Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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MU 370 - Music Literature Proficiency
Music Core Outcome: Understand how music has been created, performed and perceived throughout
history and cultures, while acquiring an acquaintance with a wide selection of music literature.
Requirements
The student is to describe the stylistic traits of ten musical selections (including descriptions of melody,
harmony, texture, emotion, and medium), place the selection in a time-frame and culture, and give reasons
for this placement.
Listening: 5 selections of music from throughout history and cultures are played.
Written: 5 written selections of music (scores) from throughout history and cultures are given.
Preparation
Courses that help prepare for the proficiency:
MU 131 Global Music
MU 331/332/333 Music History I, II, III
Listening:
Attend lots of concerts and recitals, on-campus and off. Take advantage of student discounts.
NOTE: Concert attendance is a requirement for MU 284 Music Portfolio. Make sure that the
concerts you attend help develop a strong knowledge and experience of the richness of music,
including classical.
Periodically turn to a classical music radio station (locally KQAC 89.9 – allclassical.org). Try to
determine the composer/era/stylistic traits of the piece before the announcer comes back on.
Study groups. Get together with peers. Check out recordings from library and play “drop the
needle” for each other. One chooses a selection. The others describe the stylistic traits and guess
composer/era. One good way to study is to focus upon a certain genre that spans several stylistic
eras (for example, a cappella choral music ranging from medieval times to the present, or string
quartet that ranges from the classical period to the present).
Visual analysis:
Make note of the stylistic traits of the music found in the Norton Anthology.
Fill out the Stylistic Trait Inventory (page 17) for sample pieces you encounter during your studies.
Continually ask:
“What makes the music we are studying distinct from previous music I know about?
How is it the same?”
Review genres, composers, and traits for each period.
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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Terminology – Accurate observations of a work’s stylistic traits are clues to a work’s historical place in
literature. The concepts embodied in musical terminology help define these traits. A music major should be
proficient in the understanding and use of the following technical words:
Medium: choir, orchestra, solo keyboard, voice and piano, string quartet, piano quintet, etc.
Genre: sacred, secular, choral, vocal, instrumental, symphonic, operatic, chamber music
Texture: monophonic
heterophonic
homophonic (block chords, melody and accompaniment)
polyphonic (imitative, non-imitative)
Dynamics: none indicated, terraced, abrupt changes, gradual changes, extreme contrast
Duration
Tempo: none indicated, slow/medium/fast, changes within piece, extremes, detailed instructions
Meter: none indicated, duple/triple, simple/compound, ametric/ metric, complex, changing,
polymetric
Patterns: present/not present
Type: rhythmic modes (patterns of long/short),
pattern length (beat, measure, phrase)
Sub-divisions of beat: 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 7’s etc
Syncopations
Pitch
Scale basis: modal, diatonic, chromatic, pentatonic, 12-tone row, pitch-set, octatonic
Chord type(s):
perfect intervals
triadic, seventh chords, extended tertian, altered, added notes
quartal, clusters
degree of tension: consonant/dissonant
Chord progression/harmonic movement: functional (I-IV-V-I type progressions), root movements by
2nds or 3rds or 5ths, harmonic rhythm (regular/irregular, fast/slow)
Cadences: perfect/imperfect authentic, plagal, Landini, step-wise, deceptive, incomplete
Tonality: beginning and ending on same/different pitch centers, modulations, atonal, polytonal
Melody/phrase:
Relationship between notes (conjunct/disjunct)
Range (narrow/wide)
Complexity (simple/ornamented)
Phrases (symmetrical/irregular, antecedent/consequent, length: 2+2+4)
Construction (motivic, sequential)
Character (vocal/instrumental, lyric, gestural, virtuosic)
Text
Language (Latin, Italian, French, German, English, etc.)
Type (mass: ordinary/proper, poetry, prose)
Relationship of text to music: syllabic/melismatic
text-painting
strophic/through-composed
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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WESTERN EUROPEAN MUSIC TRAITS
MEDIEVAL (Antiquity to 1400)
ELEMENT
Antiquity to 1200
Dynamics
None indicated
Medium
Solo or 2-part vocal,
unison chorus; instrumental
melodies and vocal
accompaniment.
