Welcome to Music 1A, Introduction to Western
Music
Instructor: Ron Dunn (please call me Ron)
Please sit in middle section of the room-- keep side seating areas and last
three rows clear
Silence, put away cell phones--This rule is effective throughout the quarter
Laptop computers: Anyone using laptops must sit in first row
Important information:
Copy this email:
dunnron@deanza.edu
Copy this URL: http://faculty.deanza.edu/dunnron -instructor's website including Music 1A course resources
Copy this URL: http://www.naxos.com
Introduction, Goals of course:
Why Study Music?
• Music is basic to our lives
– Music—vital part of human society
– Provides entertainment, emotional release, accompanies
activities
– Heard everywhere in modern life
– Recorded music is a 20th century innovation-before that time,
all music was live
Music matters!
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Our musics transmit an incredible amount of
information to us, provided our antenna are up
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Aesthetic
Historical
Expressive
Metaphorical
Metaphysical
Philosophical
This class is about raising your musical antennae
Sonata in C Major, K. 545: Allegro by Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart
• What is “concert” music?
– A complex question…
• Concert vs. popular…
• “art,” altruism vs. monetary gain…
Concert work is generally longer, with higher information content
More melodic, harmonic, formal detail
2011 © McGraw-Hill Higher Education
• Raising the antennae
• Perceptive listening enhances enjoyment
• Knowledge of musical elements enhances perception
Is music mere “entertainment?”
intellectual cutting edge, On par with art, science, philosophy
• Music and cultural identity
•“this music is boring…”
•“I’m not into this music…”
The Remedy
Suspend Identity!
•Become Curious!
•Engage!
The Web of Relationships
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Thurs, 4/11
Plan for today:
Student Information sheets
Academic success
Review of course requirements, schedule
Naxos subscription, Outlines
Taking a look at assignments
Review of Part 1, Chapter 3, Rhythm
– Tempo designations
• Chapter 1: pitch
• Chapter 2: performing media
Music 1A: Introduction to Music
Part I
Elements
2011 © McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Ch. 3 - Rhythm
~ Flow of music through time
~ Particular arrangement of note lengths
Beat
• Recurrent pulsation
Divides music into equal units of time
Meter
• Grouping of beats
2’s & 3’s and strong & weak beats
Accent and Syncopation
• Accent: note is emphasized
• Syncopation: emphasis placed on an
unexpected note or beat
Tempo
• The speed of the beat, the pace
• Associated with emotional effect
• Tempo indicated at beginning of piece
• As with dynamics, Italian terms are used
• Molto, non troppo, accelerando, ritardando
• Metronome—indicates exact tempo
Ch. 1 - Sound:
Pitch, Dynamics, and Tone Color
• Sound—a miracle! “Touch from afar”
• Begins as result of a vibrating object
• Transmitted through a medium - air
•
Our eardrums vibrate, too
• Impulses sent to brain for processing
• Music: organization of sounds in time
• Four main properties of musical sounds
• Pitch
• Dynamics
• Tone color
• Duration
Pitch: Highness or Lowness of Sound
• Determined by frequency of vibration
• Fast vibration=high pitch; slow vibration=low pitch
• Generally, smaller vibrating objects=higher pitches
• In music, definite pitch is a tone
• Tones have specific frequencies
e.g., 440 cycles (vibrations) per second = A
• Irregular vibrations create sounds of indefinite pitch
• Interval: distance between 2 tones
• Octave: doubling/halving of frequency
Tones an octave apart seem to blend together
• Western music divides octave into 12 tones
• Non-western music may divide into different number
• Range: distance between voice or
instrument’s highest & lowest possible tones
Dynamics
• Relative loudness of a sound
• Related to amplitude of vibration producing sound
• Changes in dynamics may be sudden or gradual
• Accent: tone played louder than tones near it
• Italian terms used to indicate dynamics
• Extremes: ppp, pppp,
fff, ffff
• Crescendo: gradually louder
• Decrescendo (diminuendo): gradually
softer
pianissimo
pp
very soft
piano
p
soft
mezzo piano mp
moderately soft
mezzo forte
mf
moderately
loud
forte
f
loud
fortissimo
ff
very loud
Tone Color – also called timbre
• Quality that distinguishes tones
• Can be bright, dark,, etc.
• Changes in tone color create variety and
contrast
• Tone colors add a sense of continuity
• Specific melodies with specific tone colors
• Unlimited variety of tone colors
• Composers frequently blend sounds of instruments to create new tone
colors
• Modern electronic techniques create new
tone colors
Listening Outlines, Vocal Music Guides,
and the Properties of Sound
Listening Outlines & Vocal Music Guides
Helps focus attention on musical events as they occur
Preceded by description of the music’s main features
• Listening Outline - points out notable musical sounds
• Vocal Music Guide – helps the listener follow the
thought, story, or drama
* Suggestion: while listening to one passage, look
ahead to what is next.
Listening
The Firebird, Scene 2 (1910)
by Igor Stravinsky
CD 1:08
Brief Set: CD 1:01
Listening Outline: p. 7
Note: Tone Colors through instrumentation
Dynamic contrasts
2011 © McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Listening
C-Jam Blues (1942)
by Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra
Listening Outline: p. 8
Basic set, CD 1:10 Brief set, CD 1:3
Listen for:
Tone Colors
Repeated note melody
Improvised solos
Muted brass instruments