Music Analysis – The Elements of Music

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1. Melody
A melody is a linear sequence of notes. It is a combination of pitch and rhythm.

Intervals
An interval is the distance between two pitches.

The combination of intervals in a melody gives it different shapes. These shapes can be
described in a number of ways:

 conjunct

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

 Disjunct

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  Chromatic

Arpeggios are rising and falling melodies that use the notes of a chord. A broken chord is the
alternation of the first, third and fifth degrees of the scale. Here’s an example in the melody of
a piano sonata by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:

Arpeggios are rising and falling melodies that use the notes of a chord. A broken chord is the
alternation of the first, third and fifth degrees of the scale. Here’s an example in the melody of
a piano sonata by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:

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 Score of Piano Sonata K545, opening, Mozart

Question
What type of melody has a lot of leaps in it?

Hide answer
Disjunct

Scales
Most of Western Classical music is based on scales. A scale is a set of notes
ordered by increasing or decreasing pitch. The intervals between these pitches
give each scale a different characteristic and name.

Melody
Melodies can be described in different ways:

 diatonic melodies are mainly based on major or minor scales

 chromatic melodies include notes outside the key of music
 atonal melodies are not based on any key or tonal centre

Keys
When music is based on a major or a minor scale, it is said to be in the key of
this scale. The key signature is found at the start of the music. It indicates
which scale is being used, and the sharps and flats used in the scale.

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Phrases
Phrases are the musical version of sentences. They end with different types of cadence - like
commas or full stops. Phrases can be different lengths, depending on the piece of music.

Renaissance Period - Melody

General characteristics of melodies in the Renaissance
period
 Melodies were mainly based on modes - types of scale found in the Medieval
and Renaissance periods.
 Most of the melodies were conjunct with the occasional leap. This is
because the majority of compositions were still vocal. Step-wise melodies
are very suitable for singers.
 The range of most Renaissance melodies was limited to the vocal range for

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 which the melodies were written. Instrumental melodies have similarly
narrow ranges.

Melodic devices
Imitation
Imitation can be found in a lot of sacred choral music from the Renaissance
period. A melody would often be sung in one voice - eg soprano - and then copied
by another voice shortly afterwards.

An example of this can be found in the motet Sicut cervus by Giovanni Pierlugi da
Palestrina. The tenor opens with a simple conjunct melody, which is imitated by
the alto line shortly afterwards - a perfect fifth above. The soprano and bass
then imitate the same melody. All of the entries in this motet are imitative. It
is worth listening to the whole thing to hear how the individual lines work
together. Another example of imitation can be heard in William Byrd’s Civitas
sancti tui.

Word-painting
Composers of Renaissance madrigals often used word-painting to set their chosen texts as
expressively and effectively as possible. In Weelkes’ madrigal As Vesta was from Latmos Hill
Descending, the word “descending” is set to a descending scale, and the word “ascending” is
set as an ascending scale. The music descends when the voices sing “running down amain”,
and Thomas Weelkes even reflects “two by two”, “three by three” and “together” in the
number of voices singing each time.

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Decoration
A lot of Renaissance instrumental music is decorated with ornaments. These
include mordents, trills and turns. They appear in a lot of keyboard and lute music of the
time. A good example is My Lady Nevell’s Ground by Byrd.

A lute

Mordent
A mordent is formed by playing a note, the note above and then returning to the first note.

Trill
A trill is two adjacent notes that are played rapidly one after the other.

Turn
A turn is a short decoration consisting of the note above the one indicated, the
note itself, the note below the one indicated, and the note itself again. It is
marked by a mirrored S-shape lying on its side above the stave.

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Baroque Period - Melody
General characteristics of melodies in the Baroque
period
 Melodies moved from being based on modes to major or minor scales. This took
place over a long period of time, but by the end of the Baroque period the
12-key system that we know today was established.
 Melodies were based on motifs, which were often repeated and developed.
 Melodies became longer - especially those of Johann Sebastian Bach and
George Frederick Handel - and ends of phrases merged into the starts of
new ones.
[ Modes

A musical scale is a series of pitches in a distinct order.

The concept of "mode" in Western music theory has three successive stages: in Gregorian chant theory,
in Renaissance polyphonic theory, and in tonal harmonic music of the common practice period. In all three
contexts, "mode" incorporates the idea of the diatonic scale, but differs from it by also involving an element
of melody type. This concerns particular repertories of short musical figures or groups of tones within a
certain scale so that, depending on the point of view, mode takes on the meaning of either a
"particularized scale" or a "generalized tune". Modern musicological practice has extended the concept of
mode to earlier musical systems, such as those of Ancient Greek music, Jewish cantillation, and
the Byzantine system of octoechoi, as well as to other non-Western types of music.

By the early 19th century, the word "mode" had taken on an additional meaning, in reference to the
difference between major and minor keys, specified as "major mode" and "minor mode". At the same time,
composers were beginning to conceive "modality" as something outside of the major/minor system that
could be used to evoke religious feelings or to suggest folk-music idioms.]

Motif
An example of a motif being central to a movement of work is in the third movement
of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. The opening phrase - and excerpts from the
phrase - can be heard throughout the movement.

Melodic devices

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Sequence
Sequences were often used in Baroque melodies. This was one way composers made
melodies longer. An example of a sequence can be found in the ground bass of Henry
Purcell’s Music for a While. The four-quaver motif rises four times and is the
foundation of this haunting piece of music.

Sequences can also be found in the first movement of Antonio Vivaldi’s Spring
from The Four Seasons. At bar 48, the solo violin plays a virtuosic arpeggiated
idea. This is repeated as an ascending sequence until it becomes a descending
sequence starting in bar 53.

Imitation
Imitation is commonly used in Baroque melodies, particularly because a lot of the
music was fugal, ie written in the style of a fugue. The opening of the third
movement of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 is a good example of this. Many of
the choruses in Handel’s Messiah also contain examples of imitation, including
“And the glory of the Lord” and “And he shall purify”.

Ornamentation
Trills, mordents and turns were often used in Baroque melodies. These can be found
in the solo violin part of the first movement of “Spring” from The Four Seasons
by Vivaldi.

Question
What device can you hear between the flutes?

Hide answer
Imitation

Classical Period - Melody

General characteristics of melodies in the Classical
period
 Melodies were diatonic with the occasional chromaticism
 Phrase lengths were even - usually four or eight bars long.
 Balanced phrases - a question phrase was answered by a phrase of a similar
length and rhythm.
A lot of Josef Haydn’s melodies were monothematic, ie melodies that evolved
and developed out of a short musical idea.
 Appoggiaturas were commonly used in Classical melodies, especially those

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 written by Mozart.
 Passing notes were frequently used to decorate melodies.

Examples
Balanced phrases
Question and answer phrases are also known as antecedent and consequent phrases.
They can be heard in the opening of the first movement from Mozart’s Symphony No.
40.

Notation of Mozart's first subject

The opening rising bar and a half is answered with the same rhythm, but it falls instead. This
way of balancing question and answer phrases is typical of Classical composers.

In the second movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 ‘The Clock’, the first phrase is four
bars long and ends with a rising scale (with a chromatic passing note)’. This is ‘answered’ by
a similar phrase that is extended by a bar and closes on the tonic. Again, this is typical
writing of the period.

Appoggiaturas

Appoggiaturas is used as a dissonance in Classical melodies. To decorate the melody (and

harmony) the composer would use an appoggiatura to sound a note outside the chord, which
would then fall or rise by step to a note within the chord. The score below shows an
appoggiatura from the second movement of Mozart’s Concerto No. 3 for violin. The pink
circles show an appoggiatura - the dissonance falls to a consonance.

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Acciaccaturas

An acciaccatura is played as quickly as possible before the note that follows it. It is
sometimes called a crushed note.

Romantic Period - Melody

General characteristics of melodies in the Romantic
period
 The range of the melodies was larger than in earlier periods.
 Composers would use extreme ranges of instruments to make their music more
expressive. The introduction of extended instruments - eg a piccolo - also
encouraged melodies with wider ranges.
 Melodies were generally diatonic but chromatic passages became much more
frequent than in earlier periods.
 Melodies were lyrical and had longer phrases over more advanced harmonies
than in the Classical period.
 Leitmotif (A leitmotif or leitmotiv is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a
particular person, place, or idea.) was used in programme music and operas to
represent a theme, character or mood.

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  Therise of the virtuoso(expert in music performance) encouraged fast and
exciting melodies.

Examples
Prelude in D flat major Op.28, Section A, by Frederic Chopin

 Themelodies in the opening section are fast, enabling the pianist to

demonstrate his or her virtuosity.
 Thereis a lot of chromatic movement in the melodies, although the music is
clearly in a minor key.
 Theslow middle section boasts the long lyrical melodies that are associated
with Frederic Chopin and the Romantic period.
Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz
In Symphonie Fantastique, Berlioz uses an idée fixe to frame and structure the
movements. This musical idea appears in different forms. At the beginning, it
appears as a poet’s thought of his beloved as an ideal. Later on the idea changes
into a nightmarish vision of his beloved taking part in the witches’ Sabbath.

Twentieth Period - Melody

Many different kinds of melodies were developed during the 20th century.

Impressionism
Some impressionist music is based on whole tone scales (a whole-tone scale is a scale in
which each note is separated from its neighbors by the interval of a whole tone) , especially the
music of Debussy. Debussy and other impressionist composers, such as Maurice
Ravel, also rediscovered modes and used them to create new sound worlds that
shocked audiences in the early 20th century.

Minimalism
 The repetition of an original musical cell (or idea).

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  The cells are manipulated in a number of ways, including repetition, phase-
shifting, augmentation (making the melodies longer), diminution (making
the melodies shorter) and inversion (turning melodies upside down).
A composer may add or take away music from an original cell.
Example
In the third movement of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint the original pattern is shifted a number of
times to create a delayed effect.

Electric Counterpoint, Movement III

Expressionism
 Melodies are often angular and disjunct.
 Phrases are irregular and often short.
 Melodies are usually atonal instead of diatonic.
 The focus for the composer was usually the sound and tone quality of the
instruments being played, not the overall melodic shapes.
Example
Arnold Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces is an excellent example of
Expressionism. Peripetie opens with examples of all of the features listed above.

Serialism
Serialism was Schoenberg’s way of changing the tonality of his music. Instead of
using major and minor scales, he took each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale
and rearranged them into a new 12 tone scale. This became the tone row for the
piece. The original tone scale was called the prime order. Schoenberg manipulated
the prime order to make new tone rows for the same piece of music. He would
transpose it, and turn it backwards (retrograde) - and upside down - inversion.

Example
The first movement from Anton Webern’s String Quartet Op.22 is an excellent
example of Serialism.

Popular and World music

Melodies from different styles and genres came from a number of different scales:

 blues scale - rock ’n’ roll, jazz

 scales from around the world including raga, Arabic scales and pentatonic
scales
Melodies were also decorated in alternative ways from the Western Classical
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tradition:

 pitch bends, often heard in Israeli folk music

 scales from around the world including raga, Arabic scales and pentatonic
scales

Question
What is a whole tone scale?

Hide answer
A scale made up of whole tones only - no semitones.

Question

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 What is minimalist music?

Hide answer
Music which develops from a very short musical idea.

In the third movement of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint the original pattern
is shifted a number of times to create a delayed effect.

