Tonality

Tonality: Major, minor, atonal or modal
Major; happier,
Minor; sad depressed,
 Atonal; hasn't got a key, sounds all over the place, no home key,
Modal; system pf music used before scales were invented, a form of scale, a lot of traditional folk songs in medieval time were written in modes. Names such as dorian mode etc

World Music

India:

Tabla  - a pair of indian drums, they aren’t joined, they have a black dot in the middle of the skin, then the skin and around the edge is white tape, you can play in three different places and play them different ways. Its very complex and it’s the most distinctive percussion sound in indian music.

Tanbura (tanpura) the indian bass instrument, it has a very long neck it simply plays a drone, very boring,  it’s a constant sound

Sitar; the melody instrument , indian version of a guitar, played by plucking, there are two sets of strings the main strings you pluck and then the sympathetic strings vibrate in sympathy. You don’t usually play the strings unless you are professional. 

There is the indian scale or keys, Rags, ragas, some scales are only played in the morning , the sitar most of the time is improvising. The same word is also used to describe the piece itself, the Raga.

In this video we see the three mentioned instruments, it shows the Tabla, the Tanbura and the sitar, as you hear the sitar has a very unique sound. 

Indian flute: sounds like the flute, usually improvises bits of melody over the top, its wooden

Alap:  Raga is broken into different sections, an alap is a slow section of a raga

Gat; is a fast section of a raga

Bhangra is like indian pop, it’s a fusion of indian and western music,

African music:

All of the Instruments are made of wooden and natural materials

Djembe: Its a drum played in different ways to get different sound qualities, its held so sound can leave the bottom of the drum,

Dunun: is another type of drum

Polyrythm: a selection of different instruments and rythms to create a layered sound

African vocal music:

Chanting: everybody singing at the same time and singing the same thing

Call and response: Somebody sings a line then everybody answers with a different phrase/line

Music for voices (continued)

Pop ballad: Modern music that usually implies an emotional and sentimental song. Its a slow love song, they are usually a basic verse and chorus structure, normally accompanied by guitar or keyboard.








Pixie Lott: Cry me out

Coldplay: Fix you

Folk song: uses traditional melodies to speak on a particular topic. They often use it to speak of topics such as social and political issues like war, work, government and popular opinion. Its usually has a stringed accompaniment, usually guitar. Often in verse form, they go along telling a story and often don't have a chorus. Sometimes sung a capella. Traditional instruments would be the guitar, banjo






Kate Rusby : High on a hill

The Irish Rover:

Bob Dylan: Lily Rosemary and the Jack of hearts (Bob Dylan; An American folk song) It tells a story. Its one verse after another and ten minutes to tell a story.

Madrigal: A form of chamber music usually polyphonic and unaccompanied a song for three to six singers. Not written now. Very popular in the 14th 15th century originated in Italy. They only had a small group of singers between four and seven. they are usually about everyday life not religious matters, which means they are secular. Usually female and male or all female (male madrigals are unusual) Melissa is when there are lots of notes per one syllable which is when it tends to have lots of trills and falalalalalaas!

Choral music: refers to choirs; a large number of people singing together. There can be either lots of children, all female choirs are referred to as SSA choirs (soprano soprano alto( three part harmony) or a male voice choir ( Wales is the most known country for all male choirs)  is a SATB choir soprano alto tenor bass, also known as a mixed voice choir.  When they are singing they may be singing a song for a choir or as a much bigger piece, for example as part as an oratorio or a symphony (not an opera because then they would be Chorus)

Music for voices

Vocal ranges: There are many different types of voice, they are named according to the range of notes they can sing.(In pitch order)


Treble: A boys unbroken voice

Soprano: Highest female voice

Mezzo soprano: Medium female voice

Contralto: Lowest female voice (often shortened to alto)

Counter-tenor: High male voice

Tenor: Medium- high in male voice range

Baritones: Medium to low male range

Bass: Lowest male voice

Types of solo songs:

Lied (plural is lieder): A type of German art song used in the Romantic period for solo voice and piano. Inspired by poetry. Always accompanied by the piano, it's job is to mirror the words and show the meaning of the words. Almost a duet between vocalist and piano, both have equal importance

Aria: A long accompanied song for a solo voice, usually in an opera or oratorio

This is one of Mozart's Aria's that is for soprano voice, its probably the highest aria piece.

