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1: THE POWERFUL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Many people compare music to a language. Where does the analogy hold up and where does it break down? If music is a language, must it communicate specifically, and does it have "bad words" as with the spoken and written word?

Listen to the episode (#3), “The Powerful Language of Music” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:

http://whatmusicmeans.mypodcast.com

LISTENING EXAMPLES. In addition to digesting the ideas presented, answer the following questions about the music in this episode.

1. The first example played was an excerpt from “The Tortoise and the Hare,” the

first movement of a piece for concert band entitled, __________________

____________, and is an example of program music (music that tells a story).

2. The second example – the one for which the narrator described listening jobs –

was an excerpt from a work for orchestra entitled, ________________________,

and is an example of absolute music (music for music’s sake).

3. The third example, a brief excerpt from a very dissonant work by Anton

______________, is described as Expressionist music.

YOUR REACTION. Share your thoughts in a paragraph or two on ways music either is or isn't like a language. Try to give specific examples if you can to support what you say.

4: WHEN COPYING IS GOOD

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Nobody likes busy work, and copying music by hand seems like the most mundane chore. Yet Watson shares what might be gained by copying music as in the days of old!

Listen to the episode (#4), “When Copying Is Good” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:



1. In the episode, you learned that which famous composer copied the music of

Antonio Vivaldi as a form of score study? ______________________

2. In Thomas Cahill’s book, ________ ______ ____________ _____________

_____________________, the author describes how Irish monks (the spiritual

descendents of St. Patrick) saved many classic works from oblivion by copying

them.

3. Which famous Russian composer required his composition students to bring only

finished scores to him before reviewing them? _________________________

4. Watson asserts that copying by hand can be an “_____________________

experience”, one which links the beauty of the music to what it looks like.

5. Sometimes the only difference between an activity that is aesthetically satisfying

and one that is simply mundane is how ___________________ you’ve been.

YOUR REACTION. Share anything you’d like as a result of hearing this episode.

6: THE THING ABOUT RHYTHM

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Your text presents music as consisting of a handful of basic building blocks such as "pitch," "rhythm," "melody," "harmony," and so on. This is a fairly conventional, and valid, approach. Of all the so-called "elements of music", find out why Dr. Watson feels rhythm is king - sort of a "meta-element." In this episode, Watson painlessly explains what is so primal about rhythm using demonstrations from the world of acoustics and sound synthesis.

Listen to the episode (#6), “The Thing About Rhythm” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:



1. At the end of the episode, a song’s rhythm was played on drum to make the point

that the rhythm alone was strong enough to suggest the entire tune to most

listeners. That song was _____________ _____________________.

2. What is the one element Dr. Watson admits is independent of rhythm?

_____________________

YOUR REACTION. Do you buy that rhythm is the Supreme Musical Element? Please share your reactions in a paragraph or two to the information presented in this episode.

7: NON-HARMONIC TONES, DIVERSITY, AND DELAYED GRATIFICATION

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

In this episode I draw two important life lessons from an unlikely place – the somewhat academic world of music theory. Much Western music has an underlying chordal - or harmonic - structure. But composers add much beauty to the surface of their music through the use of notes not in these skeletal chords. Hear what these Non-Chord Tones can teach us about life!

Listen to the episode (#7), “Non-Harmonic Tones, Diversity, and Delayed Gratification,” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:


LISTENING EXAMPLES. A variety of purposeful dissonances used by composers, called non-harmonic tones, were describes. List them in the order that they were presented.

1. ___________________________________

2. ___________________________________

3. ___________________________________

4. ___________________________________

YOUR REACTION. Share in a paragraph or two any reactions to, or new insights you’ve gained from, this Podcast episode.

8: THE AWESOMENESS OF PEDAL POINT

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Episode 7 included some life lessons we find by examining the way composers deploy "Non-Harmonic Tones." Episode 8 continues the discussion with a Non-Harmonic Tone Watson loves to hear in music, and use in his own compositions...the Pedal Point. With roots in music's past and lots of cool application in the music of today, the Pedal Point is a non-harmonic tone extraordinaire!