Ars Antiqua (1200-1300)
Ars Nova (1300-1400)
Secular: 1, 2, and 3 pt. vocal.
Secular: 2, 3-part vocal
Sacred: 1, 2, 3, & 4 pt. vocal.
Sacred: 2, 3, & 4 pt. vocal.
Instrumental dance music: rare
indications of specified insts.
Insts. used to accompany or
replace vocal parts.
Duration
Tempo
derived from meter.
Meter & rhythmic
patterns
related to rhythmic
modes/poetic meters.
mensural notation; more
complex rhythms, some
extreme syncopation.
Pitch
Scales
medieval modes derived
from Ancient Greek modes
Melody
No symmetrical phrases; little use of sequence and repetitions;
conjunct lines; vocally conceived
More disjunct;
Secular: repetition according to fixed forms.
Chords & tonality
No functional tonality
No chords, intervals in
organum
P1, P4, P5, P8 considered
consonant, other intervals
considered dissonant but widely
used in mid-phrase.
P intervals, also 3rds, 6ths,
some triads
Final cadences
P5 or P8 sonority
Linear approach (7-8,2-1)
Texture
Monophonic
2, 3, 4-part non-imitative polyphony
bottom line has cantus firmus (from chant) and generally moves slower
top line usually moves most active
Forms
All periods: mostly vocal forms used by voices and instruments.
hymns, theater music.
Chant, organum,
secular songs
Composers
Sacred motet (using cantus
firmus, 2,3,4-part voices)
Instrumental dances
Isorhythmic motet
Mass movements
Virelai, ballade, rondeau
Ballata, caccia, madrigal
Anonymous
Secular troubadours, trouvères, minnesingers
Euripides (fl. 5th century
BCE)
Leonin (fl. 1175, France)
Perotin (fl. 1180-1220, France)
Guillaume de Machaut
(c. 1300-1377, France)
Francesco Landini
(c. 1325-1397, Italy)
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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RENAISSANCE (1400-1600)
Dynamics
None indicated until late 16th century
Medium
Vocal: 2,3,4,5-parts, occasionally more, instruments double voice lines or play alone
Instrumental: specific compositions for keyboard, lute, and viol are written.
Duration
Tempo
derived from time signature.
Meter
Duple and triple (no bar-lines used). Individual lines often work independently
Rhythmic patterns
Less use of rhythmic patterns than in medieval music.
Melodies in motets and mass movements often move from slow to fast durations, without any repetitions
of rhythmic patterns.
Pitch
Scales
Medieval or "church" modes; use of accidentals approaches major and minor.
Melody
Sacred music avoids symmetry. Some use of sequence and repetition.
Secular music sometimes has more balanced phrases. Added leading tones, some chromaticism.
Chords
Perfect intervals; major and minor triads; other sounds treated carefully. Chords arise from combination
of melodies. Suspensions common.
Chord progression
and tonality
Functional harmony not present although many V-I and IV-I cadences. Some focus on different tonal
centers at beginning and end.
Final cadences
Perfect intervals, major triads, minor triads extremely rare in practice.
Texture
Homophony (blocked chords) in secular songs, early madrigal, chanson, and a few sacred works
Polyphony (2, 3, 4 or more voices) in sacred works and later madrigals. Imitative polyphony (beginning
of each line) in 16th century.
Many sacred works based upon cantus firmus.
Forms
Sacred: motet, mass, complete mass settings often cyclic (based upon cantus firmus)
Secular: chanson, madrigal, lied
Instrumental: canzona, ricercare, in nomine, dance pairs.
