Music GCSE technique

Pop Ballads-

Ballads: are slow, often sentimental, love songs sometimes tell a story are usually in verse and chorus form emphasise melody and lyrics, the accompaniment is often secondary are often accompanied on guitar or keyboard are found in many styles of pop music Some famous ballad singers are Frank Sinatra (eg My Way), Elvis Presley (eg Always on my mind) and Stevie Wonder (eg My Cherie Amour).

Baroque orchestral music (1)

Baroque music is characterised by: long flowing melodic lines often using ornamentation (decorative notes such as trills and turns) contrast between loud and soft, solo and ensemble a contrapuntal texture where two or more melodic lines are combined terraced dynamics - sudden changes in the volume level, sometimes creating an echo effect the use of harpsichord continuo.

Romantic Period Sonata-

During the Romantic period (roughly the 19th century) some well-known composers such as Brahms, Liszt and Chopin contributed important works to the sonata repertoire. The ensemble sonata (for solo instrument and piano) retained much of its popularity, violin sonatas and cello sonatas in particular. Brahms and Schumann both wrote violin sonatas. Brahms also wrote two clarinet sonatas.

20th Century Sonata-

During the late 19th century, the piano sonata slowly lost its popularity as composers broke away from the traditional form. Although sonatas continue to be composed, sonata form is very rarely used for the first movement.

These are all held together by the plot. Musicals are usually performed in theatres, most famously on Broadway and in the West End of London. Broadway is also used as a general term to refer to American musicals.

Every musical has a: LibrettoThe overall text including the spoken and sung part Lyrics - the words to the songs

Music For Voices-

Female- High= soprano Low= alto Male= unbroken= treble High- tenor Medium= Baritone lowest = bass

See camera roll-

For opera key terms. But -

Intervals -

Go with your gut on this one and dont overthink it - memorise these helpers.

Their songs were short and punchy with thought-provoking lyrics and elements of music hall. Songwriter Ray Davies' lyrics often used images of everyday British life.

Groups such as The Kinks, The Small Faces and The Who helped to establish a British tradition of: guitar-driven pop groups a classic line-up of lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals verse and chorus songs, rich in hooks and melodic interest conventional chord sequences

Note bending-

Guitarists can 'bend' the notes out of tune by pushing the strings sideways. A bottleneck is sometimes used to slide up and down the guitar strings. Both effects sound like a vocal cry.

2nd -

Happy birthday -(happy birth)

4th-

Here comes the bride (here comes)

5th-

Last post buh bah (0 0 trumpet)

Chamber Music for Wind Instruments-

Piano quintets were composed less frequently, but Mozart and Beethoven both wrote piano quintets for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. The first wind quintets (flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon) were written during the Classical period and composers still write for the combination.

Not the pop version-

R&B stands for rhythm and blues - a style of black American music combining jazz and blues which emerged in the 1940s - not to be confused with today's R&B.

8th-

Somewhere over the rainbow (some-where)

The first production was on Broadway. In 1961 it was made into a successful film and since then has been performed many times by theatre, opera companies and schools. Leonard Bernstein had a successful career as both a composer and conductor. His best-known works include Chichester Psalms and Candide.

Stephen Sondheim went on to write innovative musicals of his own including Company and Sweeney Todd.

12 bar blues-

The 12-bar blues form the basis of R 'n' B (rhythm and blues), rock 'n' roll and jazz.

Pop Music in the 1960's-

The 1960s were a time of creativity and innovation and many new styles of popular music developed in the aftermath of rock 'n' roll. British beat music Many British pop groups in the 1960s were heavily influenced by American blues and R&B. These included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Instruments in the baroque orchestra - (3)

The Baroque orchestra was relatively small (a small orchestra is known as a chamber orchestra). The orchestra was still evolving during the Baroque period. At first there were no set instruments, but as the 17th century progressed the orchestra began to take shape. Instruments usually included: strings - violins, violas, cellos and double basses woodwind - recorders or wooden flutes, oboes, and bassoon brass - sometimes trumpets and/or horns (without valves) timpani (kettledrums) continuo

British beat music-

The Beatles had a huge influence and pop groups sprang up all over the UK usually writing their own songs. The Kinks were a four-piece band who had a string of hits during the 1960s including Waterloo Sunset, and Dedicated Follower Of Fashion.

