Unit 4 Lesson 6 Introductory Video Script
Course
Music 7
Lesson
Objective
Semester
A
Unit
4
Lesson
6
The student will be able to identify various accent markings used in music
and explain the purpose of each.
Visual
Audio
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Have you ever listened to someone give a
speech or lecture and had a hard time staying
awake and attentive?
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It wasn’t that the person was not saying
anything important, but his or her voice was so
monotone and unexpressive.
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When the presenter speaks without feeling or
enthusiasm, it is awfully difficult for you to stay
interested as you listen.
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The same idea applies in music. Each
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composition needs to be expressive, interesting,
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In the last lesson, we talked about how
musicians show expression in music, and
particularly how the legato style is used.
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Imagine if you went to an orchestra concert and
all of the musicians played with no expression
at all.
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They played all of the correct notes and
rhythms, but never changed dynamics or
articulation styles.
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What would you think? Would it be enjoyable to
listen to for an hour or more?
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As an art form, one of the major purposes of
music is to express feelings.
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If the musicians leave all expression out of their
playing, then the music is nothing more than a
series of notes, and it loses its meaning.
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As we have previously discussed, composers
use many different types of notations to indicate
when and how musicians should show
expression.
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Accent markings are just one type of notation
that can be used, but they are very important to
how each note sounds.
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Accents dictate how each note should be
articulated.
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For wind and string instruments, they also tell
how air or the bow should be used through the
whole note.
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Accents also tell you how long to hold each
note.
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This may seem strange, since the type of note
already tells you how long it is supposed to be.
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Think about a measure with four quarter notes.
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If these notes were all marked legato, you
would make each note last all the way up to the
next, avoiding any gaps.
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If, however, they are marked staccato (Stahkaw-toh), you would play each note short and
light.
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Staccato (Stah-kaw-toh) means detached. So
each note should be disconnected from the
next.
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Another type of marking, often just called an
accent mark, or sometimes marcato (Mar-kawtoh), indicates that the note should be attacked
strongly, then quickly taper off.
<Effect—Pull image up from bottom> The word marcato (Mar-kaw-toh) means
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marked, but it also sounds a bit like march.
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If you listen to a march, you will likely hear a lot
of notes played in the marcato (Mar-kaw-toh)
style.
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The legato style we talked about in the last
lesson is indicated by a marking called tenuto.
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Tenuto (Teh-new-toh) comes from the Italian
word for “to hold.”
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With many different types of accent marks to tell
you how to play each note, you could create
very different styles while playing the exact
same notes.
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Now think about that speaker with the
monotone voice again.
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If he or she had infused the speech with more
expression, letting the voice rise and fall,
changing speed and volume, it likely would
have held your attention more.
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Just like in speech, expression in music draws
your attention to particular sections and creates
interest.
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These markings also serve as a guide for
musicians to infuse music with their natural
expressions of feeling.