Composers
John Dunstable (c. 1385-1453, English)
Guillaume Dufay (c. 1400-1474, Franco-Flemish)
Gilles Binchois (c. 1400-1460, French)
Johannes Ockeghem (c. 1430-1497, Netherlands)
Josquin des Prez (c. 1440-1521, Franco-Flemish)
Heinrich Isaac (c. 1450-1517, Netherlands)
Jacob Obrecht (c. 1451-1505, Franco-Flemish)
Giovanni da Palestrina (c. 1525-1594, Italy)
Roland de Lassus (1532-1594, Franco-Flemish)
William Byrd (1543-1623, English)
Tómas Luís de Victoria (c. 1949-1611, Spanish)
Giovanni Gabrielli (c. 1557-1612, Italian)
Carlo Gesualdo (c. 1560-1613, Italian)
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643, Italian)
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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BAROQUE (1600-1750)
Dynamics
Terraced, abrupt loud-soft changes
Medium
Presence of continuo (a harmonic bass line played by a bass instrument with chordal realization played
by keyboard player)
Instrumental: Trio sonata (2 treble instruments and continuo), solo keyboard, ensembles
Vocal: solo and chorus, opera, oratorio, cantata
Duration
Tempo
Slow, moderate, fast; few changes within piece especially in later Baroque, no real extremes.
Meter
Duple and triple (both simple and compound). Standard meters for specific dance movements.
Meter reinforced by regular harmonic rhythm.
Rhythmic patterns
Lots of repetition and very metric. Limited number of note values in a piece, especially fast ones.
Slow movements have more variety; they are often decorations.
Pitch
Scales
Major and minor; some remnants of the church modes.
Melody
Some symmetrical phrases (especially in dance movements), but often melodies are through-composed,
based upon one rhythmic or pitch pattern without symmetric phrase structure.
Sequences are prevalent.
Instrumentally-conceived lines (even in vocal music), often disjunct and with wide range.
Chords
Major and minor triads. Mm7, mm7, dim 7th’s; occasionally other 7th’s. Extensive use of non-chords tones,
used very carefully. Harmonic foundation controls melodic lines, rather than melody lines creating
harmony as in the Renaissance.
Chromaticism: secondary chords and modulations to closely-related keys.
Chord progression
and tonality
Functional harmony (I-IV-V-I) prevalent by 1650.
Cycle of 5th’s.
Regular harmonic rhythm supports meter.
Final cadences
Major and minor triads. Authentic and plagal cadences. Use of anticipations and suspensions.
Occasional use of pedal point to extend final cadence.
Texture
Continuo homophony
Chorale - homophony (block chords) with some independence in each line
Trio sonata (4 players)
Concerto grosso (group of soloists with larger ensemble)
Polyphonic textures in fugues
Some pieces based upon a cantus firmus (these are often chorale tunes rather than chants)
Forms
Binary forms found in dance movements (suites)
Ostinato variations: ground, chaconne, passacaglia
Ritornello movements in concerto movements
Fugue
Larger multi-movement vocal works: cantata, passion, mass, opera, oratorio
Vocal forms (single movements within larger works): da capo aria, recitative, chorus
Keyboard: preludes, toccatas, fantasias, chorale preludes
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
Baroque (continued)
Composers
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643, Italian)
Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643, Italian)
Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672, German)
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687, Italian/French)
Dietrich Bxtehude (c. 1637-1707, German)
Arcangelo Correlli (1653-1713, Italian)
Henry Purcell (c. 1659-1695, English)
Alessandro Scarletti (1660-1725, Italian)
François Couperin (1668-1733, French)
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741, Italian)
Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764, French)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750, German)
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759, German)
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757, Italian)
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Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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CLASSICAL (1750-c.1820)
Dynamics
Loud, soft, gradual changes with use of crescendo and diminuendo signs
Medium
Vocal: opera, mass, oratorio, solo song
Instrumental:
piano
chamber groups (string trio, string quartet, string quintet, piano trio, mixed groups)
solo instrument with piano (i.e. piano and violin sonata)
orchestra: moderate sized. Emphasis on strings (melody in violins). Winds in pairs with
contrasting melodic material. Orchestration is in blocks (by phrase and section).
Duration
Tempo
Slow, moderate, fast.