The concerto grosso-

is written for a group of solo instruments (the concertino) plus a larger ensemble (the ripieno) Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos are well-known examples of the Baroque concerto grosso.

The Baroque solo concerto:

is written for one solo instrument plus orchestra often has brilliant and technically demanding passages for the soloist to play Vivaldi's Four Seasons is a well-known example of the Baroque solo violin concerto

Recitative-

musical declamation of the kind usual in the narrative and dialogue parts of opera and oratorio, sung in the rhythm of ordinary speech with many words on the same note.

The chorus:

sets the refrain of the lyrics and often contains the title words usually returns several times, always with the same words is normally the 'catchiest' part of the song

First movement-

sonata form The first movement of sonata form has three main sections: exposition, development and recapitulation. Most of the musical ideas come from two main themes known as the first and second subject.

During the Classical period (roughly 1750-1810) -

the harpsichord had been largely replaced by the piano. Many piano sonatas were written and many composers wrote sonatas for solo instrument plus piano. Violin, cello, and flute sonatas were all popular.

In call-and-response form-

the leader sings a line (the call) and is answered by a chorus (the response). The chorus usually stays the same while the soloist improvises. There is often overlapping between the leader and the chorus. The chorus part is usually homophonic (in block chords).

They have a three-line verse structure where the second line repeats the first - A A B. Sometimes singers improvised the words. The repetition of the first line gave them time to think up the third line. For example:

(The first line of the blues is always sung a second time The first line of the blues is always sung a second time So by the time you get to the third line You've had time to think of a rhyme)

Most blues songs: have four beats in a bar are built on the 12-bar blues form use three four-bar phrases

The most common chord structure uses three chords - the tonic (chord I), the subdominant (chord IV) and the dominant (chord V)

Film Music:

The music in a film is known as the film score. Each piece of music within the score is known as a cue.

The Sonata-

The word 'sonata' comes from the Italian for sounding. The word sonata has taken on various meanings through the different musical periods.

Orchestra-

There are a large number of instruments in the West Side Story orchestra with particularly large woodwind, brass and percussion sections. As is common in theatre pit orchestras (or bands), the players in these sections often play more than one instrument. This is known as doubling.

Forms of Leider

There are two main forms: strophic - the same music for each verse through-composed - different music for each verse

Although most musicals use dialogue some are through-composed:

There is little or no dialogue, nearly everything is sung.

7th-

There's a (somewhere)

Choral Music-

Different types of choirs include mixed choirs (usually with parts for SATB - soprano, alto, tenor and bass), male voice choirs, female choirs, and a cappella ensembles.

Solo song

Different types of solo song include lieder, arias, ballads and folk songs.

Walking bass-

Do do do do do do, do do do do do do do do do

The Beatles-

helped to reshape Western pop music and were the most successful band ever. Every album was a huge hit from the early material on Please Please Me (1963) to the hugely innovative Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967).

Classical Chamber Music-

During the Classical period (roughly 1750-1810) the harpsichord largely gave way to the piano. Many composers wrote sonatas for a solo instrument plus piano. Violin, cello, and flute sonatas were all popular. Mozart and Haydn both wrote violin sonatas and cello sonatas.

There were two types of Baroque concerto

- the concerto grosso and the solo concerto. Concertos of both types generally have three movements - fast, slow, fast.

