1. Music: An Appreciation, Brief, 8th edition | Roger Kamien
Part i: Elements

2. Music: vital part of human society
Provides entertainment and emotional release; accompanies activities
Heard everywhere in modern life
Recorded music is a 20th-century innovation
Internet access
Portable audio
Live performance: special excitement
Experience affected by emotional state of both performer and audience
Evaluating music performances
Background music vs. active listening
Perceptive listening enhances enjoyment
Knowledge of musical elements enhances perception

3. SOUND: pitch, dynamics, tone color
Our world is filled with sounds
Sounds can be pleasant or unpleasant
Humans are able to focus on specific sounds
We can ignore sounds that do not interest us
Sound
Begins as a result of vibrating object
Transmitted through a medium: air
Causes our eardrums to vibrate
Impulses sent to brain for processing
MUSIC: organization of sounds in time
Four main categories of musical sounds
• pitch • dynamics • tone color • duration

4. pitch: relative highness or lowness of sound
Pitch is Determined by frequency of vibration
Fast vibration = high pitch; slow vibration = low pitch
Generally, smaller vibrating objects = higher pitches
In music, definite pitch is a tone
Tones, or musical pitches, have specific frequencies
frequency of a pitch is measured in cycles (vibrations) per second
* example A= 440 HZ
Irregular vibrations create sounds of indefinite pitch
Interval: distance between 2 tones
Octave: doubling/halving of frequency ** see examples
Tones an octave apart seem to blend together or sound alike
Western music divides octave into 12 tones
Nonwestern music may divide into different number
Pitch Range: distance between voice or instrument’s highest & lowest possible tones

5. dynamics Relative loudness of a sound
Related to amplitude of vibration producing sound
Changes in dynamics may be sudden or gradual
Accent: tone played louder than tones near it
Italian terms used to indicate dynamics
Extremes: ppp, pppp, fff, ffff
Crescendo: gradually louder
Decrescendo (diminuendo):
gradually softer

6. tone color (timbre) Quality that identifies an instrument’s sound
Can be bright, dark, mellow, etc.
Changes in tone color create variety and contrast
Tone colors add a sense of continuity
Specific melodies with specific tone colors
Unlimited variety of tone colors
Composers frequently blend sounds of instruments to create new tone colors
Modern electronic technique create new tone colors

7. listening outlines, vocal music guides, and properties of sound
Helps focus attention on musical events as they occur
Preceded by description of the music’s main features
Listening Outline: points out notable musical sounds
Vocal Music Guide: helps the listener follow the thought, story, or drama
*Suggestion: While listening to one passage, look ahead to what is next

8. Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC
Note:
Tone colors through instrumentation
Dynamic contrasts
LISTENING
The Firebird, scene 2 (1910)
Igor Stravinsky

9. Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC
Listen for:
Tone colors
Repeated note melody
Improvised solos
Muted brass instruments
LISTENING
C-Jam Blues (1942)
Duke Ellington

10. PERFORMING MEDIA: voices and instruments
Voices: unique ability to fuse words & musical tones
Voice range is based on physical makeup & training
Voice classifications
Female Male
soprano (highest female voice) tenor (highest male voice)
mezzo-soprano baritone
Alto (lowest female voice) bass (lowest male voice)
Vocal music is frequently performed with instrumental accompaniment

11. Musical instruments: any mechanism (other than voice) that produces musical sounds
Western instruments: 6 broad categories
string percussion
woodwind keyboard
brass electronic
Made in different sizes for range variety
Tone color may vary with the register
Provide entertainment; used for accompaniment
Instruments’ popularity rises and falls with changing musical tastes

12. string instruments Sound produced by vibrating tight cable
shorter the string and tighter the tension, higher the pitch
(& vice versa)
Orchestral bowed instruments
• violin • viola
• cello (violoncellon)
• bass (double bass)
Common playing techniques
• pizzicato • vibrato • tremolo
• double stop • harmonics • mute
Some string instruments not played with bow
Guitar & harp use plectrum (small wedge; pick)

13. woodwind instruments Traditionally, woodwinds were made of wood
In the 20th century, metal & plastic became common
The longer the tube, the lower the pitch
Holes along instrument change the length of the tube
Main orchestral woodwinds and ranges: (know all of these!)
Woodwinds: single note instrument
Sounds produced by blowing (player’s breath)
• “whistle mouthpiece” • single reed • double reed
• saxophone: single reed instrument; common in jazz

14. brass instruments Orchestral brasses (in order of range)
trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba
cornet, baritone horn, & euphonium used mainly in concert and in marching bands
Sound produced by blowing into mouthpiece
Vibration of player’s lips produces sound
Sound exits through flared end called bell
Pitch changed in 2 ways:
Pressure of player’s lips (together and against mouthpiece)
Lengthening the instrument via slide or valves
Trombone uses sliding tubes
Others use valves connected to additional tubing
Generally, the longer the tube, the lower the pitch
Tone color is altered by inserting mute into bell
Brass provides power and emphasis in music

15. percussion instruments
Sound (generally) produced by striking, shaking, or rubbing the instrument
Instruments of definite pitch produce tones
Those of indefinite pitch produce noise-like sounds
Membranes, pieces of wood or metal vibrate
The Timpani are the only orchestral drums of definite pitch
Know these below!
Percussionists must play many instruments
Percussion traditionally emphasizes rhythm
20th-century music: greater use of percussion

16. electronic instruments
Produce or amplify sound using electronics
Invented ~1904, significant impact only after 1950
Modern technology blurs lines between instrument types, recording, computer, and hybrid devices
Tape studio: main electronic tool of 1950s..composers cut & spliced tapes of recorded sounds to put musical sounds in a certain order
Synthesizers came into use in 1960s to create electronic synthesis
Huge machines first built in mid-1950s
Analog synthesis dominated until ~1980
Digital (FM) synthesis came to forefront in 1980s
Effects devices were integrated into digital synthesizers
Sampling is digital recording of live sounds (1990’s)
MIDI (1983) allowed connection of musical devices to computers
Small computers develop in 1970s & 80s
Modern composers connect these devices, use software, and write new types of music

17. Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection in CONNECT MUSIC
Listen for:
Themes, variations
Contrast
Repetition
Various orchestral instruments
LISTENING
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (1946)
Benjamin Britten

18. RHYTHM BEAT METER ACCENT and SYNCOPATION Flow of music through time
Particular arrangement of note lengths
BEAT
Recurrent pulsation
Divides music into equal units of time
METER
Grouping of beats into regular groups
2s and 3s; strong and weak beats
ACCENT and SYNCOPATION
Accent: note is emphasized
Syncopation: emphasis placed on an unexpected note or beat