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Music Appreciation (Georgia Gwinnet College) Todd Mueller Georgia Gwinnet College, tmueller@ggc edu

lizabeth Whitenburg Ozment Georgia Gwinnet College, eozment@ggc edu

Irina scalante-Chernova Georgia Gwinnet College, iescalan@ggc edu

Marc Gilley Georgia Gwinnet College, mgilley@ggc edu

Catherine Kilroe-Smith Georgia Gwinnet College, ckilroes@ggc edu

See next page for additional authors

Follow this and additional works at: htp://oer galileo usg edu/arts-textbooks Part of the Music Commons

Recommended Citation Mueller, Todd; Ozment, Elizabeth Whitenburg; Escalante-Chernova, Irina; Gilley, Marc; Kilroe-Smith, Catherine; and Fischer, Rachael, "Music Appreciation (Georgia Gwinnet College)" (2017) Fine Arts Open extbooks 4 htp://oer galileo usg edu/arts-textbooks/4

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Authors Todd Mueller, Elizabeth Whitenburg Ozment, Irina Escalante-Chernova, Marc Gilley, Catherine Kilroe-Smith, and Rachael Fischer

Tis open textbook is available at GALILEO Open Learning Materials: htp://oer galileo usg edu/arts-textbooks/4

Open TextbookGeorgia Gwinnett College

UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA

Elizabeth Whittenberg Ozment, Todd Mueller, Irina Escalante-Chernova, Marc Gilley, Catherine Kilroe-Smith, Rachael Fischer

Music Appreciation

Module 1= Universals

What is Music?

In order to gain an appreciation for music we must first definewhat “music” is. Picture a concert hall with a grand piano sitting in thecenter of the stage. The pianist enters the stage dressed in formalclothes typical of a Western Art musical performance. The audienceacknowledges the performer who sits at the piano, opens a sheet ofmusic and then waits for the audience to settle. To begin the piece thepianist starts a silent timer that only he/she can see. The pianist thensits while listening,not playing a note on the piano.This takes place for 4 minutes and 33 seconds until the timer indicates the end of the piece.The pianist then takes a bow (hopefully to applause) and leaves thestage. John Cage wrote his seminal work 4’33” to highlight that all noisecould be music. His philosophies were grounded in the concepts andteachings of Zen Buddhism. Is it inappropriate to call the ambientsounds of the space that one is in music? If it is music to someone, thenit is music.

Now imagine someone you know who is so sure that the musicthat they listen to is “real music” that they discount all unfamiliarmusical styles, genres, and artists. Growing up in the American South Iknew many people who listened to Country music. In the late 1980’sand 1990’s rap music and hip-hop culture had escaped from theboroughs of New York and was appreciated by audiences in a majorityof communities across the USA. On more than one occasion I heard a young country music enthusiast rail against rap music. The situationwas also reversible. Just as many rap fans would rail against countrymusic. The criticism that they had in common was that, “It all soundsthe same.” They might follow that with, “I like music that meanssomething.” Music does mean something to those who like it.Just like 4’33”meant something to John Cage and to millions who have enjoyed itboth aurally and philosophically.

There are many ways that humans express themselves throughsound. The examples above demonstrate the breadth of musicalpossibilities within one culture.Now multiply this by the varieties of musical expression found throughout the world’s cultures and throughout history. It is hard to think of all of the possibilities and tobelieve that one could “appreciate” them all. Do you know why

Gamelan is important to those who make it? Do you know what it feelslike to “be in the moment” at a Hindustani musical concert? Do youknow the feeling of turning off your conscious thought during anuplifting praise and worship song or at an Electronic Dance Music(EDM) festival? It is important to try to find out why others appreciatemusic before passing an aesthetic judgment.

The first key is to broaden your concept of what music is. In thiscourse we define music as sound organized by humans (Blacking 1973, 4).Because neuroscience is in a time ofgreat discoveries we are learning more and more about music and its biological benefits(reasons). Music is important to humans and has been for at least thelast 40,000 years. We know this because the oldest instrument (that hasbeen found) is a bone flute found in Hohle Fels Cave in southwestGermany. The level of sophistication that it took to make theinstrument indicates that it took much effort. This is not a primitive instrument.

The ways to listen to music are as varied as the genres. A genre is a group of musical pieces that are characterized by similarities.At the beginning of the 21st century humans are surrounded by music and noise.Much ofthis noise is ambient music.We hear more music than anyone at any other time in history. It is nothing special for many of us.It accompanies our driving, walking, studying, shopping, riding anelevator, etc.… We do not have to pay attention to most of the musicthat we hear. In fact, much of it is not created for people who are payingattention. Instead it is created for passive listening. Passive listeningsimply means hearing without an intention to experience what one ishearing. Examples of music for passive listening would include ambientmusic heard in a department store, theme park, or yoga studio. Music played in a commercial and often times in a video game, televisionshow, internet post or movie may also be ambient. Active listening isrequired to develop an appreciation for a majority of the genres ofmusic. Active listening is listening with a purpose. That purpose maysimply be to enjoy the sounds, or it may be to analyze the music to findout what makes it unique.

There are as many ways to analyze music as there are varieties ofways to make music. In this class we will utilize five elements of musicto gain a greater understanding of the composition (work of art). The five elements of music are: rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, and form. Module three will require active listening and analysis of

rhythm.Module four will include melody,harmony,and texture. Module five will cover form.In addition, this course will analyze differences in human musical expression by surveying instruments from around the world (Module 2).This will include a discussion of timbre. Timbre is a French word that we use to describe the unique quality ofthe sound of an instrument.

The word “music”

For the purpose of this course we are defining music as sound organizedby humans.While this works well in appreciation courses in the Western world it does not always work when talking about the“humanly organized sound” of other cultures. The word “music” is a construct of Western culture and does not translate to all cultures. In the Arabic Islamic world the translation for music is musiqaa. Whilethis word refers to much of what westerners would call music it does not refer to melodic recitation ofthe Qur’an. Recitation of the holiest book in Islam is artful melodic and rhythmic presentation that is done with much passion (soul). Even though this recitation is “soundorganized by humans” it is not appropriate to refer to it using the wordmusic. This is because it is a spiritual presentation that Muslims consider to be different (above) secular “music”. This is not to say thatall religious recitation is different than music. In Europe the oldestnotated music is religious chant called plainchant (6th through 9th

centuries).This is often referred to as Gregorian chant because of a legend that claims that Pope (Saint) Gregory I was responsible forgathering the musical practice of all of the Roman Catholic lands into anotated set. Saint Gregory certainly did much to canonize the Catholicworship documents but the plainchant that has his name most likelyevolved in the three hundred years after his death. Plainchant, orGregorian Chant, is melodic recitation that is called music. Manycultures do not limit music to organized sound. In India, sangita refersto both music and dance. For people who tie music into their way of lifethere is sometimes no word for music because it is not separated from“life”. This is true for many indigenous North Americans and Africans.

Who makes music?

The concept of who, or what, a musician is also varies between cultures.In the same indigenous North American and African cultures there isnot a designation for someone who specializes in music. This is because all members of the community make music. The concept is comparableto the act of speaking in our communities. Everyone takes part inspeaking. We recognize that some “speakers” or “preachers” havedeveloped the skill but that does not mean that others do not speak. Inour own culture the definition of “musician” is a moving target. Whatlevel of proficiency or professionalism does one have to achieve beforebeing considered a musician? Is it not true that one who sings in churchor at a birthday party is making music and therefore a musician? Forthe purposes of a world survey of music it is important to broaden thedefinition of a musician to be anyone who is taking part in music.Thiscan be a virtuoso violinist, a dancer in India,a producer of Hip-Hop or a shower singer.

Why do people make music?

Humans use music for a variety of reasons that vary from cultureto culture. Music signifies different things for different people. Some mainly use it for entertainment and marketing while for others it is apart of everyday life akin to speaking or walking. As Cathy Kilroe-Smith writes in Musical Journeys:

On the continent of Africa, music is used in a number ofpractical ways. In many cases, it is used while doing everydaytasks so that the mind can rest while the rhythm takes over.Fishermen along the coast of Mauritania use song to help themcommunally pull in their heavy fishing nets. The songs help themto synchronize their movements so that as the rhythm increasesso does the effort put into hauling in their catch. Known for theircraftsmanship, the Senofu people of the Ivory Coast usecombinations of rhythms to create communal rhythmic patterns.Each action or task has a rhythm, and when combined the effect isof one complex musical tapestry. This ensures that everyonekeeps working at a good pace and helps the time pass quicker.Once the workday is over, the music and rhythms change and

evenings are spent dancing and singing. Music is very much partof the fabric of daily life in Africa. Singing and movementaccompany many aspects of daily life; even while waiting in linepeople sing. (Kilroe-Smith 2013, 14)

This passage also illustrates the use of music to increase productivity of labor. Work songs come from all ways of life. Some examples are seashanties, field hollers, street cries, lumberjack tunes, prison songs,railroad songs, mining songs, and cowboy tunes. Another kind of workmusic is traditional military music from times when music was used toorganize and motivate troops on a march or on a battlefield. Militarymusic still accompanies important ceremonies and events.

When people gather together there is often music. This can be simply to enjoy the company of others like at a picnic or a party. It canalso be a gathering that focuses on the music like a concert or a dance.Music is used for celebrations ranging from life’s most important events(weddings, graduations, funerals, birthdays) to the most inane(competitive victories, arrival of the weekend). Lullabies are used to put children to sleep and songs help wake people up with tenderness.

The expression of ideas and emotions is a reason for much of the Western World’s popular music. Listeners relate to the messages inpop tunes. Songs and works about emotions that are generated by loveare a common example of emotional expression in music. In this way,music is often used to identify and express who we are as musicians andlisteners. This expression can be personal or it can be used for groupidentity.National Anthems are used to unify members ofa societyunder a common musical theme. In international gatherings like theOlympics music provides national unity and pride. Protest songs canunify many people behind a common goal. These songs often give people strength and courage to carry on.

Music is a profession for many.There is much money to be made by performing and composing music. Think of all of thecommercial uses of music. Music is heard in stores, in parks, ontelevision, in the movies, in airports, and in restaurants.Often times people compose, perform, and record this music primarily for money.Professional Western classical musicians play concerts year round.Many of these concerts do not contain music that every member ispassionate about.

One of the most striking and profound uses of music is in worship.A majority of humans use music in religious practices.This is evident in hymns and choral singing of Christianity. It can be found in the SufiWhirling Dervishes and in the devotional aspect of Hindustani andCarnatic music from India. In the shamanistic cultures of the world communication with the spirit world is facilitated through musicalpractice with shaman often singing and drumming. Religious tranceaccompanied by music can be found across the globe, from TibetanBuddhism to Alabaman Pentecostal Christianity.

The spiritual or religious aspect of music is a reason that manymusicians give for wanting to devote their life to the art. Becausescience cannot yet explain the transcendent power of music we say thatmusic has metaphysical power. Metaphysics is a term that is used toexplain concepts or ideas that cannot be scientifically proven (yet). Thiscan be felt in the solitude of a prayerful chant or in the common “vibe” ofthousands dancing at an electronic dance music festival or club.

Dance is a form of human expression that is almost inseparable from music. Because ofthis much music is created to accompany,or facilitate dance.This dance can be formal,like in a European ballet or Egyptian zaar. Dance music can also be informal, like at a concert or club.

What is aesthetic preference?

In a limited sense aesthetics are the judgments and preferencesthat humans place on art and cultural works. Aesthetic judgments arenot made from only one area of our understanding. They arephilosophical, scientific, and theoretical. In simpler terms aestheticjudgments are emotional, intellectual and sensory all at once. It is important to recognize differing aesthetics as the result ofthe culture from which they arise.Many American students have an aesthetic preference for music that has extra-musical meaning heard in wordsthat are sung. In this case extra-musical refers to aspects of the music that are in addition to arranged sounds. In Western music history musicologists (people who study music as an academic subject,mostlyused for describing scholars of European Art music) divide works intotwo categories that indicate the meaning of a piece. The category inwhich the works contains extra-musical meaning is called programmatic music. Programmatic music can tell a story or simply

relate an idea with or without words. As a side note: Music with words can generally be called songs while music without words is usuallyreferred to as a piece or work. The other category is absolute music. Absolute music refers to music that contains no extra-musical story oridea. There is not currently a strong aesthetic for absolute music. TheClassical Style Period (1750-1820) is a time in European Art Musicwhen there was emphasis on absolute music. This is when the sonata,string quartet, concerto, and symphony became important genres.

Music that has words can relate any idea, story, or emotion thatthe songwriter and/or musicians want to convey. Some songs arenarrative. This means that they tell a story. Some simply relate anemotion or idea. Sometimes the words that are sung do not have literalmeaning to the listeners/performers. Instead, performance of the pieceholds the actual meaning. This is the case with many patriotic songs orprotest songs. In some music, the syllables being sung aremeaningless. Meaningless sung syllables are called vocables. Many indigenous American songs utilize vocables.They are also a part of England’s rich madrigal and carol tradition (“Fa-la-la-la-la”) andAmerican Do Wop music from the late 1950’s.

Some listeners prefer music without direct meaning. A primeaesthetic of the absolute music of the Classical style period wasemphasis on form and proportion in music. The works of WolfgangAmadeus Mozart epitomize this aesthetic goal. Understanding much ofMozart’s music necessitates understanding the forms and melodies ofthe late 18th century in Austria. More recently ambient music has foundan audience. Pure dance music (without lyrics) might also be absolute.Absolute music is only “about’’ the arrangement of sounds.

Aesthetic preference can also manifest in the way that aperformer interprets a piece of music. In much of the world’s culturesthere is a strong aesthetic for hearing traditional, recognizable pieces.Each new performer of these traditional pieces is expected to add theirown musical identity to the piece. This is an opposing aesthetic tocultures in which each subsequent performance of the piece tries toapproximate the original sound, aesthetic, and intent of the piece.Students in America often reveal aesthetic preference by consideringhow they would like to hear an artist play a song that they like. Wouldthey rather the artist interpret in a new way or do they want to hear it“like it was on the album”?

Transmission of Music and Knowledge

The process by which music moves from between one person toanother, between generations, and between communities is calledmusical transmission. Since Edison’s first recording in 1877, recordingtechnology has transformed music performance and transmission. Theprocess of change from recording sound on tin foil,wax cylinders,vinyl,magnetic tape, to the digital revolution that brought about compactdiscs and now streaming has drastically changed how music istransmitted. In the current world (2016) it is possible to hold more music on a device small enough to keep in one’s pocket than a majorlibrary could physically contain in 1976. This has changed how muchhumans consume and value music. When combined with video recording and the Internet,recording has become the primary way totransmit music between people, cultures, and generations. The technical revolution has facilitated cross cultural exposure andexploration that is unparalleled in human history. This hasramifications that are yet to be discovered and/or understood.

Before modern recording technology the only ways to pass downa work in an original state were to notate it on paper or to pass it downorally. Many cultures continue traditions that have been ongoing forcenturies of passing down music orally/aurally. While new performersare part of a continuing lineage and tradition it is likely that the musicthat they inherit continually evolves. The oldest extant written notationthat gives complete instructions on how the music is to sound originated with Medieval European monks. This is now the staffnotation that is fast becoming a global standard for music notation.