Electric Counterpoint, Movement III

Expressionism
 Melodies are often angular and disjunct.
 Phrases are irregular and often short.
 Melodies are usually atonal instead of diatonic.
 The focus for the composer was usually the sound and tone quality of the
instruments being played, not the overall melodic shapes.
Example
Arnold Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces is an excellent example of
Expressionism. Peripetie opens with examples of all of the features listed above.

Serialism
Serialism was Schoenberg’s way of changing the tonality of his music. Instead of
using major and minor scales, he took each of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale
and rearranged them into a new 12 tone scale. This became the tone row for the
piece. The original tone scale was called the prime order. Schoenberg manipulated
the prime order to make new tone rows for the same piece of music. He would
transpose it, and turn it backwards (retrograde) - and upside down - inversion.

Example
The first movement from Anton Webern’s String Quartet Op.22 is an excellent
example of Serialism.

Popular and World music

Melodies from different styles and genres came from a number of different scales:

 blues scale - rock ’n’ roll, jazz

 scales from around the world including raga, Arabic scales and pentatonic
scales
Melodies were also decorated in alternative ways from the Western Classical

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tradition:

 pitch bends, often heard in Israeli folk music

 scalesfrom around the world including raga, Arabic scales and pentatonic
scales
Question
What is a whole tone scale?

Hide answer
A scale made up of whole tones only - no semitones.

Question
What is minimalist music?

Hide answer
Music which develops from a very short musical idea.

2. Harmony and tonality

Music contains notes in succession (melody) or notes in combination. When notes are played at the
same time it is called harmony. The type of harmony created in a piece of music or a song is the
tonality of the music.

Chords
Two or more notes sounding together are known as a chord.

Triads
A triad is a chord of three notes. For example, C - E - G is the C major
triad. C is the root note, E is the third - an interval of a third above the
root - and G is the fifth - an interval of a fifth above the root.

Dominant and subdominant

In any major key, the chords built on the first, fourth and fifth degrees of the
scale are all major. In the key of C, these are the chords of C, F and G. They
are also sometimes called I, IV and V (for first, fourth and fifth in Roman
numerals), or primary triads.

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The chord built on the first note of the scale, I, is called the tonic. The chord built on the
fourth, IV, is called the subdominant and the V is called the dominant.

All the chords built on other notes in the scale of C are minor, except chord VII - the notes B
– D – F, which is diminished.

Sevenths
When a seventh is added to a chord this is known as a seventh chord. The dominant
seventh of a V chord can be shown by the symbol V7.

For example, G7 is made by taking the major triad of G (G - B - D) and adding an F

(G - B - D - F).

Types of chord
A concord is a chord where all the notes seem to 'agree' with each other.
It feels at rest and complete in itself.
A discord is a chord where some notes seem to 'disagree' or clash giving
an unsettled feel.
 Diatonic harmony uses notes that belong to the key.
 Chromatic harmony uses notes from outside the key to give the chords more
'colour'.

Cadences
A cadence is formed by two chords at the end of a passage of music.

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  Perfect cadences sound as though the music has come to an end. A perfect cadence
is formed by the chords V - I.
 Interrupted cadences are 'surprise' cadences. You think you're going to hear a
perfect cadence, but you get a minor chord instead.
 Imperfect cadences sound unfinished. They sound as though they want to carry on
to complete the music properly. An imperfect cadence ends on chord V.
 Plagal cadences sound finished. Plagal cadences are often used at the end of hymns
and sung to “Amen”. A plagal cadence is formed by the chords IV - I.
Sometimes the final cadence of a piece in a minor key ends with a major chord instead of the
expected minor. This effect is known as a Tierce de Picardie.

Tonality
The character of a piece of music is related to its key centre or tonality:

 tonal music is in a major or minor key

 atonal music is not related to a tonic note and therefore has no sense of key
 modal music is in a mode
Two common modes are the Dorian mode and the Mixolydian mode. Modes are often
found in folk music, pop music and jazz.

Modulation

When a piece of music changes key, it is said to modulate. It is most likely to modulate to a

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closely related key.

The keys most closely related to the tonic are the dominant, the subdominant or the
relative minor or major keys.

Drone, pedal and ground bass

A drone is a held or repeated chord, usually a bare fifth, throughout a passage of
music.
A pedal is a single note that is held on or repeated in, the bass. An inverted pedal
note is a sustained or repeated note in a high register.
The chords above the bass may change, but the bass note stays the same.

In the example, the pedal note is C, which you can see in the bass part.

“Ground bass” is the term used in Baroque music where a bass part is repeated throughout the piece.
Whereas an ostinato pattern might be very short, a ground bass can last many bars before it is repeated.

Renaissance period - Harmony and tonality

General characteristics of harmony and tonality in the
Renaissance period
 Harmonies in the Renaissance period usually came from the combination
of polyphonic melodies.
 The overall tonality of the music was based on modes - types of scales
found in the Medieval and Renaissance periods - or major, or minor,
scales.

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  Thechords created by polyphony were mainly major or minor. Occasionally,
the final chords had no third and were neither major nor minor.
 Dissonant notes in chords had to be prepared and resolved.
 False relations were used to create harmonic interest.
 Drones were often used as a basic accompaniment.

Harmony from polyphony

In vocal music, chords were formed from the individual melody lines interweaving,
or polyphony. These were usually major or minor chords. The score below is from
Sicut Cervus by Giovanni Pierlugi da Palestrina. The notes on the first and third
beats of the bar form part of a chord in G major - the key of the piece. Also, the
dissonance in the soprano line is prepared and resolved by step.

The final chord of Thomas Tallis’ If ye love me is an open fifth – there is no

third. This is frequently found in Renaissance music.

False relation
A false relation is a type of dissonance that occurs in Renaissance music. It is a
harmonic clash that happens when a note in one part is played or sung at the same
or immediately before or after a chromatically altered version of the same note in
another part. The example below is from William Byrd’s Ave verum corpus. The F
sharp and F natural are sung very close to each other in the tenor and bass parts.

Baroque period - Harmony and tonality

General characteristics of harmony and tonality in the

Baroque period
 Musicthroughout the early to mid-Baroque was composed using modes. The move
to establishing a system of 12 major and minor keys took place within the
mid- to late Baroque period. By the end of the Baroque, moving into the
early Classical period, composers were writing music in keys not modes.
 Chordswere usually diatonic - major or minor - with the occasional use of
chromaticisms to give added ‘colour’ to chords.
 Theuse of ground bass was common in many compositions by Johann Sebastian
Bach and George Frederick Handel.

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Tonality
The development of equal temperament enabled the 12 major and minor keys to be
established. This was the most significant thing to happen to the tonality of
Baroque music.

Harmony
The chords used in major and minor tonalities were also major or minor - or
diatonic.

Ground bass
The use of ground bass was common in the Baroque period. Composers would use a
ground bass to structure their music. They made the harmonies above the ground
bass change, and the placement of the phrases also varied. One of the most well-
known examples of a ground bass is in “Dido’s Lament”, from Henry Purcell’s
Dido and Aeneas.

Henry Purcell’s Music for a while also contains a ground bass.

Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a type of composition which contains a ground bass. Bach wrote
many such pieces, particularly for organ.

Classical period - Harmony and tonality

General characteristics of harmony and tonality in the
Classical period
 Tonality was diatonic - in a major or minor key.
 Diatonicchords - mainly the primary chords - were used, with occasional
chromaticisms.
 Regular cadences were used to punctuate balanced classical phrases.
 Thetwo main chords were the tonic and dominant chords - chords I and V -
with some diminished seventh chords.
 Music often modulated to closely related keys.

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Use of primary chords and cadences
Music from the Classical period is mainly based on the primary chords - I, IV
and V, and the secondary chords - II, III, VI and VII.

Diminished chords

\
Question
In which key is the above chord found?

Reveal answer
A seventh is often added to a diminished chord, making it a diminished seventh. If
you added a B flat to the chord above, it would be a diminished seventh. The
interval between all the notes is a minor third.

Cadences
All four cadences can be found in Classical music. Perfect and plagal cadences are
used to end musical phrases. Imperfect and interrupted cadences are used at the
midpoint of phrases as they do not sound ‘complete’, ie the music has to move on
before it resolves onto the main chord of the particular key that it is written
in.

Examples
Haydn’s Symphony No. 101 in D major, ‘The Clock’, is in a major key and uses
mainly diatonic chords:

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A dominant seventh is used at the end of the phrase before the first time bar. This was
typical of a perfect cadence in the Classical period.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Josef Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven enjoyed giving a little
more harmonic interest to their music by adding chromaticisms. Listen to the opening of
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata no.8 in C minor, ‘The Pathetique’. Beethoven’s use of
the diminished chord adds drama and tension to the music.

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Modulations
In the Classical period, composers used modulations to help provide contrast between key
musical ideas or sections within their pieces. For example, if the first key melody was in the
tonic key, the second key melody might be in the dominant key.

In common musical forms of the Classical period, such as sonata form, modulations to the
dominant, subdominant and relative minor keys are all fairly common in the development
section, ie the section after the exposition. The exposition is where the key ideas of the music
are introduced.

Romantic period - Harmony and tonality

General characteristics of harmony and tonality in the
Romantic period
 Chromatic harmony was used more frequently than in earlier periods.
 Composers added more notes to their chords to form extended chords.
 Composers used dissonance to make their music more expressive.
 Music was modulated to more distant keys than those used by composers in the
Classical period.
 Some music became tonally ambiguous. This was developed further in the 20th
century.

Chromatic harmonies
Composers added chromatic notes to their chords and melodies to make their music
more expressive. In the slow movement of Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.
2, the opening flute melody contains chromatic notes as well as accompanying
chords. These dissonances usually resolve to consonant chords - or diatonic chords
- which creates a feeling of tension and release.

Extended chords in Impressionism

Extended chords are chords which have extra notes – through adding thirds on top
of the seventh, ninth, eleventh, thirteenth etc. Extended chords were frequently
used by Claude Debussy.

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The effect of extended chords is a blurred sense of harmonic direction, which suited Impressionist music.

Early 20th century - Harmony and tonality

General characteristics of harmony and tonality in the
early 20th century
In the 20th century, composers thought about different approaches to tonality and
harmony. A number of movements developed their own harmonic languages:

 expressionism, including serialism

 minimalism - where harmony and tonality evolved out of repeated cells
 atonal music
Some features of these styles are:

 harmonic clusters
 micro-tonality and the use of quarter-tones
Traditional and tonal harmonic patterns were also developed, such as the 12-bar
blues.

Dissonance
Expressionist music was extremely dissonant. Diatonic chords were rarely used and
there were very few, if any, clear cadences. Listen to Arnold Schoenberg’s
Peripetie from his Five Orchestral Pieces.

Schoenberg also developed a new system to replace tonality in his music. This was
called serialism. Instead of using major and minor scales, Schoenberg took the 12
tones of the chromatic scale and reordered them in any way he wanted. He would
then base his composition on this rearranged tone row. The tone row would be
manipulated throughout the piece - including being played backwards and upside
down. An example of serialism can be found in Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire.

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Micro-tonality
As well as creating extreme dissonances, some composers wrote music that included
microtones - intervals smaller than a semitone. The sound came across to the
listener as dissonance. Quarter tones, or half a semitone, were also used. They
are a type of microtone. Béla Bartók and Charles Ives both used microtones in
their music. Listen to Bartók’s Sonata for Violin - ssz 117- to hear this effect.

