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MAPEH (Music)
Quarter 1 – Module 7:
New Music
(Chance Music)
MAPEH (Music) – Grade 10
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 7: New Music (Chance Music)
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

OIC-Schools Division Superintendent: Carleen S. Sedilla CESE
OIC-Assistant Schools Division Superintendent: Brian E. Ilan EdD

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Imelda P. Tabian
Editor: Myrna T. Parakikay
Reviewer: Myrna T. Parakikay
Layout Artist: Gloria B. Samulde
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Chief, Curriculum Implementation Division

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Education Program Supervisor, LRMS

Myrna T. Parakikay
Education Program Supervisor, MAPEH

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 What I Need To Know

This module was written and designed to make learning easier especially as we are
in the New Normal situation. As an educational tool, this module about, New
Music (Chance Music), challenges you as a learner, to become creative,
resourceful and independent. The scope of the module provides a variety of
activities that will stimulate independent and self-guided learning experience.
Lessons in this module are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course
to ensure effective learning continuity, make the experience more meaningful,
effective and relevant to life situations.

This module is designed and especially written for you. It is meant to give you a
clearer understanding of the musical characteristics and elements of Chance
Music. The life works of its main composers and how their music brought into
progress and how it affects the music of the world at large.

This module includes lessons and activities on:

 Elements and characteristics of Chance Music

 The life, musical style, and works of composers
 Different musical style used in chance music
 Listen and analyze some of the examples of Chance Music

After going to this module, you are expected to:

 Describe the distinctive musical styles and characteristic of chance music
 Enumerate the different musical styles used by John Cage
 Understand the styles of composing of the composer of the period through their
works
 Analyze chance music

What I Know

Instruction: Fill in the blanks with the correct answer. Choose your answer from the
words inside the box.

Roaratorio California, USA Dice

Chance Music Pomona College Schoenberg
Cowell Aug. 12, 1992 Music Philosopher
Ring Modulators Indeterminacy Indian Philosophy
Zen Buddhism Imaginary Landscape No. 4 4’33”
1953

__________ 1.The _____ is a music in which an element of chance were unpredictably

decided.
__________ 2. Aleatory from Latin word “alea”, which means _____.
__________ 3. Cage is from _____.
__________ 4. He went to _____ and returned immediately to US.
__________ 5 – 6. _____ and _____ were the two of his influencer and teacher in _____
Music.
__________ 7. He died on _____.
__________ 8. John Cage was also considered as a _____.
__________ 9. One of the characteristics of chance music is that the piece always
sounds different in every performance due to the use of _____.

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___________ 10. John Cage musical styles includes the creation of _____ in his music.
___________ 11-12. John Cage’s major influence to create his new music style were his
_____ study of _____ and _____.
__________ 13. _____ was also known as the “silent piece”.
___________14. _____ is a composition for 12 randomly tuned radios, 24 performers,
and conductor.
___________ 15. John Cage’s _____ is a composition of an electronic composition using
thousands of words found in James Joyce’s novel.

Lesson New Music

1 (Chance Music)
The creation of New Musical Styles enables our composers and musicians to invent
and reinvent sounds and musical compositions that was a product of exploration and
experimentation. Both electronic and chance music contributed to make the sounds
more creative and meaningful to the listeners. Chance Music is a music in which some
of the elements of chance were unpredictably decided either composition or
performance process.

What’s In

Cut and paste on the next page the picture below to form the puzzle. Identify the name
of the composer in the picture and describe their contribution to music industry.

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 What’s New

Activity: Do the following as instructed.

1. Find a relaxing and safe place where you can sit comfortably.
2. Get a chair and sit halfway on it without leaning at the back of the chair.
3. Put your hand on your lap on top of each other with palms facing upward.
4. Both feet must be flat on the floor.
5. Inhale and exhale and sit still for at least 4 mins. Closing your eyes is
optional.

Reflection:
1. Where you able to stay for 4 minutes? How? _______________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. How do you feel about the activity? Why? __________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

What is It

 Aleatory music also called chance music, (aleatory from Latin alea, which means
“dice”), is a 20th century musical style in which chance or not clearly determined
elements are left for the performer to realize.

Characteristic of Chance/ Aleatory Music:

♪ It involves the use of chance either in the composition or in the performance of

the piece.
♪ The ordering of the sections, the rhythm and pitches are decided at the moment
of performance.
♪ The piece always sounds different in every performance because of the random
techniques of production due to the use of ring modulators and/or natural
elements that become part of the music.

Composer of Chance Music:

 Born as John Milton Cage Jr., on September 5,

1912, Los Angeles, California, U.S and died on
August 12, 1992, New York, New York.
 He attended Pomona College and returned to US
soon.
 He was a music philosopher and a composer.
 He was the pioneer of indeterminacy in music,
electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of
musical instruments.
 His teachers includes Henry Cowell (1933) and
Arnold Schoenberg (1933–35), both known for
their radical music.

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 Musical Style:
 His studies of Indian philosophy and Zen Buddhism influenced him to
create a new music style called aleatoric or chance music
 He cultivated the principle of indeterminacy in his music.
Indeterminacy is a composing technique where some parts of a musical piece
are left open to chance or to the performer's choice.