Few changes within piece, although the impression may be that there are contrasts (for example in a
sonata, the secondary theme in whole notes may sound slower than the primary theme in eighth and
sixteenth notes)
Extremes of tempos are beginning to be explored (such as very fast finales)
Meter
Duple and triple (simple and compound). Set meter in certain dance movements (minuet and trio)
Rhythmic patterns
Metric patterns with occasional syncopation. Reuse of limited number of patterns, less than baroque.
Pitch
Scales
Major and minor
Melody
Clear balance of phrase structure (4+4, antecendent/consequent)
Motivic development in use, but a balance of unity and contrast in play as well.
Sequence often important.
Melodies often exhibit balance between disjunct (instrumental) and conjunct (vocal)
Outlining triads and seventh chords are important melodic element.
Chords
Major and minor triads; seventh chords; chromatic chords including diminished seventh chords in from
parallel minor, augmented 6th chords, Neapolitans)
Chord progression
and tonality
Functional harmony (I-IV-V-I) strongly evident; regular harmonic rhythm; may slow down at cadences.
Modulations to closely-related keys.
Final cadences
Authentic cadences (V7-I) with major and minor triads.
Texture
Melody and accompaniment is primary texture, with many different type of accompaniment patterns
Polyphonic lines added to this homophonic texture
Absence of cantus firmus-based pieces
Composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven experiment with more polyphonic textures
Forms
Individual movements
Sonata-movement (exposition, development, recapitulation)
Rondo
Theme and Variations
Minuet and Trio; Scherzo-Trio
Multi-movement works
Instrumental: Symphony, Sonata, Concerto, String Quartet
Solo voice: art song, German lieder
Larger vocal works: mass, oratorio, opera (recitative-aria)
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
Classical (continued)
Composers
Giovanni Sammartini (1701-1775, Italian)
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736, Italian)
Carl Phillip Emanuel Bach (1714-1788, German)
Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787, Bohemia)
Johann Stamitz (1717-1757, German)
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809, Austrian)
Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782, German)
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805, Italian)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791, Austrian)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827, German)
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Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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ROMANTIC/19TH CENTURY
Dynamics
Extreme contrasts in dynamic levels and abrupt changes
Medium
Vocal: voice and piano, solo voice/choir with orchestra (opera, mass, oratorio)
Piano
Piano and solo instruments
Chamber groups (piano trio, string quartet, woodwind quintet)
Orchestra: expanded in size. Melodic material in all instruments, use of solo instruments for color.
Addition of large woodwind, brass (and perhaps percussion) sections.
Duration
Tempo
Extremes of tempo; many changes within piece; elaborate instructions given including “character”
markings.
Meter
Duple and triple (simple and compound). Some free sections.
Rhythmic patterns
Metrical and simple in some works. Others use varied rhythmic patterns, syncopation, or other devices to
shift the beat or obscure metric structure. Symmetry of phrase still prevalent, especially in dance works.
Pitch
Scales
Major and minor, but also evidence of borrowing between them. Much more use of chromaticism.
Melody
Less emphasis on balance and clarity; more emphasis on dramatic and expressive elements.
Cadences avoided to create longer sections. Motivic development important to some (ie. Brahms). Other
composers strive for mood transformation of melody by tempo, dynamic and timbral changes.
Chords
All triads and sevenths. Later in century use of 9th’s, 11th’s, and 13th’s.
Chromatic chords: borrowed chords, secondary dominants, augmented 6th’s,
Chord progression
and tonality
Functional harmony (I-IV-V-I) still prevalent, but expanded by chord substitutions, delay of resolutions,
slowing down harmonic rhythm, and modulating or abrupt shifts to distantly-related keys (such as
chromatic thirds).
Final cadences
Major and minor triads (V7-I), but often prolonged/delayed and decorated.
Texture
Primary texture is melody and accompaniment.
Some use of non-imitative polyphony (usually to evoke an older historical period).
Forms
Continuation of classical models, but seen less as principles of development and more as formal
structures. These structures tend to be expanded by length and complexity.
Connection between movements (cyclic forms).
Extra-musical considerations: program music.
Piano: intermezzo, etude, nocturne, rhapsody, fantasy, as well as sonata.
Voice: art song, song cycle.
Chamber ensembles such as string quartet, piano trio.