12-bar blues
In modern popular music, tonality and harmony are simple. The 12-bar-blues chord
sequence became the foundation of rock ’n’ roll music.

Phrase 1 C (tonic) C (tonic) C (tonic) C (tonic)

Phrase 2 F (subdominant) F (subdominant) C (tonic) C (tonic)

Phrase 3 G (dominant) F (subdominant) or G (dominant) C (tonic) C (tonic)

You can hear an example of 12-bar blues style in Bill Haley and his Comets’ Rock
around the Clock.

3. Structure
Most music is divided into different sections. These can be identified by keys,
melodies, lyrics or chord sequences. The different sections form the structure of
a piece or song.

Structures
Composers use structure to shape and give balance to their music. Like the other
musical elements, certain musical structures were used in different musical
periods. For example, binary form was mainly used in Baroque dances, and sonata
form was used mainly in the Classical period.

How to identify the structure of a piece

When you are trying to identify the structure of a piece of music, you will often
find at least one of the following features will help you identify the different
sections of the music.

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Repeated sections
You might be able to find sections that are repeated and then be able to work out
if there is a pattern.

Double bars
You might see a double bar line (sometimes with a repeat) at the end of a section.
This can help you identify the starts and ends of sections.

Keys and cadences

Conventionally, some structures modulate to specific keys at certain points in the
music. There are likely to be clear cadences at the end of sections, mainly to
indicate a change of key.

Melodies
Depending on the period of the music, some sections have distinctive melodies.

Textures
Some music may change texture between sections, or create significant textures at
the beginning or end of sections.

Words
Repeated text, such as a refrain or a chorus, can be used to give a piece of music
structure.

We often label different sections in music with letters, such as A, B or C. This

makes it clear when a section is repeated. For example, ABA has three sections,
where the second section A is the same as or very similar to the first section A.

Renaissance and Baroque periods -

Structure
A number of forms were developed in the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Structures in the Renaissance period were mainly based on the text being used.
Religious music was written to be sung by choirs in churches. It often took the
form of masses or motets. The congregation would not have sung at all. Outside the
church, the madrigal was a popular song form and there were also many types of
dance music, eg the galliard or the pavane.

Binary form - AB
Binary form has two sections. It was commonly used by Baroque composers -

27
especially in dances. Binary form also followed some conventions in terms of
tonality:

 SectionA - begins in the tonic key, ends in the dominant key and is
usually repeated.
 Section B - begins in the dominant key and returns to the tonic key.

Ternary form - ABA

Ternary form is made up of three sections. It was commonly found in the minuet and
trio in Baroque dances. It then evolved into a movement within the Classical
symphony. The repeat of section A is not always exact, but is very close to the
opening section.

Ritornello form - ABACA

In ritornello form, the section A returns between each new section. It was
commonly used in the Baroque period. The ritornello section - A - would often
return in keys related to the tonic, for example, the dominant or the relative
minor. If the original section was long, it would often return in a shortened
version. The sections between the ritornello sections are called episodes.
Ritornello form evolved into rondo form in the Classical period. Ritornello form
can be found in many concerti grossi, such as Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg
Concertos.

Da capo aria - ABA

This was a common form found in several types of vocal music including operas by
composers such as George Frederick Handel and oratorios - perhaps the most famous
is Handel’s Messiah. A da capo aria is one where the voice returns to the top
of the movement (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.
“He was despised” from Handel’s Messiah is an example of a da capo aria.

Ground bass
A ground bass is a repeated bass line over which harmonies and melodies change.
Ground bass was popular in Baroque music. An example can be found in Henry
Purcell’s Music for a While or “Dido’s Lament” from Dido and Aeneas.

Question
Give the name of the structure in which there are two different sections?

Hide answer

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 Binary

Classical and Romantic periods - Structure

Structures and forms that were established in the Baroque period were developed
into longer and more complex structures during the Classical and Romantic periods.
As melodies and phrases became longer, so did individual sections.

Sonata form
Sonata form was a new structure that evolved from the Baroque forms of the
Classical period. It was usually the form of the first movement of sonatas,
symphonies and concertos.

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.

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

 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.
 In the development section the material from the exposition
is transformed. The music goes through several modulations, or key
changes.
 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.
In the Romantic period, composers further developed sonata form. Instead of
modulating to the dominant, composers would choose keys which were less related).
Sections were much longer in the Romantic period, with development sections
modulating to more distant keys as well.

Cadenza
The cadenza is a section found in the Classical concerto. It is a brilliant
dramatic solo passage where the soloist plays, and the orchestra pauses and
remains silent.

The cadenza:

 is usually played towards the end of the first movement

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  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

Minuet and trio

The minuet and trio was often found in symphonies as an additional third movement,
which came before the final movement. The minuet and trio originated from the
Baroque dance form. The overall form of the minuet and trio is ternary, but within
each section there is usually binary form. After the trio, the minuet returns but
without the repeats:

Minuet (A) A :||

B :||

Trio (B) A :||

B :||

Minuet (A) A

Rondo Form - ABACA

Rondo form evolved from the Baroque ritornello form and was often found as the
final movement in a symphony, sonata or concerto. Section A returns in related
keys.

Question
What is the name of the section where an instrument plays unaccompanied and
with virtuosity?

Hide answer
Cadenza

Early 20th century - Structure

As with other musical elements, the early 20th century was a time when structure
and form were developed in many different ways. A number of forms evolved in

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popular and world music traditions.

Popular music
12-bar blues
This form was popular in rock ’n’ roll, and was originally the basis of blues
music.

Phrase 1 C (tonic) C (tonic) C (tonic) C (tonic)

Phrase 2 F (subdominant) F (subdominant) C (tonic) C (tonic)

Phrase 3 G (dominant) F (subdominant) or G (dominant) C (tonic) C (tonic)

Verse-chorus structure
The structure of verse-chorus became the foundation for 20th century popular
music. A chorus was the section that was repeated and had the same music and
words. Verses had the same music but different lyrics. Within this structure,
songwriters also included intros and outros, the middle 8, instrumental breaks
and bridges between verses and choruses.

32-bar structure
What is known as the 32-bar structure became popular in early 20th century US
popular music, and can be found in many of George Gershwin’s and Cole Porter’s
songs. The form is AABA, each section being eight bars long. A famous example is
Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen.

World music
Below are examples of two World music styles that demonstrate how different music
from different parts of the world are from Western Classical music.

Indian raga
Indian ragas are based on the rag - an Indian scale - and are quite different from
Western styles. A typical raga has the following structure:

 Alap- slow and unmetred. An unaccompanied sitar explores and improvises on

the notes of the raga.
 Gat 1 - a fixed composition that is heavily ornamented.
 Gat 2 - the tempo becomes faster with more improvisation.

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Samba

Samba is one of many world music styles that is based on ostinatos. Each instrument in the
band has its own ostinato within each section. There can be as many as six ostinatos per
piece. Each of the sections is called a groove. Between these grooves are breaks and mid-
sections.

Question
Which three chords can you find in the 12-bar blues?

Hide answer
I, IV and V.

4. Tempo, metre and

rhythm
Tempo, metre and rhythm are vital in all forms of music. Tempo is the underlying beat of the music.
Metre is the organisation of rhythms into certain regular patterns. Rhythm is the organisation of
particular sounds by their length. Without tempo, metre and rhythm, music would be disorganised and
chaotic.

Metre and rhythm

Speed or tempo
The tempo of a piece of music is the speed of the underlying beat. Like a
heartbeat, it can also be thought of as the ‘pulse’ of the music.

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Tempo is measured in BPM, or beats per minute. One beat every second is 60 BPM. Sometimes the
tempo is written at the beginning of the music and is called a metronome marking. Tempo and stylistic feel
are often indicated in classical music by Italian terminology.

Here are some of the common Italian musical terms and their meanings.

Musical terms
Music Term Meaning

Largo Slowly and broadly

Andante Fairly slow - at walking pace

Moderato At moderate speed

Allegro Fast

Vivace Lively

Presto Very quick

Accelerando Gradually speeding up

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 Music Term Meaning

Rallentando Gradually slowing down

Ritenuto Immediately slower

Allargando Getting slower and broadening

Literally 'robbed time', where rhythms are played freely

Rubato
for expressive effect

Rhythm notation
Rhythm notation shows the duration of a note. Watch the video to hear the
difference in note length and see the durations of different types of note.

A semibreve lasts for four crotchet beats.

A minim lasts for two crotchet beats.
A quaver lasts for half a crotchet beat - so there are two to the time of a crotchet.
A semiquaver lasts for a quarter of a crotchet beat - so there are four to the time of a
crotchet.

Time signatures

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Time signatures contain two numbers:

 the top number indicates the number of beats in each bar

 the bottom number is a symbol to indicate the type of beat
Symbols for the bottom number are:

4 = crotchet beats
8 = quaver beats
2 = minim beats

This means there are four crotchet beats in each bar

This means there are six quaver beats in each bar

This means there are two minim beats in each bar

Dotted rhythms
A dot after a note increases its value by half again:

a dotted crotchet lasts for one and a half crotchets

a dotted quaver lasts for one and a half quavers

Simple and compound time

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Common rhythms in compound time
6/8, 9/8 and 12/8 are examples of compound time.

In compound time, each beat is a dotted note.

Although 6/8 time has six quaver beats in the bar, the beat is given by two dotted
crotchets. The video shows the speed of the quaver beat then the speed of the
dotted crotchet beat. The dotted crotchet beats are on quavers one and four. The
clip then shows some common rhythms as examples of 6/8 time. It takes a specific
look at music written in 6/8 time, including tunes by Alicia Keys and Queen.

Question
In compound time, how is a beat split up?

Hide answer
In 3s or 6s

Rhythmic devices
 Syncopation is when notes are held over beats, not only offbeats.

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 Cross rhythm is the effect produced when two conflicting rhythms are heard

together. Cross-rhythms (sometimes also referred to as polyrhythms)

are combinations of layered rhythmic patterns in different meters, or
time signatures. The patterns are said to 'cross' as the downbeats, or
first beats of the bar, do not necessarily occur together, or where the
listener might expect.

 Polyrhythm is when two or more rhythms with different pulses are heard
together, eg where one is playing in triple time and another is playing in
quadruple time - three against four.

 Triplets are three notes played in the time of two.

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Hemiola

In rhythm, hemiola refers to three beats of equal value in the time normally occupied by two
beats.

A hemiola is a rhythmic device that gives the impression of the music speeding up. Music
which was originally in triple time moves into duple time. This gives the effect of triple metre
moving to duple metre. The chord changes move from once every three beats to once every
two beats.

Hemiolas are often found near the ends of cadences. A good example of this is bars 9-10 in
Handel’s “And the Glory of the Lord” from Messiah. You can hear a hemiola at 0:03-0:04
seconds in this extract:

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Diminution and augmentation
Diminution and augmentation are rhythmic devices that are often used in 20th
century music, especially in minimalist and serialist music.

Diminution is when a musical idea is repeated with the note values halved - so
the notes are shorter. Augmentation is when a musical idea is repeated but with

39
the note values doubled, which doubles the length of the idea.