Listen to the episode (#8), “The Awesomeness of Pedal Point,” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:


LISTENING EXAMPLES. A variety of purposeful dissonances used by composers, called non-harmonic tones, were describes. List them in the order that they were presented.

1. Pedal point is so named because of a technique often used when playing which instrument?

2. A pedal point is a long, _____________ note usually in the bass that sustains while various harmonies move above it.

3. Former Parkland High School student, Noam Frischman, wrote his pedal point duet for which two instruments? _______________ and ____________________

4. The introduction to Scott Watson’s Fantasy On An Old English Air features a pedal point played by which instruments? ______________ and ____________________________

5. The final pedal point example employed the pedal point in the high violins. That piece, by composer ___________ _______________________ was from the ballet The Firebird.

YOUR REACTION. Share in a paragraph or two any reactions to, or new insights you’ve gained from, this Podcast episode.

10: INTERSECTION OF LIFE AND MUSIC

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

From a rough high school trumpet lesson, to reflections on Plato's famous "cave" analogy, Episode 10 discusses both how life informs music and music informs our understanding of reality...HEADY STUFF INDEED!

Listen to the episode (#10), “Intersection of Life and Music” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:


YOUR REACTION. We hope this episode provoked your thinking. Share your reactions and thoughts in a paragraph or two.

13: HOLIDAY CD PROJECT

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Listen to the episode (#13), “Holiday CD Project,” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:


YOUR REACTION. Share one thing you found especially successful or compelling about a musical excerpt you heard in this episode.

Can you see yourself producing a track for this class’s CD project in the week’s ahead? If not, what about what are you apprehensive?

15: MUSIC THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Recent studies show that what you listen to in your formative years and youth not only shapes your musical tastes, but the way your brain learns to perceive music. I believe it also helps define who you are, and who you are becoming. I know it did with me. I thought this Podcast episode would be a good way to introduce myself to you.

Listen to the episode (#15), “Music That Changed My Life, or The Powerful Music of My Youth” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:



1. The narrator fondly remembered listening to _________________ by Gabriel

Faure, when he went to bed during his high school years.

2. The piece that the narrator was awestruck by when he played it early on in his

_____________ ________________________ experience was Tchaikovsky’s

Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture.

3. The sound clip of Maleguena was performed what sort of musical ensemble?

____________________ ____________.

4. The ____________________ ____________ example shared was Incantation &

Dance by John Barnes Chance.

5. Chuck Mangione’s “Feels So Good,” was shared as an example of how when the

narrator was in high school, ____________________ were frequently used in

popular music.

YOUR REACTION. Cite two musical selections that would qualify as the “music of your youth,” pieces that you believe are shaping your listening experience and preferences, and which you’ll remember vividly years from now. Please share at least one sentence that relates why each of these left an impression on you.

1.

2.

17: THE ROLE OF REPETITION IN UNDERSTANDING MUSIC

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Composers use repetition of musical ideas to convey organization and intelligent design to the listener. Regardless of the style of music you desire to write, if you are aware of the importance of repetition in music, chances are your music communicates more than music written without such regard.

Listen to the episode (#17), “The Role of Repetition,” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:


LISTENING EXAMPLES. In addition to digesting the ideas presented, record below the musical examples used in the episode.

1. Symphony No. 40, 1st movement by __________________________.

2. Third Symphony, 2nd movement by _________________________.

3. Main theme from the film Batman by _________________________.

4. “Higher Ground” by __________________________.

5. Music from the film, The Illusionist by ______________________.

6. “Canon” (by inversion) from Musical Offering by ____________________.

YOUR REACTION. Most of the ideas in this episode came from the world of art music (“classical music”), and yet, repetition is used to a high degree in popular music. Tell how something presented in the episode has important implications for the writers or producers of pop music.

18: MUSICAL FUSION

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

Throughout music's history, right up to the current day, composers, arrangers and performers have sought to merge diverse musical traditions in order to create hybrid styles. Whether it's combining music from different cultures, genres, or even time periods, musical fusions have yielded some interesting results. In this episode we examine the idea of musical fusion.

