Chapter 3: Color, Texture, and Form

1. Chapter 3: Color, Texture, and Form

2. Dynamics: How loud or soft the music is • Dynamics influence our reaction to music • Terminology in Italian • Changes in dynamics can be sudden and abrupt or gradual

3. Color • Color : the unique character or quality of a musical tone; also called Timbre • Voice: Classified by range into 4 parts • Soprano, (Mezzo soprano), Alto, Tenor, (Baritone), Bass • Each individual voice has a distinct timbre due to our uniquely constructed vocal cords • When many voices join together, they form a chorus

4. Musical Instruments • Why do they sound the way they do? • More than one sound is produced when an instrument is sounded • Fundamental: the basic sound or pitch of an instrument • Overtone: faintly-heard pitches, created by fractional vibrations when a notes is played on an instrument • Each type of instrument creates a distinctive pattern of overtones • Instrument families have the same basic shape and are made of the same materials • Strings, woodwinds, brasses, percussion, keyboard

5. Strings • Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass • Core of the Western symphony orchestra • Different string playing techniques • Vibrato: A controlled wobble in the pitch • Pizzicato: Plucking the strings rather than bowing • Tremolo: Rapidly repeating the same pitch to create a musical tremor • Trill: Rapidly alternating between two neighboring pitches

6. Harp: adds a distinctive color to the orchestra • Originally a folk instrument • Special effects • Glissando: A rapid run up and down the strings • Arpeggio: playing the notes of a triad in quick succession

7. Woodwinds • Flute: Lovely, silvery tone • Piccolo: “little flute,” plays higher notes than the flute • Clarinet: Single reed instrument; open, hollow sound • Oboe: Double reed; nasal, slightly exotic sound • English horn: larger, lower sounding version of the oboe • Bassoon: Double reed; has similar role as the cello • Contrabassoon: The lowest instrument of the orchestra • Saxophone: Single reed instrument; featured in jazz groups

8. Brasses • All use a cup-shaped mouthpiece • Trumpet: High, bright sound • Mute: A plug placed in the bell of the instrument to lessen the sound • Trombone: Uses a slide to change pitch • French horn: Mellow sound; comes from hunting horns • Tuba: largest and lowest brass instrument

9. Percussion • Resonating objects that sound when hit or scraped • Some percussion instruments are pitched • Timpani: percussion instrument most often heard in classical music • Non-pitched percussion instruments: • Snare Drum, Bass drum, Cymbals

10. Keyboard Instruments • Pipe organ: Sound produced by air rushing through a pipe • Origins trace back to ancient Greece • Stop: Changes the sound, creating a distinctive timbre • “Pulling out all the stops” – creates the most colorful, forceful sound • Has several keyboards, including one for the feet

11. Keyboard Instruments Harpsichord Piano Invented around 1700 Strings hit by hammers Dynamics determined by how hard or how softly you press the keys • Most popular during the Baroque Era • Strings are plucked, creating a bright, jangling sound • Plays only one dynamic

12. The Symphony Orchestra • The largest and most colorful ensemble • Originated during the seventeenth century • Early 18th century: 15-25 musicians • Late 18th century: 25-80 musicians • 19th century: around 100 musicians • Around 1800, a conductor became necessary as ensembles expanded and pieces became more complex • Orchestral score: a composite of all the parts of a piece of music • Listening Cue: Practice identifying instruments of the orchestra on CourseMate Listening Cue 5, 6, 7 and 8.

14. Texture • Texture: the density and arrangement of musical elements • Look at Vincent Van Gogh’s Branch of an Almond Tree in Blossom (1890) • Van Gogh uses lines and spaces to create a texture heavy at the bottom but light at the top • Use of different textures add contrast and interest

15. Three Primary Textures in Music • Monophony: A single line of music, no accompaniment • Example: Singing “Happy Birthday” with our friends • Unison: a group sounding the same pitches together, including doubling at the octave • Homophony: Melody and accompaniment • All voices move at roughly the same time • Draws attention to the melody • Example: Hymns, Christmas carols, folk songs, etc.

16. Polyphony: Two or more simultaneously sounding lines • Counterpoint: Harmonious opposition of independent musical lines • “Contrapuntal texture” and “Polyphonic Texture” mean the same thing • Example: Singing “Are You Sleeping” in a round

17. FORM • Form: Purposeful organization of music • Musical Architecture • Use of statement, repetition, contrast, and variation • Statement:Presentation of an important musical idea • Repetition: Validates the statement by repeating it • Contrast: Provides variety and conflict • Variation:Midway between repetition and contrast • Music is familiar but altered

18. Five Favorite Musical Forms • Strophic Form: Song form where basic unit (A) is continually repeated: AA • Most familiar musical form; music repeats for each stanza of text • Theme and Variations:One musical idea continually returns but is varied in some fashion: A A1 A2 A3 A4

19. Binary Form: Two contrasting units - A B • Variety introduced in the B section • Ternary Form: Most prevalent form in classical music: A B A • Musical journey home - away – home

20. Rondo Form: A refrain (A) alternates with contrasting music. • Usually two contrasting sections in rondo (B) and (C)