Orchestral: symphonies, tone-poems
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
Romantic (continued)
Composers
Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868, Italian)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828, Austrian)
Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848, Italian)
Vincenzo Bellini (1801-1835, Italian)
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869, French)
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847, German)
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1856, Polish)
Robert Schumann (1810-1856, German)
Franz Liszt (1811-1886, Hungarian)
Giuseppi Verdi (1813-1901, Italian)
Richard Wagner (1813-1883, German)
Anton Bruckner (1824-1896, Austrian)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897, German)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893, Russian)
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904, Czech)
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907, Norwegian)
Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924, Italian)
Hugo Wolf (1860-1903, Austrian)
Gustav Mahler (1860-1911, Austrian)
Claude Debussy (1860-1918, French)
Richard Strauss (1864-1940, German)
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957, Finnish)
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
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Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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CONTEMPORARY (1900-present)
Dynamics
Quite varied between composers, extreme emphasis in some; some works have every note marked a
different dynamic.
Medium
All traditional combinations (voice and instruments) in every possible combination.
Electronics, recordings of natural sounds, variety of percussion and non-western instruments.
Duration
Varies from very simple to very complex.
New notations using time graphs and performer-controlled determinations.
Addition of mixed meters, unusual groupings (2-3-2-2), non-synchronous meters.
Pitch
Scales
Use of variety of pitch systems: major and minor scales; modes; symmetric scales such as octatonic; nonwestern scales; 12-tone rows; microtones.
Melody
Ranges from very short ideas with limited pitches to extremely disjunct non-symmetrical lines.
Some pieces avoid any semblance of melody.
Chords
All possibilities: tertian, quartal, secundal, symmetric structures, poly-chords, no chordal basis.
Chord progression
and tonality
Some composers continue to use functional tonality; some will avoid it. Some find ways to create tonal
centers without the use of functional harmonic progressions. Some will explore bi-tonality.
Final cadences
Depends upon musical language and aesthetic chosen.
Texture
Any combination of monophonic, homophonic, or polyphonic.
Sound blocks: juxtaposition, stratification,
Explorations of new sounds and textures.
Forms
No predictable model. Use of forms from earlier times as well as new ones.
Chance music (aleatory)
NOTE: Beginning in the early 20th-century, composers of western music “art-music” have been involved in diverse musical
styles. It is difficult to describe a unified style. Popular music has tended to be based upon a more
functional/traditional foundation.
Composers
Charles Ives (1874-1954, American)
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951, Austrian)
John Cage (1912-1992 , American)
Benjamin Britten (1913-1976, English)
Béla Bartók (1881-1945, Hungarian)
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971, Russian)
Anton Webern (1883-1945, Austrian)
Edgard Varèse (1883-1965, French)
Pierre Boulez (b. 1925, French)
Luciano Berio (b. 1925-2003 , Italian)
Karlheinz Stockhausen (b. 1928, German)
George Crumb (b. 1929, American)
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963, German)
Krzysztof Pendericki (b. 1933, Polish)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990, American)
Elliott Carter (1908- , American)
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992, French)
John Adams (b. 1947, American)
list incomplete
These charts are based upon those in An Introduction to the Literature and Structure of Music by David
Neumeyer and Mary H. Wennerstrom (Waveland Press, 1980)
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July 18, 2011
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GLOBAL MUSIC TRAITS
AFRICA
Dynamics
Traditional community based music requires projection. Loud dynamics created through
multi-part ensembles, full voices, and buzzing devices added to instruments.
Medium
Vocals tend to predominate. Instruments depend on region and specific genre. Bell
oriented drum ensembles in west Africa. Mbira in Zimbabwe. Kora, kontingo or balo
among Manding jali.
Duration
Tempo
Little tempo change. Tempo is often determined by specific dances.
Meter
Polymeter
Rhythmic
patterns
Often asymmetric groupings of 2s and 3s. Ensembles are usually polyrhythmic.
Pitch
Scales
Scales and intonation are variable and dependant on culture. Variations within cultures
also occur.