Reference List:

Bakan,MichaelB.2012. WorldMusic:TraditionsandTransformations.2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Blacking,John.1973. How MusicalisMan? Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress.

Cage, John. 1973. Silence:LecturesandWritingsbyJohnCage. Middletown, Connecticut: WesleyanUniversity Press.

Kilroe-Smith,Catherine.2013. MusicalJourneys. Dubuque,IA:KendallHunt.

Paredes,Américo.1958. WithHisPistolinHisHand:ABorderBalladandIt’sHero. Austin,TX:UniversityofTexasPress.

TheMusicInstinct:ScienceandSong.WrittenanddirectedbyElenaMannes.Premiered[2009].Co-productionof THIRTEEN for WNET.ORGand Mannes ProductionsInc.,inassociationwithARTE/France,NDR,AustralianBroadcastingCorporationwith the participationof YLE.YouTube video, 1:53:34. Posted by Coffee Science & Discoveries [Oct 2014].https://youtu.be/m5pwSMDTD4M?t=26m13s.AccessedOct.2016.

Wade,Bonnie C.2013. ThinkingMusically:ExperiencingMusic,ExpressingCulture.3rd ed.New York:OxfordUniversityPress.

Module 2- MusicalInstruments

Whatareinstruments?

Musicalinstruments areanysoundproducingmediumusedinthecreationofmusic.Thisincludesthehumanbody(voice)andallelectronicandchanceproductionofmusicalsounds.

Musicalinstrumentsareamongsttheearliest evidenceofhumanscreating art. Theoldestextantinstruments are flutes found in Hohle Fels cave in Southwest Germany.These flutes are madeoutofthelegboneofa swanandwoolymammothivory. Theseflutesrevealmusicalactivityattheendofthe“stone”age. Visual representations of musical instruments canbefoundinmostoftheWorld’s ancient cultures (Egyptian sistrum,Persian ney,Chinesexun,Greek “Pan”flutes,aboriginalAustralian bullroarer, logdrumsoftheAztecs, and so on). We also learnabout instrumentsfrommyths,legends,andinart. Althoughthereis much evidenceleft of musicalinstrumentsthereislittleinformationleftonhowtheywereplayed.Becauseofthisethnomusicologistsmustmakemany deductions and assumptionsabouthowmusicsounded.

Perhapsthefirstmusicalinstrumentswereusedforcommunication. Signalinginstruments arecommoneventoday. Trumpets and drums havea long traditionofsignalinginmilitary units bothonand off of thebattlefield. Shofars and Kudu horns upholdthissametraditioninvariousoldercultures.Gongsandchurchbellshavelong signaledmanyevents.InTibetanBuddhismmonksblowinto conchshells tosignaltimesandcallpeopletoprayer.ThedrumbeatofaTurkishJanissary band was used to strike fear into Christiancrusaders. Electronicmusical tonesnowsignalthearrivaloftextmessages,phonecalls,thecompletionofadownload, and any numberofachievementsonvideogames.Determiningtheuseofaninstrumenthelpstogiveinsightintothemeaning ofit tothepeoplewhouseit.

Whenlookingintotheinstrumentsofanycultureitishelpfultouseaclassificationsystem. Themostcommonusedclassificationsystemformusicalinstruments(usedinWesternacademia)iscalledtheHornbostel-Sachsinstrumentclassificationsystem(publishedin1914).ThissystemisbasedoffofaHindusystemusedbyBelgiancuratorVictorMahillioninthelate1800s.TherearefivecategoriesofinstrumentsintheHornbostel-Sachsclassification:

• Idiophones- instrumentinwhichprimarysoundproducingmediumisthevibratingbodyoftheinstrumentitself.

• Membranophones- instrumentinwhichtheprimarysoundproducingmediumisavibratingstretchedmembrane(skin)

• Chordophones- instrumentinwhichtheprimarysoundproducingmediumisavibratingchord (string)

• Aerophones- instrumentinwhichtheprimarysoundproducingmediumisavibratingcolumnofair

• Electrophones- instrumentwherethesoundisdifferentiatedelectronicallySomenotable examplesfromeachcategorythatcanbeusedforyourproject:

Idiophones:cymbal,triangle,zils,slitdrums,woodblocks,chimes,bells,glockenspiel, marimba,balaphone,xylophone,mbira,gongs,(Gamelanhas:kenong,ageng,kempul,kempli,gansa,ugal,jublag,panyacah,jegogan),steeldrums,jawharp,shakers,rattles,guiro,bones, castanets,udu,Hangdrum

Membranophones:drumsofallkinds=djembe,ashiko,talking-drums,tar,tabla,mrdangam,taiko,powwowdrum,bassdrum,snaredrum,timpani,surdo, repinique,cuica,conga,bongo,framedrums,tambourine,rik,kanjir,bodran

Aerophones:flutes(dizi,western,piccolo,shakuhachi,NativeAmerican,ocarina,recorder),trumpetsandhorns(Frenchhorn,bugle,shofar,kudu,trombone,trumpet,baritone,bugle,conch),panpipes,didgeridoo,reedinstruments(oboe,bassoon,clarinet,saxophone,harmonica,bagpipes,accordion, concertina),bullroarer, sirens,organ

Chordophones:zithers(autoharp,qanun,uhadi,berimbau,dulcimer),harps,kora,lutes(guitar,banjo,mandolin,ukulele,violin,viola,‘cello,doublebass,bouzouki,sitar, oud, charango, guqin,koto,balalaika,ngoni,molo),piano,harpsichord

Electrophones: telharmonium, theremin, ondesMartenot,synthesizer,computer,midi-instruments,electricaerophones/chordophones/membranophones/idiophones,turntables,magnetictape,sequencers,samplers

Extra-MusicalAssociations: Manyinstrumentshave extra-musicalassociations.Theseareideasthat

peoplehaveabouttheinstrumentsthataresupplementaltomusicalnotesproducedbytheinstrument. Many of these associationshighlightwhattheseinstrumentsmeantothepeoplewholistentothem.

Associationsoflocation andculture arefoundwithinstruments.The didgeridooistypicallyassociatedwithAustralia.MoreparticularknowledgeoftheinstrumentevokesthoughtsoftheaboriginalAustralianswhocreatedandperformonit.TheBrazilian berimbau isa chordophoneassociatedwithslaveswhousedtheinstrumenttoaccompanycapoeira.Capoeiraisamartialartthatisdisguisedasdance.Becauseofthistheberimbauisassociatedwithrebellionandresistance. Steel pans/drums arethenationalsymbolofTrinidadandTobago.Theyare 55-gallon oil“drums”thathave musical noteshammeredintooneend.Theyareidiophones.Acrosstheglobemanypeopleassociatethesoundsofthesteelpanwithidyllicislandsettings.

GenderAssociations canbemadeaboutinstrumentswhentheinstruments are designated to be played byeithermalesorfemales.InmanytraditionalAfricanculturesmanyinstrumentsaretobeplayedonlybymales.The mbira isa pluckedidiophonefromtheShonapeopleoftheZambezivalleyinsouthernAfrica.ItiscommonlyassociatedwiththecountryofZimbabwebuthasbecomeapopularinstrumentacrossthecontinentandintothediaspora.Inmanyculturaltraditionsthisinstrumentisonlytobeperformedbymales.InancientEgyptiansocietythis

gender bias was not generally thecase.Thesistrumwas aninstrumentonlytobeplayedbyfemales. InAmericansocietytraditionalassociationswithregardstogenderpreferenceforinstrumentalperformanceexist,butarefading.Thetraditionusedtohavesmallerinstrumentslikethefluteandclarinetbeingassignedtogirlswhilelargerinstrumentslikethetubaanddoublebasswereplayedbyboys.Thesecondwaythatinstrumentscantakeongenderassociationsisiftheinstrumentitselfisconsideredtobemaleorfemale. TheAfro-Cuban bongos are a setof two drumswherethelargerdrumisfemale(hembra)andthesmallerdrumismale(macho). ThiscanbeseeninAmericansocietywithharpsthatareconsideredtobefemale.

Manyinstrumentsevoke spiritualassociations.Thiscanmeanthatthe instrumentisassociatedwithprayerandworship.Examplesofthisincludethe organ (associatedwith traditionalChristianworship),the Shakuhachiflute (associatedwithZenBuddhistmeditation), kanglingandconchshell (Tibetan Buddhism=voiceofBuddha),andthe mrdangam drum(SouthIndian/Carnatic= associationwith Hindudeity Ganesh).Sometimesinstrumentshelpcommunication betweenthe spiritworld and the physicalworld.The Australian didgeridoofacilitatespassageto“DreamTime”inAboriginalpractice.The Bata drums helpto call downOrishasinCuban Santeria.ThisisareligiouspracticeofAfro-Cubans thatcombinesAfricanandEuropeanreligioustraditions.The powwow drumhelpstocleanse/refreshthespiritofNativeAmericanmaleswhoplay it whilesinging.Spiritualassociationscanalsobegenericassociationsofinstrumentswithgoodorevil.ThiscanbeseeninAmericanculturewiththeHarpassociationwithAngelsand the violinand guitar associationwith the devil.

Whenmusicalinstrumentshaveaestheticassociationstheyareoftenusedas visualworksofart. Wheninstrumentscarrystrongvisualaestheticvaluepeopleoftenobtainthemnottoplaymusicbutinsteadto enjoytheirlook.Manyinstrumentsarecarvedordecoratedinwaysthatmakethemvaluable.TheTibetanconchshellistraditionallycarvedandencrustedwithjewels.Gamelaninstrumentsareornatelycarvedandbecomevisualshowpiecesintempleswheretheyareperformed.Instrumentscanoftenbefoundondisplayinmuseums.Instrumentsvaluedfordifferingaestheticscanbefoundmountedonthewallsof restaurants intheUSA.Aestheticvaluedoesnotalwaysmean“fine-art”.

Culturalstatus cansometimesbeindicatedbythemusicthatonelistenstoortheinstrumentthatonechoosestoplay.Inpre-televisionAmericaafavoritepastimewasmusicmaking.Inhollersandfarmhousesoflessaffluentpeopleinstrumentsliketheguitar, banjo,andharmonicawerecommonbecauseoftheir cost andavailability.Peoplewhoownedmorecomplexandexpensiveinstrumentscouldshow theircultural statusbyplayingthegenresassociatedwiththeseinstruments.TothisdaymanyAmericanshavepianosinhomeswherenooneperformsonthem. TheKorean komungo isa pluckedzitherthat hasfrettedand non-fretted silk strings. It is traditionally associated with aristocratic courts andhigh-class status.

Ofteninstrumentsare thought ofprimarily as products tosellforprofit.If theinstrumentsaremanufacturedpoorlyornotuptothestandardsneededtomakemusicthentheyhavean extra-musicalassociationof being substandardorcheap.

Whenlargedepartmentretailerssellmusicalinstrumentslikeguitars,drums,andkeyboards they tend to have this association.InAmerica inadequate versionsof West-Africandjembe drumsarecommonlysoldinimportstores as“African”themeddecorations.Tothesellertheseareamarketableproduct.Tothebuyerthese are generally anaesthetic visualaccent.

Sometimesinstrumentsretain(orincrease)invalueastimepasses.Ifthisisthecasethantheinstrumentscanbethoughtofas investments. TheEuropeanviolinfamilyofinstrumentsbecamestandardizedindesignandconstructionduringthe Baroque style period(1600-1750).Theluthiers(violinbuilders)ofthattime(Amati,Guarneri,Stradivari)builtinstrumentsthatremainrenownedandsoughtafter. Theseinstrumentshavebeenvaluedforsolongthatoftenthe historical associations addmuchtothevalue.Theseinstrumentsnowsellformillionsof dollars at auction.

Ensemblebasics/ranges:

Whentwoinstrumentsperformtogetheritisgenerallyreferredtoasaduetorsolo(instrument)withaccompaniment.Itisacommonpracticetoaccompanyamelodyonanotherinstrument.InAmericanPopmusictherearemanyexamplesofartistsaccompanyingtheirownsingingbyplayingharmonyandrhythmonguitarorpiano. Forthistobeaduettherehavetobetwomusicians.

Whenmorethantwoinstrumentsperformtogetherthegroupiscalledanensemble. Twomusiciansmakeaduet,threemakeatrio,fourmakeaquartet,andso on. Instrumentsinanensemblegenerallydifferin register or intimbre.

Register andrange refer to the “height”of anote or the heightof an instrument’s range ofnotes. Range isthedistancefromthelowesttothehighestnotesthataninstrumentcanplay.InWesternmusicalpracticeensemblesgenerallycontaininstrumentsthatcancoverthenotesinfourstandard ranges:soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Theseregistersareassociatedwithbasicregistersof thehumanvoice.The basic vocal registers are:

Soprano: the high-femalevocalrange Alto: the low-femalevocalrange Tenor: the high-malevocalrange Bass: the low-malevocalrange

Westernvocalmusicistraditionallycomposedinawaythatlimitssingerstotheirnaturalrange.For western aesthetics eachrangeisroughlytwooctaves.Choralmusiciscommonlycomposedwithfourmusicallines:sopranos,altos,tenors,andbasses.Singers singthe line thatfits their vocalrange.

Instruments are also given these designations based on the ranges that theyplay.Someusetheactualterminologyofthevocalrangestoshowthedifferingregisters.Anexampleof thisisthesaxophone(sax)familyofinstruments.Saxophonesaresinglereedinstrumentsofthewoodwindfamilythatareusuallymadeofbrass.Thecommonhigh-pitched saxophoneis called asoprano.Thealtosaxophonehasthesametimbreasasoprano sax but it plays a lower pitch range.

Thetenorsaxophoneplayslowernotesthanthealtosax withthebaritoneplaying evenlower.Baritoneindicatesa pitchrangein-betweentenor and bass.There are several in-betweenand extended ranges. Acommon saxophone quartet includes asopranosax,altosax,tenorsaxandbaritonesax.Theseinstrumentsallhavesimilartimbrebuttheydifferinrange. Westernbowed-lutes are also differentiated by the registerofeachinstrument.The high-pitchinstrument iscalledaviolin.Aviolaisslightly larger and has a lower range. The violoncello (‘cello) is lower still with thedouble-basses playingthe lowestrange of notes. Acommonstringquartetconsistsoftwoviolins,a viola,anda violoncello.

Becausetheaforementionedensembleswereallmadeofthesame instrumentstheyallhadsimilartimbres.Ensemblesinwhichalloftheinstrumentshavesimilartimbersarereferredtoas homogeneous ensembles.Whilethisis certainlyanapt description forensemblesofinstrumentsthatdifferonlyinregister(likechoirs,saxophonequartets,andstring quartets)it canalsobetrueof ensemblesthatcontaindifferentinstruments.Usuallythesedifferentinstrumentsarefromthesamefamily(butnotalways).Examplesofthisincludewoodwindensembles(oboe,flute,Frenchhorn,bassoon,clarinet)andbrassensembles(trumpet,trombone,baritone,Frenchhorn,tuba).

