and sadder, arranged for 4-piece combo
› Holiday – voice and story are primary with small combo
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Were they equally effective in expressing the mood?
Which arrangement do you like better? Why?
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“Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman
Arranged by William T. McDaniel Jr.
Have you heard this piece before, played in a different
arrangement?
Do you recognize the main melody that begins right after
the introduction?
In what order did McDaniel choose to have each group of
instruments enter the arrangement?
› The instruments enter from low to high, brass and percussion
only: drums, then sousaphones, baritones, and trombones, and
last, flugelhorns, and trumpets
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The long drum solo was originally played by one person on
a trap set. Estimate how many marching band
percussionists perform the solo in this arrangement?
› 24 total – 12 snare, 4 bass, 4 cymbals, 4 quad toms
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What is the overall purpose of this musical arrangement?
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The artistic involvement of the arranger
can vary
› The exact notes of the composer are
rescored for any combination of instruments
or voices
› Transcriptions:
 Arrangements of music transferred from
medium to another
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Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major by J.S.
Bach for organ
Band arrangement by John P. Paynter
How does the arrangement for band differ
from the organ original
› The band arrangement has more instrumental colors,
a greater variety of timbres
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Which do you think is musical more effective?
Why?
Is it likely that you would typically hear both the
original and the transcription in the same
setting? Why or why not?
Composers extend a musical idea
through subtle and obvious changes
 Sometimes it is hard to recognize the
theme(melody)
 Composers present a theme in many
ways
 The theme can be original or borrowed
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A musical form in which a melodic idea is
stated then varied in a succession of
statements
 The theme can be
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Ornamented
Tempo altered
Harmony changed
Texture transformed
New rhythm
Played backwards or upside down
Activity 11, p. 157 CD 5:12
› “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye”
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Activity 12, p. 157 CD 5:13 TRB 7-8
› American Salute by Morton Gould
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Harmony:
› Vertical blocks of different tones that sound
simultaneously
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Primary chords:
› Harmony built on the first, fourth, and fifth
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degrees of the scale
The root is the tone on which the chord is built
All notes in the scale can be harmonized by one
of these chords
Most song begin on the I chord or tonic
The V7 chord likes to move to the I chord
Using an existing musical idea
requires many informed musical
decisions
 Learning to hear a mix of styles
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› John Lewis (1920-2001), pianist and
founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet
 Made an album called “One Diamond”
showing subtle changes in style
 He transforms J.S. Bach’s Prelude No. 16 in
G minor, from the 18th century into a
contemporary jazz piece
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“One Diamond” by John Lewis
Describe the two styles you heard
 How did you know that a change in style
had occurred?
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Many great composers use earlier
works when writing later works
› J.S. Bach and George Frideric
Handel
› Eric Carmen’s song, “All by Myself”
uses the main theme of Sergi
Rachmaninoff’s 1901 Second
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
(opus 18)
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Compare Rachmanioff’s Piano Concert No. 2 with Eric
Carmen’s “All By Myself,” performed in Spanish by Celine
Dion
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What orchestral instrument plays the main theme that
Carmen borrowed?
› Clarinet
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Why would the style of “romantic” music be appropriate
for both pieces
In reference to these two pieces, how would you describe
the way music is able to express and touch our feelings?
Can it do so even if you don’t understand the lyrics in
Spanish?
Would you say the musical link between these pieces is
close or remote? Why?
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Conductor:
› The director of an orchestra, choir, or other performing
group
› The roles and skills of a conductor
 Must know the music well enough to detect an error by a single
musician
 Select the music
 Rehearse the musicians
 Maintain the beat
 Facilitate the performers interpretation of the music
 Make musical decisions regarding expressive matters
 Give visual cues to the performers
 Conduction requires technique and an excellent sense of
rhythm
 They indicate the beat and meter with specific conducting
patterns
› Activity 15, p. 163 CD 5: 13 & 1
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Rubato:
› The free treatment of tempo within a musical
phrase
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Activity 16, p. 164 CD 5:17
› “Blue Danube Waltz” by Johann Strauss II
Female conductor
 Conducting has been dominated by
men
 Marin Alsop helped to change that
 Born and raised in New York City
 Parents were professional musicians
 Main instrument in violin
 Was inspired by Leonard Bernstein
 Won the Barrier Breaker Award
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“On the Waterfront” by Leonard
Bernstein
 Conducted by Marin Alsop
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Will your beat pattern be in three or four?
 Why does it seem difficult to find beat 1
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Arranger
› A musician who reworks existing musical material

Conductor
› The director of an orchestra, choir, or other performing
group
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“felt”time
› An aspect of music that controls the listener’s sense of
how much time has passed

Harmony
› Vertical blocks of different tones that sound
simultaneously

Minor scale
› A sequence of 8 pitches built on the pattern of one
whole step, one half step, two whole steps, one half
step and two whole steps

Primary chords
› Harmonies built on the 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of the
scale

Rubato
› The free treatment of tempo within a musical phrase
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Symphony
› An extended work for orchestra with several
contrasting movements

Theme and variations
› A musical form in which a melodic idea is stated then
varied in a succession of statements

Primary chords
› Incorporate all seven tones of the scale
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Transcriptions
› Arrangements of music transferred from one
medium to another
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Pipa
› Chinese lute
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Root
› The tone on which a chord is built
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Octave displacements
› Melodic intervals that jump up or down from the
original octave

Singing any major scale from LA to LA instead
of DO to DO
› Relative minor scale
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Won the “Barrier Breaker Award”
› Marin Alsop
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Composed the “Blue Danube Waltz”
› Johann Strauss II
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Transformed an 18th century work into “One
Diamond”
› John Lewis
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Used the pipa in classical compositions to bridge
the gap between Western and Eastern cultures
› Bright Sheng
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Wrote “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good”
› Duke Ellington
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Created an orchestration of the “Frere
Jacques” theme
› Gustav Mahler
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Composed Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C
Major
› Johann Sebastian Bach
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Pianist and founder of the Modern Jazz
Quartet
› John Lewis
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Recorded “I Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good”
› Sarah Vaughn
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Composed Piano Concerto No. 2
› Sergi Rachmaninoff
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Wrote “All By Myself” inspired by
Rachmaninoff’s Piano concerto No. 2
› Eric Carmen
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Wrote Sing, Sing, Sing
› Benny Goodman
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Wrote “American Salute” for orchestra and
transcribed it for band
› Morton Gould
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Composed Adagio for Strings
› Samuel Barber
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On what chord do most melodies begin
and end?
› I chord
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What are some ways a composer can
change a theme into a variation?
› Change:
 The key
 Tempo
 Rhythm
 Meter
 Texture
 Timbre
 Melody
 Harmony
 Style
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Explain the difference among composing,
arranging, and transcribing
› Composing
 A composer creates a totally new piece
› Arranging
 An arranger manipulates notes, harmonies,
rhythms, and other musical elements in a n
existing composition
› Transcribing
 A transcriber assigns the music to a different set of
players or singers, changing the medium of the
music, but not the arrangement of the material