Seachanges with Danse Macabre Raymond Deane

This is an excerpt from Seachanges What can you hear?  Instruments are added in this order: Maracas, piano, violin, guiro, cello, piccolo  The following instrumental techniques are heard: Violin – sul ponticello, double stopping, glissando. Cello – strumming  The following compositional techniques are heard: repetition and variation of danse macabre, chord clusters

An instrumental technique is associated with how an instrument is actually played. Examples include: pizzicato, glissando, col legno, sul ponticello A compositional technique describes how a piece of music is composed. What devices are used in the music? Examples include: Subtraction, note cell, pedal point, arpeggio

Listen to the following extract from Seachanges and note some examples of the compositional and instrumental techniques used. Compositional Techniques Instrumental Techniques Cell based melody Tremolando ChromaticismGlissando Pedal points Cello strumming

What do you notice about the meter (number of beats in bars) of the piece in this section? What is important about the three notes or tones heard repeatedly in this section of the music? Comment briefly on the range of musical pitches used in this section. Name and describe THREE instrumental techniques used in this section of the work: Name and describe any ONE compositional technique used in this section of the music: Comment on how the piano part contrasts with most of the other instrumental parts in this section of the music:

What do you notice about the meter (number of beats in bars) of the piece in this section? It changes until settling on 7 beats in a bar by bar 11 What is important about the three notes or tones heard repeatedly in this section of the music? They will become the basis of much of the musical exploration in the piece – they occur in various guises throughout the piece Comment briefly on the range of musical pitches used in this section. There are extremes of range used in the opening from cello (bass clef) to piccolo (extremely high range in piccolo) Name and describe THREE instrumental techniques used in this section of the work: Sustain Pedal in piano, harmonics in violin and cello, pizzicato in cello Name and describe any ONE compositional technique used in this section of the music: Addition principle with notes of cell added one at a time Comment on how the piano part contrasts with most of the other instrumental parts in this section of the music: The piano has a descending arpeggio figure based on short note values compared to long sustained notes in other instruments.

Sample Question  Read the instructions at the start carefully. Make sure you know how many times you will hear the excerpts  Identify with highlighter pen or pencil the bars to which specific questions refer (e.g. B – (i) and (ii))  Think about the kind of vocabulary which you will need to use to describe the texture, the piano music, the changes and the instrumental and compositional techniques (remind yourself of the points made today)  Prepare yourself for any dictation by thinking about likely dictation excerpts (look at the practice examples 1,2 and 3 on the last page of the Deane section of these notes)

Marking Scheme – 25 Marks Section A (i) Section 4/ Dies Irae Melody – (2 Marks) (ii) 1, 3, 2 – (3 x 1 Marks) (iii) The texture is thin but based on a melody and countermelody – polyphonic (word and explanation required) – (1 + 2 Marks) Section B (i) Flutter tonguing – (2 Marks) (ii) It is based on series of descending chord clusters – (2 Marks) (iii) 4 quavers and 4 semiquavers – (8 x.5 Marks) (iv) It becomes more fragmented, The dynamics become quieter (2 Marks) Section C (i) Subtraction Principle (3 marks) (ii) Sustain pedal in piano, Across bridge in cello (2 + 2 Marks)