Mix 1
This incredibly famous living American composer didn't write for old concert halls—he wrote iconic themes for Hollywood movies like Star Wars
Who is John Williams
This Russian composer's wild, loud, machine-like music was so different that it caused a literal riot in a theater
Who is Igor Stravinsky
The Modern & Contemporary musical era stretches from the year 1900 all the way to this time
What is the present day (or today)
This American inventor/composer believed that absolutely every sound around us—like a cough, traffic, or the wind—is music
Who is John Cage
Instead of keeping a steady heartbeat beat, modern music loves to surprise listeners by suddenly shifting into these types of unpredictable beats
What are irregular rhythms
Stravinsky used heavy, clashing notes that don't blend smoothly to create tension, which is a modern technique known by this word
What is an dissonance
John Cage invented this special instrument by jamming everyday items like rubber bands, screws, and erasers directly into a grand piano's metal strings
What is the Prepared Piano
This is the name of Stravinsky's piece about springtime that features dissonant chords and machine-like driving rhythms
What is The Rite of Spring
This is the movie title of the famous ocean thriller theme John Williams wrote using a slow, scary Duuuun-dun... Duuuun-dun rhythm
What is Jaws
John Williams used a tiny, repeating two-note pattern that serves as a foundational background for a piece of music called this
What is an ostinato
While earlier composers wrote music to sound pretty and sweet, John Williams and other modern movie composers write music specifically to do this for a film's characters
What is make you feel what they are feeling? (Or reflect their emotions/the movie's scene)
To transform the sound of a normal piano into a metallic, clanking percussive instrument, John Cage would insert bolts, screws, and this stretchy office supply into the strings
What are rubber bands
Igor Stravinsky used these sudden, heavy, and shockingly loud notes to make the orchestra sound like it was stomping
What are pounding accents
When you press the keys on John Cage's Prepared Piano, it stops sounding like a traditional piano and instead sounds like this kind of clanking sound
What is a garage band or tiny drum set
Modern composers use computers and synthesizers to build these high-tech backgrounds, often mixing in real sound effects like rain or train whistles
What are electronic soundscapes
John Williams' famous Jaws Theme pattern starts out very slow and quiet, but it uses this specific trick to build suspense
What is it speeds up and gets louder
This is the exact name (written as a time) of John Cage's most famous piece where the performer sits at the piano and plays absolutely nothing, letting the audience hear the sounds around them
What is 4'33" (Four Minutes and Thirty-Three Seconds)
Modern composers love "sound exploration," meaning they don't just use standard instruments—they might create music using what
What are everyday objects
Modern and contemporary composers stopped trying to make their music sound pretty or sweet because they wanted it to reflect this fast-moving, high-tech invention of the modern world
What is technology? (Or machines/movies)
Stravinsky's heavy chords in The Rite of Spring are designed to sound like this, rather than sounding pretty, sweet, or balanced
What is a little bit scary (or heavy/uncomfortable)