VCE Music Performance
Analysis Terminology Booklet
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VCE M USIC PERFORMANCE
INTERPRETATION T AXONOMY
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PART O NE: D EFINING THE PIECE
…ground discussion in musical facts, logically presented
1.1
RHYTHM (DURATION)
Overall tempo: fast, moderate or slow?
Is this music organized into metre/metres?
1.2
PITCH
What is the tonality of the example (major, minor, modal, atonal etc.)
Describe the harmony (simple/complex, describe the harmonic rhythm)
1.3
TONE COLOUR
What instruments and/or sound sources are being used?
Describe the tone colour of these instruments individually
How are they being played? (i.e. using what idiomatic techniques?)
1.4
MELODY
Show the contour of the melody (diagram)
Nuance this description/diagram by adding solfège, notating basic pitch and rhythm cells
Describe the use of embellishment/ornamentation
Describe how melody is organized into phrases
1.5
TEXTURE
Describe the texture of the example (monophony/homophony/heterophony/polyphony)
Is the texture crowded or spacious? (i.e. how many piano staves would you need to reduce this?)
Group the sound sources listed at 1.3) by their function (accompaniment, melody, ostinato patterns, un-pitched
rhythmic material, countermelody etc.)
1.6
FORM
Are all the features described so far organized into discrete sections? What defines these sections?
Consider which features are stable and which features change over time
1.7
BACKGROUND FACTORS
Who wrote/created this music? Who for?
What is the style of this music?
When might this have been written?
Where and might this music have been created? (notwithstanding Australian post 1910 pre-requisite)
Why might this music have been written? Consider art vs. $
PART T WO : D EFINING THE INTERPRETATION –
…focus on what performers actually do
1.8
CONSIDERING THE WHOLE PIECE – WARNING! HIGHER ORDER THINKING REQUIRED!
Describe the expressive intention of the playing (i.e. primary emotions: happy, sad, angry, afraid, tender)
Describe the expressive intensity (compare to similar known examples, and explain your contention with factual
evidence)
1.9
CONSIDERING PHRASES/THEMES/MELODIES
Describe the use of rubato (the relative freedom or strictness)
Describe the use of dynamics (loud/soft, and the transitions in between)
1.10
CONSIDERING INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Describe the use of articulation (staccato, marcato, bowing/tonguing/fingering patterns, vocal onsets etc.)
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Elements of Music
Melody
Harmony
Duration (Tempo and Rhythm)
Texture
Timbre
Articulation
Dynamics
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Melody
Function, shape, register, phrasing, tonality, general character
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Theme
Statement
Subject
Counter-melodies
Focus lines
Competition
Riff
Shape/Contour
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Ascending
Descending
Angular
Undulating
Consistent
Inconsistent
Arch like
Sequential
Fragmented
Continuously unfolding
Symmetrical
Asymmetrical
Short phrases
Extended phrases
Balanced, even
Melodic Devices
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Climax
Question and Answer
Internal variation
Repetition
Contrasts (inversion, retrograde)
Sequence
Imitation
Conventional/unique
Unresolved
Register and Range
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Small range
Big range
Big leaps; disjunct
Small intervals; conjunct
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Chromatic
Appeggiated
Scalic
Character
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Simple
Straight
Predictable/unpredictable
Subtle
Child-like
Gentle
Faint
Ornamented
Embellished
Florid
Complex
Improvisatory
Virtuosic
Runs
Interlacing/interweaving
Angular
Jagged
Rigid
Speech-like
Flowing
Lyrical
Undulating
Dawdling
Meandering
Wending
Lilting
Rousing
Triumphal
Animated
Catchy
Bouncy
Dramatic
Brooding
Menacing
Throbbing
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Harmony
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Major
Minor
Diminished
Dissonant
Consonant
Jarring
Block chords
Long held/short chords
Traditional cadences
Appeggiated chords
Diatonic
Chord Progressions
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Slow/fast harmonic changes
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Move in parallel motion
12 bar blues
Unison
Repeated harmonic pattern
Functional progressions
Overall Quality
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Simple
Complex
Rhythmic unison
Based on a drone
Reinforces a strong sense of key
Close harmonic accompaniment
Implied harmony – in a solo piece
Restricted chord movement
“Primary triadic constructions with free addition of dissonance”
“Pizzicato bass line emphasised the root note values of various chords
“Harmony created through contrary motion in double motion”
“functional progressions decorated with motivic interpolations”
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Duration
Duration covers tempo, metre and rhythm. Rhythm is constructed from patterns of note
durations. Beat, beat subdivision and tempo help to give a rhythm its characteristic sound.
Usually rhythmic patterns are created from smaller rhythmic motifs which are repeated,
sequenced and/or developed. The element of duration gives melodies, or music in general,
its character and sound.
Description:
Regular (predictable)
Simple (i.e., uses crotchets, minims,
regular patterns)
Irregular (unpredictable, may
follow speech patterns)
Complex (difficult rhythms, irregular)
Dotted, shuffle, uneven
Accented (regular or shifting accents)
Even (beat subdivisions are even)
Isometric – same rhythm in all parts
but melody may change – also
‘homorhythmic’
Syncopated (emphasis on the
offbeat)
Repetitive (repeated rhythmic
motifs)
Polyrhythmic (many rhythms played
simultaneously)
Hemiola (shift between 2 beat
patterns to 3 beat patterns and vice
versa, i.e. 3/4 to 6/8 or 6/4 to 3/2)
Cross-rhythms (i.e. two against three)
Based on a short rhythmic motif
Free (rhythm not strictly in time with
regular beat, speech-like,
improvised)
Energetic, Frenetic
Relaxed
Dance-like (i.e.tango, gavotte)
Fast/slow rhythm (may relate to
tempo)
Performed by:
Percussion instruments: tuned or untuned
Drum kit
Bass drum
Snare drum
Hi-hat
Tom-toms
Floor tom
Cymbals
Bass guitar
Other instruments – strings,
piano/organ, etc
Use:
To maintain momentum
As part of the structure (that is, the
rhythm changes for different sections of
the piece)
To create unity
To create contrast
As an ostinato
To provide a pulse/beat
To highlight an instrument
To create a particular style, i.e. rock,
Motown, swing.
