Ch. 4: Music
I. Introduction.
A. What comprises music?
1. Sound.
2. Silence.
3. Beat or rhythm.
B. Music is “time made audible.”
C. The primary illusion: virtual time.
II. The Fundamental Technical Component of Music is Tone.
A. Pitch
1. The staff.
2. The chromatic scale.
a. Steps and intervals.
3. The tuning fork: pitch and ratio.
4. The major and minor scales-- how are they determined?
B. Duration
1. Notes values (whole, half, quarter, eighth).
2. Rest values (whole, half, quarter, eighth).
C. Intensity.
1. Pianissimo (very soft): pp
2. Piano (soft): p
3. Mezzo piano (moderately soft): mp
4. Mezzo forte (moderately loud): mf
5. Forte (loud): f
6. Fortissimo (very loud): ff
D. Timbre (“voice”).
III. Music History in a Nutshell.
A. Chant/plainsong (6th-7th centuries CE).
1. A cappella (Italian; lit., "church style").
2. Monophonic.
3. Spatial.
B. Renaissance Dance (16th century CE).
1. Secular (beginnings of dance as an independent discipline).
a. e.g., Jacques Moderne: "Branles de Bourgogne."
2. "Pop" music (repetitive, conducive to oral culture).
a. e.g., Orlando di Lasso: "Matona Mia Cara."
C. Baroque (1600-1750).
1. Open composition: does not “resolve” itself.
a. The canon (e.g., Pachelbel: “Canon in D”).
b. The fugue (e.g., Bach: “Art of the Fugue”).
D. Classical (1750-1830): “formal.”
1. Closed composition: resolves itself; the “coda.”
a. The Rondo (e.g., Mozart: “Rondo alla Turka”).
2. Classical influence on contemporary music.
a. Verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus, coda.
E. Romantic (1830-1900): “felt more than formed.”
1. Beethoven: “Symphony #5, 1st Movement.”
F. Symbolist/Impressionist (1890-1910): “musical haiku.”
1. Debussy: “Arabesque.”
2. Stravinsky: “The Rites of Spring.”
G. Mid 20th century composers.
1. Aleatory music (e.g., Cage: “Sonata #5”; “4:33”).
a. Prepared piano.
IV. The Subtext of Music (Text) and Culture (Context).
V. Focus on American Jazz: outline to be presented in class.
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