Melody
Often repetitive with subtle variations. Melodies sometimes created through interlocking
parts. Instrumental and vocal melodies often follow speech tones of associated text.
Chords
In general, music is constructed in polyphonic layers without European notions of harmony.
Ghanaian melodies are often harmonized in 3rds due to European influence.
Chord
progression
and tonality
Mbira music has non-Western harmonic movement.
Texture
Usually multipart (not just melodic but also percussion-based) and polyphonic. Ostinato
often underlies melodies.
Forms
Call and response is common. Bell based polymetric percussion ensembles associated with
west Africa. Manding jali music influenced blues and jazz form of repetitive sections
interspersed with improvised sections. Length of performances and improvisations are
variable due to requirements of the occasion.
Composers
Music is often passed down through oral tradition either through hereditary music
specialists or communal transmission. The original composers are not known in most
traditional music. This is not so true in contemporary popular music. While the basic
composition may be traditional, master musicians often add their own variations and
embellishments suited to the performance context.
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ANDEAN SOUTH AMERICA
Dynamics
Not emphasized in folk traditions but may be used for effect in modern folk arrangements.
Medium
Pre-European music includes vocal, percussion, flutes, and large panpipe ensembles. The
harp and guitar were introduced by the Spanish. Mestizo music often includes European
band instruments for festival processions.
Duration
Tempo
Many types of music are played at tempi appropriate to specific dances.
Meter
Juxtaposed or alternating meters of 6/8 and 3/4 are characteristic of mestizo music.
Rhythmic
patterns
Rhythmic patterns often distinguish dance genres such as sanjuan and wayno. African
influenced music tends to have more rhythmic layering.
Pitch
Scales
Variable. Alternation of major and minor scales within a song is a common characteristic of
mestizo music. Tuning variances in traditional ensembles result in a slight dissonant quality of
sound.
Melody
Traditional songs tend to include much repetition.
Chords
Panpipe ensembles will often play in parallel 4th and 5th. Mestizo music tends to harmonize
in 3rds and follow European chord movement.
Tessitura
Tends to be high.
Texture
Can range from large homogenous panpipe ensembles playing in parallel motion to
monophonic vocal or instrumental melodies with or without percussion. May or may not
include chordal accompaniment on guitar or charango. Mestizo music tends to harmonized.
Forms
Dependant on region and associated dances or other genres. Tends to be strophic.
Composers
Traditional musicians may perform their own compositions. Contemporary folk ensemble
may perform traditional songs without a known composer or perform works of more
contemporary composers. Composers of the nueva cancion movement provided many
songs with lyrics about social injustices performed in a traditional style to show solidarity
with the common people.
Marylhurst University Department of Music
July 18, 2011
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INDIA CLASSICAL MUSIC
Dynamics
Dependant on artistic expression of performer
Medium
A basic ensemble consists of 1-2 melodic soloists (vocal and/or instrumental), 1-2
percussionists, drone source (tambura or electronic)
Duration
Tempo
Long concert forms tend to get progressively faster
Meter
Rhythm is organized by tala cycles. Alap (alapana) is unmetered.
Rhythmic
patterns
Drummers learn patterns specific to each tala before embarking on improvisations.
Melodic/rhythmic patterns of three usually indicate a cadence.
Pitch
Scales
Ragas are classified in part by scale but several ragas may use the same note inventory. A
typical raga averages about 7 pitches. Intonation is variable, especially in Hindustani music.
Melody
Melody is influenced by melodic ideas, specific ornamentation, and pitch hierarchy particular
to the raga being performed. Light classical forms may use folk melodies.
Chords
Indian music emphasizes melodic development rather than harmony. The drone provides a
tonal reference for interval intonation and a tonal center.
cadences
Endings are signaled by patterns repeated three times.
Texture
Usually monophony with an underlying drone (i.e., diaphony). When there are two melodic
performers they either play in unison, alternate solos, or one shadows the other.
Forms
In general, long concert forms progress rhythmically from unmetered to pulsed to metered by
tala. The most common Carnatic concert form is the kriti, a three part religious song. Through
improvisations this form can be expanded. The most common instrumental concert form of the
Hindustani tradition is alap-jor-jhalla-gat.