Opera: a piece of drama set to music, they would act and sing, complete with costume and set.

Oratorio: A Large scale piece for orchestra, choir and soloists, typically sung about religious topics, It would be set out statically unlike an opera.

Concerto grosso and concerto

Concerto grosso is a form of Baroque music where music is played by small groups of soloists (the concertino) and the full orchestra ( the ripieno ).In the Baroque Period there would be a Harpsichord which is a distinct sign of the Baroque Period. 
Arcangelo Corelli-

Visual Example

The concerto is a piece where it's a soloist playing the 'main' part not a group, it's accompanied by the orchestra.

In the classical Era concertos were often started by a small Orchestra that built the piece before the soloist would come in.
There would be concerto's for certain instruments such as cello's.


Romantic concerto: This had a bigger orchestra, it was composed in three parts in which the solo performer played whilst accompanied by the orchestra. Pieces were mainly composed for Violin, Cello and piano. They would display all the talents of virtuoso's.

Minimalism

Minimalist Music was born in the late 1960’s and can be associated with a group of American composers classified as “minimalists”. 



However, the origins of Minimalist music can be traced to the ‘total serialism’ music of Webern whose music was based on the mathematical control of the musical elements. 


Minimalist music consists of cells which are ‘looped’ at shifting time intervals. This creates a hypnotic quality to the music as the cells shift in and out of ‘phase’ with each other


This is a piece where you can clearly hear the phrases coming in and out in time with each other. It's a weird sound but it doesn't sound wrong. Its a piece by Steve Reich

This is an example in dance which illustrates the concept of minimalism very well.

Composers of Minimalism


Philip Glass: This piece is entitled Koyaanisqatsi

Steve Reich: This piece is called 'Different Trains'. The tape 
consists of vocal samples of Holocaust survivors depicting Jewish people being sent on ‘different trains’ to concentration camps. The string quartet in this piece emulate speech patterns and melodies. 

20th Century Classical Music

Serialism: Serialists used every single note in chromatic scale (every single note in an octave). They were played in any random order, an they only use each one once before they could use it again,this was called their 'serial'. Then they played it backwards(inverted).They then played it in a retrograde order (opposite distance of semitones from notes on opposite side. Played on any octave but still same note.Very Confusing!)


This is a piece by Schoenberg, as you can hear the clashing sounds this is a product of using the chromatic scale because it contains all the flats as well and they all have to be used.

Electronic music: This type of music was introduced in the first half of the twentieth century.There were first electronic keyboards, they were massive instruments. The Moog synth was one of the first electronic instruments. It was the first time music could be recorded and manipulated

Stockhausen was a composer who used electronic instruments in his pieces. Some of his pieces are very peculiar, especially Gesang Der junglinge. This uses the voices of young children and synthesised noises to create his piece.

                                          



Atonal music: Arnold Schoenberg introduced atonal music. 
 Twelve tone technique; the technique is a means of ensuring that all twelve notes of the chromatic scale are sounded and used as often as one another in a piece of music while preventing any emphasis of any note via tone rows (the serial of the notes). All notes are given no more or less importance therefore ensuring the music avoids being in a key.

Aleatoric music: Aleatoricism is the creation of art by chance, basically randomness to create music. There are no rules at all!

This piece is aleatoric and basically just sounds like its been put together randomly, which it has!

This is a piece of Karlheinz Stockhausen's, I really find it hilarious because of the way it's played, to see the piece played  and how it sounds, it seems incredibly deranged!