Ensemblesinwhichinstrumentaltimbresvaryarecalled heterogeneous.Therearemany genresofcontemporarypopularmusicthatexemplifythisconcept.Thebasicbandusedinmuchinstrumentalpopcontainsa rhythmsection(drum-set/kit,bassguitar,guitar,keyboard.Initselfarhythmsectionisaheterogeneousensemble.Thetimbreof thedrumsisnotmeanttoblendwiththetimbreofthe guitarorpiano.Thedrumkititselfisaheterogeneousinstrument.Thestandardcomponentsofadrumsetare:

• High-hat=twocymbalsplayedtogetherwithfootpedalorastick • Ridecymbal=largecymbalthatismeantforconsistentpatternsinsteadof

accentingimportantmoments • Crashcymbal=smallercymbalthatisusedtoaccentimportantmoments • SnareDrum=drumthathaswires(snares)stretchedacrossthebottomhead • TomToms- drumsofvarioussizes • Bass Drum- Lowest pitched drum

Thecymbalshaveadifferenttimbrethanthedrums.Thehigh-hat hasa different timbrethanthecymbals.Asnaredrumhasadifferenttimbrethantheotherdrums.Addtotherhythmsectionaleadinstrumentplaying amelodyandthetimbresvaryevenmore.Thisinstrumentisoftenthehumanvoicebutitcanbeamelodic instrumentliketrumpet,saxophone,orfluteaswell.

Oftenanensemblehasaspectsthatarebothheterogeneousandhomogeneous.SymphonyorchestrasarethelargeensemblesthatplaymanypopulargenresofWesternArtMusic(symphony,concerto,opera,soundtracksforfilms/games,ballet).Orchestrasaremadeupoffoursectionsofinstrumentsgroupedbytimbre(strings,woodwinds,brass,percussion).Theart of orchestrationreferstohowacomposer(ororchestrator)creativelyusesthe

varyingtimbres.Sometimesthecomposerwillwriteforonlyonesection,creatingahomogeneousideal.Thiscanbecontrastedwithsectionswheretheentireorchestra is playing, creating a heterogeneous ideal. Orchestration can also beheardin marchingbands,windensembles, Chinese orchestras, Brazilian sambagroups, Japanese gagaku, andinIndonesiangamelanorchestras.

Musiciansinensemblespracticeindividuallyandthencometogethertorehearse.Theserehearsalsrequirecoordinatedeffortsbythemusicianstoachieveacommongoal.Oftenthisnecessitatesaleader.Inmanylargeensemblegenrestheleaderissomeonewhoorganizesactivities,conceptualizesmusicalgoals,rehearsesthe group, andperformswiththeensemble.Manydrumminggroupsfromaroundtheglobeareledbyamasterdrummerwhopreformscuesandsignalsthatguidetheensembleanddancersthroughthemusic.Jazzbandsareusually led by a prominentbandmemberwhorehearsesthegroup,andcountsoff(starts)tunes.Themusicalleadershiproleofsymphonyorchestrashasevolvedfromaviolinistwholedthegroupwhileplaying(muchlikeajazzbanddirector).Asthemusicbecamemoredemandingtherewasagreaterneedfortheleaderto lead withoutperformingonaninstrument.Theresultisaconductorwhorehearsesthegroup,startsandstopstheensemble,guidesthemthroughtempochanges,andinspiresthebestefforts of the musicians(andtheaudience).

Digitalmusic:

Perhapsthemostimportantdevelopmentinthehistoryofmusicalinstrumentswastheinventionofdigitalaudioproduction(computers).Thecomputerhasputthesoundsofallacousticinstrumentsinthehandsofthemusicproducer.Thecomputerallowsproducerstheabilitytocreatenewtimbresandinstrumentsthatarenotlimitedbyphysicalabilitytoperform.Aswithmostmusicalinnovationsofthepastwecurrentlyheartheseinnovationsindancemusicandinexperimentalgenres.Thereisnoendto the sonic possibilities of this relativelynewinstrument.

Reference List:

Bakan,MichaelB.2012. WorldMusic:TraditionsandTransformations.2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kilroe-Smith,Catherine.2013. MusicalJourneys. Dubuque,IA:Kendall Hunt.

Wade,Bonnie C.2013. ThinkingMusically:ExperiencingMusic,ExpressingCulture.3rd ed.New York:OxfordUniversityPress.

Module3=Rhythm

Inordertogainabetterunderstandingofmusicitisimportanttoknowthetechnicaldifferencesbetweenworks.Thestudyoftheuniquetreatmentofsoundstocreateapiecenecessitatesbreakingthemusicdowninto“elements”.Therearemanydifferent opinionsastowhatanexhaustivelistofelementsshouldinclude.Inthis textwe willuse TheFiveElementsofMusic. Thesearerhythm,melody,harmony,textureandform.Module3willcover rhythm; Module 4 willcover melody,harmonyandtexturewhileModule5willcoverform.Asyoulearntoanalyzemusicutilizingthefiveelementsitisalsoimportanttorecognizethefourproperties of atone:duration,frequency,amplitudeandtimbre(Bakan2012,34).Duration refers to the length of the sound.Frequencyreferstothe physicalwavelengthofthetone,whichmanifestsasthe height ofthetone(pitch). Amplitudeisthevolumeofamusicaltone.Timbreistheparticularqualityofsoundthatatonehas.Thismodulewilldealmainlyindiscussionsabout thedurationofthetone.

Rhythm isthe elementofmusicthatdealswiththearrangementofsoundsand silences inrelationtotime. IntheWesternmusictraditionthesoundsare callednotesandthesilencesarecalledrests.Rhythmisalso anounthatrefers to specificarrangements/sequencesofnotesandrestswithintime. Thisuseisevidentwhendiscussinga specific rhythmthatisheardinapieceofmusic (like the clave rhythmfoundinWest-Africanmusicandmusicofthe diaspora). A diaspora isthe reestablishmentofcultureoutsideofthehomeland ofthepeoplewithinthat culture. InthiscaseitreferstothereestablishmentandevolutionofAfricanmusical traditionsintheAmericas.

Itisusefultoanalyzerhythmbylisteningfor thethreelevelsofmusicaltime: background,middleground,andforeground(Valdez 2006, 10).

BackgroundTimeTofindthebackgroundtimeinanypieceofmusictapyourhandornodyour

headormoveinwhateverwayallowsyoutomatchthemusic.Ifthisisaconsistentpulsethenitismostlikelythebackgroundtime.Thebackgroundtimeisapulseorbeataroundwhichotherrhythmsareorganized.A pulse or“beat” happenswhen there are regular equal-length durations.A metronome isa tool that providesapulseatspecificbeatsperminute(BPM).Insomegenres/culturesthereisanaestheticforstrict adherence to metronomicpulse.Insomemusicthepreferenceistoletthepulsepushorpull.Modernpopularmusicthatutilizescomputers forperformanceor“tracking”wouldmostoftenbemetronomic.“Tracking”referstoperformingonaliveinstrumentwhilestayingwitha digital track that keepsboth audio and visualaspects of the songsteady,choreographed and synchronized.ThiscouldrangefromthemusicofBollywood,hip-hop,electronicdancemusic(EDM)andAmericancountry.Somepeoplepreferforthebeat to“pushandpull” (slightlyspeeduporslowdown)astheartistisfeelingthemusic.ThiscanbeheardinHindustanimusic,Westernartmusic,andclassicrock.Oftentheshiftinspeed/tempo issosubtlethat it isnot noticeabletotheuntrainedear.

Thebackgroundpulsesetsthe tempo ofthemusic. Tempo refers to the speedofthebackgroundpulseinmusic.IntheWesternmusicalworldItaliantermsareutilizedtodescribemusicbecausecomposerstraveledtoItalytostudyOperacomposition for two centuries (1600s-1700s).OtherItaliantermsusedwhenconsideringabackgroundpulseare:

Accelerando graduallyspeedingup Ritardando graduallyslowingdown Ritard slowdown Presto veryfast Allegro fast and lively Andante atawalkingpace Adagio slow and stately Grave veryslow

In“classical”musicthatisabsolute(seeModule1 for definition of absolute)thetempoindicationsareoftengiveninlieuoftitlesforthemovementsofamulti-movementgenre(symphony, stringquartet,concerto,sonata).Forexample,Beethoven’s Piano SonataNo.14,Opus 27 No.2 (MoonlightSonata) hasthree movements.Inaprogramthepiecewouldbelistedwiththemovementtitlesastempoindications.

PianoSonataNo.14,Op.27 No. 2 Beethoven,Ludwigvan I. Adagiosostenuto(slowandsustained)II. Allegretto(moderatelyfast)III. Prestoagitato(veryfast andagitated)

AnotherexampleofthiswouldbetheStringQuartet,Opus11writtenbyAmericancomposerSamuelBarberin1936-43.Thisworkhasfourmovementslisted:

StringQuartet,Op.11 Barber,SamuelI. Molto allegro e appassionato (veryfast andpassionate) II. Molto adagio (veryslow) III. Molto allegro (veryfast)

Thesuccess ofthiswork iswidely attributedtothesecondmovement.Barberarrangedthismovementasastandaloneworkforalargerstringorchestra.ItisentitledAdagioforStrings.Inaworldofdescriptivetitlesthistitlemightseemtoominimalbutiteffectivelyallowsthelistenertobringtheirownmeaningtothis slow pieceforstrings.

Whenthe background pulseof aworkspeeds upand slows downinaneffort toexpressemotion this is referred to as rubato. Rubatoisdramaticandintentional andisgenerallyassociatedwithdramaticemotionalexpressionthatbecameanimportantaestheticforRomanticeraperformanceofWesternArtMusic.ThepianomusicofFrédérickChopinisoftenassociatedwiththisrhythmicpractice.

AnotherWesternArttechniquethatfreestheperformerstointerprettempoinaloosewayisassociatedwithOpera.Inoperawhencomposersmustadvancetheplotthroughthepresentationof dialoguebutdonotwishtocompose“songs”they userecitative. Recitative issingingthat followsthenatural flow ofspeech. Inarecitativesectionofanoperaoracantatathereisoftenmuchrhythmicfreedomgiventotheperformers.

Whenapiece has noconsistentbackground pulse it is non-metric. Music withoutadiscernable pulse canalso be referred to as Free Rhythmic. Fromthe perspectiveofthosewholistenprimarilytoAmericanPopgenresthisisnotacommonrhythmicapproach.Itis;however,evidentinmuchmusicspanningmanygenres. Non-metric musiccanrangefromworksperformedonshakuhachiflute,Japanesegagaku,ambientmusic,aleatoric/chancemusic, sections of BalineseGamelan, plainchant, recitativeinOpera,sectionsofIndianclassicalmusic,andsignalingmusic. Whileitisimportanttonotethatnotallmusichasasteadypulse,allmusichasrhythm.

Anotherimportantaspectofthebackgroundpulseisthesubdivision.Thetwomost commonsubdivisionsofthebackgroundpulsearedupleandtriple (seeFigure 1).Aduplesubdivisionofthebackgroundpulsedividesthespacebetweeneachbeatevenlyintwo.InAmericathecolloquialismtoindicateaduplesubdivision is to say that themusicis“straight”.Atriplesubdivisionofthebackgroundpulsedivideseachbeatbythree.Thecolloquialismforthisapproachistosaythatthemusic“swings”.MostAmericanpopmusiccanbeclassifiedas“straight”or“swinging”.Thissimplyrefers to a duple or triple subdivision of thebackground pulse.Each approachhas a“feeling”.MostAmericanpopmusicpriortothe1950’s“swung”orhadatriplesubdivision.Fromthe1960’stopresenttheaestheticpreferencehasbeenformusicthatis “straight”.Theaestheticpendulumwill, nodoubt, swing back to “swing”someday.

Figure 1:Subdivision of the background pulse

MiddlegroundTimeMiddlegroundtimeis an oft-analyzedaspectofrhythm.Thisisthelevelat

which the background pulse is organized into patterns of accented (emphasizedthroughloudervolume) andunaccentednotes.InWesternmusic themiddleground

timeiscalledmeter. Meter isa regular groupingofthebackgroundpulse. MostWesternpopular andartmusiciscomposedutilizingasimplemeter.Thethreemainsimplemetersareduple,triple,andquadruple.

Music thatis in duplemeter groupsthebackgroundpulseintoapatternofalternatingstrongand weakbeats.The 2/4 inFigure 2 isa timesignature that indicatesaduplemeter.Thetopnumberofatimesignaturetellshowmanybeatsareinameasure (2=duple).Thebottomnumberindicateswhatkindofnotegetsthe beat (4=quarternote). Itis standard contemporary practicetoassignthe background pulse to the quarter note. Figure 3 shows the relationships betweenseveralcommonlyusednotes.Itstartswiththewholenoteandsubdividesitwithallnotes upto the sixteenth notes. Allofthenotesin Figure 2 arequarternotes. Ifthese quarter notesareorganizedintomeasuresofthreethenthemusicisin triple meter. Likewise, groupings offourarein quadruple meter. Quadruplemeteristhemostcommonmiddlegroundgroupingofthebeat.

Figure 2:Simple Meters

InWesternArtmusic simple duple, triple, or quadruple meters havea duple subdivision ofthebackgroundpulse.(Thisisnotthecaseinpopular andworld musicgenres). Compound meter istheWesternterminologyformeterswhenthesubdivisionofthepulseisthreeinsteadoftwo.Aswithsimplemeters,compoundmetersappearinduple,triple,andquadruple groupings.Incompound timesignatures thetopnumberdoesnotindicatethebackgroundpulse.Aduple

©

Figure 3:Basic notes and subdivisions

compoundtimewillalwayshaveasixasthetopnumberofthetimesignature.The“compound”aspectisthatthe6notescanbegivenabackgroundpulseofthreeortwo(SeeFigure4).Incompoundtimetheeighthnotemostoftengetsthebeatdesignationsothesignature’slowernumberisusually8.6/8isaduplecompoundmeter,9/8isatriplecompoundmeter,and12/8isthesignatureforaquadruplecompoundmeter. Compoundmetersarealsoutilizedtocreatepoly-metricmusic.

Figure 4: Compound Meters

Simple Triple Meter

4 3 œ >

œ œ >

œ œ >

œ 1 & 2 & 3 &

œ œ œ 1 2 3

Compound Duple Meter

8 6 œ >

œ œ œ >

œ œ 1 & a 2 & a

.œ .œ 1 2

Compound Triple Meter > > >

8 9 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a

.œ .œ .œ 1 2 3

Compound Quadruple Meter > > > >

8 12 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 1 & a 2 & a 3 & a 4 & a

.œ .œ .œ .œ 1 2 3 4

Polymetricmusiccanbeheardinmorethanmeteratthesametime.ThisisacomplexconceptthatisheardindrummingfromAfricaandthediaspora.Theeffectofpolymetricmusicisashiftinginthelistenersunderstandingofwhere theemphasizedbeatsoccur.

AlthoughWesternArtmusicismainlycomposedusingthesimpleandcompoundmeterslistedabove therearemanyother possibilitiesfor meterin music.Whendupleandtriplemetersarecombineditisknownas additivemeter. The mostcommonadditivemetersarecombinationsof2and3thataddupto5(2+3or3+2) and 7 (2+2+3, 3+2+2 or 2+3+2). Meters like these are notascommon inWesternArtandPopularmusicthoughtheyareoftenusedinrhythmicallyadventurous genres like progressive rockand 20th centuryballet. Theyare morecommon in traditional musicofplaceslikethe Balkans (EasternEurope) and India.

