Unit 3 – From the Audience’s Perspective

Four Levels of Listening
◦ Oblivious (Subconscious)– Music as background
noise
◦ Emotional (Conscious)– React to the emotion of the
music
◦ Perceptive (Analytical)– Listening to answer the
question – “What is going on in the music right
now?”
◦ Peak (Revelatory)– Combines Perceptive and
Emotional – ultimate response to music (“goose
bump” feeling)
◦ Each level is valuable for different reasons



Listen to John Williams’ “Liberty Fanfare” which
celebrated the 100 anniversary of the Statue of
Liberty
How does the composer command our attention?
Write your thoughts in your notebook – Be
prepared to discuss your answer
Listen again and answer
◦ 1. Does awareness of what is going on in the
music help you to get more out of it?
◦ 2. What is the function of this music?
◦ 3. Who is the intended audience?
◦ 4. Does knowing this help increase your
response?


Listening to music in public requires personal
attentiveness
Reaction to music should be based on type of
music performed, where it is played and how
it is being used
◦ Football game
◦ Dance
◦ Orchestra Concert
◦ Rock Concert
The music of any style can be listened to with a
serious or a light-hearted mood

Aerophones
◦ Instruments that produce
sound by a vibrating
column of air
◦ Usually these consist of a
pipe made out of wood,
metal or plastic with a reed
attached
◦ Examples





Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Sax
Bassoon
Also includes brass
instruments as well
Trumpets, Trombones and
Tubas are aerophones

Idiophones
◦ Simple, solid
instruments that
produce sound when
struck, scraped or
shaken
◦ Examples




Gongs
Cymbals
Rattles
Xylophone

Membranophones
◦ Instruments that
make sound when a
stretched out skin is
struck
◦ Examples
 Snare drum
 Bongos
 Tympani

Chordophones
◦ Instruments that
create sound when a
string is struck,
plucked or bowed
◦ Examples




Violin
Cello
Guitar
Piano

Electrophones
◦ Instruments that
generate sound from
electricity




Examples
Electric Guitar
Electric Bass
Synthesizer




Composed in 1946 by English composer
Benjamin Britten
Purpose to introduce instruments of the
orchestra to students
Theme is based on a melody composed by
Englishmen Henry Purcell (lived in 1600s)
Theme is first presented by entire orchestra

Next, each section presents the theme
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Woodwind Section
Brass Section
String Section
Percussion Section
Full Orchestra



Next, there are several variations played by
instruments
Variations change the melody in terms of
rhythm, mood, dynamics, etc.
Woodwinds are first
◦
◦
◦
◦
Var.
Var.
Var.
Var.
1Flute and piccolo
2 Oboe
3 Clarinet
4 Bassoon

Next set of variations feature the strings
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Var.
Var.
Var.
Var.
Var.
5
6
7
8
9
Violins
Violas
Cellos
Double basses
Harp

The brasses are featured next
◦ Var. 10 French horns
◦ Var. 11 Trumpets
◦ Var. 12 Trombones and Tubas

Percussion is featured in Vat. 13
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Tympani, bass drum, snare drum
Tambourine, triangle, wood block
Xylophone
Castanets and gong
Whip
Entire ensemble



A new tune is played by piccolo
The other instruments enter, each playing the
same tune
After woodwinds, strings, brass and
percussion have their turns, the theme
returns in the brass and the piece concludes
Composer Benjamin Britten
Create a 5 slide power point presentation on the
instrument of your choosing
 You may work with a partner
 Be sure to include at least four different
pictures of your instrument
Your slides should contain
1. Range of the instrument
2. Brief history of the instrument
3. Uses of the instrument
4. Classification of the instrument
5. How the instrument is played


Directions: Listen to the following musical excerpts
and identify all the timbres and instruments
producing the sound you hear. Then, classify the
instruments according to the appropriate
category(ies). (All five are represented)
1. Bluegrass band
Bill Monroe
2. Sextet: woodwind
Fancis Poulenc and the
Philadelphia Quintet
3. Blues Band
B.B. King
4. Brass quintet
Canadian Brass
5. String Quartet
Budapest
Quartet/Hayden
6. Motown group
The Temptations
7. Double Reed soloist
Thomas Stacy


Listen to two versions of Bach’s Toccata in D Minor and
determine which you like best
Determine which category fits each version. Write each
description and place an “O” if it describes the organ
version or “S” if it describes the symphony version
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
1. Obvious contrast of dynamics (loud and soft)
2. Use of crescendo/decrescendo
3. Tempo (beat) is steady
4. Variations in tempo (ritardando)
5. Smooth almost sluggish articulation
6. Crisp articulation
7. Limited dynamic range
8. Expansive dynamic range
9. Limited tone color
10. Expansive range of tone color



Answer the following questions in your notebook
1. Bach might have performed his Toccata on the
organ of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. This long,
narrow and high building had a reverberation (echo)
of 3.5 seconds. How does Stakowski take that
phenomenon into consideration in his orchestral
transcription?
2. Bach, who was acknowledged as the greatest
improviser of his day, probably created this brilliant
Toccata on the spot as a prelude or recessional to the
religious service. How does Stakowski’s
transcription, which was intended for the concert hall,
take away from or add to the sacred and mystical
character of the composition?