Indeterminacy in music is represented by three main tendencies:

Chance music – indeterminacy at the level of composition. Upon the writing of
the composition, the composer employs a chance procedure.
Aleatory music – indeterminacy at the level of performance. The performer was
asked to make decisions which will affect either details or even the form
of the piece.
Stochastic music – indeterminacy at the level of composition but involving
strict mathematical tools like the music of Stockhausen.

Works:
♪ 4′33″ (Four Minutes and Thirty-three Seconds,
1952)- a piece in which the performer or
performers remain utterly silent onstage for that
amount of time also known as the “silent piece”.

Fig. 1-Cage’s 4’33” Musical Score

♪ Imaginary Landscape No. 4 (1951)- a composition for 12 randomly

tuned radios, 24 performers, and conductor.
♪ Fontana Mix (1958)- a piece based on a series of programmed
transparent cards that, when superimposed, give a graph for the random
selection of electronic sounds.
♪ Roaratorio (1979) -an electronic composition using thousands of words
found in James Joyce’s novel Finnegans Wake.

What’s More
Gather different dried materials that are about to be put in trash. Make a creative
design using the scraps that you’ve gather. The theme of your work must show
resiliency amidst of the pandemic crisis. Describe what you have done in 5
sentences. Paste it on the space provided.

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 What I Have Learned

Chance Music or Aleatoric Music is music where some element of

the music is left to chance.
Each performance sounds differently due to the use of modular
rings, natural and man-made sounds that becomes part of the
music.
John Cage is the famous creator “Chance or Aletoric Music.”
His Indian Philosophy and Zen Buddhism studied were his major
influence to create the chance music and also cultivated the
indeterminacy in music.
Some of his works includes 4’33”, Roaratorio, Imaginary
Landscape No. 4, and Fontana Mix.

What I Can Do

Activity

Look at the two pictures below. Picture A is a representation of Stockhausen’s

Music while Picture B is symbolic of Cage’s Music. Lists down the
characteristics of each painting that you think is parallel to the musical styles
used by the two composers. Write your answer below. Which music do you like
most? Why?

Picture A Picture B

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____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
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 Assessment

Multiple Choice: Write the letter of the correct answer on the blank provided.

______1. Which of the following is describe a music where some element it is left to
chance?
a. Computer Music c. Classical Music
b. Chance Music d. Electronic Music

_____ 2. When was john Cage born?

a. Sept. 5, 1912 c. Aug. 20, 1918
b. Aug. 22, 1928 d. Aug. 22,1918

_____ 3. Where did John Cage died?

a. Italy b. India c. Vienna d. New York

_____ 4. Which of the following is NOT the characteristic of chance music?

a. It uses ring modulators
b. It involves the use of chance
c. The technique of spatialisation
d. Ordering of the rhythm and pitches are decided at the moment of
performance.

_____ 5. Who among the following is considered as the creator of chance/aleotoric

music?

a. b. c. d.
_____ 6. Which of the following technique can be observed in most of Cage’s works?
a. Indeterminacy c. Tone Row
b. Whole tone d. Diminished chords

_____ 7. Which of the following is TRUE to musical style of John Cage?

a. The cultivation of indeterminacy in his compositions.
b. Use of Augmented and diminished
c. He explored, experimented and make innovations on the potential
capability of sounds
d. Use of chromatic scale

_____ 8. Which of the following refers to a composing technique where some parts of a
musical piece are left open to chance or to the performer's choice?
a. Spatial b. Indeterminancy c. Aleotoric Music d. Sine Wave

_____ 9. Which of the following describes the indeterminacy at the level of

composition?
a. Alaetory Music c. Stochastic Music
b. Chance Music d. Electronic Music

_____ 10. Which of the following describes the indeterminacy at the level of
performance?
a. Alaetory Music c. Stochastic Music
b. Chance Music d. Electronic Music

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_____ 11. Which of the following describes the indeterminacy at the level of
composition but involving strict mathematical tools?
a. Alaetory Music c. Stochastic Music
b. Chance Music d. Electronic Music

_____ 12. 4’33” is also known as what?

a. Hymnen c. Silent Piece
b. Helikopter-Streichquartett d. Quite Piece

_____ 13. Which of the following composition of Cage that was composed for 12
randomly tuned radios, 24 performers, and conductor?
a. 4’33” c. Fontana Mix
b. Imaginary Landscape No. 4 d. Roaratorio

_____ 14. When was Roaratorio created?

a. 1954 b. 1969 c. 1953 d. 1979

_____ 15. Which of the following is the characteristic of Fontana Mix?

a. It is a silent piece
b. It was for 12 randomly tuned radios, 24 performers
c. A piece based on a series of programmed transparent cards
d. It was composed of thousand words from a novel.

Additional Activities

Using your mobile phone, tablet, ipad or computer copy and paste the link provided
below. Listen to the following works of John Cage. After listening, answer the following
questions provided.

Musical works Listening #1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbXA7Nt63M4)

Composer: _______________________ Title: _______________________________
Mood and tempo _________________________________________________________________
Rhythm _________________________________________________________________________
Major Instrument/s Heard: ________________________________

Musical works Listening #2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPfwrFl1FHM)

Composer: _______________________ Title: _______________________________
Mood and tempo _________________________________________________________________
Rhythm _________________________________________________________________________
Major Instrument/s Heard: ________________________________