Whenmusicstaysinthesamemeterthroughoutasongitisconsideredregular. Whenmusicshiftsbetweenmeters it is called irregular.Thiscanhappenwhenawork isinquadruplemeterforafewmeasuresandthenshiftsintotripleorquintuplemeters.Inlengthy worksthisisacommon occurrence.

Foreground TimeForegroundtimeencompassesallofthecomplexrhythmsthathappenontop

ofthemeterandpulseofthemusic.Thisisallofthesurfacerhythmsofthemusic.Thisiswheremost syncopations occur. Syncopation isarhythmicemphasiswhereit isnot expected.Syncopationsarecommoninmostgenresofmusic.Acommonsyncopation is to accent offbeats. Offbeats are the spaces betweenthe background pulses. Reggae and its parentgenres of rocksteady and ska allcontainheavy syncopationbyemphasizingthe offbeats.

CulturalApproachesto Rhythm:

Western ArtMusic- downbeatemphasisInWesternArtmusictheaestheticsforpreferredrhythmicemphasishave

evolvedanddevolvedforoveramillennium.Itisimportanttonotethattheaestheticsformusicofthe20th centurywereoftenexperimental.ComposerslikeKarlheinzStockhausenorIgorStravinskystretchedtherhythmicnormsbycreatingmusicthatwasextremeinrhythmiccomplexity.Thisistosaythat,atthebeginningofthe21st centuryitishardtoimaginemusicbecomingmorerhythmicallycomplex.Thisrepresentsa polaroppositerealityfromthelackofrhythmicemphasisinWesternArtmusicthatisevidentinthefirst1000yearsofChristianpractice.Perhapsitwasanattempttokeepoutpaganpracticeoritwas because thevenuesfor performancewereextremelyresonant;eitherwayrhythmwasnotemphasizedasmuchastheotherelementsinMedievalandRenaissancemusic.

IntheBaroquestyleperiodrhythmbecamemoreofanemphasiswithsteadybackground pulse beingfelt inamajorityoftheworks.FromtheBaroquethroughtheRomanticeraemphasiswas generally placed onthestrongbeats/downbeatsof measures.The downbeat emphasisinWesternArtmusiccanbefeltonbeatoneoftriplemetersandonbeats one andthree ofquadruple meters. Insome orchestralgenreslikewaltzesormarchesdownbeatemphasisisheardplayedon

drums.Inothergenres,andincontrasttopopularmusic,thereisoftennoinstrumentdedicatedtostrictlyemphasizingtherhythmofWesternArtmusic.

American/World Pop Music- backbeatemphasisSincetheearly20th centuryAmericanPopularMusichavebeeninfluencing

worldpopularmusicstyles.ElementsofAmericanpopcannowbeheardinthepopmusicofmanyothercultures.ExamplesofthisarefoundinBollywoodmusic,K-pop,J-pop,RussianrockandvariousAfricanpopstyles(amongstothers).Oneofthemainelementsthatcanbeheardinallofthesestylesisabackbeatemphasis. The backbeat isbeats2and4ofa4/4measure.Inmanycontemporarypopulargenresbeats 2 and 4 are actually articulated by the snaredrum(oranelectronicversionofthisinstrument).Thebackbeatisalsoarhythmicemphasisinolderpopgenresincludingthebluesandjazz.

SoutheastAsian Colotomic Meter InThaipiphat,Japanesegagaku,andIndonesiangamelanensembles the

conceptofcolotomicmeterisusedtoindicatethemetricfoundationofthemusic.A colotomic meter isa cyclical patternplayed byvariousinstrumentsthatrevealstherhythmicstructureofthework.Incolotomicmetersspecificinstrumentsplayonspecificbeatstoforma rhythmiccycle orthewesternequivalentofameter.Theseinstrumentsare often gongs.Ingamelanthehigher-pitched generallyplayatafaster rate than the lower-pitchedinstruments. Thismeansthatthelowestpitchedgongswilloftenmarkimportantbeatsinacycle.Forinstanceinthecolotomiccyclecalledketawangthelargest gongonlyplaysononebeat.Whenthisgongisplayeditindicatesthebeginningofthepieceandeachsubsequent cycle.InFigure5wesee thatthis gong (gong ageng) plays on the 16th beatof the cycle.Itis interestingtonotethatthemostimportantbeatisthelastbeatofthecycle.Thisisadifferingaesthetictodownbeatemphasis.Theinstrumentthatsplitsthe16beatcyclebyplayingon beat8(andsometimes16)iscalledthekenong.Thisisagongthatisplayed onits side(nothanging).Beat12isperformedonahanginggongcalledkempul.Thisgongisnotasbigasthegongagengandthereforeishigherinpitch.Filling in the restofthespacesarethekempyangandketuk.Theonlybeatwithasilence is beat four. Theothermelodicandrhythmicpartshappenontopofthisfoundational pattern.

Figure 5: Ketawang Colotomic Meter

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 p t p p t p N p t p Pul p t p N

G

Gong ageng= G Kenong=N Kempul=Pul Kempyang=p ketuk=t

AccordingtoMichaelBakan,anethnomusicologistatFloridaStateUniversitywhospecializesinGamelanmusicofIndonesia,Kilitanteluisaninterlockingrhythmicpatternthatformsthebasisofmanymelodiesandrhythmsingamelan

genres(Bakan,2012). Themainrhythminkilitan telu isplayedbythreeinstruments/voicegroups thateach startonadifferentbeat.This kind of patternisoftenheardinavocalbasedgamelanstylecalledKetak. Theinterlockingofthekitilan telu patternreflects the interdependenceinIndonesiansociety. AtypicalKecak-styleexerciseusingtheinterlockingkilitantelurhythmislistedinFigure6.

Figure6: Kecak style rhythm

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 “chak”1 C C C C C “chak”2 C C C C C “chak”3 C C C C C “pung” 1 P P

SouthwestAsia/NorthAfrican RhythmicModes/Iqa' Intheregionof theworld thatWesterners havetraditionallycalled the

“MiddleEast”secularmusicpracticesarerhythmicallyanchoredbyrhythmicmodesknownas iqa'.Therearehundredsofvariationsof iqa'.Eachonehassubtle differencesthatgiveitparticularexpressivemeaning.The iqa' are referred to as rhythmicmodesinsteadof“meters”becauseoftheexpressivecapacityofeachmode(rootwordmood).Each iqa' isaparticulararrangementofaccentedandunaccentedrhythms.Several iqa' arecommonlyheard.Themostcommonpercussioninstrumentsthatplaythe qi’arethe dumbek (alsoknownas thedarabukkah or darbuka), tar and rik. Much like a drum set inWesternpopplaysinbeats,iqa’consistsoflowpitchandhighpitchsoundsplayedonthedumbekorotherinstruments.Thelowsoundiscalled dumm while the high-pitched sound is called takk. Somecommon iqa’ arediagramedinFigure7.

Figure7: Rhythmic modes/iqa'

Masmoudirhythmicmode/iqa’ dumm dumm takk dumm takk

Maqsumrhythmicmode/iqa’ dumm takk takk dumm takk

Indian Tala IntraditionalIndianmusictherhythmicfoundationsarecalledtalas. Tala is

the Indian equivalent of Westernmeters.Talasaremadeupofcombinationsofsmallergroupings.Sometimestheendresultsareverycomplextalas.Becausetherearemanywaystogroupbeatstogetherthereareliterallyover100differenttalas.Thisisnotablewhencompared to theprimaryuseoflessthan tenmetersinmostWesternmusic.Whenlisteningtothetalaknowledgeablelistenersoftenmark

the parts of the talaby usingaseries of claps and waves of the hands knownas kriyas.Theka isa vocal patternthat indicates the patterns of a tala. Vocalizing the theka isacommonwaytolearntalas.SeeFigure8foraguidetotintal(acommontaal).

Figure 8: Tintal

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Dha Dhin Dhin Dha Na Tin Tin Ta Ta Dhin Dhin Dha

Clap Clap Wave Clap

InmanyHindustaniperformancesthereisaformthatgrowsfromacalmintroductionandslowlybuildsuntil it reachesa rapid,andintense,conclusion.Thesepiecesinvolvemuchvirtuosicperformance.Oftentherewillbeno talaorpulseinthebeginning.Atthepointthatthetable (drums)entertherewillbeanewfocusonrhythmicdevelopment.

AfricanPolyrhythmRhythmistheelementofmusicmostcommonlyassociatedwithAfrican

(particularly Sub-Saharan)music. The rhythmsofAfricanmusicaccompanyactivitiesrangingfrom day-to-day chorestocomplexceremonies. Drumminganddancing are two commonformsofAfricanmusic.Asis thecasewithmusicthataccompaniesdancethereareoftenostinato drumming parts.An ostinato isa repeating pattern ormotive. When differing rhythmicostinatos combinetheybecomeapolyrhythm.Simplyputa polyrhythm ismultiplerhythmsperformedsimultaneously. Polyrhythmicdrummingisthemusicalmanifestationofanaestheticthatvalues separate“small”partscombiningtoformagreaterwhole.Thiscanbeseenasamusicalreflectionofcooperationforthebetterofall(Stone,?).

Atypicaldance-drumpieceofmusicfromWestAfricacontainsmanypolyrhythms.Theyarenotconceptualizedwithinameterbutinsteadarethoughtofascomplementaryrhythmiccomponentsofoneflow.Therhythmicpatternthatholdsall ofthe differing ostinatos together can becalledatimelinepattern.Thispatternis typicallyplayedonametalidiophone(gonkogui=bell).Thephraseplayedonthebell iscycled/repeatedand isusedtoplacealloftheotherdrumparts. Theotherpartsaregenerallyfixedwiththeexception ofamasterdrum.Thisdrumgenerallyleadstheensemble(includingdancers)byplayingdifferingpatternsthatsignalthetimingofchanges.Themasterdrumisgenerallytheonlypartfreetoimproviseatwill.Foranexampleofapolyrhythmicpiece see Figure 9. Theeffectoflisteningtopolyrhytmicmusicis thattempoandphraseperceptioncanshiftbetweenparts dependent upon the vantagepoint ofthelistener(Locke,2010).

Figure 9: Atsiagbekor (generic)

count 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Bell/gonkogui • • • • • • • Shaker/axatse d u d u u d u d u d u Highdrum/kagan • • • • • • • • Middrum/kidi • • • • Lowdrum/sogo • • • • • • Clap 1 • • • • Clap 2 • • • • • •

Latin(American) ClaveAfricanpolyrhythmicdrummingmadeitswaytothediasporainthe

Caribbean,South,andNorthAmerica.TotheuntrainedearthedifferencesinAfro-CaribbeandrummingandAfricandrummingaresometimeshardtoperceive.Themosthelpful signifier of LatinAmericandrummingisitsrelianceonclave. Clave is thetimelinepatternthatworkswithinametertoholdAfro-Caribbeanmusictogether.ClavehasadirectlinktoWest-African(YorubaofmodernNigeria)timelinepatterns.ClavecanbeheardinmuchLatinomusicasafoundationalpattern.TheinfluenceofAfro-Cubanstylesofthemid20th centuryhasmuchtodowith theappearanceofClavein stylesofmusiclike rumba,conga,cha-cha,son,mambo,samba,salsa,songo,timba,bossa-nova,bolero,bachata,candombe,bomba,plena,and reggaeton. While notalways presentinsound the feelingof clave is a necessaryaspectof most Latinmusic. Clave patterns have a three side and a twoside.Thismeansthatineverytwomeasurepatternonemeasurecontains three notesoftheclaveandonemeasurecontainstwo(SeeFigure10).

Figure 10: Clave Patterns

Meter/Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 2/3 son clave • • • • • 2/3rumbaclave • • • • • 3/2 son clave • • • • • 3/2rumbaclave • • • • • Brazil2/3 clave • • • • • Brazil3/2 clave • • • • •

SalsaisanAfro-Cuban genre that originated in the 20th centuryinNew York combiningCuban,PuertoRican,Domenican,andAmericansensibilitiesandstyles.Thepolyrhythmsinsalsaareheardintherhythmsofalloftheinstruments,notjustthedrums(SeeFigure11).

Figure 11: Salsa Patterns

Meter/Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 2/3 son clave • • • • • Cascara/timbale,piano • • • • • • • • • • Tumbao/Bass,conga • • • • Martillo/bongo,bell • • • •

Modernmusicingenressuchasplena, soca, bomba, merengue, cumbia,timba,tango,andreggaeton oftenhaveaheavyemphasisonrepeatedthreesideoftheclaveorthetumbaopattern. Sometimesthetwosideisnotheard(butitisoftenfeltbyplayersanddancers).Thisisoftenheardinstylesthatusebassdrumemphasison beats one and three ofaquadruplemeasure(“fouronthefloor” across two bars)(See Figure 12).

Figure 12:Three-Side Emphasis on Drumset

Meter/Count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & Threesiderepeated • • • • • • Hi hat • • • • • • • • SnareDrum • • • • BassDrum(4onfloor) • • • •

ReferenceList:

Bakan,MichaelB.2012. WorldMusic:TraditionsandTransformations.2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Locke, David. 2010. Yemevu intheMetricMatrix. MusicTheory Online. Vol. 16, No. 4 (Dec.),accessedOct.102016,http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.10.16.4/mto.10.16.4.locke.html.

Stone,RuthM.2005. MusicinWestAfrica:ExperiencingMusic,ExpressingCulture.New York: Oxford University Press.

Valdez, Stephen.2006. AHistoryofRockMusic. 4th ed.Dubuque,Iowa:Kendall/Hunt.

Wade,Bonnie C.2013. ThinkingMusically:ExperiencingMusic,ExpressingCulture.3rd ed.New York:OxfordUniversityPress.

Module 4- Melody,HarmonyandTexture

Pitchinmusicrefersto vibrationsof sound waves.Thesevibrationsare measuredinhertz(cyclespersecond).Thereforeamusical pitch isa sound producedatacertainnumberofcyclespersecond (Wade,2013). Thefasterthevibration,thehighertheresultingpitch.Likewise,theslowertherateofvibration,thelowerthepitch.Musicaltonescanbedividedintotwocategories:determinateandindeterminate pitch.

Musical pitchescontainamixtureof sound waves.Theonethat dominates the sound isreferredtoasthe“fundamental”pitch.Alloftheotherwavesthatareproducedbyapitcharereferredto(inthemusicworld)as overtones. When apitchhasasetofovertonesthatallowafundamentalnote todominatethesound it isa determinatepitch.Indeterminatepitchhappenswhentheovertonesofanotearenotinalignment orthereareconflictingfundamentals and therefore no “one” vibrationdominatesthesound. Anotherwaytothinkaboutthisconcept istoknow thatinstrumentsthathavedeterminatepitchplaynotesthataretypicallygivennames(letter,numberorsolfege).Determinatepitchinstrumentsinclude(butarenotlimitedto):voice,piano,guitar,marimba,woodwinds,brass,chordophones,etc.… Indeterminatepitchinstrumentsareinstrumentslikegamelangongs, snaredrums,cymbals,triangle,etc… Theseinstrumentsaregenerallyusedtokeeparhythm,toaccent,ortoaddcolor.