Composers
Hindustani melodies are usually passed down from guru to student. Instrumental melodies
may not have a name. Carnatic melodies tend to be songs by known composers. The best
known composers of kriti are Shyama Shastri, Tyagaraga, and Muttuswami Dikshitar.
Marylhurst University Department of Music
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INDONESIA
Dynamics
Balinese gamelan kebyar has abrupt dynamic changes within the same piece. Javanese
gamelan has soft style and loud style pieces that have few dynamic changes.
Medium
Gamelan ensembles, Balinese kecak.
Duration
Tempo
Balinese gamelan kebyar may have abrupt tempo changes. Javanese tempo changes are
less frequent and are accomplished through irama changes in which the pulse doesn't change
but the space between balungan notes changes. Tempo changes are initiated by the
drummer.
Meter
Concepts of meter don't apply. A melody is filled in with patterns in multiples of 4 pulses
dependant on irama level.
Pitch
Scales
Two scales types exist in gamelan: pelog (7 tone) and slendro (5 tone). The actual interval
sizes and pitch vary from ensemble to ensemble.
Melody
Melody lengths are determined by form and must conform to modes. Embellishments of
melodies come from standard patterns unique to each instrument.
Final
cadences
Endings are signaled by the drummer and are marked by the large gong.
Texture
Gamelan texture is heterophonic in concept but this is not apparent to the new listener. Each
instrumentist interprets the melody in idioms appropriate to his instrument. Melodies are
punctuated by instruments of the gong family.
Forms
Form is determined by the length of the melody and how that melody is punctuated by gongs.
Some forms are composed for specific dance choreographies.
Composers
Many traditional pieces have been passed down aurally without a known composer. From
the 20th century to the present many new pieces have been composed. Some composers
stay in traditional forms while others experiement in new styles.
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JAPAN
Dynamics
Dynamics in ensemble playing such as the gagaku ensemble are often a matter of how many
instruments are playing at one time. In solo or small ensemble playing dynamic changes can
occur in subtle ways, e.g., the swells heard on single notes of the shakuhachi.
Medium
Traditional music can encompass vocal and instrumental soloists or ensembles. In general,
ensembles include a balance of instruments of unique timbre rather than a more homogeneous
sound such as that found in a string-biased symphony orchestra. Instruments most associated
with the Edo period include koto, shakuhachi, and shamisen.
Duration
Tempo
A flexible pulse is characteristic. The aesthetic of jo-ha-kyu includes an increase in tempo as
the piece proceeds, but this is usually subtle.
Meter
Duple meters predominate, but much music is unmetered or flexible.
Rhythmic
patterns
Percussion instruments in gagaku play stereotyped rhythmic patterns particular to each
instrument.
Pitch
Scales
Scales are diverse and dependant on genre. Pentatonic scales are most common. Intonation
is traditionally variable but has moved toward European equal temperament.
Melody
Most traditional melody is composed but often gives the impression of natural spontaneous
expression.
Timbre
Timbre is important to the Japanese aesthetic. Music often emphasizes changes and contrasts
in timbre through instrumentation or techniques on individual instruments or voices.
Harmony
Functional harmony not present but chord clusters exist in the sound of the sho.
Genres
Very diverse and a reflection of the influences on Japanese culture. Gagaku developed
from Chinese and Korean court music. Shakuhachi music was originally associated with Zen
monks. Shamisen has folk origins, but is also essential to many types of Edo period styles such
as teahouse music (e.g. kouta), kabuki theater, and bunraku. Modern music is a mix of
Western and Japanese elements (e.g., enka) or purely Western in origin. Taiko is a 20th
century mix of old instruments and aesthetics with new.
Texture
Monophonic or heterophonic. Slight delays of phrasing between the shamisen and voice
emphasizes the unique sound of each. Gagaku music is comprised of heterophonic melodies
performed by aerophones with punctuated points of emphasis played on chordophones,
idiophones, and membranophones.
Forms
Idiomatic to each genre. Jo-ha-kyu (exposition-development-speed up to the end) structure is
common.