Most songs are either-

-Action songs, which move the plot forward -Character songs, which enable a character to express their feelings

Western classical music

-Baroque orchestral music -The concerto -music for voices -chamber music -the sonata

Popular-

-Blues -Pop music of the 1960s -Rock music, R&B and Hip Hop -Musical theatre -Film music

The verse usually has different words with each repetition-

-a riff is a short, repeated melodic pattern, often forming the background to a solo or vocal line. It is usually one to four bars long. -a hook is a short catchy melodic idea designed to be instantly memorable -guitar licks are short solo phrases that can be heard at the ends of some of the vocal phrases -fills are short flourishes used to fill a gap between phrases and are often played on drums

3 strands of learning (EXTRA DETAIL)

-western classical music -popular music forms -world music

Most of the dances were in binary form. Binary form has two sections (A and B).

.The music moves to a new key at the end of the A section and returns to the home key (the tonic) in the B section

In the exposition the material is 'exposed' - presented for the first time. There are two main melodies known as the first and second subject-

1)The first subject is in the tonic key. The second subject is in a different key, usually the dominant or the relative minor, and has a different character. The two subjects are connected by a transition or bridge passage. 2)In the development section the material from the exposition is transformed. The music goes through several modulations (key changes). 3)In the recapitulation the material from the exposition is recapped - repeated in a slightly different and shorter form. The first and second subjects are now both heard in the tonic key.

1960s soul music-

1960s soul music was a style of black American music characterised by: gospel influenced vocals lyrical soulful melodies an emphasis on the rhythm section large horn sections (trumpets, saxophones and trombones)

Classical sonata The standard Classical form is:

1st movement: Allegro (fast) in sonata form 2nd movement: Slow 3rd movement: Minuet and Trio or Scherzo 4th movement: Allegro (A minuet and trio is a dance movement with three beats in a bar.)

The Classical concerto introduced the cadenza, a brilliant dramatic solo passage where the soloist plays and the orchestra pauses and remains silent.

A cadenza: is usually played towards the end of the first movement is improvised and based on one or more themes from the first movement shows off the skills of the soloist often ends on a trill

A Capella-

A cappella ensembles are unaccompanied choruses. . African songs are usually either strophic (split up into verses) or in call-and-response form

Da capo arias were common in the 18th century-

A da capo aria is one where the voice returns to the head of the score (da capo) and repeats the first section of the music. It was common for the soloist to add ornamentation when the first section was repeated.

Melisma-

A flourish of notes sung to a single syllable

Syllabic-

A note per syllable

Opera

An opera is a drama set to music, acted and sung by solo singers and accompanied by an orchestra.

Oratorio

An oratorio is a setting of religious words for solo singers, chorus and orchestra. Unlike an opera an oratorio is not staged. Messiah by Handel is the most popular oratorio.

Instruments in the baroque orchestra - (1)

An orchestra is a large instrumental ensemble with sections of strings, brass, woodwind and sometimes percussion. It is usually directed by a conductor. A Baroque orchestra was sometimes directed from the harpsichord.

Arias

Arias are solo songs found in operas and oratorio.

Something's Coming' is taken from Act I and is Tony's first solo:

At this point he has not met Maria. He has become disillusioned with gang warfare and looks forward to a better future. He wants to leave the Jets but agrees to join them to go to a dance later that evening.

The sonata in the Baroque period During the Baroque period (roughly 1600-1750) the word 'sonata' was used quite loosely meaning a piece to be 'played' rather than 'sung'. 'Sonata' was generally applied to small instrumental works. There was no set form or number of movements.

Bach's sonatas for unaccompanied violin and cello are an important part of the string player's repertoire

Within these two formats, different song types can be found including:

Ballads, which are usually slow, romantic and reflective Comedy songs , which are funny, so the lyrics are very important Production numbers, which involve the full company and are used to show major changes in location or plot, and often open and close acts Rhythm songs are driven by energetic rhythm patterns

History-

Blues lyrics The lyrics are raw and full of emotion, dwelling on love and loneliness. They tell of injustice and hopelessness, and the longing for a better life. They were passed on from musician to musician through oral tradition and often use slang and double meanings.