Offbeats
Offbeats are the weaker beats of the bar. In 4/4 time, these are beats 2 and 4.
The combination of on and offbeats can often form an ‘um-cha’ accompaniment,
which is used in a variety of periods and styles. Offbeats are often used in
reggae music:

In typical Western music time, counted as "1 2 3 4, 1 2 3 4...", the first beat of the bar (downbeat)
is usually the strongest accent in the melody and the likeliest place for a chord change, the third is the next
strongest: these are "on" beats. The second and fourth are weaker—the "off-beats". Subdivisions (like
eighth notes) that fall between the pulse beats are even weaker and these, if used frequently in a rhythm,
can also make it "off-beat".

Upbeat/anacrusis
An upbeat is when a musical phrase starts just before the bar line. This is also known as
an anacrusis. You can hear this in the opening of Mozart’s Symphony No. 40.

40
1 and 3 are downbeats,
2 and 4 are upbeats. Being “on the beat” means playing at the same time

as a beat. Playing “off the beat” means playing in between two beats.

Rubato
Rubato is when the performer is given the freedom to relax the tempo and hold it back. This
can be heard in Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude, towards the end of this extract:

Question
What is an anacrusis?

Hide answer
An upbeat

Rhythmic characteristics of dance forms

Many dance forms are recognisable by their tempo, metre and characteristic
rhythms. These rhythms also have an impact on the dance steps for each form.

Salsa
Salsa is lively dance music with many different styles. It originated
in Cuba and has African and Spanish influences. It is very popular in Cuba,
Puerto Rico and New York.

Salsa music:

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  has a time signature of 4/4
 uses clave rhythms - usually played by claves - which provide the
rhythmic foundation
 has melodic and rhythmic syncopation
 uses simple harmony based on repeated chord patterns, often in the minor
key
 uses call and response vocals in which the leader sings a line - the
call and is answered by a chorus - the response
 usually has a structure of simple melodies followed by coro, or improvised
sections
 uses lyrics of love and everyday life
The clave rhythm is a syncopated rhythm grouped in 3 + 2 or 2 + 3:

Tango

Tango is a sensuous paired dance that originated in the 1880s in the slums and bars of
Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tango can be identified by its rhythmic characteristics. It has:

 four beats in a bar

a syncopated ostinato (repeated) rhythm
 accented notes
Here are the two main rhythms found in a tango:

Habenara

Habanera is a variation on the tango that comes from Cuba. It is based on a dotted rhythm,
which also appears in some other tango influenced dances. The most well-known habanera
is from George Bizet’s Carmen.

Merengue

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Merengue was originally the national dance of the Dominican Republic and has African and
Spanish influences. Its rhythmic characteristics include:

a fast 2/4 beat

 catchy melodies and rhythms
 syncopated rhythms played on a tambura (a double-headed drum)

Bossa nova

Bossa nova means ‘new trend’. It is a fusion of samba and jazz. Its rhythmic characteristics
include:

a fast 4/4 or 2/4 beat

a rhythm with a ‘swaying’ feel
Here is a typical bossa nova rhythm:

Rumba

The rumba is a slow dance in 4/4 time. This rhythm is the foundation of the rumba and can
be heard in accompaniments and melodies:

A well-known example of the rumba is the Jamaican Farewell.

Question
The clave rhythm can be found in which style?

Hide answer
Salsa

The clave (/ˈklɑːveɪ, kleɪv/; Spanish: [ˈklaβe])[1] is a rhythmic pattern used as a tool for temporal organization

43
in Brazilian and Cuban music. In Spanish, clave literally means key, clef, code, or keystone. It is present in
a variety of genres such as Abakuá music, rumba, conga, son, mambo, salsa, songo, timba and Afro-
Cuban jazz. The five-stroke clave pattern represents the structural core of many Cuban rhythms.[2]

The key to Afro-Cuban rhythm[edit]

The son clave rhythm

Son clave Play duple ⓘ and triple ⓘ

Rumba clave Play duple ⓘ and triple ⓘ

Both patterns shown in simple meter (duple-pulse) and compound meter (triple-pulse) structures

Rhythmic characteristics of popular music

Different styles of popular music can be characterised by distinctive rhythms.

General features of swing, jazz and blues

The features below can be found in jazz and blues styles. Not all features will be
found in all pieces.

 swing rhythms
 syncopations

 walking bass
Swing rhythms
Swing rhythms occur when straight quavers are relaxed into a more triplet feel:

44
A very famous example of the use of this rhythm is Glenn Miller’s In the Mood.
The swing rhythm is found in many jazz styles, including the boogie woogie.

Syncopation
Syncopation is when the offbeats in a metre - eg beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time - are
given a greater degree of emphasis than the main beats - eg beats 1 and 3 in 4/4
time. Rhythms that fit in between the beats of a bar can be described as
syncopated.

In many forms of jazz, syncopated rhythms in the melody and accompaniment create
complex rhythms. This is particularly relevant in sections of jazz where musicians
explore syncopation through improvisation. New melodies in jazz are often formed
as a result of experimentation with syncopated rhythm.

Walking bass
A walking bass is when the bass player plays crotchets and ‘walks’ up and down
either the blues scale or arpeggio.

Other popular styles

Ska
Ska is a type of fast dance music that emerged in the late 1950s. Ska music:

 fuses American rhythm 'n' blues (R'n'B) with mento rhythms

 useselectric guitars and a jazzy brass section - trumpets, saxophones and
trombones
 uses characteristic offbeat jumpy rhythms
 has lyrics about local issues
Here is an example of a ska rhythm:

Question
How would you describe syncopation?

Hide answer
Offbeat rhythms

Rocksteady
Rocksteady is a type of dance music that emerged in the mid-1960s. It is
characterised by:

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  rhythms more relaxed than ska
 stresses on beats 2 and 4
 loud bass guitar playing steady 4/4 beat
 political themes in lyrics

Reggae

Reggae is a much slower form of music than ska and emerged in the 1960s. It is
characterised by:

 electric guitars and drums line-up

 amplified bass guitar riffs - short repeated patterns

 an association with Rastafarianism - a religious movement worshipping Haile Selassie

 a rhythm in 4/4 with emphasis on the missing beat

 use of repeated offbeat quavers

 use of dub remixing techniques where effects such as delay are added

 simple chord sequences

 verse-chorus form

 political themes in the lyrics

World Music

When it comes to music from around the world, each style has its own approach to
rhythm and metre.

Indian classical music

In the Indian raga the rhythms are played on a tabla. Rhythms in Indian classical
music are based on rhythmic cycles.

Tala

The tal is a repeating rhythm pattern usually played by the tabla - small drums. It usually has
between six and sixteen beats. The beats are grouped into small sections within the pattern.
The first beat of the cycle is known as sam. It marks the beginnings and ends of
improvisations so it is often accented.

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Tintal is the most common tal. It has the following characteristics:

 16 beats (4 + 4 + 4 + 4)
 four sections beginning on the first, fifth, ninth and thirteenth beats
A drone is a note held (or repeated) throughout a passage of music. It is the
sound usually heard first, stating the tonic note, Sa.

The drone is now often played by an electronic box, but is more traditionally
played on a tanpura.

A drone is provided by a tanpura playing the notes Sa and Pa which in this case
correspond to the notes D and A.

It is common to mark tala by hand claps and waves. In tintal, the beginning of
the first, second and fourth sections is marked by a clap, but the beginning of
the third section is weaker and this is shown by a wave of the hand.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

clap clap wave clap

Latin American and South American rhythms

Music with Latin American influences includes salsa, samba and rumba.

The clave rhythm is found in all these styles, particularly in salsa.

Indonesian gamelan

The use of repeated musical ideas is a key feature of gamelan.

Rhythmic ostinato is used to create textures based on layers of sound. Listen to
some gamelan here:

Question
What is the name of the rhythm found in most Latin American and South American musical styles?

Hide answer
Clave

5.Dynamics and
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articulation
Dynamics are used to show what volume a piece of music should be played at.

Articulation is used to show how to play a note - if it should be short and spikey or

smooth.

Dynamics
Dynamics are used to show how loudly to play a piece of music.

Articulation is used to show how a note should be played or sung - eg staccato or

slur.

Look at the music below for Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

Question
What dynamics and articulations can you see?

Hide answer
pp (meaning very quiet) at the start of the piece and in bar 5. There are slurs to indicate groups of
triplets and how they should be played. The term “sostenuto” is also used, meaning sustained.

If there were no dynamics and articulation, or if there were different articulations, then the
music would sound completely different. Dynamics and articulations bring the notes on the

48
page to life.

Dynamics are alterations in the volume of a piece of music.

Dynamic marking and meaning

Dynamic marking Meaning

< Crescendo: getting louder

> Diminuendo: getting quieter

pp Pianissimo: very quiet

p Piano: quiet

ff Fortissimo: very loud

f Forte: loud

mf Mezzo forte: fairly loud

mp Mezzo piano: fairly quiet

sf Sforzando: sudden accent

> (marked near note head) Accent: emphasis on a particular note

Dynamics were rarely used in the Baroque and Classical periods. In the Romantic period and
beyond, dynamics were used to create dramatic effects.

Dynamics beyond pp and ff are used occasionally. Tchaikovsky uses ppp and fff to
emphasise important moments - he even uses pppppp for a bassoon solo in his sixth
symphony, The Pathétique. Holst uses ffff in “Mars” from The Planets.

Articulation
Articulation shows how smoothly something is played.

Legato is Italian for 'linked together'. It means that notes should be played
smoothly. Notes are joined by curved lines.

Staccato is Italian for 'detached'. It means that notes should be played short and sharp. It is indicated by
short vertical strokes or dots above or below the note.

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Legato marks are often used to indicate phrase lengths. These can indicate places for
singers to breath. They also help instrumentalists to make sense of phrase lengths.

In the opening phrase of ‘Ba Ba Black Sheep’ the legato phrase mark indicates a phrase
length instead of specific slurring between the notes.

Other forms of articulation

Some types of articulation are specific forms of staccato or legato.

The following symbols appear either above or below notes to show their articulation.

Italian terms
Most tempo and expression markings are written in Italian.
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Tempo
Here are some Italian terms used to describe tempo:

Largo Slowly and broadly

Andante Fairly slow, at walking pace

Moderato At moderate speed

Allegro Fast

Vivace Lively

Presto Very quick

Accelerando Gradually speeding up

Rallentando Gradually slowing down

Ritenuto Immediately slower

Allargando Getting slower and broadening

Literally 'robbed time', where rhythms are played freely for

Rubato
expressive effect

Articulation
Term Meaning

Legato Notes should be played smoothly

Staccato Notes are shortened

Tenuto A note to be played for its duration

Sforzando A note should be given sudden emphasis, similar to an accent

This is a type of accent associated with string playing. Pressure

Marcato needs to be placed on the bow and then released quickly and
explosively.

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Ties vs Slurs

A note tie is a curved line that joins two notes of the same pitch (This

means they’re on, or between the same line on the stave). The second

note is not played but its value is added to the first note. For

example, two quarter (Crotchet) notes that are tied together will be held

for 2 beats. Ties are used when a note is too long, and it needs to

be carried over to the next bar, or when there isn’t an alternative way of

showing you how long the note is. (meaning it is bigger than a double

whole note, the biggest representation of a notes value using a single

symbol)

Ties are seen either underneath notes (when the stems of the notes are

pointing up) or above notes (when the stems of the notes are pointing

down).