When apitch has asetof overtones thatvibrate alongwiththefundamentalinsimpleratios(see Figure 2)thenitmakesaharmonicpitch.Mostmusicalinstrumentsthathavedeterminatepitchareharmonic(chordophones,aerophones,mostelectrophones).Whentheovertonesofthepitcharemostlyinharmonic (notinsimpleratios) thenthepitchisdiscernablebutthetimbreisunique(timpani,malletpercussion,singingbowls,tunedgongs). Figure 2 illustratestheharmonicovertones.Thewavelengthspicturedalsoillustratethepossiblenotesthat canbe played onfixed lengthaerophones (bugle,bottle,conchshell,etc).

TuningPythagorasofSamos(ofthePythagoreantheorem)describedwhysome

musicalnotesvibratewelltogether(harmonize)andothersdonot.Weuse lengthsofstringtoillustratehisfindings. If two strings were physically proportioned ina2 to1ratio(onestringisexactlytwotimesthelengthofthefirst)andallotherfactorsareequalthenthevibrationsofmusicalnotesproducedbythesestringswillalsoexist ina 2to1 ratio. For instance: if the long string produced a pitch at 110 hertz thenthe shorter one would produce apitch at220 hertz.This 2 to 1 ratio is so harmoniousthatwecallthesetwoseparatenotesthesamepitchname.Thedifference between two pitchesofthesamenotename(or2to1ratio)iscalledanoctave.Simplyputand octave istheintervalbetweentwopitcheshavingthesamenotename. Amusical interval isthedistancebetweentwonotes/pitches.InFigure1thedistancebetweenanytwonotesofthesameletternameiscalledanoctave.

Figure 1:Piano keyboard with letter note names

This 2/1 octave ratioisalsoillustratedinFigure2inbottomtwowavelengths.

Figure 2:Harmonic Partials/Overtone Series

Allinstrumentsarenottunedthesameoreventothesamepitchsets.Wheninstrumentsare tunedtomaketheratios scientifically pure (inthemannerofFigure2) this is called justintonation. While the ear prefers pure intervals they are not practicalformuchWesternmusic.IntheWesternworldmostinstrumentsarenottuned to justintonation. Instead,Westerninstrumentsaretypicallytunedtoequaltemperament.In equaltemperament the octave is divided into twelve equidistantpitches.Whenthisisdonethepurityofthescientificratiosislost.Thismeansthatfixedpitchinstrumentslikekeyboardsandguitarsarenotcompletely“intune”accordingto justintonation. This“impure”tuningisnecessarytoplaymusicthatmovesbetweendifferingscales/keyareas. InWesternmusic somegenresofmusicutilizejustintonation.Thisisprimarily the case wheninstrumentsdonothave fixed pitch (fretless chordophonesfromtheviolinfamily,humanvoice).Somegenresthatutilizescientifictuning/justintonationarebarbershopharmony,choirmusic,andstringquartets.Somehighlyproducedmodernpopand electronicdancemusicutilize justintonation.Thecomputerisnowusedtoproducemuchmusicthathas“pure”intervals.Indianmusicalsoutilizes justintonation. Eventhoughthereareseveralfixedpitchandfrettedinstruments(likethesitar)usedinIndianmusicintonationisnotaproblembecausethereisnotmovementbetweendifferingkey areas.

IntheWesternworld emphasisisplacedontuningtoastandardpitchset.Thisallowsmusiciansto playtheirinstrumentsindifferinggenresandensembles.Theuseofthepianoinvariousgenres illustrates this. MostAmerican instrumentsare nowadays tuned to A440standard(A442inEuropeandAsia). Thisisoftenreferred to as “concert pitch”. Inrecordingstudiosandmusicclubsdigital tuners are used to helpkeepinstruments intune. Thesetunerscanbeclippedontoinstrument,pluggedintoelectrophonesordownloadedto smartphones. Priortothe use of electronic tuners tuningforks and pitch pipes werecommon. Largeacoustic ensemblestypicallytunetogetherbeforeplayingmusic. Inorchestras an oboeplayerplays “concertpitch” (A440) for each sectionofinstruments tomatchpriortotheconductor“takingthepodium.”Mostinstrumentscanmakeslightadjustmenttoeither raise the pitch if it is too low (flat)orlowerthepitchifit istoo high(sharp). Whenalloftheinstrumentshavematched pitch(areintune)thentheconcertbegins.Theactofplayingmanyinstrumentscausesthemtogooutoftune.Continualpluckingorbowingofstringsloosensthetensiononthem,makingthemgoflat.Temperatureandhumidityalsoaffectthepitchofmanyinstruments.Brassandwoodwindinstrumentstendtoplaysharpinhotweatherandflatincolderconditions. Thisaffectsmarchingbands,whichoftenperforminextremeweather conditionsrangingfromthehotsunshineofalatesummerfootballhalftimeshow to the cold air in a holiday parade.

Inother cultures havingastandard pitchis notprioritized.Wherethepitchliescandependonculturalnorms.AsCathyKiroe-Smith states in MusicalJourneys,2013,“InmanyAfricancountries,forexample,pitchismoreofanapproximationthanascienceandperformerswillplayoninstrumentsregardlessofwhethertheyareperfectlyintunewiththeinstrumentsplayed by fellowperformersornot.”InIndonesia eachgamelanensembleistunedonlyinrelationtotheinstrumentswithin.Thismeansthatnotwogamelanensembleshavethesametuning.Because

ofthisindividualinstrumentsfromonegamelancannotbeperformedwithanothergamelan.Thiswasalsothecasewithtraditionalsikuripan-pipes where communitieswoulddeveloptheirowntuning.Contemporarysikupipesareoftentuned to Westernpitches. Othertraditionalinstrumentsthatareplayedaloneareoftennot subjectedtostandardizedtuning. Thisistrueofsoloflutesfoundaround the globe.Church organs inEurope are tuned to avariety of concertpitches rangingfromA425throughA456.Singerscanmaketheadjustmentstothesepitcheswitheasewhilefixed pitchinstrumentslikepianos,keyboardpercussion,andfrettedchordophonesarelimitedinorgans with which they could perform.

Intonation Having a good sense of intonation meansthatonecanrecognizeifapitchis

produced attheproper frequency. Thisisaskillthatalmostallcandevelopgiventimeandpractice.InAmericanculturetheterm“tonedeaf”isoftenappliedincorrectlytoonewhohasyet todevelopa goodsenseofintonation.Tonedeafnessisamusicaldisordercalledamusia. The oppositeoftonedeafnessis perfectpitch. Perfectpitch isarareconditionthroughwhichsomeonehavingitcanrecognizeexact vibrationswithout a reference. Researchersestimatethatperfectpitchoccursinroughly1in10,000people(Sachset al.1995, 621). Instrumentswithindeterminate(drums)and/orfixedpitch(piano,guitar,computer)donotrequiredevelopmentofintonationtothelevelofotherinstruments.Developmentofintonationtakesmuchtimeandispartofthereasonfortheseparationofstringprogramsfromwind,percussion,andchoirprogramsinAmericanschools.

Melody Melody isa collectionofpitchesthat areplayedinsuccession. Melody is

oftenthefocalpointofthelistenerwhenexperiencingmusic.Althoughtherecanbeabstractmelodies,inmostgenresmelodiesarea“tune”thatisusedtoidentifythepieceofmusic.Ifyouaregoingtotellsomeoneaboutasongorpiecethatyouheardyouwouldprobablystartbysingingthemelodyforthem.

Whenlisteningtomusicwithanearforanalysisofthemelodythefirststepistoidentifytheinstrument(s)thatareperformingit.Inpopulargenresthemelodyisoften the setof notesthatare performed withlyricsbythehumanvoice.Inlargeensemblesthemelodyoftenshiftstodifferinginstrumentsandtimbregroupings. Insomecasesthemelodyissunginharmony(orharmonized).Thismeansthatinstrumentsplaythemelody atdifferingpitchesbutsimilarintervalsandrhythms.Theresultisoftenchords/harmony.

Thesecondconsiderationwhenlisteningformelodyiswhetherornotthemelodyispre-composedorimprovised. Improvisation istheprocessofcomposingand performingmusicatthesametime.Whilesomemusicisspontaneousinvention(freejazz)mostimprovisationistheproductofmuchdisciplinedtrainingandpractice(Bakan2012,29).Somegenres(Jazz,Blues)havesectionsofmelodythatareimprovisedand othersthat arepre-composed. Anotherpracticethatoftenisimprovisedontopre-composedmelodiesisornamentationofthemelody.Ornamentsarecultural“decorations”ofthemelodyinstylizedwaysbyaddingsmall

twists,turns and extranotes to the melody.ThisisacommonpracticeinArab,Indian,EastAsian,Celtic,andWestAfricantraditions.

ScalesandMelodicModes Thethirdconsiderationwhenanalyzingmelodyistoconsiderwhat

collectionofpitchesisinthemelody.Mostoftenmelodies arebuiltuponscales.A scaleormelodicmode isa seriesofpitchesthat arepresentedinascendinganddescending order. Scalesareusedtobuildmusicalpieces.Whenthese scales holdmorerulesforperformanceandextra-musicalassociationstheyarecalledmodes.

Asmentionedabove intervals arethedistancebetweentwomusicalnotes. Someintervalsaremoreimportantthanothers. Thisisbecausesomeintervals aremoreconsonant/pleasingtotheear thanothers.Thewavelengths inFigure2 show a relationship movingupwardawayfromconsonanceonthebottom.Theoctaveisthemostimportantinterval. Nextinimportancearethe“perfect”intervals ofafourth and a fifth. The Majorthird,theminorthirdandthenMajorsecondfollowthe perfectintervals.Themostdissonant/leastimportantintervalsaretheminorsecond and the tritone. In Western practice the octave is divided by twelve equalhalf-stepsorminorseconds(alsocalledsemitones).OnFigure1therearetwelvenotesbetweeneachpitch ofthesamelettername. Whenalltwelve pitches are played inascendingand descendingorder itis called the chromaticscale. Because thechromaticscale containsonlyoneinterval(½ step) there is not sense of onenotebeingmoreimportantthantheothers.Thismeansthatthechromaticscaleisoftenusedtoexpressanun-settled or shifting quality.

DiatonicMajorandMinorscalesThescalesthatareusedforamajorityofWesternmusicarethe twoformsof

the diatonic scale. Diatonicscales are seven note scales that contain aseries of whole and half steps. Becausetheyhavedifferingintervalsthereisahomepitchthatistherestingpitchor“home”pitchwithinthescale.Thisnoteiscalledthe tonic. IntheC diatonicscalethenoteC is the tonic pitch.Diatonicscalescanbebuiltonalltwelve notesasthetonic. Therearetwoformsofthediatonicscale calleddiatonicmajoranddiatonicminor. Theyeachconsist ofa seriesofwholeand halfstepsasillustratedinFigure3. One whole stepequals two half steps. Figure 3: 3 Diatonic Major Scales,3 Diatonic Minor Scales

Major Whole Whole Half Whole Whole Whole Half C major C D E F G A B C Gmajor G A B C D E F# G Fmajor F G A Bb C D E F

Minor Whole Half Whole Whole Half Whole Whole C minor C D Eb F G Ab Bb C Gminor G A Bb C D Eb F G Fminor F G Ab Bb C Db Eb F

ThemelodiesofmostsongsintheWesterntraditionarebuiltusingthenotesofthemajororminorscales.Generallythenotesofthemajorscaleareculturallyunderstoodtosound“happy”or“light”whilethenotesoftheminorscalesound“sad”or “down”. Ifoneplaysallofthewhitekeys(naturals)ofapianofromC toC thenitwillbeaC majorscale.C Majoristheonlymajorscalethatcanbeplayedwithoutplayingtheaccidentals(blackkeys).LikewisetheAminorscaleisplayedonall ofthenaturalsfromAtoA. Figure4givesallofthemajorandminorkeyswithcorrespondingkeysignatures(numberofsharpsorflats).

Figure 4:The Circle of Fifths

By Just plain Bill (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) via Wikimedia Commons

Thereisahierarchyofpitchesineachscale.Themostimportantpitchisthefirst scale degree and is called tonic.The dominant pitchisthesecondmostimportantpitch.Itisthefifthdiatonicscaledegree. Sub-dominant isbuilt onthe fourthscaledegreeandisalsoconsideredimportant.

Whenreferringtopitchesitisstandardnowinthewesttouseletternames.Traditionallymostculturesusesomesystemofsolfege. Solfege uses syllables to namepitchesinrelationtoscales.Inthewesterndiatonicmajorscalethesolfegesyllables are do,re,mi,fa,sol,la,ti,do with the tonic note being do. Theadvantageoflearningsolfegeisthatsingerscansingthesamemelodyinallkeyswithoutadjustingthenotenames.

C F G C

Eb Bb

C F G C

Eb F# Bb

PentatonicScale Thepentatonicscaleisascalethathasbeenusedbymanycultures.Thepentatonicscale has five notes. The minor formofthisscalehasaminor3rd,wholestep,wholestep,minor3rd,wholestep.Thisscalecanbeplayedonall oftheblack keysofa pianostartingand endingonE-flat. Themajorformofthisscalecontainsthenotesofamajordiatonicscalewithoutthefourthandtheseventhscaledegrees. Indifferingformsthepentatonicscaleisutilizedasaprimaryscalein muchsub-SaharanAfricanmusic,far-EastAsianmusic,andGamelanmusicfromIndonesia.ThegamelansystemsoftuningpelogandslendroutilizepentatonicscalesthathavenothingtodowiththeWesterndivisionoftheoctave.

BluesScale Themostcommonbluesscaleisaminorpentatonicscalewithanaddednote.Thisscalecanbeplayedoveranychordina“blueschordprogression”.Thismakesitessential toboththebluesandjazzgenres.Seefigure5.

Figure 5:C Minor Pentatonic and C Blues Scales

Minor Pentatonic Minor Blues

Melodic Modes ofSouthwestAsia, SouthCentralAsia,NorthAfrica

InmanyMiddleEasternculturesthereisan aestheticemphasisplacedonthepresentationof words.This is evidenced bythepoeticlegacytheregion. Thiscanalsobeheardinthemelodicpresentationofpoetry.Singersuseornamentationandembellishmenttoaddtotheemotionalcontentandmeaninginperformance.Melodyisaprimaryelementinmusicfromthispartoftheworld.Traditionalmusichasnoharmonyand sometimes,asisthecasewithrecitationoftheQur’an, hasnosteady background pulse. Theexpressionoftheemotionsinamelodyisahighlydeveloped skill.

Insteadofdividingtheoctaveinto12semitones,MiddleEasternmusichas24microtonestochoosefrom.Thisallowsformore nuanced melodicvariationthan intheWesternmusicalworld.Italsocausesmuchmusicfromthis tradition to sound“outoftune”fromaWesternperspective.Thesemicrotones(orquartertones)existbetweenthenotesofapianoandotherWesterninstruments.ThereforemuchMiddleEasternmusiccannotberepresentedorrecreatedusingWesterninstrumentsandnotation. Forinstance:ThenotesofMaqamRastmelodic

modeandtheC majorscalecanbeseeninFigure6.Notethatapianocannotproducethequarter flatEand B.