Composers
Many traditional compositions are attributed to the masters and founders of guilds. New
compositions were discouraged in traditional Japan. Modern Japan has many composers
of very diverse styles.
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Stylistic Trait Inventory
Piece: _____________________________________ Composer: ______________________
Date: _____________
Period:_________________________
Medium: voice, choir, orchestra, solo keyboard, voice and piano, string quartet, piano quintet, other:______
Genre: sacred, secular, choral, vocal, instrumental, symphonic, operatic, chamber music, other:____________
Texture: monophonic
heterophonic
homophonic (block chords, melody and accompaniment)
polyphonic (imitative, non-imitative)
Dynamics: none indicated, terraced, abrupt changes, gradual changes, extreme contrast
Duration
Tempo: none indicated, slow/medium/fast, changes within piece, extremes, detailed instructions
Meter: none indicated, duple/triple, simple/compound, ametric/ metric, complex, changing,
polymetric
Patterns: none, patterns of long/short, pattern length (beat, measure, phrase)
Sub-divisions of beat: 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, 7’s etc
Syncopations
Pitch
Scale basis: modal, diatonic, chromatic, pentatonic, 12-tone row, pitch-set, octatonic
Chord type(s):
perfect intervals
triadic, seventh chords, extended tertian, altered, added notes
quartal, clusters
degree of tension: consonant/dissonant
Chord progression/harmonic movement: functional (I-IV-V-I type progressions), root movements by
2nds or 3rds or 5ths, harmonic rhythm (regular/irregular, fast/slow)
Cadences: perfect/imperfect authentic, plagal, Landini, step-wise, deceptive, incomplete
Tonality: beginning and ending on same/different pitch centers, modulations, atonal, polytonal
Melody/phrase:
Relationship between notes (conjunct/disjunct)
Range (narrow/wide)
Complexity (simple/ornamented)
Phrases (symmetrical/irregular, antecedent/consequent)
Construction (motivic, sequential)
Character (vocal/instrumental, lyric, gestural, virtuosic)
Text
Language (Latin, Italian, French, German, English, etc.)
Type (mass: ordinary/proper, poetry, prose)
Relationship of text to music: syllabic/melismatic
text-painting
strophic/through-composed
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MU 370 Music Literature Proficiency
Sample Exam
Name:__________________________________
Describe stylistic elements for each of the ten selections of music . You may use short answer or single words
if appropriate. You do NOT need to include details for every category listed, but you should include at
least five accurate observations for each selection, observations that lead you to make an educated
placement within a style period and types of music. After listing stylistic elements, identify
a probable date of composition (or within a musical stylistic period).
a probable composer active during the time period and writing the particular genre.
a probable genre or form of composition.
For non-western music (from Global Music), provide a probable geographical area and genre.
Grading:
Each example is worth 10 points.
You may earn up to 5 points for accurately describing appropriate stylistic elements, 1 point for each
accurate statement.
You may earn up to 5 points for placing the selection within an appropriate historical context. 2 points
for each accurate statement.
Credit will not be given for conflicting answers unless you provide specifics. For example, you will not
receive credit for placing a piece in both the baroque and contemporary eras, unless you clearly state
which elements point to the baroque era and which point to the contemporary.
You will need to earn at least 30 points out of a total of 50 points to pass the listening part of the
proficiency. You will need to earn at least 30 points out of a total of 50 points to pass the written part of
the proficiency.
Listening Examples
Each will be played twice. The length of the selection is given as well as if the selection is complete or an
excerpt.
Written Examples
Each selection is noted if it is complete or an excerpt. Feel free to label noteworthy details on the score.
Aural Example 1
Duration: 1’52”. Complete selection.
Description of music’s features
Medium
Texture
Dynamics
Duration (Tempo \ Meter \ Patterns)
Pitch (Scale basis \ Melody/phrase \ Chord type(s) \ Chord progression - harmonic movement \ Tonality
Place in History and Culture
Likely date of composition:
Likely stylistic period:
Likely composer:
Likely genre/form:
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