A slur looks very similar to a note tie, below is the difference.

Notice, with a slur there is a note change whilst it is still tied. So what

does that mean? Basically, it means during the note change there should

52
be no transition. It should be played in Lagato, and smoothly. Lagato

simply means ‘Tied together’ in Italian. If you’re talking about a slur

vocally, it means that a syllable should be sung to several notes (It should

last for more than one note). That’s effectively what you’re doing if you

play a slurred note on keyboard. For players of Wind Instruments a Slur

means to play 2 or more notes in the same breath without using the tongue

to separate the notes.

Legato vs Slurs

Legato is a technique, whereas a slur is a marking. Legato technique is required for slurred
performance, but unlike slurring (as that term is interpreted for some instruments), legato does
not forbid rearticulation. In standard notation legato is indicated either with the word legato
itself, or by a slur (a curved line) under the notes that are to be joined in one legato group.

6. Sonority (Timbre)
In the Baroque and Classical periods, conventions dictated how composers would use
the instruments. In the Romantic period, composers began to move away from these
conventions. By the end of the Romantic period and into the 20th century,
instruments were increasingly selected for the qualities of their sounds. Debussy
and Ravel were particularly well known for this.

Timbres were often chosen by Romantic composers to create a specific effect. This
video shows how Saints-Saëns uses timbre in his Danse Macabre.

It is important to learn the differences between sonority, instrumentation and

orchestration.

Instrumentation
Instrumentation refers to the instruments or voices used in a composition. It also
refers to specific instrumental techniques. Specific instrumental techniques are
often used to create different timbres.

Orchestration

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The orchestration of a piece of music is how the instruments are arranged together
or scored, ie which instruments (or instrumental families) play the melody and
which play the accompaniment.

Techniques
Instrumental techniques are the ways in which an instrument can be played. Here
are some examples:

Sonority - strings
Western music

World music
As well as western instruments, other stringed instruments are found around the world.

Music of India

North Indian instruments

North Indian classical music ensembles have only a handful of players. Mostly, they play
their instruments sitting on the floor. There are usually three elements in the ensemble:

 soloist - either a singer or an instrumentalist playing the melody

 percussion - usually tabla
 drone - usually a tanpura, harmonium or electronic box
Here are more details about some of the solo instruments.

The sitar

54
  Is a long-necked plucked string instrument with movable frets and a gourd resonator.

 Is played by plucking the strings with a metal plectrum.

 Has six or seven main strings and twelve or more sympathetic strings running underneath them,
which resonate in sympathy

 Has a characteristic shimmering sound.

The sarod

 Is a plucked string instrument.

 Is shorter than the sitar and has no frets.

 Is played by plucking the strings with a large wooden plectrum.

 Has main strings and sympathetic strings.

 Can be played by sliding up and down the strings, producing ornaments.

 Sliding effects distinguish the sarod from the sitar.

The sarangi

55
  Is a fretless bowed instrument.
 Is held in the lap.
 Has three main strings and as many as 36 sympathetic strings.
The esraj

 Is a bowed string instrument.

 Is played sitting on the floor, like the sarangi, but has frets, like a sitar.
 Has a number of sympathetic and drone strings.

Orchestration
The string section (violin, viola, cello and double bass) is the foundation of the orchestra. The
string orchestra is also its own ensemble. String instruments have been used as solo
instruments from the Baroque period through to the 20th century. You can hear a solo violin
in the concerto here:

String techniques

Pizzicato, glissando, staccato, tremolo, vibrato and a variety of other instrumental techniques
are demonstrated in this video.

Pizzicato: Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument with the fingers.

Glissando: In music, a glissando (Italian: [ɡlisˈsando]; plural: glissandi, abbreviated gliss.) is a glide from
one pitch to another (Playⓘ). It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, "to glide". In
some contexts, it is equivalent to portamento, which is a continuous, seamless glide between notes.

Staccato: Staccato ([stakˈkaːto]; Italian for "detached") is a form of musical articulation. In modern
notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, [1][2] separated from the note that may follow by silence. [3] It
has been described by theorists and has appeared in music since at least 1676. [4]

Staccatissimo: In musical notation, staccatissimo (plural: staccatissimi or

the anglicised form staccatissimos) indicates that the notes are to be played extremely separated and
distinct, a superlative staccato. This can be notated with little pikes over or under the notes, depending

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on stem direction, as in this example from Bruckner's Symphony No. 0 in D minor:

Tremolo: In music, tremolo (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtrɛːmolo]), or tremolando ([tremoˈlando]), is a trembling

effect. There are two types of tremolo: either a rapid repetition of a note, or a variation in volume.

Vibrato:

Vibrato (Italian, from past participle of "vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular,
pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically
characterized in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation ("extent of vibrato") and the speed with
which the pitch is varied ("rate of vibrato").[1]

Vibrato and tremolo[edit]

Spectrogram illustrating the difference between tremolo and vibrato

The terms vibrato and tremolo are sometimes used interchangeably, although (in the classical world) they
are properly defined as separate effects. Vibrato is defined as a periodic variation in the pitch (frequency)
of a musical note that is perceived as one fundamental frequency. Tremolo, on the other hand, is defined
as a fast repetition of the same note (usually a semiquaver) or alternation between two notes, especially
on instruments which do not have the ability of producing long sustained notes, such as the guitar (for

57
instance tremolo picking).

Sonority - woodwind

Folk music features a range of wind instruments including bagpipes and whistles.

The use of woodwind instruments depends on the period of music. In the Baroque period
woodwind instruments were generally independent from the strings and had their own
melodic line. Woodwind instruments used in the Baroque period included oboes, recorders,
flutes and occasionally bassoons. You can hear flutes accompanied by strings in the opening
of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.

In the Classical period, woodwind instruments typically played more of an accompanying role. You can
hear this in Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 here:

In the Romantic period and the 20th century, woodwind instruments became more
individually important and composers often used single instruments for their particular
sonorities.

Woodwind instruments were also used as solo instruments in concertos throughout in the
Classical and Romantic periods, and in 20th century music.

Sonority - brass

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Much like woodwind instruments, the use of brass instruments in the orchestra
depends on the period of music.

In the Baroque period the high trumpet was used in a lot of orchestral music.

In the Classical period brass instruments (French horn, trumpets) mainly

accompanied the strings. When the valved trumpet was developed by Anton Weidinger,
Haydn wrote a trumpet concerto to explore the full range of this trumpet. Mozart
also wrote five horn concertos.

In the Romantic period and beyond, brass instruments gained more independence in
orchestral music. Brass instruments were often used by composers for their
distinctive sonorities.

Techniques
As well as general instrumental techniques, brass writing often includes the use
of mutes. A mute in a brass instrument makes the music quieter and changes the
sonority of the instrument. You can hear this in the head section of Miles Davis’
All Blues:

The ‘wah wah’ effect of a brass instrument is created by the performer by moving a hand in and out of the
bell of the instrument (usually a trumpet).

Sonority - percussion

In the Baroque and Classical periods the percussion section of the orchestra was
limited to the timpani. During the Romantic period the percussion section grew.
Cymbals, triangles and bass drums became important parts of the untuned percussion
section. The xylophone, glockenspiel and related instruments formed the tuned
percussion section. In the Romantic period and beyond, the percussion became a
much larger part of orchestral music.

World music

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Musical styles from around the world feature percussion instruments.

African drumming

African instruments – hand drum, don-don and djembe

 They are usually made from wood, metal, earthenware, or large gourds - fruit
with a hard rind.
 African drums have different shapes - tubular, bowl-shaped and friction
drums. Some have one head, others have two.
 They come in different sizes. The bigger the drum - the lower the note. The
more tension in the drum head - the higher the note produced.
 They sometimes have rattling metal and jingles attached to the outside, or
seeds and beads placed inside the drum.
 They are sometimes held under the armpit or with a sling.
One of the best-known African drums is the West African djembe (pronounced zhem-
bay). It is shaped like a large goblet and played with bare hands. The body of the
djembe is carved from a hollowed trunk and is covered in goatskin.

Talking drums imitate the rhythms and intonations of speech.

They are double-headed and belong to the family of hourglass-shaped pressure drums. They
are played with a beater. The drums can be used to imitate speech patterns or as signals to
make announcements or warnings. The pitch of the note is changed by squeezing or
releasing the drum's strings with the arm.

Samba drumming

Samba drumming involves percussion instruments such as the surdo, tamborim, agogo bells
and ganza.

Indian classical music

Tabla are important in Indian classical music. Tabla are a pair of small drums placed side by
side on the floor in front of the player. They are used mainly to keep the time, but tabla

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players sometimes interact with the soloist and may have short solos themselves. The tabla
heads are made out of goatskin with a central area which has a coating made from iron
filings and rice flour.

The smaller drum is known as the dayan , or ‘right’. It is:

 tuned to Sa
 played with the fingertips of the right hand
 quite high in pitch
The larger drum is known as the bayan, or 'left'. It is:

 played with the left hand

 playedwith the heel of the hand, which is pressed into the drum to change the pitch,
providing a distinctive sound
 deeper in pitch, providing a bass sound
Tabla playing is very difficult and it can take years to master the different strokes, or bols.
Some strokes are open (allowed to ring) and others are closed (dampened).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

clap clap wave clap wave clap

Bhangra
Bhangra originated in the Punjab region of India. Traditionally, a good harvest
was celebrated by dancing and singing songs to the sound of the dhol drum.

In Bhangra music the dhol provides a bass part. Tabla or dholak add a decorative
part above the bass.

The dhol is a large traditional North Indian drum played with cane sticks. The
tension of the dhol is adjusted to produce a bass and treble sound. It is
extremely loud.

The dholak is a double-headed hand-drum often slung from the shoulder.

Bhangra is now used to describe a high-energy style of dance music developed by

young Asians and performed at weddings, parties and clubs.

Popular music
The percussion in popular music is mostly provided by the drum kit. The main roles
of the drum players are to maintain a steady beat and to add rhythmic interest to
pop song.

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Here is a labelled drum kit:

Drum terms and techniques

Four-to-the-floor

This term refers to the four crotchets in 4/4 time played on the bass drum. Four-to-the-floor is
often used in disco music and electronic dance music.

Back beat

Back beat is when the snare drum plays on beats 2 and 4 of 4/4 time. This is often found in
pop ballads.

Drum roll

A drum roll is a rapid succession of beats sounded on a drum. It is often used to introduce an
announcement or event.

Rim shot

A rim shot is a drum stroke in which the stick strikes the rim and the head of the drum at the
same time.

Sonority - electronic instruments

Electronic instruments were developed during the 20th century. They are an
essential part of modern popular music.

Electric guitar and bass guitar

An electric guitar uses a pickup to convert the vibration of the strings into
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electrical signals. These signals are amplified when an instrument is connected to
an amplifier. The electric guitar is common in rock music and can also be found in
other types of popular music. Bass guitars have lower notes than regular electric
guitars.

Guitar techniques
Electric guitarists and bassists are able to vary the sound by using a variety of
guitar playing techniques.

Bottleneck
Bottleneck is a technique of playing guitar by sliding a tube made of metal or
glass along the guitar strings to alter the pitch. This technique is often found
in bluegrass music.