They helped to create a distinctly British sound which used:

British (rather than American) accents standard song forms distinctive chord sequences and vocal harmonies rhythmic guitar work simple melodies clever lyrics

Folk Songs-

British and American folk songs: often have a simple strummed guitar accompaniment are sometimes unaccompanied are usually in verse form (strophic) sometimes, but don't always, have choruses emphasise lyrics, which often tell a story and sometimes have a political message place secondary importance on the accompaniment, with simple harmony and strummed chords

Musicals set out to entertain through a combination of:

Catchy music in a popular style Solo songs, duets, choruses and ensembles Orchestra or band accompaniment Spoken dialogue Dance sequences, stage spectacles and magnificent costumes

Blues notes -

Compared with the major scale, some notes, known as blue notes may be flattened by a semitone or 'bent' by a smaller interval. Blue notes are usually found on the third, fifth or seventh degree of the scale.

Since the 20th century, concertos have been written for a wide variety of instruments.

Composers have experimented with the concerto form and with new sounds. The Swedish composer Jan Sandström wrote Motorbike Odyssey - a concerto for solo trombone where the soloist arrives on stage on a motorbike and imitates the sound of the machine.

Forms of Baroque Orchestral Music Orchestral pieces commonly found during the Baroque period include concertos and suites.

Concertos A concerto is a large-scale composition for an orchestra plus a soloist or a group of soloists. Read this revision bite to learn more about the concerto. Baroque composers who wrote concertos include Vivaldi (who wrote over 500, around half of them for violin), Bach and Handel.

The Concerto in the Romantic Period (roughly the 19th century)-

Concertos remained popular during the Romantic period. There were many written for piano and violin. The Romantic concerto: uses a large orchestra exploits the dramatic conflict between soloist and orchestra often has the emphasis on virtuosic display often has very difficult solo parts has cadenzas written by the composer rather than improvised

6th-

Dashing

Madrigals- The madrigal was a popular vocal form during the Renaissance period.

Madrigals- are usually for four to six unaccompanied solo voices are short, secular (not sacred) pieces make much use of imitation use word-painting where the meaning of the words is reflected in the music often use melisma where several notes are sung to the same syllable

a sort of call and response

Many blues songs feature a short instrumental break (solo) after each line - a sort of call and response.

Film music can be divided into two categories - music contained within the action, and background music:

Music contained within the action is usually referred to as diegetic music. It is included in the story, eg music heard on a radio. Most film music is non-diegetic. Background music is often referred to as underscoring. It adds to themood of the scene, reinforcing dramatic developments and aspects of character.

Musical Theatre-

Musical theatre combines music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. Also called 'musicals', they are usually performed in theatres.

3rd-

Oh when the saints (oh when)

The Blues-

The blues is the name given to a style of music created by African-Americans at the end of the 19th century. Blues music was originally performed by one singer accompanied by guitar or banjo

Many show songs use verse and chorus form:

The chorus: Sets the refrain of the lyrics and often contains the title words Usually returns several times, always with the same words Is normally the 'catchiest' part of the song The verse usually has different words with each repetition

The Concerto in the 20th Century-

The concerto has continued to flourish in the 20th and 21st centuries. Concertos continue to be written for piano (eg Shostakovitch and Ravel) and violin (eg Berg and Philip Glass).

The concerto in the classical period (1750-1800)

The concerto was a popular form during the Classical period (roughly 1770-1800). It had three movements - two fast outer movements and a slow lyrical middle movement.

Instruments in the baroque orchestra - (2)

The continuo (or basso continuo) part was usually played the harpsichord or organ (filling in the harmonies and holding the ensemble together) plus a bassline often played by the cello or bassoon. The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument where the strings are plucked rather than hammered.

The trio sonata was very popular during the Baroque period (roughly 1600-1750). Many Baroque trio sonatas were written for two violins (or recorders, flute or oboe) plus continuo.