To create excitement
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Interpretation:
How might the change of rhythm change the style/mood?
i.e. Heavier use of rhythm
Rhythm(s) become syncopated
A swing feel given to straight quavers
Added rhythms to give complexity or contrast
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Texture
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the way the melody, rhythm and harmony are combined.
The texture of a piece may be affected by the number and character of parts
playing at once, the tone colour/timbre of the instruments/voices playing these
parts and the harmony, tempo, and rhythms used.
Consider
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What layers of sound can I hear?
Background/foreground?
What role does each instrument play in the layers?
The relative balance of different music parts/lines
The structural and expressive roles of instruments within the texture
Description
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Monophonic (single melodic line with no accompaniment or all parts in
unison)
Polyphonic – two or more voices move with rhythmic/melodic
independence
Homophonic – two or more parts move together in harmony (the
relationship between them creating chords)
Heterophonic – same melody different embellishments
Melody-dominated homophony - one voice, often the highest, plays a
distinct melody, and the accompanying voices work together to articulate
an underlying harmony
Contrapuntal – 2 or more independent parts
Antiphonal (Call and Response)
Number of lines
Complementary/contrasting
Solo and accompaniment
Motion between instruments
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Contrary
Similar
Oblique (one voice is stationary, the other one moves)
Parallel
Imitative
Staggered
Cascade
Separate and distinct
Continuous
Canon/imitative/fugal (subject and answer)
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Level of Activity
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Sparse
Dense
Cluttered, busy, crowded
Tangled/ Confused
Closely woven
Wash of sound/ walls of sound
Well defined/clear
Level of dependence
Disconnected events
Examples:
Monophonic texture
Homophonic texture
Polyphonic texture
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Tone colour/Timbre
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Sound qualities of individual instruments
Define Element
Techniques
Effect/Adjectives
Strings
‘colour’ of
sound
(i.e. dark, bright)
Families of
instruments have
different timbres
Clean – warm – velvety –
piercing – dull – percussive sonorous – rich - harsh - shrill
– twangy – shimmering – dark
- bright – metallic - cloudy –
mellow
The
Limited by type of Individual
Brass
instrument/family instruments/voices Clear - growling – sonorous –
abrasive – muted – muffled –
have a range of
piercing – warm – rich – dark
– shrill – penetrating – brassy
Style can dictate timbres
the tone colour
Woodwind
(i.e. congas,
Choosing a
clear – warm – nasally – shrill bright – dark - breathy - airy
bongos, timbales different register
– haunting – mellow –
– Latin American)
piercing
String quartet –
Combining
Percussion
chamber
different
bold - booming – metallic –
bright - bell-like – scratchy –
instruments
mellow – silvery – thundering
Articulation can
dictate the tone
colour
Dynamics can
dictate the tone
colour
Texture can
dictate the tone
Highlighting an
instrument(s)
Voice
monotonous – belt tone –
smooth – sweet – bright clear – throaty - husky - raw
– resonant - rich
Electronic devices
(including guitar
General
‘pedal’ effects)
Dreaminess – cloudiness Vocal devices
clarity - sweetness – warmth darkness – richness –
brightness – sharpness –
percussiveness
Creates tension/unease?
Creates a mood?
Impression of a character
or place?
Blends – warm/unity
Contrasts – creates
interest, distinguishes
sections
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Descriptive words:
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Mellow
Velvety
Sinuous
Rounded
Dark/Bright
Pure
Clear
Clean
Soothing
Tender
Brittle
Muted
Faint
Delicate whispering
Innocent simplicity
Breathy
Reverb
Ringing
Tinny
Metallic
Tinkly
Brassy
Reedy
Strident
Penetrating
Blaring
Biting
Piercing
Punchy
Intense
Abrasive
Harsh
Warm Combination
Buzzing
Throbbing
Trembling
Fluttering
Quivering
Tremulous
Grinding
Scratchy
Unfocussed/Focussed
Distortion
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Articulation
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Staccato
Accented
Explosive attack
Clean
Detached
Marcato – lots of accents in a row
Sharp
Clipped diction
Legato
Unaccented
Notes blurred together
Long decay
“lyricism and legato phrasing”
Portamento – smooth glide
Sustained
Connected articulation
Length of Phrases
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Complex
Simple
Improvisatory
Layering of percussive effects
General Character
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Driving
Virtuosic
Lilting
Erratic
Fluctuating
Bouncy
Sporadic
Relentless
Throbbing
Thumping
Hammering
Beating
Grinding
Insistent
Accented
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Dynamics
Volume, changes in volume, overall quality and importance
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Loud
Thunderous
Abrasive
Blaring
Soft
Distant
Subdued
Restrained
Sudden
Gradual
Interjections
Fading away
Constant
Swells
Dynamic contrasts
Balanced
Important in creating drama
The volume relationships are subtle
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