ThetermforthescalesoftheArabic,Persian, Jewish, and Turkish musical worldismaqam.Maqamarenotsimplyscaleslikeinthewest.Insteadtheyaremelodicmodesthathaveextramusical/emotional associations.LikeWesternscalesmaqamusuallydividetheoctaveintosevennotes (heptonic).UnlikeintheWesternmusicalworld, maqamarenotthoughtofasonegroupingofsevenbutinsteadtheyare mostoften two four-notetetrachordsthatarestackedontopofeachother.Thelowestnote inthe lower tetrachord is anoctave belowthe highestnote inthe uppertetrachord. Themostimportantnote(tonic)isthefirstnoteofthelowertetrachordandthesecondmostimportantnote(dominant)isthefirstnoteoftheuppertetrachord. Inanyonepiecetheremaybeavarietyoftetrachordsusedfordifferingsections. Each tetrachord has its ownexpressive qualities and extra-musical associations. Categoriesofmaqamarebasedupontheirlowertetrachords(regardlessofthevarietyofuppertetrachords). The Figure 6 shows two of themorecommon maqamusingwesternletternameswiththetetrachords.

Figure 6:Maqam rast and Maqam hijaz

MaqamrastinCC D E(microtone

flat) F G A B(microtone

flat) C

Lower tetrachord Uppertetrachord

MaqamhijazinD D E-flat F-sharp G A B-flat C D

Lower tetrachord Uppertetrachord

Indian RagaInIndiathesetofpitchesfromwhichapieceisconceivedisknownasa raga.

Therearemany Hindustani (north Indian) and Carnatic(South Indian) ragas.Eachofthemdictatesboththenotesthatperformerswillchooseforthemelodyandalsorules for howtheperformerwill performthesenotes.Mostragascontainsevenascendingpitches with adifferingsevendescendingpitcheswithinanoctave.LikemusicfromtheArabicworld extra-musicalassociations, microtonesandornamentationsareimportantcomponentsoftheperformanceofragas. Specificragasareassociatedwithtimesofthedayandseasonsoftheyear. Inadditiontohavinga“roadmap”forimprovisationeachragaalsohasarepertoireofpre-composedmelodiesthatarepasseddownorallythroughthetradition. Asidefromthesesmall“compositions”notwoperformancesofaragawillbeexactlyalike.

Much Indian“classical”musicisbasedonalongimprovisationofmelodyonthegivenragaandrhythmictalabeingperformed.InHindustanicultureacommonensembleperformingaragawouldconsistofa sitar, atambura,andtabla.InCarnatic traditions the ensemblewouldalsobeatriobutthecommon instrumentationwouldincludeavina,tambura,andmrdangam.Ineachoftheseensemblesthemainchordophoneinstrumentperformstheraga(sitar,vina)while

thedrumsanddronesaccompany. IntheCarnatictraditionthehumanvoiceplaysamoreprominentroleinthemusic.Whenthevoicesingsaragaitusuallyusesasolfegesystemcalledsargaminwhichthesingerusesthefollowingsyllables:sa,ra/ri,ga,ma,pa,dha,da/ni,sa. Likeinotherexamplesofscales there is ahierarchy ofnoteswithsa actingastheequivalent oftheWesterntonic. Tosomeonenot familiarwiththepracticeorthelanguageitmightappearthatthesingerisspeakingwordswithmeaning.Thatisnotthecase,thesyllablessimply indicatepitchheight.

Analyzingmelody:1. Whatinstrumentisperformingthemelody?2. Isthemelodypre-composedorisitimprovised? Isitornamented?3. Whatscaleormelodicmodeservesasthefoundationforthe

melody?4. Describe the range, direction, andmotionofthemelody.

Harmony

Melody is acollectionof pitches played insuccession. Harmony isa collectionofpitchesplayedatthesametime. Therulesandaestheticsthatdeterminetheproperuseofharmonydifferbetweencultures.Forexample,thewaysthatharmonyisusedwithinJapaneseGagakudiffersfromthewaysthatitisutilizedinWesternmusic.Someculturesdonotutilizeharmonyasanelementofmusic. Some examplesof musicthatdoesnottraditionallyutilizeharmony includeIndonesianGamelan,IndianClassical,ArabicandPersian,NativeAmerican,andAboriginalAustraliangenres.HarmonyhasbeenutilizedanddevelopedasanelementinJapaneseGagaku,Sub-SaharanAfrican,andWesternstylesincludingEuropeanartmusic,and Westernpopular genres.

Westernharmonylargelyfunctionsonabasisknownastonality.Tonalityisaconceptthatrecognizesthetonicnoteofadiatonicscaleasthemostimportant“home”or“central”pitchfromwhichthemusicbeginsandends. When consideringharmony, the tonalcenter (tonic) isa chord builtonthe firstscale degree. Somemusicshiftstonalcenterswithinthepiece. Whenthemusicshiftsfromonediatonickey areato another itis called a modulation. Mostmodulations areimperceptibletotheuntrainedlistener.Modulationsbetweenmajorandminorkeyscansometimesbediscernabletotheuntrainedear.Intherecitative Quandjevous aimerai? fromtheopera Carmen thereisamodulationfromfminortoFMajorjustbeforetheend.ThissetsupamodulationfromFMajortodminorforthestartofthe aria: L'amourestunoiseaurebelle(Habanera). The Habanera alsomodulates fromdminortoDMajor.Thesekeyareasdictatethenoteschosenforboththemelodyandtheharmony.

A chord isgenerallydefinedasthreeormorepitchessoundingsimultaneously. The tonic chordisbuilt byplayingthefirst,third,andfifthnoteofthescalesimultaneously.IfthetonalityofapieceisC majorthenthetonicchordcontainsthenotesC,E,andG (SeeFigure7).

Figure 7:Tonic, Sub-dominant, and Dominants in C diatonic-major

Scaledegree 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th Octave Cmajorscale C D E F G A B C Tonic chord “Cmaj” C E G Sub-dominantchord “Fmaj” F A C Dominant chord “G maj” D G B

Because the tonicchordisthe“homechord”,intonalmusicitisthe centralharmony. Thedominantandsub-dominantchordsarealsoveryimportantandarebuiltonthe fifth and fourth notes of adiatonic scale.

Majorandminordiatonicchordsareconsideredtobeconsonantchords. Consonance isrepresentedbyintervalsorchordsthat sound relativelystableand free of tension. Theoppositeofconsonanceisdissonance. Dissonance is represented by intervals or chords that sound tense and unstable.Westernfunctionalharmonyutilizestheprincipalthatthemusicwillstart with consonantharmonies,movetomoredissonantharmoniesandintheendofferrelaxation/reliefby returningto consonance. Themovementbetweenconsonanceanddissonance providesmotiontodepthtothemusic. Intonal music(musicwith functionalharmony) thismovementhappensbetweenchords.Aestheticsthatdeterminewhatisconsonantandwhatisdissonantdifferfromculturetocultureandfrom generationtogeneration.AninterestingexampleofthisisintraditionalchoralsingingfromBulgaria.Inthisculture seconds are considered to be consonant.In contemporary Americanpoptheseintervals(andchordsbuiltusingthem)areconsideredtobedissonant.

AdefiningfeatureofWesternArtmusicisthedevelopmentofharmonystarting in the Medieval style period.Inabroadsensetonalmusichasapeakinpurelydiatonicmusic (usingnotesofmajorandminordiatonicscales) intheClassicalstyleperiod.IntheRomanticperiodcomposersstretchedthepossibilitiesoftonalmusicbyaddingdramaticdissonancesandfarreachingharmoniestothetraditionaltonalfoundations thatwere established duringthe previous periods. Bythe Twentieth centurymanycomposersbelievedthat traditional tonality was exhaustedandold-fashioned. The result of this was thatthe Twentieth centurystyleperiodinWesternArtmusicsawanormalizationofdissonance.Muchmusicfromtheperiodexploredthepossibilitiesofsonoritiesthatexistedoutsidetherulesoffunctionalharmony/tonality.Thisisadefiningfeature ofthisperiod ofmusic.Whenlisteningto it onemaybesurprisedbythelackofcomfort(ortheoddness)feltwithinmanyworks.Thisisoftenadirectresultofthenormalizationoftraditionaldissonances.Whenmusicdeniestherulesoftonalityby nothavingacentral tonalityit isreferredtoas atonal music. Learningthemusicaltheorybehindfunctionalharmonyandatonalpracticetakesmany“classically”trainedWesternmusiciansyearsofclasses,lessons,practiceandstudytomaster.

Western popularandfolkgenres generallyutilizesimpleharmoniesthatarediatonicandfunctionallytonal.Mostmusicwithinthesegenrescontainsarepetitivesequenceofmovementbetween several diatonic chords. This iscommonlyknownas achord progression.These chordprogressionsoftencontain

[Title][Composer]

Score

onlythreeorfourchords.InmajordiatonickeysthechordsofTonic(builtonscaledegree 1), Sub-dominant(scaledegree4)andDominant(scaledegree5)areoftenused tobuild songs. Invocalgroups there isoftenonesingerwholeadsbysingingthemelodywhiletheothersharmonizethatmelodybycombiningvoicestosingchords.Inpopularbandsinstrumentsthatcanplaychords(guitar,piano)oftenplaythechords/harmonywhilesingersprovidethemelody.

Traditional Mexicancorridos are oftensungover atwo-chordprogressionthatalternates between onlythe tonicanddominantchords. Figure 8 shows thechordsalongwiththelyricsof the firstverse of ElCorridodeGregorioCortez as performedby RamónAyala. Atwo-chordprogressionbetweentonicanddominantallowsthemusiciantostartandfinishwithconsonancerepresentedbythetonicchordandmovetoamore“dissonant”arearepresentedbythedominantchord. Inthispiecetheharmonyisthe chordsplayedontheguitarwhilethevoicesarethemelody.Anotherinterestingaspectofthemelodyisthatitissunginharmonybytwo singers who singathird apart.

Figure 8: El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez melody with chords

& # # # 86

œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œ œ I(Tonic) A

œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ œ œJœ œœ Jœœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ Jœœ œœ ..œœ œœ œœ œœ ‰ rœœ

(Dominant) E7 V

En el con da do del - - (lo)que - - mu- Car men mi ren ha su ce di do -

I(Tonic) A

& ..œœ œœ œœ œœ œœ ..œœ œœ Jœœ ‰ . Rœœ œœ Jœœ œœ Jœœ œœ ..˙̇6 ## # œœ œœ rió el cher i- - fe may - or que dan do Ro -mån her - id - o

Theadditionofthe sub-dominantchord(IV)tothetonicanddominantexpandstheharmonicpossibilitiesofachordprogression.Thesethreechordsaretheharmonicfoundationofmanypopsongs.Itisinterestingtonotethateachofthese chordsliesnext toeachotheronthecircleof5ths(Seefigure4).Whenaskingguitaristswhatthefirstchordsarethattheylearnedtheyoftenreplywiththreeadjacentchordsonthecircleof5ths:(F,C,G)or(G,D,A).Thetonic,dominant,andsub-dominantchordsareusedtobuild“threechord”songs. Examplesofthreechordsongsusingtonicdominantandsub-dominantcanbeseenbyfollowingthislink:

The blueschordprogression isaspecificsequenceofthetonic,dominant,and sub-dominantchordsthatservesastheharmonyforthebluesgenre. Accordingto Steve Valdez inhis book AHistoryofRockMusic, 4th editionthebasicblues structure was inspired by chordsusedin basicchurchhymnsfromGreatBritain,ScotlandandIreland.African (American) slavesassimilatedthemintotheirownmusicandcreated“theblues”. Inthe1910s and 1920s theblues chord progression beganto codify into the twelve-bar blues progression. Inthis progressionthetonic

chord(I)istheharmonicfoundationofthefirstfourbars.Itisfollowedbyatwobarharmonyofthesub-dominant(IV)chord.Afterreturningtotonic(I)fortwobarsitthenmovestodominant(V)fortwobarsandendswithtwomorebarsoftonic(I).Each“bar”ormeasurehasfourbeatswithabackbeatemphasison2and4. Thefullprogressionis illustrated inFigure9. Tomodernmusicians“playingtheblues”oftenmeansplayingapiecethatutilizedthe12bar-blues progression.Thebluesandpentatonicscalescanbeusedtoimprovisemelodiesovertheharmonyoftheblues progression.

Figure 9:12-Bar Blues Progression

Bar1 Bar2 Bar3 Bar4 Tonic(chord)= I Tonic= I Tonic= I Tonic= I

> > > > > > > > 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Bar5 Bar6 Bar7 Bar8 Sub-Dominant= IV Sub-Dominant= IV Tonic= I Tonic= I

> > > > > > > > 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Bar9 Bar10 Bar11 Bar 12 Dominant= V Dominant= V Tonic= I Tonic= I

> > > > > > > > 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

Byaddingmorechordstothetraditionalthree songwritersbuildmorecomplexchordprogressions.Inmuchmusicthechordaddedisaminorchordbuiltonthesixthscaledegree (sub-mediant/vi).Manypophitsfromthe1950sand60sused the“doowop”progressionof tonic,sub-mediant,sub-dominant,dominant (I-vi-IV-V) tocreatea“hit”sound.Morerecentlythetonic,dominant,sub-mediant,sub-dominant (I-V-vi-IV) progression hasbeenusedtocreatemanyhits.Therearemany online videosinwhichmusiciansdemonstratethisconceptbyplayingthesamechordprogressionwhilemovingthroughmanypopularmelodies.

AstheageofEuropeancolonialismgiveswaytotheinternet revolutionWesternmusicalinfluencescanbefoundinculturesacrosstheglobe. Thisoftenmanifeststhroughtheadditionofharmonyintopopularandtraditional genres. Harmonycan now be heard withinBollywood,K-pop,J-pop,andArabicpopularmusic.Sometimesitisusedintraditional Westernwayswhileoftenit is simplyusedasaneweraestheticpreferencethatisnotboundtoWesterntraditions.

Analyzingharmony:1. Isthereharmonywithinthemusic?2. Ifso,whatinstrument(s)areplayingtheharmonicpart?3. Whatscaleormelodicmodeservesasthefoundationforthe

harmony?

4. Istheharmonyarepetitive chordprogression? Ifso,what isthe chordprogression?

Musical Texture

Music theorists oftenutilizetextureasanelementofmusicthathelps guideunderstandingofthecomplexdifferencesbetween themanygenresofWesternArtMusicthatwerecreatedoverthepastmillennium.Musical texture ishowmelodyandharmonyarecombinedwithinapieceofmusic. Because texture is onlyconcernedwiththesetwoelementsitisnotoftenusedtoanalyzemusicfromculturesthatdonotutilizeharmony. Itisimportanttounderstandthat purelyrhythmic (drumming) parts arenotconsidered whenanalyzingthetexture ofa pieceofmusic.

There arethreeprimary musicaltextures:

Monophony- Monophonicmusiccontainsonemelodywithnoharmonicaccompaniment. Musicalworksthathaveonlyonemelodicinstrumentperformingareoftenmonophonic.Monophonictexturecanalsooccurwhenmanyinstrumentsareplayingthesamemelodyatthesametime.Gregorianchantisanexampleofamonophonicgenre.MusicoftheshakuhachiandNativeAmericanflutesismostlymonophonic.Whenpeople gather tosing HappyBirthday they strive for amonophonictexture. Whenapieceofmusiccontainsonemelodywithanaccompanyingdrone(RagaJog) the drone is oftennotconsidered and therefore the texturemaybecalled monophonic.