Distortion
Distortion happens when an amplified sound is changed to create a fuzzy or
growling tone on a guitar. This is usually done using a pedal. Distortion is also
called overdrive and is common in heavy metal and rock music.

Harmonics
There are two kinds of harmonic on the guitar:

Natural harmonic
A natural harmonic is a musical note produced by reducing or amplifying vibrations
of overtones on a guitar string. A natural harmonic is usually played by lightly
placing a finger on a string halfway or a quarter of the way along its length.
When the string is picked it vibrates at a higher frequency than the fundamental
tone. This produces a higher pitched overtone.

Pinch harmonic
A pinch harmonic is produced when the player's thumb or index finger slightly
catches the string at a point near the pickups after it is picked. This cancels
the fundamental tone of the string, but does not cancel its overtones. The result
is a high pitch squeal.

Pitch bend
When a guitarist bends pitch they push a string across or over the fingerboard
with the left hand. The string gets tighter and the pitch goes up. This is found
in a number of different popular music styles.

Pull offs
This technique is used by guitarists to create a more legato sound. The guitarist
picks one note on the string and then quickly uses a finger on their left hand to

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pull off the next note.

Palm mute
Palm mute is when a player places the side of the picking hand below the little
finger across the strings to be plucked, very close to the bridge. The strings are
then plucked while they are dampened. This produces a muted sound. Palm mute is
often indicated with “PM” and then a line.

Synthesiser
A synthesiser is an electronic musical instrument. It is typically operated
through a keyboard, and produces a wide variety of sounds by generating and
combining signals of different frequencies. The band Kraftwerk popularised
electronic music by using synthesisers, drum machines and vocoders.

Drum machine
A drum machine is a synthesiser designed to reproduce the sounds of a drum kit. It
was often used in disco music and continues to be used in club dance music.

Vocoder
The vocoder is a machine that synthesises the human voice. Effects and
transformations can be added afterwards.

Turntable
A turntable is a circular revolving plate on which records are placed. They are
used by DJs and also known as decks.

Computer
Computers are a very important part of modern music technology, particularly for
sampling.

There are many different forms of music composed for vocal performance.

Vocal range
Here are the main vocal ranges from highest to lowest.

Voice Description Famous examples

Treble A boy’s high unbroken voice - sometimes Ernest Lough singing Hear My

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 Voice Description Famous examples

refers to a boy soprano Prayer

Renee Fleming, Maria Callas,

Soprano A high female voice
Björk

Mezzo- Cecilia Bartoli, Katherine

A medium high female voice
soprano Jenkins, Beyoncé

Counter- Male alto or soprano, sometimes Andreas Scholl, Justin Hawkins

tenor described as falsetto of The Darkness

Alto
A high male or low female voice Janet Baker, Kathleen Ferrier
(contralto)

Pavarotti, Placido Domingo,

Tenor A high male voice
Jeff Buckley

Baritone A medium male voice Bryn Terfel, Elvis Presley

Willard White, Paul Robeson,

Bass The lowest male voice
Barry White

Solos and ensembles

In classical music the soprano, alto, tenor and bass - SATB - choir is a key part
of church music, madrigals and opera choruses.

Choral music
Different types of choir include mixed choirs - usually with parts for SATB
- male voice choirs, female choirs and a cappella ensembles.

A cappella (/ˌɑː kəˈpɛlə/, UK also /ˌæ -/, Italian: [a kkapˈpɛlla];[1] lit. 'in the style of the chapel') music is a
performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to
be performed in this fashion. The term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate
between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato musical styles. In the 19th century, a renewed
interest in Renaissance polyphony, coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often
doubled by instrumentalists, led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. [1] The term is
also used, rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.[2]

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A cappella ensembles are unaccompanied choruses. Ladysmith Black Mambazo are an a
cappella Zulu male voice choir from South Africa. African songs are usually either strophic -
split up into verses - or in call-and-response form.

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.

Listen to the call and response used in The Star and the Wiseman sung by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Notice the homophonic response parts.

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

The solo voice has been used in arias, solo songs and popular songs in all kinds of styles.

Lieder

Lieder - pronounced leeder - are German art songs from the Romantic period - roughly the
19th century.

Arias

Arias are solo songs found in operas and oratorio.

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

One of the most famous operatic tenor arias is “Nessun Dorma” - No one shall sleep - from
Puccini’s opera Turandot. This impassioned lyrical aria famously ends on a high sustained B.
The voice is accompanied by orchestra and choir.

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.

Da capo arias were common in the 18th century. A da capo aria is 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.

Pop ballads

Ballads

 Are slow, often sentimental, love songs.

 Sometimes tell a story.
 Are usually in verse-chorus form.
 Emphasise melody and lyrics - the accompaniment is often secondary.

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  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.

Folk song
British and American folk songs:

 often have a simple strummed guitar accompaniment

 are sometimes unaccompanied
 are usually in verse form - strophic
 sometimes, but not always, have choruses
 emphasise lyrics that often tell a story and sometimes have a political
message
 placesecondary importance on the accompaniment, with simple harmony and
strummed chords
Examples of well-known folk songs are The Foggy Dew, She Moved Through the Fair
and Freight Train – English, Irish and American respectively.

Vocal techniques
Different techniques are used to change the nature of the voice.

Vibrato
Vibrato is the pitch of the voice rapidly changing up and down. It gives notes
warmth and richness. This technique is used a lot by opera singers.

Falsetto
When a male singer sings in the soprano or alto range he is singing falsetto. The
voice type is known as countertenor.

Belting
Belting is when a singer uses their chest voice and pushes out the sound, often
found in popular music and jazz. The effect can sometimes sound like shouting if
not performed effectively.

Scat
Scat singing is a type of vocal improvisation using wordless or nonsense
syllables. Ella Fitzgerald was known as a scat singer.

Rap

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Rap is when an artist speaks words rhythmically and quickly over an instrumental
or electronic backing.

Beatboxing
This is when a voice imitates the sounds of a drum machine. Beatboxing is popular
in hip-hop music.

7. Texture
Some music is written with 'block' chords, some has weaving parts around the tune, and some music
has no harmony at all. These are all examples of textures in music.

Texture
Texture describes how layers of sound within a piece of music interact.

Imagine that a piece of spaghetti is a melody line. One strand of spaghetti by

itself is a single melody, as in a monophonic texture. Many of these strands
interweaving with one another (like spaghetti on a plate) is
a polyphonic texture. If all of these strands were placed directly on top of
each other and all lined up (like spaghetti in a packet), they could move together
in chords. This would be similar to a homophonic texture.

A unison texture is when all voices or instruments are singing or playing the
same melodic line, so there is no harmony. It doesn’t matter which octave the
melody is in - it is still a unison texture. An excellent example of unison
texture is when everyone in a room (adults and children) sing Happy Birthday.
Children and adults with higher voices will generally choose a higher octave than
men with lower voices, but they are all singing the same melody.

Texture - unison and monophonic

Unison
Chordal accompaniment is where different instruments or parts play or sing the
same notes. Music that has no chordal accompaniment is described as in unison.

Monophonic
Monophonic means there is only one line of music - one instrument or singer. There
is no accompaniment or secondary melody. The term monophonic can be used for
single lines - this could be solo, unison or octave doubling.

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Gregorian chant is monophonic - all the monks sing the same melody together.

Texture - homophonic texture

This literally means ”sounding together”. Homophonic music is played in block
chords. Homophonic music is also sometimes called chordal music.

An example can be found at the end of “And the Glory of the Lord” from Handel’s
Messiah.

Within a homophonic texture, other devices can be used - such as a walking bass,
pedal notes or drones. Homophonic textures are all based around chords moving
together at the same speed.

Texture - polyphony
Polyphony means “different sounds or voices”. Polyphonic music has parts that
weave in and out of each other. Polyphonic music is also sometimes
called contrapuntal music. Polyphonic music may contain an element
of imitation , where one voice or instrument copies what has just been played by
another (think of a “round” like London's Burning.)

Imitation
Imitation is where a melody in one part is repeated a few notes later in a
different part, overlapping the melody in the first part which continues. For
example, a flute may imitate a tune just played by the oboe.

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Sometimes imitations contain slight changes to the tune to make it more interesting. These
changes might be:

 changes in octave - it could be played higher or lower

 adding ornaments
 playing the same melody in notes of different duration

A fugue is a special type of polyphonic texture. Fugues always begin with a tune that is played on a solo
instrument/sung by a solo voice or produced by instruments/voices in unison. This tune is then played by
all the other instruments or voices in turn, but not necessarily at the same pitch.

Texture - heterophonic and antiphonal

Heterophonic texture
A heterophonic texture is the simultaneous variation of a single melody line. A
variation of the melody is played over the original melody. Heterophony is often
found in gamelan music.

Heterophonic textures can be heard in Baroque cantatas or oratorios, where an instrumentalist or vocalist
plays a slightly more decorated version of a melody line over the original. Here is an example of what
heterophonic texture looks like in Western classical music:

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Antiphonal texture
An antiphonal texture is when there is more than one group of instruments or voices, usually
placed in different parts of a church or concert venue. There is usually dialogue between the
two groups and melodic ideas will be passed between them.

The renaissance composer Giovanni Gabrieli used a lot of antiphony in his writing. Much of
his music was written to be performed at St Mark’s church in Venice. He was able to position
choirs and groups of instruments around the church and make the most of the different
positions of these voices and instruments. An example of this is his famous motet In
Ecclesiis.

Michael Tippett’s Concerto for Double String Orchestra is also an excellent example of
homophony - the two orchestras have a musical dialogue, playing together and individually.

Texture - melody and accompaniment

A melody and accompaniment texture is when you can clearly distinguish between the
melody and accompaniment. This could be a pop song with a solo singer accompanied
by a band or the first violins in an orchestra playing the melody while the rest
accompany. The melody and accompaniment texture was used frequently in the
Classical period.

Listen to the opening of Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G minor:

You can hear that the first and second violins are playing the melody while the
lower strings play an accompaniment. This is a typical melody and accompaniment
texture.

A song with piano or guitar accompaniment also has a melody and accompaniment
texture.

Other textural devices

Countermelody

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A countermelody is a secondary melody that is sung or played in counterpoint
with the original melody. This happens a lot in fugues.

Descant
An independent treble melody sung or played above a basic melody.

This is when an additional melody is sung or played over the top of an existing
texture. This often happens in the last verse of traditional Christmas carols,
when the sopranos are given a higher melody to sing.

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73
8. Notation
There are different ways of writing down music - this is called notation. Written music

will indicate the type and length of note to be played.

Notation

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Treble and bass clef
The notes on the treble clef look like this:

There are many different mnemonics that can be used to remember the notes on the lines (reading from
the bottom line up). One of these is the sentence Every Green Bus Drives Fast. The notes in the spaces
spell the word FACE. If you need to write notes above or below the stave, you use ledger lines and they
look like this:

The notes on the bass clef look like this:

You can remember the notes on the lines by the sentence Great Big Dogs Frighten Albert.
You can remember the notes in the spaces by the sentence All Cows Eat Grass.

If you need to write notes above or below the stave, they look like this:

Rhythm and metre

Rhythm notation shows the duration of a note. Watch the video to hear the difference in note
length and see the durations of different types of note.