Listen to the episode (#18), “Musical Fusion,” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:


LISTENING EXAMPLES. As you digest the ideas presented, record below information related to the musical examples used in the episode.

1. The first musical example, by the late Joseph Zawinul and recorded by his band

Weather Report, was entitled, __________________________________.

2. Music from the show, Riverdance, represents the fusion of contemporary

rock/pop music with ___________________ folk music.

3. In the 2000 hit, “Graduation,” pop vocalist Vitamin C uses the chords and string

parts from the piece Canon by the composer __________________________.

4. Switched On Bach was a seminal recording by Wendy (then Walter) Carlos of the

keyboard works of J.S. Bach on the new _______________ synthesizer.

YOUR REACTION. Describe the details of a musical fusion of which you are aware. What are the stylistic influences that contribute and how are they merged/fused?

22: ORDER & DRAMA IN CLASSICAL MUSIC

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

What is "Classical music"? Classical music is more than just fancy concert halls, symphonies, tuxedos and evening gowns! In this episode, we'll examine what makes music "Classical," by examining its two seemingly contradictory characteristics: 1) order, and 2) drama. Most of our discussion will focus on the flagship construct of Classical music style: sonata-allegro form.

Listen to the episode (#22), “Classical Order & Drama,” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:


LISTENING EXAMPLES. In addition to digesting the ideas presented in this episode, answer the following questions about the musical examples shared.

1. The first example was a brief passage from a Piano Sonata by ______________ ____________________.

2. A large portion of the episode detailed sonata-allegro form using Symphony No. 40, 1st Movement, by _______________ _________________ ______________.

3. The three large sections of sonata-allegro form are: 1) ____________________…

4. 2) __________________________,

5. …..and 3) ____________________________

YOUR REACTION. Classical era symphonies are considered “absolute music,” meaning that they are to be appreciated for their music, their inherent structure and beauty apart from any extra-musical storyline. And yet, we have seen that there is an ABSTRACT storyline that parallels elements of a Greek drama in sonata-allegro form. You may, in fact, imagine detailed imagery or action when you listen to this music.

Pretend Symphony No. 40, 1st Movement (heard in this podcast) is the musical underscoring to a scene from a movie. Describe, in as much detail as possible, the action of a scene that would be a good fit for this music. Your description should be at least one or two paragraphs.

23: MODAL vs. TONAL MUSIC

Name: __________________________________ Date: _____________

There are about a dozen "modes," which are like major and minor scales only more subtly diverse, and with exotic names like "Dorian," "Phrygian," and "Mixolydian." These ancient scales date back at least to 500 B.C. and were the bread and butter of composers during the Middle Ages and Renaissance until the Major-Minor tonal system took over as the Baroque era approached. While the major-minor tonal system has served Western art music well for centuries, it is a shame to overlook the many shades of tonal color that the church modes allowed.

Listen to the episode (#23), “Modal vs. Tonal Music” from the podcast What Music Means to Me. You can access (and if you wish subscribe to) this podcast from the iTunes Store, or by going directly to the following URL:



1. The example that opened the episode was an excerpt of the Renaissance French

folk song, “_____________________________,” on which Guillaume Du Fay

based his famous mass setting.

2. Julia Wade’s modal composition, for violin and hand drum, sounded like a rustic,

peasant dance and employed notes from the _______________ mode.

3. The example “Jesus, Born in Bethany,” performed by the Baltimore Consort, used

notes from the ________________________ mode.

4. The ___________________ and _______________________ modes evolved as

the Baroque era approached into our current Major and Minor modes.

5. The final selection heard was a Dorian mode composition that described which

mythical creature? ________________

YOUR REACTION. You’d probably have to place the Major and Minor modes on opposite ends of the tonal spectrum, with the Major mode providing a bright, positive, joyous, or triumphant sound and the Minor mode providing a darker, somber, tender, or sad sound. After hearing examples in the Dorian, Phrygian, and Mixolydian modes in this episode, share your thoughts on the impression that modal music has made on you.

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parklandmusic.wikispaces.comparklandmusic.wikispaces.com/file/view/Podcast+Guide… · Web viewPedal point is so named because of a technique often used when playing ... Former