Homophony- Homophonicmusiccontains one melodyand harmonicaccompaniment.ThisisthemostcommonlyheardtextureinWesternArtmusicandcontemporarypopularmusic.Theharmonyisoftenplayedonaninstrumentthatcanperformmorethanonenoteatthesametime.Instrumentslikethepianoand the guitarareusedinmodernpopmusictoplaythechordswhilesingersoftenperformthemelody. Despitethecomplextimbres,melodies,andrhythmsofWesternArtmusicthemostcommontextureishomophony.Whenchoirsandvocalgroupssingfour-partharmony(chords)inwhichallofthevoicesmoveinunisonrhythmtheresultingtextureishomophony.Theuppervoiceinthesecasesisthemelodywhiletheothervoicesaretheharmonicaccompaniment.Thismusicissometimesreferredtoasbeinghomorhythmic.

Polyphony- Polyphonicmusiccontainstwoormoredifferingmelodieshappeningsimultaneously.ThereismuchpolyphonicmusicfromboththeRenaissanceandBaroquestyleperiodsinWesternArt music. InClassical,Romantic,andTwentiethCentury styles smaller polyphonicsections of largeworks offer contrasttothe largelyhomophonictextures. Polyphonyiscomplexor“thick”sounding.Itisnotoftenheardinpopularmusic.Polyphonicmusicmayor maynothaveharmonicaccompaniment.

Thefourthtextureisonethatalsocontainsonemelodybuthasvariationsonthemelody. Heterophony- Heterophonicmusiccontains twoormorevoicesplayingvariationsofonemelodyatthesametime. Thisisa commontextureofsomefolk traditionsinwhichmelodiesarepreviouslyknowntothelisteners(AmazingGrace)andeachperformerwantstoaddtheirownstyletotheperformance.

Analyzingtexture:1. Doesthemusichaveoneormoremelodies? 2. Doesthemusichaveharmony?3. Didyoudisregarddronesanddrums?4. Whatis the texture?Does itchange withinthe piece?

ReferenceList:

Bakan,MichaelB.2012. WorldMusic:TraditionsandTransformations.2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kilroe-Smith,Catherine.2013. MusicalJourneys. Dubuque,IA:KendallHunt.

Kubic,Gehard.1994. TheoryofAfricanMusic, VolumeI. London: Universityof Chicago Press.

Paredes,Américo.1958. WithHisPistolinHisHand:ABorderBalladandIt’sHero. Austin,TX:UniversityofTexasPress.

Sacks,Oliver,G.Schlaug,L.Jancke,Y.HuangandH.Steinmetz.1995.MusicalAbility. Science 268, (5211 May): 621-22.

Wade,Bonnie C.2013. ThinkingMusically:ExperiencingMusic,ExpressingCulture.3rd ed.New York:OxfordUniversityPress.

WikimediaCommons.“HarmonicPartialsonStrings.svg.”LastmodifiedJuly8,2008.AccessedOct.31,2016. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harmonic_partials_on_strings.svg.

Worland,Randy. “DemonstratingtheEffectofAirTemperatureonWindInstrumentTuning.” Presentedat the161st AcousticalSocietyofAmericaMeeting,May26,2011.AccessedNov.5,2016.http://acoustics.org/pressroom/httpdocs/161st/Worland.html

Valdez, Stephen. 2006. AHistoryofRockMusic. 4th ed.Dubuque,Iowa:Kendall/Hunt.

Module 5- ForminMusic

Form referstothelayoutofapieceofmusicfrombeginningtoend.Itisthestructureofthemes,rhythms,patternsandothermusicalconceptsthatform thedesign of a musicalselection. Form canbeeasytohear inshort and/or repetitive pieces commontoone’sownculture. In longer and culturallyforeign works the formcanbedifficulttorecognizewithoutpriorunderstandingandanalysis. Thisisbecause musicalformsarevariedintheirconstructionandnotlimitedtoany oneelementofmusicasapointofemphasis. Thebuildingblocksofformcanbemelodies,rhythms, chordprogressions, instrumentation,timbres,dynamics,andlyrics.Composersuse repetition, contrast, variation,growth,anddecline to createexpectationandtodevelop these buildingblocks.

Forms aretiedtotheaestheticsoftheculturesthatcreatethem. Theformof themusiccanfollowstrictlylaidoutceremonylikeintheRomanCatholicMassor itcanbesymbolicoflargercultural and social formationslikethepolyphonic,cyclicalformsfoundinIndonesiangamelan.Formscanbetheproductsofevolutionto agenreovertime.Thisisevidentinmodernpopularaestheticsthatvaluetheshortlengthofapiece.Themodern length of a popsongisadirectresultofthelimitationsplacedonlongerjazz,blues,andragtimeworksinthe earlytwentiethcentury by early recordingequipment. Ten-inchrecordscouldonlyholdbetweenthreetofiveminutesofmusiconaside(withouthavingtocompressthegrooves,thusdiminishingquality). Thechangetoa formovertimeisalso evident in theevolutionofMedieval andRenaissancedancesuitesintomulti-movementformsthat eventuallybecamethesonatacycleformusedtostructuresymphonies,stringquartets,sonatas,andconcertosintheeighteenthcentury. Enjoymentofthesegenresistiedtodevelopinganaestheticforappreciationofhowacomposerutilizesformtocreateawork.

Perhapstheoppositeofthe“Classical” decorumthatmanifests in the formalemphasis isthe“FreeJazz”movementthatbeganinthelate1950’s. This genre ofmusicwasspearheadedbyblackAmericansatatimewhensegregationandracialinequalityin partsofAmericawere thenorm.Thecivil-rightsmovement challengedtheestablishednorms.Free-jazz musicians challengedthemelodic,rhythmic,formal,andharmonicnorms ofestablishedpracticeinjazz.Inpure“freejazz” it is possiblethatthemusiciansarenotfamiliarwitheachother,thattheensembleisaunconventionalmixofinstruments,andthatthemusicianscompletely improvise allaspectsofthemusic. Thisisoneofthefewgenresofmusicinwhichmusicianshaveliberty to completely “makeituponthespot”.

Improvisationisanimportantaspect ofmanymusicalgenres.Becausethe improvisation isgenerallya spontaneouscompositionofmaterial that is appropriate within the context scholarsareshyingawayfromcallingimprovisation“makingituponthespot”.Itisappropriatetocallitcomposinginthemoment.

Inmostgenresofjazz(andothermusic), musiciansusefreedomtospontaneously put together pre-conceived/practicedmusicalideas (improvise).Theseideasarearrangedoverpre-conceivedforms utilizingspecificscales.Theharmoniesandrhythmsarealsostandardized. Instandard jazz genres likebigbandswingtheimprovisedaspectoftheperformanceislimitedtoshortermelodic

solos“overtheform”.Thesesolosaresmallfeatureswithinacomplexarrangementofsoundsthat requiresmostmusicianstoreadthemusicwhileperforming.Inbe-bopandmorecontemporaryjazz“combo”settingsmusiciansgenerallyhavemorefreedomtoimproviselongersolosanddevelopideas.

Thereismuchdebateover the definitionof jazz. Historically itis a style of musicthatoriginatedatthebeginningofthe20th centuryinAfricanAmericancommunitiesintheUnitedStatesfromaconfluenceofAfricanandEuropeanmusictraditions. Somesaythatitisahistoricalgenrethatreliesheavilyonimprovisationoverswingingrhythmsandbluesprogressions.OtherssaythatjazzisaliveandwellinanymusicianwhowantstoexpressthemselvesthroughmelodicimprovisationoverAmericanstylerhythmsandchordprogressions.Whicheverthecase; the keyaestheticvalueforjazzisexpressionthroughimprovisationofmelody.Toalesserextent thisisalsothecasewith otherAmericangenresofmusic.Improvisedsolos are expected intraditionalblues, gospel, psychedelicrock,jam-band, salsa,andcountrybasedgenreslikeoldtimeandbluegrass.Inhip-hopfreestylingtherapperimprovisespoetryrhythmicallyover rhythmicostinatoscalled“instrumentals”.

Therearemanyculturesaroundtheglobethatshareanaestheticpreferenceformusicinwhichsomeaspectofthepieceisimprovised. InEwedrummingofWestAfricamasterdrummersimprovisepatternsinresponsetotheformandtothedancers.InIndianandMiddleEasternmusicthesubtledevelopmentofthescale(raga/maqam)throughimprovisationisa featureofmuchmusic. Todothiswithpassionandartistry(soul)isthegoalofmanymusicians.Compositionscanlastoveranhourwhen theperformancesareinspired.

IntheEuropean“classical”traditionmodernaudiencesassociatethelegendarycomposers(Beethoven,Bach,Mozart,etc…)withcompositionsthattheywroteonpaper.Thesecompositionshappenedprevioustoperformance.ModernaudiencesofWesternArtmusicknowthat eachtimetheyhear these compositions(masterworks)theywillnotincludeimprovisation.What“classical”musicfansvaluearedifferencesininterpretation.Thiscouldbedifferenttempos,dynamics,timbres,orsubtlevariationsinexpressionbroughtoutbyconductorsormusicians.Tothosewith a“taste”forthismusicthesevariationsarewhatgiveitlife.Aesthetesformpreferencesbasedupontheirexperiencewithdifferinginterpretationsoftheart.The untrained ear tends to claim, “itallsoundsthesame”. Thissamenessmight also be a reflectionofthelackofimprovisationinWesternArtmusicatthebeginningof the 21st century.FormuchofthehistoryofWesternArtmusiccomposerswerealsoperformers.Manywrotepiecestofeaturethemselvesonaninstrument.Itisdocumented thatBach,Handel,Mozart,Beethoven,Chopin,andothersweremasterimprovisers.Somewouldevenduelontheirinstrument(muchlike battlinginhip-hopmusicanddanceorcuttingheadsinjazz).Imagineattendingasymphonyconcert thatincludedamusical duel.

Repetition,variation,andcontrast

Aslistenerswerecognizetherepetitionmusicalideas.Whenmusiciansstructureaformtheyutilizerepetitionofmelodies,rhythms,chordprogressions,

andmetriccyclestocreateorganizationunits. Smallmusicalideasthataredeveloped and repeated throughouta piecearecalled motives. AhighlyrecognizableexampleofamotiveusedinWesternArtMusicisthe“three-shorts andalong”motivethatisheardatthebeginningofBeethoven’sSymphony No. 5. If a motiveisrepeatedcontinuouslyitisreferredtoasanostinato. Themesaregenerallylonger(ormoresubstantial)thanmotives. Themes aremelodiesor rhythmsthatarerepeatedorvariedthroughoutamusicalwork.

Ostinatobasedform

Sometimesentirepiecesofmusicarebasedupontherepetitionofoneostinato. Thisisthecaseinseveral traditionalAfricangenressuchasGnawamusicofNorthAfrica.Gnawamusiccontains repetitive chantingthataccompaniesreligious trance and canbeperformedforhours. Thissamerepetitiveostinatoisheardinreligiouschantingofmantrasinmanyreligioustraditions.InIndia, KirtanisaformofchantandprayerutilizedbyHindis,Sikhs,andsomeBuddhists.InaKirtanperformance call and response formisusedoverostinatostocreatetheform. In CallandResponse amusicalleadersingsorplaysalineofmusicandthechorus(ensemble)ofmusiciansrespondsinunison.InKirtanandinGriottraditionsofWestAfricatheleadertellshistorical andreligiousstoriesinthecall.Thevariationofthestoriessatisfiestheneedforcontrast inthesetraditions. InEuropeantraditionsostinatoformswereoftenbasedonrepetitivebasslines (groundbass)and chord progressions (chaconne).NotableamongtheseworksistheBaroqueCannon in D by Johann Pachelbel. This piece can often be heard a processionalceremonieslikeweddings.MelodicvariationisoftenusedtocreatecontrastinEuropeanworks.

More oftenitis the case thatsectionsofa largerwork utilizeostinatos. In popmusicarepeatedostinatoisoftenreferredtoas a riff. In jazz and Latin music itmightbecalledavamp. InIndianmusicitiscalledalahara. InAfricandrummingitissimplyarhythmthatmusiciansperformuntilamasterdrummersignalstheswitch to a new section. MinimalismisaWesternArtmusicmovementofthelate twentiethcenturyinwhichcomposersutilizedsimplerepeatedpatternstobuildlargerworks.SomeofthemostfamousminimalistcomposersaretheAmericansPhilipGlass,SteveReich andJohnAdams. GlassandReichbothacknowledgetheinfluenceofostinatobasedformsfoundinIndianandAfricanmusic.

Cyclic forms

Whenthe sectionthatrepeats is longer thananostinatothentheformis consideredtobecyclic. Likeostinatosthecyclesthatarerepeatedcanbemelodic,harmonic,orrhythmic. Repeatedmelodiescreatethetraditionalliubanandbabanformsof thetraditionalChinesefolkmusiccalledJiangnanSizhu. Twoprimarycyclelengths areusedformanyoftheworks.Thesecyclesaremelodiesof60or64beatsinlength (Thrasher,1989).Musiciansperformthemelodyoverandover. Eachtimemusiciansareexpectedtoembellishthemelodiesandaddtheirownpersonaltreatments.Thisisreferredtoas“addingflowers”.

Thiscyclicalmelodicformisakin tothestrophicformsofWesternmusic. Strophic referstoaforminwhichmusicalelementsremain(largely)thesamewitheachrepetitionofa section while someelementor lyricschange. Itis oftenthecase thatthe only changingaspectfor each strophe is the lyric.This is the case many traditional corridosofMexicoandAmerica.Insuch works each sectionofmusic repeats the same melody,harmony,and rhythm under thechanginglyrics.

Inmanyjazzpiecesarecurringchordprogressionservesasthefoundationofthe piece. Oneofthemostcommonchordprogressionsutilizedinjazzisthetwelve-bar blues progression. Eachtimethroughthechordprogression is referred to as achorus. Atypicaljazzarrangementwouldhaveawrittenmelodycalled“thehead”played over first chorus. Aftertheheadisperformedthemusicianswilldecideonanorderformelodicandrhythmicsolos inthefollowingchoruses. Whenperforminglive,thesoloistsarefreetokeepgoingaslongastheywant. Thepiecetypically thenends withanotherperformanceofthehead. Figure1 illustrates this cyclicalformin Joe “King” Oliver’s piece WestEndBlues as itappears in thefamous recordingmadebyLouisArmstrongandhisHotFiveonJune28,1928.IntroductionslikeArmstrong’sopeningtrumpetsolo, and codas (outros), are superfluousadditionstotheform.

