Music Concepts.docx

Medieval: Tone Colour: - During the Medieval period, music was primarily vocal. Instruments were used to accompany vocal lines or to improvise instrumental dances, and very little instrumental music has survived. Rhythm: - Rhythm was not notated during much of this period, and traditions regarding the treatment of sacred text, the meter of the text, and the musical abilities of singers and instrumentalists often determined the rhythmic complexity and tempo of pieces. Melody: - Melodic intervals and the range of melodies were generally small during this era (Hildegard of Bingen was an exception), and sacred melodies were often based on church modes (modes are notes arranged in a specific scale or pattern of intervals, and were often used to structure the melody or tonality of a piece). Harmony: - Harmony and tonality as we know it today were not functional during the Medieval period. Music appears to have been constructed and heard as separate lines rather than vertical sonorities. Parallel fifths and octaves were favored, and triads or thirds were considered dissonant. Texture: - Monophonic texture was predominantly used during the first part of this era, and polyphonic texture began to be used in the mid to late Medieval period. Heterophony may have been heard in performances. Structure: - Popular genres during this period included the following large forms: sacred vocal music such as plainchant, conductus, masses, and motets; instrumental estampies; and secular vocal songs.

Baroque: Rhythm (Duration) - Continuity of Rhythm - Rhythmic pattern is essentially repeated - Lot of propulsion - Strong Pulse and definite beat. Rhythmic Diminution. Melody (Pitch) - Continuous - Opening melody is heard time and time again in a polyphonic way - To enhance variety, lots of ornaments (trills, turns, mordents) - Shift from vocal to instrumental - G Minor tonality. Could modulate to Bb Major. D minor or C minor. The G minor is established in the first bar. Counter Subject is scalic and is step wise. Bach presents the subject in a major key twice. Tierce di picardie = minor to major chord in same key. 4 voices SATB Texture - Polyphonic - Soprano and Bass (most important, melody and tonal centre) - Imitation - Voices - Monophonic - Then polyphonic for rest of piece - 4 layers of sound constantly change their roles - Dense texture Dynamics (Expressive Techniques) - Terraced (sudden change) (contrast) - Dynamics change with texture Performing Media (‘Instruments’) - String family o 10 – 30 players - Harpsichord - 1st and 2nd violin + violas - Woodwind, brass and percussion were variable - Baroque trumpet (no valves, high register, holes like recorder) Regarded highly Tone Colour (Timbre [individual sound of each instrument]) - Organ - Airy because pipes - Pedal point has a distinct tone colour effect - Reedy - Harsh

Structure - A concerto is a large-scale composition for an orchestra plus a soloist or a group of soloists. Baroque composers who wrote concertos include Vivaldi, Bach and Handel. Vivaldi wrote over 500, around half of them for violin. There were two types of Baroque concerto - the concerto grosso and the solo concerto. - Fugue - Polyphonic composition based on 1 theme called a subject. Throughout a fugue, different melodic lines called voices imitate the subject. Each voice takes their turn to present the subject. Soprano announces it. Bar 6, Subject in Alto. Bar 12, Subject in Tenor. Bar 6, counter subject. Counter Subject is continuous semiquavers. Running motion. Romantic: Rhythm (Duration) Tonality Melody (Pitch) Texture Harmony Dynamics (Expressive Techniques) Performing Media (‘Instruments’) Tone Colour (Timbre [individual sound of each instrument]) Structure Modern Rhythm (Duration) Tonality Melody (Pitch) Texture Harmony Dynamics (Expressive Techniques) Performing Media (‘Instruments’)

Tone Colour (Timbre [individual sound of each instrument]) Structure