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 a semibreve lasts for four crotchet beats
a minim lasts for two crotchet beats
a quaver lasts for half a crotchet beat - so there are two to the time of a crotchet
a semiquaver lasts for a quarter of a crotchet beat - so there are four to the time of a
crotchet
Using what you have learnt, can you recognise the following melodies?

Question

Hide answer
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Question

Hide answer
Mary Had a Little Lamb

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Notation - sharps and flats
When a note is sharpened it is raised. When a note is flattened it is lowered. The
keyboard in the video shows some sharps # and flats ♭.

Enharmonic notes

An F# is the same as a G♭. A B♭ is the same as an A#. These are enharmonic notes - they
are described differently but have the same pitch.

Degrees of the scale

Each degree of a scale (see melody) has a name:

Degree Name

1 Tonic

2 Supertonic

3 Median

4 Subdominant

5 Dominant

6 Submediant

7 Leading note

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Notation - key signatures
Key signatures show the key in which the music has been written. They are placed
at the beginning of the stave.

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The pattern of a major scale is: tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - semitone.

Sharps and flats - known as accidentals - are used so that this pattern can be retained no
matter which note you start on. Musical pieces are all based on scales, each scale indicating
the notes that are available from that key for the composer to use. If notes are also used from
outside the key, this is known as chromatic writing.

Notation - major and minor keys, and

chord symbols
Finding the relative minor
Harmonic minor keys are used when writing chords. There is another version of the
minor key known as the melodic minor. This is used when writing a melody.

Each key signature has two possible keys. The major key and the minor key, which
will begin on a different note. This is known as the relative minor. So G major,

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for example has a key signature of one sharp, but this is also the key signature
for E minor.

To find this, just count down three semitones (count to the left). For example,
the relative minor of C is A minor.

The pattern of a melodic minor key is: tone - semitone - tone - tone - tone - tone
- semitone ascending and tone - tone - semitone - tone - tone - semitone - tone
descending.

Harmonic minors use the relative major key signature and raise the seventh note of
the scale. For example, in A harmonic minor there are no sharps or flats other
than the raised seventh of G#.

Minor scales
There are two kinds of minor scales - the melodic minor scale and the harmonic
minor scale. In the melodic minor scale, the sixth and seventh degree are raised
on the way up and flattened on the way down. You can see this in the scales below:

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The harmonic minor scale has an augmented second between the sixth and seventh degree of the scale,
both on the way up and on the way down:

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The characteristics of these minor scales mean that triads based on these degrees of the
scale make different kinds of chords. These chromatic alterations have been the basis of a
whole range of musical styles.

For example, the triads in C major are as follows:

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Triads can be indicated by Roman numerals of the degrees of the scale.

In the jazz styles of Gershwin and Kern, the dominant seventh was often substituted with an
augmented chord.This gave the tonic-dominant a new and modern feel. This can be heard in
Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man from Jerome Kern’s Showboat.

Notation - articulation
Articulation is how smoothly something is played.

Legato is Italian for 'linked together'. It means that notes should be played
smoothly. Notes are joined by curved lines.

Staccato is Italian for 'detached'. It means that notes should be played short
and sharp. It is indicated by short vertical strokes or dots above or below the
note.

Legato and staccato marks are shown in the scores shown in the video below:

Legato marks are often used to indicate phrase lengths. These can indicate places
for singers to breath. They also help instrumentalists to make sense of phrase
lengths.

In the opening phrase of Ba Ba Black Sheep the legato phrase marks indicate a
phrase length instead of specific slurring between the notes.

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Other forms of articulation
Some types of articulation are specific forms of staccato or legato

The following symbols appear either above or below notes to show their
articulation.

Notation - dynamics
Dynamics are alterations in the volume of a piece of music.

Dynamic marking and meaning

Dynamic marking Meaning

< Crescendo: getting louder

> Diminuendo: getting quieter

pp Pianissimo: very quiet

p Piano: quiet

ff Fortissimo: very loud

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 Dynamic marking Meaning

f Forte: loud

mf Mezzo forte: fairly loud

mp Mezzo piano: fairly quiet

sf Sforzando: sudden accent

> (marked near note head) Accent: emphasis on a particular note

Dynamics were rarely used in the Baroque and Classical periods. In the Romantic period and
beyond dynamics were used to create dramatic effects.

Dynamics beyond pp and ff are used occasionally. Tchaikovsky used ppp and fff to
emphasise important moments. Holst uses ffff in Mars from The Planets, Tchaikovsky uses
pppppp for a bassoon solo in his Pathétique Symphony.

Interpretation

Dynamics indicate a composer’s intentions. However, each conductor’s or performer’s

interpretation of a dynamic will be different. ‘Forte’ does not mean a certain number of
decibels - it will be interpreted by the performer to express the music. Dynamics are a way of
indicating expression and musicality, not just how loudly or quietly music should be played.

Notation - musical scores

A score is what a performer reads to find out what notes to play and in what style
to play them.

A score can range from a conventional musical score to graphic scores or lead
sheets. The start of a musical score will show what instruments the music is for.

Orchestral scores
Orchestral scores are usually laid out according to instrumental family. The
strings are at the bottom of the score, brass and percussion are in the middle,
and woodwind is at the top. Here is an example of a score for the opening of
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5:

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Lead sheets
Lead sheets are often used in jazz standards and popular music. These have a
melody line with chord indications on top. The accompanying instruments will be
expected to improvise their accompaniments based on the chords indicated. Some
lead sheets indicate improvisation with //// in the relevant bars.

Graphic scores
Graphic scores illustrate music in symbols or pictures.

Listen to this piece of music and follow the graphic notation that goes with it.

The words "The burning Thames" begin in the same way as "I must be going".

The dots indicate the approximate pitches, but not note duration.

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Contemporary scores
Some contemporary scores require interpretation by the performer. For example, in
Terry Riley's in C, performers may choose musical cells to play, and how many
times to play them, before moving on to a different cell. This is an example
of aleatoric music.

Analysis of Music for a While

https://musescore.com/user/34382/scores/2824651

The elements of music to consider

Melody
Melodies can be created by using different features which can affect such
things as to how it moves and how it is articulated. In this movement:

 the melodies of the song feature stepwise movement with passing

notes, and there are sequences
 the detached notes for the lyric 'drop' is an example of word painting
 bar 20 and 21 feature melisma on the word 'eternal'
 phrase lengths are not regular
 ornamentation is used in the harpsichord part
 there are frequent descending phrases

Harmony and tonality

These two elements can have an affect on the mood that a piece of music
creates. Purcell implements:

 dissonance and suspensions to aid the message of the lyrics and

story of Oedipus
a ground bass with chromatic notes
 Tierce de Picardie in bar 23
 false relations
 The overall tonality is A minor

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Structure
The two main techniques Purcell features are:

 the song is written in da capo aria form, which is a type of ternary

form
 the song revolves around a ground bass in the left hand of the
harpsichord and bass viol

Metre, rhythm and tempo

The metre is given by the time signature usually found at the beginning of a
score and so too can the tempo marking. Purcell chose to write Music for a
While with a repeating rhythm accompaniment that carries the message of the
song in the play. This is done by:

a simple time 4/4 metre

a continuous quaver pulse is maintained by the ground bass throughout
 performing the song slowly, but has no written tempo marking which was
common in the Baroque period

Timbre
A composer will carefully select which instruments to include in a
composition because they each bring their own unique colour, or timbre.
Purcell wanted to convey a calming moment in the play which is why he
selected:

 countertenor voice (now performed with a soprano)

 harpsichord

 bass viol

Texture and dynamics

Both of these elements can help control the intensity of the piece. The
following featuers can be heard in Music for a While:

 melody-dominated homophony
 some imitation between the voice and harpsichord right hand parts
 the left hand of the harpsichord together with the bass viol double the
same part
 there are no alterations to the dynamic level or articulation in the
performance as they are not written in the score

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The Baroque period
The Baroque period was approximately between 1600 and 1750. Most composers
were servants who provided music for wealthy families for church ceremonies,
parties and special occasions. During this time, composers wrote a lot of
music and were paid very little.

Below is a timeline showing the approximate dates for the Baroque period and
when Purcell was alive during this time.

Features of the Baroque period in Music for a While

Baroque music has some very distinct characteristics. It often featured:

 use of basso continuo

 Baroque instruments, such as the harpsichord and the bass viol
 frequent ornamentation
 limited dynamics or expression written in the score

Basso continuo

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A Baroque harpsichord

A basso continuo is a part given to an instrument that plays a bass line

and chords to accompany a melody. The performer will
sometimes improvise and decorate what they play. In the Baroque period
the instruments would have been the harpsichord, bass viol, organ or lute.

Baroque instruments

The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument where the strings are plucked rather
than hammered, like on a piano.

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This makes the harpsichord sound tinnier （weak and metallic） than the
piano. The harpsichord has no sustain pedal and playing dynamics is not
possible.

The bass viol is a large string instrument similar to a modern-day cello.

A countertenor is a male voice pitched equivalent to a female soprano.

Purcell often wrote for this vocal-pitch because it was popular in the
Baroque period. Although Music for a While was originally written for a
countertenor voice, the piece is now performed by a soprano.

Ranges of voices

soprano: C4 to A5

mezzo-soprano: A3 to F#5

alto: G3 to E5 (and contralto as F3-D5)

tenor: roughly C3 to A4

baritone: A2 to F4

bass: F2 to E4

1. Melody and harmony

Melody
The melody is mostly scalic (scale-like), with many passing notes (an
atonal note that connects two tonal notes), which often form a descending
shape, as in bar 5 when the word ‘for’ is sung. The frequent descending
phrases add to the calming mood of the piece. The phrases are also
unpredictable in length and don’t always finish at the same time as
the ground bass. Purcell uses a sequence from bar 20 to 22 in the voice.

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In bars 24 to 25, the lyric ‘drop’ is falling, which is sung an uneven nine
number of times and is detached. This is an example of word painting - to
represent snakes dropping from Alecto’s head.

In bar 20, the lyric ‘eternal’ is a drawn-out melisma (melismatic,

the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several
different notes in succession). This is another example of word painting as
it musically represents the definition.

As may be expected, in the Baroque period there is a lot of ornamentation.

The harpsichord plays a lower mordent in bar 1, an appoggiatura in bar 2
and a acciaccatura (grace note) in bar 7. The soprano sings a trill in
bar 13.

2. Harmony and tonality

The overall tonality is A minor, modulating through E minor, G major and C
major in the middle section before returning to A minor. There is use
of chromaticism in the ground bass - the F# in bar 1 and the G# and C# in
bar 2. The tonic minor key helps to create the mood of sorrow and calmness.

There is dissonance in bar 12 where the E in the melody clashes with D in

the bass line. This is another example of word painting - E clashes with D
when the lyric “pains” is sung.

There are suspensions in bar 13. Each note sung on the word 'eas’d' is
resolved by falling from a note that doesn’t belong to the chord to a note
that does. This is another example of word painting and the resolving of
dissonance.

There is a Tierce de Picardie in bar 23 - the right hand of the harpsichord

plays a C# for the first time, which changes A minor into A major.

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 Purcell implements the harmonic device to change tonality from A minor to A major

The minor to major chord change occurs in both the harpsichord and bass viol in bar 23

False relations are also used, for example the F natural (in the harpsichord) and F# (bass viol)
heard in bar 1.