Figure 1: West End Blues cyclic 12 bar blues form

Intro- Blues progression:Chorus 1

Blues progression:Chorus 2

Blues progression:Chorus 3

Blues progression:Chorus 4

Blues progression:Chorus 5

Solo Head Trombone Vocal and PianoSolo: Head Trumpet Polyphonic

presentationofthe written melodyontrumpetwith counter melodies played on clarinet and trombone

Solo: Improvisedmelodicsolo

Clarinet solo: Call and responsestyleimprovisedsolo byArmstrongscat singingwith clarinet

Improvisedmelodicsoloin right hand withlefthand harmonic accompaniment

Armstrongdepartsfrom replayingthe written melody,instead improvisingalongwithclarinet and trombone

Sectionalforms

Sectionalformshappenwhenthemusicalpiececontainsmultiple,identifiablesections.Sometimesthesesectionsarecompletelydifferentanddonotrepeat.Itisoftenthatapieceofmusicwillreturntoonesection.Thiscreatesasenseofexpectationfulfilledwithinthemusic.

Sectionalformswithcycles

Gamelan Layered cycles that change in differingsectionsofa piecearea featureof

severalAsianmusicalgenres. Sometimesthepieceswillhaveanintroductionsection before the cycles begin. InJavaneseGamelantherearebothrhythmicandmelodiccyclesatthecoreoftheform.In ketawang (16 beat cycle)workseachgongcycleconstitutestherepeatingformofthepiece.Cyclicalmelodiesofvaryinglengthsandspeedsarelayeredontopofthegongcycle.Thekendhangdrum guidesplayers bysignalingchanges over theconstantgongcycle.

ArabicMusic In much Egyptian (Arabic)music sections ofmusic are often repeated as

manytimesastheperformerchooses. Intraditionalperformancesthemelodies(maqam) are variedandexpandedthroughimprovisation ineachcycle.Theultimateaesthetic goalistobringaboutstateofemotionalexcitement orecstasy.The efforttoexploreandheightenanemotionthroughmusicisnotable.Thispracticeresultsinperformanceswhereitiscommonforonepiecetolastoverandhour.OumKulthumisafamous Egyptian singer that isreveredforheremotiveimpact.Sheperformedwithanorchestra(takht)filledwithvirtuosomusicians.She was favored for her traditional Arabic presentationatatimewhen Westerninfluencesand aesthetics were challenged in Egypt. Much music thatsheperformedhasbecomepartofacannonofArabicmusic.Oneofthesongsthatshepopularizedistitled AnaFiIntizarak.Inthispiecethere are severalsections thatbuild for over thirtyminutesasKulthumincreasestheemotion. Theformalarrangementofthesesectionsiscomplexbecause it isbaseduponthepoemthatisbeingsung.Occasionallythe piece returns to an instrumentalchorusthat isheardat the introduction. Themusicologist,composer,performer,andArabic scholar DavidMarcuswroteinanemailtotheauthor:

“In termsoflyricsandemotion, AnaFiIntizarak's singerisgettingmoreandmoredistressedineachverse,asshewaitsandimagineseachfootsteptobethearrivalof her lover,whonevercomes. It's as if sheis slowlygoingcrazy,and then eachYa Reyt chorus("IwishIhadneverfalleninlove!")releasestheenergy.ThesongisinEgyptianColloquial(orSpoken)Arabic,asopposedtoFormal(orClassical)Arabic.”(Marcus,2017)

ThecyclicformallowedKulthumtocustomizeeachperformanceextendingorcontractingthelengthofworksbasedupontheemotionalcontent,audienceresponse and creativity.

HindustaniMusic

InHindustanimusicaltraditionsimprovisatoryexplorationsofragasandtalastravelthroughformalsectionsthatcometogetherinthebadhatform.Theformcontainsaseriesofguidepoststhatfacilitatevirtuosicperformanceresulting

fromyearsofstudyandpractice.Theoverall badhatformisagradualcrescendoof intensitythat peaksat theendofthework.Musiciansgrow the“raga” orscale accordingtotraditionscombinedwiththeirowncreativity. They build the intensityofthemusicoverthecyclicaltala. Inmusicwherethereisnomelody/onlytalathepercussionisaccompaniedbyamelodiccyclecalledalahara.

Thereareseveral sectionsthat offerguidepostswithinbadhat form.Thefirst isthealap.The alapsectionserves as anintroductionto the notes of the ragathatisbeingperformed.Thisoffers the audience the opportunity to hear principalnotes,motives,andextra-musicalideas(suchasmood=rasa)thatwillbeusedthroughoutthepiece.Thealapsectionisidentifiablebecauseitisamelodicimprovisation(withdrone) that has no steady backgroundpulse.

Jor isatransitionalsectionthatfacilitatesthemovefromthealaptothemainmelodysectionknownasgat.Inthejorthemelodicinstrumentbecomesmorerhythmicallyactivebyaddingapulse.Thisispartoftheoverallbuildupofintensitythat happens inbarhatform.

Thegatsectioncontainsthemainmelody(s)oftheperformance.Thismelodyservesasafoundationformelodicandrhythmicimprovisationthroughoutthegatsection.Thegatisperformedoveratala(rhythmicmode)andisaccompaniedbythepercussioninstrument(usuallytabla).

Jhalaisanintensesectionthatservesasamusicalclimaxandending.Inthejhalamusiciansoftenalternateplayingmelodic/frettedstringswiththefixedpitch/dronestrings ontheinstrument.Thisservesbothtointensifyrhythmandtoreinforcetheprimarynoteoftheragcalledsa(towhichthedronestringsaretuned).Jhalashappenattheendoftheperformancebuttheycanalsoexistattheendingofthejorbeforethetala begins.

Inatypicalperformancethegrowthoftheragathroughthebadhatformcanprogressforhalfanhour.Thebeginningiscalmandslowandtheendisafierydisplay of virtuosic ability. Thegrowththathappensfromtheslowbeginningtothevirtuosicandfastendingisoftencomparedtothegrowthofaplantfromseedtoflower. Theperformance ofa raga isdevotionalandisseennotonlyasmusicalbut also spiritualpractice, with the ultimategoalbeingNadaBrahma(“thesoundof God”).(Bakan2012,135)

Sectionalformsin popmusic

Whenanalyzingtheformofpopmusicthetermsverse,chorus,andbridge are oftenutilized. Thesetermseachrepresentcontrastingsectionsofthemusic.Inmanypopandfolkgenresthemelodythatisheard inthechorusisconsideredtobethemainmelodyor“hook”ofthepiece.Oftentheverseshavelyricsthattellastoryandthechorusexpressestheemotion.Iftheverseandchorusrepeatwithonlylyricalterationthentheycanbe considered one sectionandtheformcanbecalled strophic. When the bridge sections offers contrast to the verse and chorus it oftencreatesaformcalledstandardsongform.Figure2illustrateshowthisformisoftenutilizedinpopularmusic.

Figure 2:Song Form

A A B A or A’ Intro Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Bridge Verse Chorus Coda optional narrative “hook” narrative “hook” Contrasting

material-possiblemodulation

Sometimes verseis skipped forreturn to the “hook”

optional

Asimpleformthatisoftenusedtodescribethestructureofmelodiesiscalledbinaryform.Inbinaryformthetunehastwo distinctsections.Examplesofbinarymelodiesarethepieces TurkeyintheStraw,YankeeDoodle and Greensleeves. Thesepiecesshow thecontrastoftheAsectionandtheBsection.Thiscontrast oftenisbothmelodicandharmonic.

Figure 3:Sample Binary Form

A Section B Section tonic chord dominantchord

Western artmusicsectionalforms

InWesternmusicrealizationofformalmarkers(oftenidentifiablemelody)isahighlyvalued aesthetic. Listenersareoftenawareofthedesignofcomplexformsandthuslistenforhowcomposers’usetheformtocreateaworkofart.Theylistenforthedevelopmentand variation ofmelodicthemesandmotives.Inmanygenresthelistenersevenlistenfortheexpectedtemposandharmonicprogressions.ThroughawarenessofformagreaterunderstandingofWesternartmusiccanberealized.

Arguablythemostimportantof the Westernartforms isa multi-movementformcalledthe sonatacycle.SonatacyclescameintovogueasaformintheClassical style period (1750-1820).Itwasatthispointthatcomposers establishedmany ofthegenresthatwehearinmodernconcerthalls.The four genres that utilizethesonatacyclearethesonata,theconcerto,thestringquartet,and the symphony.Becausetheyallusethesonatacycletheytypicallyhaveafast(allegro)firstmovement,aslowsecondmovement,andafastclosing movement.Thesonataandconcertoonlyhavethesethreemovementswhilestringquartetsandsymphoniesalsohaveafourthmovement,adance(minuetandtrio)insertedbetweentheslowmovement andtheclosingfastmovement.Pauses oftenhappenbetweenmovements intheperformancethesegenres.Inthese pauses musiciansandaudiencemembersadjustandprepareforthenextmovement.Inthe20th

centuryitbecamestandardnottoapplaudbetweenmovements,insteadsavingapplause untilthe end of the entire work.

Symphoniesareworksfororchestras(alsoknowassymphonyorchestrasorphilharmonicorchestras) thatarecomposedusingthefour-movementsonatacycleform.Stringquartetsusethesameformasasymphonybutarewrittenforaninstrumentation oftwoviolins,a viola,anda ‘cello(stringquartet).Concertosandsonatas are written using the three-movementcycle.Aconcertoisaworkforsoloinstrumentaccompaniedbyanorchestra. Thetermsonatacanbeconfusingbecauseofitsmanyrelated uses.Thegenrecalledsonatahasmanyhistoricalvariationsbutitisgenerallyconsideredtobeaworkforasoloinstrument(orinstrumentwithpianoaccompaniment)thatiscomposedusingthesonatacyclethreemovementfast-slow-faststructure.Asmentionedabovetheseconduseofthe termsonataisintheformcalledsonatacycle.Thethirduseisinthetermsonata-allegroform.Thisreferstotheformofthefirstmovementofthesonatacycle.

Figure 4:Sonata cycle= used in sonatas,

Movement1: Movement2: Movement3: Movement4: Allegro=fasttempo Slowtempo Minuetand Trio Fast Sonataform Oftenthemeand Dance in 3 SonataRondoor

variations/ Does not appear in SonataForm rondo form sonata or concerto

Inthesonata-allegro(firstmovement)formcomposersusethreemelodiesasthesourcematerialforbuildingthepiece. Thesemelodiesarecalledthemes.Themeoneisthemostimportantthemeinthepiece.Thefirststepinlisteningtosonataformistorecognizethemeoneandtolistenforeachappearanceofit. TherearethreemainsectionsofSonata-allegroformcalledtheexposition,developmentand recapitulation. Intheexpositionthethreethemesarepresented(exposed).Thefirstthemewillbeinthetonickeyarea.Forexample:InSymphonyNo.1inCmajorthefirstthemewillbewritteninC major.Atransitionsectionsfollowsinwhichthemusicmodulates(changeskeyarea)toarelativekey.Forexample:InSymphonyNo.1inC majortheme twomightbeinthedominantkeyareaofGmajor.Theclosingthemewillbeinthesamekeyastheme2. Expositions arerepeated.

Thedevelopmentsectionofsonata-allegroformcontainstheleastamountofestablishedstructure.Inthissectionthecomposermaypresentthemesoutoforder,fragmentthemes,sequencethemes,ordeveloptheminotherways. Theultimategoalofthedevelopmentistosetupthecadencefrombacktotonicforthereturnoftheme1intherecapitulation.Therecapitulation isanotherpresentationofthethemesfromtheexpositioninthesameorder.Themaindifferenceisthatallthemeswillbepresentedinthetonickeyarea.

Figure 5:Sonata-allegro form

I n t r o

Exposition

Theme1= tonic

transition/modulation

Theme2= contrasting key area

Closingtheme=contrastingkeyarea

Development

Developsmotivesandthemes presented inthe exposition.

Ends withcadence fromV toIthat reestablishes tonic key for recapitulation

Recapitulation

Theme1= tonic

transition/nomodulation

Theme2= tonic

Closingtheme= tonic

C o d a

Likeallotherformsdiscussedtherecanalsobeanintroductionand/oracoda. Incodas,composerswrapupthepiecebyemphasizingthetonicchord(homechord). Thisisdonebydrawingoutcadentialmaterial.Acadenceisarestingpointprovidedbytheharmonicprogression.ThestrongestcadencesintonalmusicareV-I(dominanttotonic).Tonalcentersorkeyareasareimportantpartsofthesonataforms. Allmovementsareexpectedtobeginandendinatonickey.Theharmonicpathawayfromthetonicisalsodeterminedbythesonataform.Seefigure4foramapofsonata-allegroform. Classicallytrainedmusicians andenthusiasts spendmuchtimeanalyzingmusictoidentifyeachformalmarker.

ProgrammaticForm

Inmovies,videogames,televisionshows,epicfolktales and other genresmusiciscomposedtosupportastory.Oftentheformsusedforthemusicwillbedirectlyrelatedtothestory.Composerswhoscorefilmsareoftenaskedtocreatecustomizedaccompanimentthatfollowstheactiononscreen. Ifthecomposerwantstocreatemusicthatidentifiesorsupportscharacters,themes,oractionsthentheymightcomposeamusicalthemethatisrepresentative.Oneneeds onlytohearthe ImperialMarch fromthe StarWars moviestogetavisualimageofDarthVader.ThisisbecausewhenJohnWilliamsscoredthesefilmsheutilizedtheconceptof“leitmotif”thathadbeenusedinoperaforacentury.“Leitmotif”isatermthatWagnerusedtodescribethemesthatrepresentcharacters,ideas,orotherobjectsinhismusicdramas(operas).

Withinanopera,cantata,oratorioorotherWesternArtgenresthathaveanarrativeandinvolvesingingitis commontohavethreeactsthateachincludearias,recitative,andchoruspieces.Ariasarethe“hitsongs”oftheoperaandmaybecomposedforsolo,duos,orgroupsofsingers.Intheariatheemotionsofthecharacterareoftenrevealedandexpounded upon.ImaginetheemotionalreleasesonginanyDisneymovie.Thisisakintooperaarias.Recitativeadvancestheplotbetweenthesearias.Usuallyariashavesomesortofrepetitivesectionalform.

Recitativesareoften non-repetitive because they follow thetext.If no organizational unitsorrepetitivestructures arepresentinthemusic thentheform iscalled through-composed.

Analyzingform:1. Doesthemusichaveapreconceivedformorisitimprovised?2. Istheformofthemusicasection thatrepeats over and over? 3. Is theform establishedforthegenre?4. Doyounoticeanyrepetitiveformalmarkers?

ReferenceList:

Bakan,MichaelB.2012. WorldMusic:TraditionsandTransformations.2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Kilroe-Smith,Catherine.2013. MusicalJourneys. Dubuque,IA:KendallHunt.

Marcus,David.2016.EmailtoToddMueller.Jan.3,2017

Roeder,John. 2011 “FluctantGroupinginaSilk-and-BambooMelody.” AAWMJournal1,No.2.AccessedFeb.14,2017http://aawmjournal.com/articles/2011b/

Ross,Alex.2010. ListentoThis. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Thrasher,AlanR.1989.”StructuralContinuityinChineseSizhu:The‘Baban’Model.”AsianMusic20.2:67–106.

Wade,Bonnie C.2013. ThinkingMusically:ExperiencingMusic,ExpressingCulture.3rd ed.NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress.

Valdez, Stephen. 2006. AHistoryofRockMusic. 4th ed.Dubuque,Iowa:Kendall/Hunt.