The continuo part was played by harpsichord (filling in the harmonies) sometimes with the cello playing the bassline - so there were often four players, not three. The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument where the strings are plucked rather than hammered.

There are two rival gangs - the Sharks who are originally from Puerto Rico and the Jets who were born in New York. Tony (tenor) and Maria (soprano) meet at a dance and fall in love but have allegiances with opposing gangs. Both acts end with a murder.

The musical was groundbreaking because of its tragic tone, sophisticated musical style and innovative extended dance sequences which are integral to the show. The music has elements of opera, musical, jazz and Latin-American dance music. 'Something's Coming' is one of the well-known songs from West Side Story. Others include 'Somewhere', 'Maria' and 'Tonight'

Lieder- Lieder (pronounced leeder) are German art songs from the Romantic period (roughly the 19th century). Lieder are written for piano and voice for performance in homes and concert halls. The piano does more than provide an accompaniment, it is in equal partnership with the voice and has an important role in the song.

The piano part reflects the mood of the poem and the poetic imagery. Lieder have rich, colourful harmony and frequent modulations (changes of key). Common poetic themes are love, longing and the beauty of nature

Classical Period Sonata-

The sonata in the Classical period In the Classical period 'sonata' came to mean a work in several movements (usually three or four), with the first movement in a special sonata form. Sonatas were a popular and important form, and many were composed for amateurs to play at home.

Most string quartets are in four movements-

The standard Classical form is: 1st movement: Allegro (fast) in sonata form 2nd movement: Slow 3rd movement: Minuet and Trio 4th movement: Allegro

The String Quartet (1)

The string quartet is the most familiar type of composition for a chamber group. It has two violins, a viola and a cello - all the parts are equally important. The two violins have the highest parts, the viola plays in the middle and the cello has the lowest part.

String quintets!

The string quartet was by far the most popular chamber music combination during the Classical and Romantic periods. Some composers wrote string quintets which are string quartets plus an extra viola, cello or double bass. One of the most famous string quintets is Schubert's String Quintet in C which has two cellos.

Vibrato-

The technique where a singer alters the pitch slightly to create the effect of a vibration

Chamber music-

The term 'chamber' comes from the word for a room as it is music to be played in a room rather than a large concert hall. Although some chamber music was intended for amateurs to play at home, it is now often performed in the concert hall. It is played without a conductor and uses one player per part (in orchestral music there are sometimes several players to a part). Some of the more common chamber music combinations are duets (two players), trios (three), quartets (four) and quintets (five).

Baroque Chamber Music-

The trio sonata was very popular during the Baroque period (roughly 1600-1750). Many Baroque trio sonatas were written for two violins (or recorders, flute or oboe) plus continuo. The continuo part was played by harpsichord (filling in the harmonies) sometimes with the cello playing the bassline - so there were often four players, not three. The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument where the strings are plucked rather than hammered.

Beethoven wrote five piano concertos and a violin concerto.

The violin concerto flourished and some of the most well-known were written during this period. These include works by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Brahms.

Vocal music for small ensembles-

Types of small vocal ensemble include madrigal group and chamber choir.

Something's Coming' - West Side Story-

West Side Story is an American musical and was completed in 1957. The music is by Leonard Bernstein and the words are by Stephen Sondheim. It is a jazzy musical based on Shakespeare's story of Romeo and Juliet but set in 20th-century New York against a background of racial gang warfare.

The orchestral suite is a collection of dances. Handel's Water Music and Music for the Royal Fireworks are suites. Bach wrote four orchestral suites. The first movement of each is an overture (an opening movement) and this is followed by a number of dances often including:

courante - three in a bar, moderate speed gavotte - 2/2 or 4/4 time, often with each phrase beginning halfway through the bar minuet - 3/4 time, moderate speed gigue - lively and in compound time (6/8, 9/8 or 12/8)

Film music serves to:

establish atmosphere, time and place move the action forward describe character accompany scene changes add to the dramatic impact provide continuity across edits