Music Appreciation Unit 1
Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra: How many times does the whip sound occur after 13:49
3
How many different ranges of saxophones are there?
6
What are the four main properties of musical sound?
Pitch Dynamics Tone color Duration
List four vocal ranges.
Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
Music based on minor scales tends to sound _____________.
Serious or melancholy
When an accent occurs off-beat, it is called __________________.
Syncopation
What instrument is this?
Trumpet
Why does a live performance provide a special excitement?
Because artists put themselves on the line.
Why use a metronome?
Because it measures the exact number of beats per minute which helps the composers preferred tempos.
Define ritardando.
Becoming slower.
The English Horn is neither _______ nor a _____.
English; horn
List five functions of musical instruments throughout history and around the world.
Entertainment Magical powers Communication Status symbols Rituals
What does music that has barely noticeable beat suggest?
Feeling like floating or aimlessness.
What instrument is this?
Flute
What determines the pitch of a sound?
Frequency of its vibrations.
Stravinsky, The Firebird: What do you think the composer was trying to achieve by the many changing dynamic levels in this piece?
He's trying to achieve a sense of excitement
Row, Row, Row Your Boat sung as a round is an example of what polyphonic technique?
Imitation
How are pitches varied on a woodwind instrument?
It changes the length of the vibrating air column and so it varies the pitch.
Name the flutist on p.16.
James Galway
Stravinsky, The Firebird: How many seconds into The Firebird does the orchestra become suddenly soft?
1:34 seconds
What is beat and how does it relate to rhythm?
Beat is a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time of which rhythm flow with and through.
Stravinsky, The Firebird: How many times do we hear the opening theme during track one of The Firebird?
7
What instrument did the piano replace?
Harpsichord
Why is John Cage's composition 4' 33" particularly interesting?
He does nothing for 4 min.
Which keyboard instrument has been called "The King of Instruments"?
Pipe organ
What instrument is this?
Harpsichord
Bizet, Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: At what point after 0:33 is the dance theme first repeated?
0:55
Give 3 reasons why orchestral composers rely on strings more than any other instrumental group?
1. Strings have the greatest versatility and expressive range. 2. Produce many tone colors and have wide ranges of pitch and dynamics. 3. Can produce tones that are brilliant and rapid or slow throbbing.
List three reasons why it is difficult to sing well.
1. We use wider ranges of pitch and volume than in speaking. 2. We hold vowel sounds long. 3. Singing demands a greater supply and control of breath.
Into how many tones is an octave divided in the recent music of Western Civilization?
12 tones
Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra: How many variation sections did Benjamin Britten use in the listening example on p.28?
13
How long did it take to develop the early piano into the modern one we use today?
150 years
Define chord.
A combination of 3 or more tones sounded at once.
What is the Grand Staff?
A combination of the treble and bass staves.
Which symphonic woodwind instrument doesn't have a reed?
A recorder
What is the essence of rhythm?
A recurring pattern of tension and release of expectation and fulfillment.
What is a cadence?
A resting place at the end of a phrase (a point of arrival)
Emphasis of a single tone in a series of tones is called ____________.
Accent
What will enhance our ability to evaluate and enjoy music?
Alert and repeated listening.
Bizet, Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2: Which of the three textures does Bizet use in the Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2?
All of them - monophonic, polyphonic, and homophonic.
What instrument is this?
Bassoon
Where do the half-steps occur in the C major scale?
Between E
Between which pairs of notes do half-steps occur in a chromatic scale?
Between all of them.
Listen to this example and choose the correct answer.
Bizet: Farandole from L'Ariesienne Suite No. 2
Listen to this example and choose the correct answer.
Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
How would a performer comply with the dynamic marking ffff?
By playing extremely loud
How does a violinist change the pitches of the strings as he is playing?
By pressing string against the fingerboard, the player varies the length of it vibrating portion and so changes the pitch.
What instrument is this?
Cello
Listen to this example and choose the correct answer.
Chopin: Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4
The technique of combining several melodies into a meaningful whole is called ____________.
Counter point
Define dynamics.
Degrees of loudness or softness in music
Listen to this example and choose the correct answer.
Ellington: C-Jam Blues
The distance between two pitches is called an ______________.