Key Signatures and Tonality

Key signature is the name given to the alterations (sharps or flats) that are placed right after the clef:

These accidentals are in the same place as the notes that will change, that is, they change all notes that are in
that line or space.

Suppose you received sheet music that has a key signature with a B flat (the line corresponding to the B
note has a flat). This means that you will have to go down one semitone of all “B” notes that appear, as
shown in the example below:

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We circled the B notes in red in the Treble and Bass Clefs above to highlight them. Note that in these lines
there is a “b” indicating “flat” in the key signature. While you’re playing, you need to keep the key
signature command in mind.

How to discover the tonality by just looking at the Key

Signature?
Key signatures also help to reveal the tonality of the song. For example, think about the G major scale; it
has only one accident (F#), right? Therefore, sheet music that has F# in its key signature indicates that the
song is in G major. See other examples:

Note: Notice that the tonalities may be minor as well. In this case, instead of G major, for example, we
could have E minor (its relative minor). This cannot be concluded immediately by looking at the key
signature; it will depend on the context.

Tips to read Key Signature in practice

Perhaps what we have just shown does not seem useful if you do not know the accidents of all scales by
heart. Well, we will show you a hack to make things easier: when we have a key signature with sharps, no
matter how many, you will discover the tonality only by looking at the last sharp (note: the order is from
left to right). In the example below, this is the last sharp:

The tonality of the song will be one degree above the last sharp. In the example above, the last sharp was in
the C note, so the tonality is D major.

Note: a degree, in this case, is the next note of the line or space.

If you want to know the relative minor tonality, just take a degree below that last sharp. In the same
example above, a degree below C is B, so the tonality is minor.

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If the note you found has an accident in the key signature as well, you need to apply that accident to the
tonality. For example, in the key signature below, the last sharp is in the E note, which leads us to conclude
that the tonality is F major. But the F note has a sharp on the key signature, so the tonality is F sharp and not
F!

Key Signatures with Flat Accidentals

For key signatures with flat the rule is even simpler. The penultimate (second last) flat will indicate the
major key (accompanied by the flat alteration) and two degrees below this tone you will find the minor
key:

Note: There are only two exceptions to these rules that we have shown. The first is the key signature with
only one flat (Bb), which will indicate the tonality of F major or D minor. And the second is the empty key
signature that will indicate the tonality of C major or A minor. These two will need to be memorized!

If you look closely at the key signatures that have been shown so far, you will notice that the alterations are
registered following a logic: the sharps appear according to the sequence of the circle of fifths, starting from
the F note. And the flat alterations appear obeying the circle of fourths, starting with the B note. In practice,
knowing this is only relevant for those who are going to write sheet music.

3. Structure, Tempo, notation and

dynamics
Structure
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The piece is in da capo aria form, which is a type of ternary form.

A ground bass is used throughout. Ground bass is the term used in Baroque
music where a bass part is repeated throughout the piece and is the
foundation upon which the melody to Music for a While is written. The
repetition contributes to the calming and hypnotic atmosphere of the music.

The ground bass is first heard in full in the bass viol and the left hand
part of the harpsichord at the very beginning. It is three bars long with a
continuous quaver rhythm. The ascending shape of the ground bass represents
King Laius rising from the dead. The bottom note of each pattern rises
through A, B, C, C#, D to E. Each three bar loop ends with a perfect
cadence. The vocal phrase overlaps the cadence, which helps to create a sense
of moving forward.

Metre and tempo

Music for a While is in 4/4 simple time. The tempo is not written, but
the piece is performed slowly, to fit the context of the song. A suitable
tempo description would be largo.

Timbre and texture

This song is written at a comfortable range for a soprano. The lowest note is
E and the highest is F - just a minor ninth interval above.

The overall texture is melody-dominated homophony. Sometimes the soprano

line imitates the right hand in the harpsichord part. An example of this is
in bar 11 where the right hand plays a descending scale, immediately followed
by the soprano singing a descending scale.

The left hand of the harpsichord and the bass viol double the same part and
play in unison.

Notation, dynamics and articulation

Both syllabic and melismatic text setting is heard in the song. In bar 8.
the lyrics 'all, shall all, all' are an example of syllabic text setting,
whereas bars 20 to 21 is an example of melismatic text setting. This is
shown in the score excerpt for the lyrics 'eternal'.

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Between bars 19 and 21 are two exmples of melismas and word painting on the two
'eternal' lyrics

No dynamics or articulations are written into the score, which was usual in the Baroque
period.

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 The Elements of Music
1. ELEMENTS OF MUSIC There are several key elements of music. When combined and
used correctly they express emotion and provide us with “singable”, enjoyable pieces
that can represent time, place and even become what we use to describe who we are
and what we represent.
2. Rhythm • Definition: The patterns of long and short sounds and silences in music. • To
create a rhythm combine any variety of notes and rests together (see your note and rest
value chart). • Rhythms can and are performed throughout any piece of music by any
instrument, however, we can mostly recognize a rhythm when it is performed on a
percussion instrument.
3. Beat • Definition: A steady pulse contained in music. • Music is organized with time
signatures that indicate how many beats are found within one measure of music.
4. The top number of the time signature indicates how many beats will appear in one
measure/bar of music. 2 3 4 6 6 over 8 means 6 beats per bar 4 4 4 8 4 over 4 means 4
beats per bar
5. The bottom number of the time signature indicates what type of note receives one
beat. The 8 in 6/8 time means an eighth note receives one beat 2 3 4 6 4 4 4 8 The 4 in
4/4 time means a quarter notes receives one beat
6. The time signature appears at the beginning of the music after the clef (treble or
bass). • It does not appear in any other measure unless there is a time change
throughout the piece.
7. Tempo • Definition: The pace or speed at which a piece of music is performed. • Tempo
markings are traditionally given in Italian and the words that refer to tempo can be
categorized in the following ways:
8. SLOW • Grave – extremely slow and solemn • Adagio – very slow • Lento – slow • Largo
– slow and broad • Larghetto – less slow than largo
9. MEDIUM • Andante – rather slow, at a moderate walking pace • Andantino – a little
faster than andante • Moderato – at a moderate pace • Allegretto – fairly quick, slightly
slower than allegro
10. FAST • Con moto – with movement, or a certain quickness • Allegro – lively, rather quick
• Vivace – quick and lively • Veloce – with velocity • Rapido – rapid • Presto – very quick •
Prestissimo – as quick as possible
11. Other words that refer to Tempo • Accelerando – gradually getting quicker • Meno
mosso – less movement, slower • Ritardando – gradually getting slower • Rallentando –
gradually getting slower • Tempo rubato – robbed time
12. DYNAMICS • Definition: The volume of the sound, as well as the style in which the
performer plays the instrument/music. • It is important to not confuse how loud or soft
something is on a recorded performance. It is easy to turn up (or down) the volume
using an electronic device.
13. Dynamics • When dynamics are discussed in regards to orchestration we are referring
to how loud or soft each instrument can perform on its own, the stylistic elements that

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 support that sound and finally what dynamics they can create when combining and
performing as an ensemble or orchestra.
14. Italian Terminology
15. Variations in Volume
16. Terminology referring to “style” of playing
17. TIMBRE • Definition: The unique quality or qualities inherent in sounds that allow us to
distinguish between them. • Timber (TAMBOUR – as in “tambourine”) has also been
referred to as the tone colouring of an instrument.
18. The distinct tone quality of an instrument can be represented by the colour that
matches the sound. • Let us consider the Flute. What colour(s) would you think best
represents the sound quality of this instrument?
19. It is also important to consider how the instrument is being played. • Quickly review
in your notes some of the Italian terminology that is used to describe the styles of how
one can perform on their instrument...
20. At this point, depending on the style in which the instrument is being played, specific
colours and/or descriptive words could be used to best interpret the sounds you hear!
21. There are major differences between the families of instruments and how they
sound. • There are also differences that occur within each family. For example Flute vs.
Bassoon (both Woodwind), however very different tone qualities.
22. PITCH • Definition: The degree of highness or lowness of a sound.
23. The Staff • Music is written on a STAFF of five lines and the four spaces between 5 4 3 2
1 It is important to remember to count from the bottom up!
24. Music Notation • Music notes are oval shaped symbols that are placed on the lines and
in the spaces. They represent musical sounds, called PITCHES.
25. If the notes appear higher on the staff they sound higher in pitch. • If the notes
appear lower on the staff they sound lower in pitch.
26. Organizing Musical Sounds • Musical notes are named after the first seven letters of
the alphabet: • A B C D E F GA B C D E F G A B C ... they keep repeating over and over
and by their position on the staff they can represent the entire range of musical sound.
27. Clefs in Music Notation • Clef signs help to organize the staff so notes can easily be
read.
28. Treble Clef • The treble clef is used for notes in the higher pitch ranges. The treble clef
(or G clef) has evolved from a stylized letter G into the present:
29. The curl of the treble clef circles the line on which the note G is placed. This G is
above middle C (The C nearest the middle of the keyboard).
30. Note naming patterns – drawing and naming notes! • Take out a pencil and on a new
sheet of paper create the following – a blank staff: • Use a ruler if you have one to
ensure they are straight and even!
31. Now draw the treble clef and create 5 notes, one on each line (leave some space
between each note so that they do not stack on top of each other). Somewhat like this...
• Do not colour them in and only draw them on the five lines!
32. Now let’s name the five line notes that appear in the treble clef...

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33. Note naming patterns • In the treble staff the names of the line notes from bottom to
top are: E G B D F • This order can be memorized with the saying: Every, Good, Boy,
Deserves, Fudge Or...
34. Now recreate a new staff (including the treble clef) and fill in the four spaces using
whole notes...
35. Get ready to name them...
36. The names of notes in the spaces spell the word: F A C E
37. The Bass Clef • The Bass clef (pronounced “base”) is used for notes in the lower pitch
ranges. The bass clef (or F clef) has evolved from the stylized letter f into:
38. The two dots of the bass clef surround the fourth line, the line on which the note F is
played.
39. For a third time create a staff on your paper only this time practice drawing the
bass clef – try to place the two dots directly in the 3rd and 4th space surrounding that
fourth line. • It is very important to indicate the dots in those exact spaces or you are
not drawing the symbol correctly!
40. Now draw on the 5 line notes leaving room in between (no “snowman” or stacking!)
41. Let’s name these notes...
42. In the bass staff the names of the notes on the lines from bottom to top are: G B D F
A • The phrase that can help you memorize this order is: Good, Boys, Do, Fine, Always
Or...
43. Finally, one last time create a staff (including the bass clef) and draw on the four
space notes
44. Unfortunately the space note names do not combine to make a word. • Do you
know a phrase that can be used as a way to identify the notes of the bass clef?
45. The space notes appear from bottom to top as: A C E G • The phrase that can help
you memorize this order is: All, Cows, Eat, Grass Or...
46. MELODY • Definition: A series of pitches that move forward (the sing-able part) within a
piece of music.
47. Types of Melody • There are two types of Melody.
48. CONJUNCT • A conjunct melody is a melody that moves in stepwise motion.
49. DISJUNCT • A Disjunct melody is one that moves with more leaps (jumps) than steps.
50. HARMONY • Definition: Combinations of pitches sounding simultaneously. • Consider
two performers presenting a piece to an audience. If one instrument is performing on
whole notes while the other is playing the main melody there will be harmony.

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