Transcript Area of Study 2

Area of Study 02:
Harmony and Tonality
AQA GCSE Music
Areas of Study
• AoS 01: Rhythm and Metre
• AoS 02: Harmony and Tonality
• A0S 03: Texture and Melody
• AoS 04: Dynamics and Timbre
• AoS 05: Structure and Form
Tonality – ‘The Key’
• This means, the key of the music. The piece
will be built from the notes of a particular
scale
• There are different types of Tonality; over the
next few slides we will explore the different
types.
Recap –
What is a Scale?
• Scale – a group of notes (a pattern of notes)
played in ascending or descending order
• The notes and pattern of a scale that a piece
uses is also the Key
Major
• A piece could be built on a Major scale/key
• Happy/uplifting sound
• Whatever note they start on, all major scales
sound similar, because they follow the same
pattern.
T = Tone
S = Semi-Tone
C Major
Pattern
T
T
S
T
T
T
S
Minor
• A piece could be built on a Minor scale/key
• Often Sounds more sad/mournful/serious
• Different to Major because of the pattern
A Minor
A
Pattern
B
T
C
S
D
T
E
T
G
F
S
T
A
T
Major and Minor –
Examples
Track 01
“Major” Example – Rondo in
D Major, by Mozart
• Notice how bright and
‘happy/positive’ the piece
sounds straight from the
start
Track 02
“Minor” Example – Oboe
Concerto No. 3 in G Minor, by
Handel
• Notice how much this differs
from the Major Example.
• Not so bright and ‘happy’
• Possible to suggest sad,
darker, mournful?!
Pentatonic Scale
• A piece that is built on 5 Notes
• Used in world music, folk music and rock
music
• 2 types – Major and Minor Pentatonic
• A common Pentatonic scale is one that uses
just the Black Keys on the piano
Check out the video on the next
slide….Howard Goodall Explains it all,
with some great examples
Video 01 in Folder
Whole Tone
• This is a scale that just uses just Tones
• Sounds mysterious
C
Pattern
D
T
E
T
F#
T
G#
T
A#
T
C
T
Video 02 in Folder
Video 02 in Folder
Debussy - Piece of Music
using a Whole Tone Scale
Chromatic Scale
• This is when a scale is just made up of Semitones (s)
• All white and black notes are used to make
this scale
• You may sometimes describe part of a melody
as being chromatic
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
Etc…..
Track 03
Tonal
• Definition:
– A piece of music is described as Tonal if it has a
sense of key…..in other words, if it is a major or
minor piece it is Tonal.
Atonal
• A piece of music with no sense of fixed
tonality/key. May sound rather ‘random’.
Example of what
Atonal music my
sound like
Video 03 in Folder
Modal (Modes)
• Modes existed before Major and Minor scales
were established
• Like Major and Minor, modes are just scales
with different patterns of notes (T and S)
• There are 7 different modes, all with a
different sounds (you don’t need to know
there names)
Modes – Continued…
• Check out the Video on the next slide. This
gives you a very good insight to what modes
sound like. The video also describes when
they were originally used.
Video 04 in the folder
Modulation
• This is when music changes key/tonality
• For example if the piece is in the key of C major
you could modulate (change key) to the key of G
major or A minor... It’s a good way of developing
a piece of music.
• Example – Look at the video on the next slide.
This is a “Top 20 Key Changes” in pop music.
Listen to each of the examples and notice how
there is a change in the tone (key to a another
key) usually happens for the last chorus of the
song.
Video 05 in Folder
Modulation cont…
• In a listening exam, you may be asked to
describe the tonality of the piece you are
listening too.
• If so, there is a chance the piece could ‘Change
Key’ (Modulate). Make sure you listen out for
this
– especially in some pop music i.e. theatre, pop and
rock etc.
Harmony
• Harmony occurs when two or more notes
of different pitch are sounded together
• When we think of harmony we usually
mean the notes that accompany a
melody.
• It has the power to make a melody richer
and more emotional.
Consonance
• When you listen to a piece of music, you may
think the harmony is pleasant and nice.
• This harmony can be described as “being
Consonant.”
Dissonance
• When you listen to a piece of music, you may
think the harmony uncomfortable and clashes
a lot, or even painful to listen too.
• This harmony can be described as being
dissonant.
• Often used to create suspense or tension.
• Discord – Harsh, dissonant combination of
notes
Close Harmony
• This is where the notes are close together
within the separate parts e.g. Barber shop
singing
Video 06 in Folder
Drone
• This type of harmony is played in the bass.
• Can be one note, but is often two notes
played at the same time usually a 5th apart
(e.g. C and G)
• The notes are sustained (held) or repeated
while the melody plays over the top.
• Used in folk, medieval and dance music.
• Used in Indian Classical Music – this is the role
of the Tambura!
Use of a Drone in this example. Played by
the bagpipes, it holds a ‘long bass note’
throughout the piece aka the Drone
Video 07 in Folder