Sound: Pitch, Dynamics, and Tone Color

1. Sound: Pitch, Dynamics, and Tone Color Welcome to Music Appreciation

2. We are bombarded by sounds daily! Traffic, dogs barking, parents yelling, students shouting, rain, iPods in your ear, etc. • Sounds may be perceived as pleasant or unpleasant • Sound begins with the vibration of an object. Vibrations transmitted to our ears by a medium, which is usually air. As a result, our eardrums vibrate too and impulses (signals) are transmitted to the brain Sound

3. Music is a part of the world of sound, an art based on the organization of sounds in time. Sound

4. Pitch • Dynamics (loudness or softness) • Tone color • Duration 4 Main Properties of Musical Sounds

5. Pitch is the relative highness or lowness that we hear in a sound • The pitch of sound is decided by the frequency of its vibrations-that is their speed (measured in cycles per second). • Faster the vibration – higher the pitch • Slower the vibration – lower the pitch Pitch

6. A sound that has a definite pitch is called a tone. • The distance in pitch between two tones is called an interval. • When tones are separated by the interval called an octave, they sound very much alike. In Solfeg an octave is “Do” • Range is the distance between the lowest and the highest tones that a voice can produce. Pitch

7. Dynamics

8. What distinguishes the sound of a trumpet from a flute? Tone Color or Timbre • Tone color can be described as bright, dark, mellow and rich. Tone Color

9. A ballet written by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). • Repetition of melody, creating variety and contrast through changes of dynamics, tone color Igor Stravinsky, The Firebird Suite

10. Succession of different tone colors contribute to the variety with C-Jam Blues (1942). • Repeated note melody –piano then saxophones Duke Ellington, C-Jam Blues

11. Voices and Instruments Performing Media

12. Instruments

13. Throughout history, singing has been the most widespread and familiar way of making music. • The singer becomes an instrument with a unique ability to fuse words and musical tones. • The range of a singers voice depends on both physical makeup and training Voices

14. Women – soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto (or contralto) • Men – Tenor, Baritone, Bass • Styles – vary from culture to culture Voice

15. An Instrument may be defined as any mechanism-other than the voice-that produces a musical sound. • Strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboard and electronic. • Different sizes that produces different ranges • Example- Sax family (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxophone) Musical Instruments

16. Orchestra Instrumentation

17. Violin, Viola, Cello, Double bass • Harp, Piano • Percussion • Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Bass Clarinet, English Horn • Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, French Horn Instruments of the Orchestra

18. Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass • Strings have the greatest versatility and expressive range. • 4 strings. A bow (made of horse hair) is used • Violin is often a solo instrument • In the orchestra the violins are divided into two sections (Violin I and Violin II) • Frequently play the melody. String Family

19. The body of the viola is about 2 inches longer than the violin. • Range is somewhat lower and tone color is darker Viola

20. Originally used as the bass string in the 18th century, later composers exploited its upper register • Famous cellists are Yo-Yo Ma and Julian Lloyd-Webber. Cello

21. Heavy tone and is less agile • Can be played with a bow • The bass is used in jazz and plucked. Double Bass

22. Harp

23. Has 47 strings stretched on a triangular frame. • 6 octaves • Strings are plucked Harp

24. 6 strings • Plucked or strummed • Frets are used to mark where fingers are placed for notes Guitar