A framework for answering aural questions using the 6 concepts of music.

 Read the question carefully and take careful note of key words.  Which of the concepts are involved?  Words like unity, contrast and interest!

 On first listen work out the structure of the excerpt.  This gives you the opportunity to answer with reference to a number of sections and fills out your answer.  Use dot points or short sentences with one idea per point or sentence.

 Listen to an excerpt and write down the structure.

How sound is produced? a. Describe the mood, atmosphere and tone colour in each section using tone colour verbs and adverbs. b. Describe any changes in tone colour within sections and between sections (within a verse and between a verse and chorus for example!).

 List each performing media and specify its role in the music (main melody, counter melody, riffs, ostinato, harmonic content, accompaniment etc).  Using tone colour verbs and adverbs describe the tone colour of each performing media (eg the heavily overdriven rhythm guitar part played a melodic ostinato producing an industrial, dark and menacing tone colour).

 Describe any performing techniques that might affect the tone colour such as hammering on guitar or different kinds of mutes on brass or rim shots for drum kit.  This ties in with dynamics and expressive techniques so be explicit when describing how these effect tone colour.

 Now repeat the questions for any other sections in the except.  For classical music this might mean ABA or rondo form.  For popular music this might mean verse/chorus.

 Unity refers to anything that is the same or similar.  What aspects of a performing media and its tone colour are repetitive or consistent?  What performing techniques give the music consistency such as palm muting on guitar, bowing off the string on cello or playing the bell on the ride cymbal on drumkit.

 Contrast refers to difference and diversity!  In what ways is tone colour used to change the music? For example going from distortion to a clean sound on guitar or changing from finger style to slapping on electric bass.

 Timbre is another word for tone colour.  Construction – what is the instrument made of.  Aerophone – wind instruments.  Chordophones-stringed instruments.  Membranophones-drums covered by a membrane.  Idiophones-percussion.  Electrophones-sound produced by electronics.