Chapter 6

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Egyptians developed formal music
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Greek word “harmony” indicates a connection between music and the structure of the universe

Tone
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Basic element of music
True music began when someone experimented with a variety of tones
The Scale
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Orderly progression of frequencies
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All cultures that developed music used a scale

Rhythm
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Alternating between stress and unstress
Innate, babies clap and drum
“Rhythm is at the very center of our lives”
Melody
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Sequence of tones that forms a unity
The part we remember, sing along with

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Unpublicized ingredient that makes music possible
To deepen an appreciation of music, it is necessary to hear and enjoy silence
“music is the shaped sound between silences”
Silence

Bach Fugue Beethoven Symphony
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Baroque
Fugues-displays of counterpoint
Idea is to demonstrate that what for the average person would be an impossibility is indeed well within the capabilities of the performer
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Beethoven greatly expanded the capabilities of the symphony orchestra
Work has transcended time.
Ode to Joy

Art Songs
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By the time of the great composers song was a recognized art form
Ave Maria
Folk Songs
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Folk song has followed few aesthetic rules don’t need expert voices or accompaniment
Handed down through generations
Promote group solidarity

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Commemorative songs- keep record of important events
Work song- represents hardship, struggle between worker and management
Accumulation song- deliberately drawn out, verse after verse (12 days of
Christmas)
Narrative song- tells a tale, drawn out
Protest Songs- make statements about war, pollution, corruption

The Spiritual Gospel Songs
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Roots in slavery
Religious subject matter, God’s concern for all
Led to Gospel music
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Music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life
Gospel music in general is characterized by dominant vocals

Ragtime Jazz
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America music, from saloons and bars
Syncopation-irregular movement, against the beat
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Scott Joplin- The
Entertainer
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Pattern-ensemble plays once together, then each piece takes a turn doing a variation on the theme improv

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Billy Holiday Blues
Melancholy mood produced by music
Usually about the aftermath of passion

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Big Band Era- dance music played by orchestras, upbeat music to escape the
Depression and WWII
Irving Berlin-composed classics, “White
Christmas”, “God Bless America”
Frank Sinatra- crooner, possibly the greatest of all vocal stylists

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Rock is the most pervasive musical phenomenon of our time
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Bill Haley and the Comets (Rock Around the Clock) is the band credited for introducing the musical movement called rock ‘n’ roll
Rock is a revolutionary battle cry, ultimate
Dionysian music of our time

Little Richard
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True “father” of Rock
Outlandish outfits, playing piano and jumping around
Elvis
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Cultural phenomenon, scandalized older audiences
Started out spontaneous but studio created force
Elvis on Ed Sullivan for the First Time

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Caught on as no other group has
Appealed to “hippies” wanted freedom from constraint
Unique haircuts, irreverent attitudes
Admired for their honesty and purity of heart
The Beatles

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Concert is one of the cornerstones of modern musical culture
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Art in itself, showmanship, effects, props, multimedia
Rock Concert

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Newer genre, has become very significant part of society
Defines a way of being, “includes rap, baggy clothes, break-dancing, graffiti, vocabulary and a general lifestyle”
◦ Rap is a subgenre of hip hop, half-sung halfspoken music
◦ Represents a virtuoso use of language and an incredible kind of spontaneous poetry

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Avant-garde- looks after our best interests, protects us from the dull and familiar
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Need to be free from restraint
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Always looking for the next frontier

Life can be enriched if you are willing to listen to the great classics of the past and the perhaps great-one-day experiments of the present.