Unity and Variety
Performer's Role
Structure in Music
Purpose of Music
Composers
100

Define dynamics

  • The loudness or softness of a composition. The term piano (p) is used to indicate softness and forte (f) to indicate loudness. Each of these is augmented if the letter symbolizing it is doubled or tripled (e.g. "pp" - "pianissimo", "very soft"; "ppp" - "pianississimo", "very, very soft"). Each is also lessened if proceeded by mezzo (m) (e.g. "mf" - "mezzo forte", "somewhat loud"). Also included in dynamics are the crescendo ("slowly growing louder"), decrescendo ("slowly growing softer"), and the sforzando ("sudden loudness").
100

Type of Soloist in this video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USACuJCrZPY

Violin soloist with accompaniment

100

Binary Form

Binary Form: 

  • Two-part (A - B) structure of music; usually each part is repeated. The term can also mean any form with two periods, or sections.
100

Musical Connotation

Connection between music and its function

100

Name and composer of this work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E6b3swbnWg

Frederic Chopin 

Nocturne op.9 No.2



200

Define timbre

The quality of a sound; that component of a tone that causes different instruments (for example a guitar and a violin) to sound different from each other while they are both playing the same note.

200

Musical Form is:............

Musical Phrase is:......

Musical Form:

- reveals how sound is organized in time
- uses durations, pitches, timber, and volume to form a coherent whole

- refers to the architecture of music, dealing with shape, organization, patterns, and relationships

- is rooted in and expands on our need of unity and variety of music

- examples include binary and ternary form


Musical Phrase:

- Musical idea that obtains complete meaning by coming to a natural resting point or cadence.

200

Ternary Form

Ternary Form: 

  • A compositional form which consists of three major sections, an A section which states the thematic material, a B section which presents a contrasting theme, and a final A section which restates the opening thematic material. Also, any three part form.
200

What did music absolutists believe?

Absolutists believe that to understand a piece of music, one must focus solely on the nature and interplay between the sounds that make up a piece of music. For this group, the purpose of music lies in the interactions of the musical elements themselves, apart from any extra-musical context, including utilitarian purposes and musical connotations.

200

Frederick Chopin.....

was a Romantic composer born near Warsaw, Poland, most known for his hauntingly beautiful piano compositions.

300

What is the difference between homophony, monophony, and polyphony?

Monophony: 

  • Music that is written for only one voice or part is said to be monophonic (the music itself is called "monophony"). This is in contrast to polyphonic music (polyphony), which has more than one part or voice.

Polyphony:

  • Music composed for many parts or voices, each with its own melody, thus creating a rich texture of sound. The music itself is called polyphony. This is in contrast to monophonic music (monophony), which has only one part or voice.

Homophony:

  • A style of composition in which there is one melody, and all the voices and accompaniments move rhythmically together. This is opposed to polyphony, in which each voice may move independently. Homophony is not to be confused with monophony, in which all the voices and accompanying instruments are performing exactly the same notes, in homophony there is a distinct melody with accompanying harmony, but all move in the same rhythmic pattern.
300

What is musical interpretation in performance?

The term interpretation refers to how a performer chooses to communicate the artistry of the music to the audience. In every aspect of the performance, a performer makes choices on how to present the musical material. A performer may give extra weight to a particular passage by playing or singing more softly or more loudly; more quickly or more deliberately; with more control or more abandon; by letting a note linger; or even by using silence, among many available techniques. When a performer conveys an authentic interpretation, one in which it seems like the person is truly experiencing, appreciating, and understanding the music, we often say that the individual is performing “from the heart.”

300

Is this example binary or ternary?

Chopin - Nocturne in E Flat Major (Op. 9 No. 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p29JUpsOST



Most Chopin nocturnes are in ternary form (ABA'), whereas Chopin adopted a rather special rounded binary form (ABB'+Coda) for his Op. 9 No. 2

300

Free Form

Think back to our Drum Circle experience in class. Do a Google Search on the history of drum circles. Then present your findings to the class on the following guidance:

What are some historical examples of the purpose of music, as expressed in the experience of Drum Circles around the world? 

Free Form/Research

300

Revolutionary Etude:

It was said that this composer wrote his Revolutionary Etude as a reaction to the Russian occupation of Warsaw when the news reached him in Paris on September 1831.

Frederick Chopin
400

Unity and Variety in a Musical Excerpt:

Stand up and do a short presentation analyzing live elements of unity and variety as they interplay to create the musical flow in this chosen composition:

Handel's 'Hallelujah!' Chorus live at the Sydney Opera House

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weFJHtcxJt0

Free Response 

400

Free Form Reflection:

Think back to your experience as a performer during our class recital. Reflect back to your role then. What was the experience like? 

Free Form

400

Music Therapy:

What are some of the therapeutical properties of music? 

Researchers have been able to document the neurochemical mechanisms by which music has an effect in four domains: management of mood, stress, immunity, and as an aid to social bonding. Music has been found to ease pain, increase workout endurance and motivation in athletes, speed up post-workout recovery, improve sleep quality, enhance blood vessel function, induce meditative states, relieve symptoms of depression, elevate mood, improve cognitive performance, relax patients before surgery, and elevate mood while driving. Music benefits both mental and physical health, as listening to and playing music can lower levels of cortisol—the stress hormone.


Music is one of the few activities that involves the use of the whole brain, particularly for those who play an instrument or sing, as opposed to those who just listen. Using both sides of the brain maximizes learning and retention of information.

400

This composer was a German-British Baroque composer who served at the court of the King of England. He composed the Messiah oratorio, containing the Hallelujah chorus. He also composed the Hornpipe from Water Music, and the Royal Fireworks. An eye surgery left him practically blind during his late years. 

George Frederic Handel

500

Unity and Variety in Your Favorite Music :)

Stand up and do a short presentation analyzing live elements of unity and variety as they interplay to create the musical flow in a composition of your choice!


Free Flow

500

Class "Yes And"

Starting from Bach's (Jr.), continue with "yes and".....

"Since a musician cannot otherwise move people, but he be moved himself, so he must necessarily be able to induce in himself all those affects which he would arouse in his auditors; he conveys his feelings to them, and thus most readily moves them to sympathetic emotions."

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Free Flow 

500

Binary or Ternary?

Chopin's Revolutionary Etude Op. 10 No. 12

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1uLrHq9TDg


The structure is in Chopin's usual ternary form (A–B–A–coda).



500

Music as language


Many cultures use music as a language. For them, music is a language. If it is true that "music is the universal language of mankind," as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poetically wrote, then what does music exactly communicate, and is communication music's main function? What purpose is served by the experience of music and music-like communication?

Free Form/Reflection

500

What is the name and composer of this work?

(Players should hear, not see the work)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg6Q9tkHOw0&t=192s


Handel- London Symphony

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