Interval
Listen to this example and choose the correct answer
J.S Bach: Suite for Lute in E Minor, Op 28, No. 4, "Bourree"
When the notes of a melody are performed smoothly, it is called __________, whereas detached notes are ___________.
Legato; staccato
Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Does the harp play one note or many notes at a time at 9:45?
Many notes at the same time.
List the three basic textures of music.
Monophonic Polyphonic Homophonic
The organization of beats into regular groups is called ____________.
Meter
List the 7 major stylistic periods in the history of western art music with their approximate dates:
Middle Ages (450-1450) Renaissance (1450-1600) Baroque (1600-1750) Classical (1750-1820) Romantic (1820-1900) Twentieth Century to 1945 1945 to the present
Is the recorder a single-reed or double-reed instrument?
Neither
What instrument is this?
Oboe
How many octaves is the pitch range of a piano?
Over 7 octaves
What family of instruments most often produce indefinite pitches?
Percussion
Ellington, C-Jam Blues: Which two properties of musical sound do you think are emphasized in this piece?
Pitch, tone color
List six effects a violinist can produce by using different techniques during performance.
Pizzicato Doublestop Vibrato Mute Tremolo Harmonics
Arrange these tempo marking fastest to slowest: moderato, allegro, presto, adagio, andante.
Presto Allegro Moderato Andante Adagio.
Creating form in music depends on what three essential techniques?
Repetition Contrast Variation
When a dissonance moves to a consonance it is called a ____________.
Resolution
Bach, Bourree from Suite in E Minor for Lute: Which musical element provides the most contrast between the A and B Sections of this piece: dynamics, melody, timbre or rhythm?
Rhythm
Chopin, Prelude in E Minor: What is the overall mood of Chopin's Prelude in E Minor?
Sad; melancholy
What is the most common form in Western music?
Scale music
The key of a piece involves a central tone as well as a central________ and _______.
Scale; chord
Define modulation.
Shifting from one key to another within the same piece.
List six categories of instruments in Western music, giving at least two examples of each.
String - guitar
Define form in music.
The organization of musical elements in time.
What 3 elements of music does Tchaikovsky use for contrast in the B section of Dance of the Reed Pipes?
Tone color Melody Key
What is the particular advantage of keyboard instruments?
They permit the performer to play several tones at the same time easily and rapidly.
What property of sound allows us to determine what made the sound?
Tone color (timbre)
What instrument is this?
Timpani
Which orchestral drums have definite pitch?
Timpani Glockenspiel Xylophone Celesta Chimes
What has been the major role of percussion instruments for a long time?
To emphasize rhythm and to heighten climaxes.
What is the purpose of dynamic change in music?
To increase/decrease a sense of excitement/calmness
What instrument is this?
Trombone
What do the two numbers of a time signature show?
Upper number - shows how many beats fall in a measure Lower number - shows what kind of note gets the beat.
How are brass sections most used by orchestral composers in their music?
Used at climaxes and for bold heroic statements.
What causes the pitch to vary in a brass instrument?
Varying lip tension and by using slides and valves to change the length of the tube through which the air vibrates.
What instrument is this?
Violin
Until the late 1600s, most Western music was _______.
Vocal
Ellington, C-Jam Blues: In C-Jam Blues by Duke Ellington describe the change in the timbre of the cornet at 0:54 when the player puts in his mute.
Went from the violin rhythm section to a solo cornet with the rhythm section to tenor sax.
Traditionally, woodwind instrument were mostly made of _________.
Wood
What are the two main responsibilities of the musical conductor?
1. Coordinates the performers. 2. Shapes the interpretation of musical a composition.
If a pitch has a frequency of 100 cycles per second, what is the frequency of the pitch one octave higher?
200 cycles per second
What is the approximate ratio of violins to violas represented in the large orchestra plan on page 11?
34:12
What instrument is this?
Clarinet
Listen to each example and then drag the option that corresponds to what you hear. (Different pitches, Different timbres, Different pitch and timbre)
Different pitches
Listen to each example and then drag the option that corresponds to what you hear. (Different pitches, Different timbres, Different pitch and timbre)
Different timbres
What is the main difference between orchestras and bands?
Orchestras have string instruments and bands do not.
List 3 tools used by electronic musicians.
Tape studio Synthesizers Computers Digital recorders
Listen to this example and choose the correct answer.
Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite, Dance of the Reed Pipes
