WEEK #4

This is our LAST post for the year!!!! 

Stumbling through these blogs together has been a real learning experience for me - as I hope it has been for you!  Thank you for all the amazing insights, music, analysis and more.  I enjoyed learning just a bit more about you as you learned just a bit more about music.  I think you are a pretty cool bunch of young adults!

So we are now up to WEEK #4 in our History Timeline Series.  By now you should have:

1) Read through the timeline 3 times.
2) Taken notes on the bolded and underlined terms (on the final)
3) Listened to all the links.
4) Posted a 5-paragraph essay on some aspect of music from Creation through the Classical period.

I read some good essays this evening!  I was particularly impressed with the hard work you put into them. There are two more things I need you to do to complete your essays.

1) Copy and paste the links/bibliography from which you found your research.  THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT in order to receive full credit for your essay.  I will not give you full credit if you do not do this.  You may put them in THIS blog along with your next assignment.

2) Post a music link to support your essay.  Analyze your music and show how it illustrates the point(s) of your essay.

That's it!  Congratulations on surviving a year's worth of blogs! :)

Week #3

Great job so far guys!  But here is where the real work begins.  So far you should have the following accomplished.

1) You have read and re-read Blog #1 in this series. 
2) You have taken notes on the bolded words in the blog.
3) You have listened to all the links. (Remember there will be a listening part of your exam where you label the period from which you think the music came.)
4) You have chosen and gathered information on a chosen period or subject from one of these periods.

Now it is time to write and post a 5-paragraph essay on your chosen topic.  It may be more than 5 paragraphs (but no more than 7 please).  It may not be less than 5 paragraphs.  No music link is necessary yet (that is for week #4).  If you need any further instructions, please come see me.  I would be more than happy to help!

***Don't forget to review Blog #1 and/or your notes.  You don't want to forget them before the final!***

P.S. Musicman - I agree that it would have been great to go one more period into the Romantic.  We just ran out of time.  Next year... :)

WEEK #2

If you are just now starting to blog, please go to the last blog to understand what you are supposed to be doing.  HOWEVER, you are to post your Week #2 answers here.  Continue to refer to the "Putting Our History in Perspective" blog for the remainder of this 4-week blog. Remember this is part of your final: FIRST to present your music and period, SECOND to test on the terms covered in the history timeline.

This Week:
1) Read the entire diagram/timeline again and take notes (for yourself - you do not need to post your notes). Finish listening to the links.  State that you have done both.

2) Choose one period that stands out to you and post it. Tell why in at least three sentences.

3) Gather more information on that period and prepare a presentation which you will post next week.  Make sure you gather more information on that period than I have given in the blog.  Investigate composers, music development, instrumentation, music form (sonatas, operas, polyphony?), culture and how music reflected the culture, etc.

P.S. Congratulations to Paco Grose for winning the iTunes card for the second month in a row!  In case you don't remember, you earn points if you are one of the first five to blog.  It has to be a blog earning an A.  You get 5 points if you are first, 4 if you are second, 3 if you are third and so on. 

Putting our History in Perspective

So here is how far we have come in exploring the evolution of music – approximately 5,500 years! Naturally each blog covering a new era has barely touched the surface of what you could know. But it is at least giving you a tiny nip a super juicy steak – or a tiny motif of a HUGE symphony. Study the following timeline of music history. See how much you can remember for a VERY DEFINITE TEST coming in the very near future.

You have FOUR weeks to actually explore the entire timeline, click on the music links and digest 5,500 years of music. As far as blogging, here is your assignment:

Note: DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE FOURTH WEEK TO ATTEMPT THIS. It will be graded weekly.

WEEK #1:

1) Read the entire timeline and start to listen to the links (at least 1-2 min. of each link)

2) Post how far you have gone in your reading and listening.

WEEK #2:

1) Read the entire diagram/timeline again and take notes.  Finish listening to the links.

2) Choose one period that stands out to you and post it.  Tell why in at least three sentences.

3) Gather more information on that period.

WEEK #3:

1) Read the entire diagram/timeline again and review your notes. Re-listen to some of the links.

2) Describe the music development of your chosen period: i.e. instrumentation, melody, harmony, rhythm, form… You may use the information I give you. However, you will have to look up the period and offer more information then I shared with you.

WEEK #4:

1) Review for the test (reading, notes and listening). 

2) Pick a composition from your chosen period that best illustrates what you are describing. Copy and paste the link into your post. (It cannot be one that I have already posted.)

3) Use at least five sentences describing your selection of music and how it fits your period.

Again: DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE FOURTH WEEK TO ATTEMPT THIS.

Music History Time Line:
(NOTE TO THE WISE: the bolded and underlined terms may be important to the upcoming test…)

Music history can be split into three main eras: Monophonic, Polyphonic and Homophonic. You should remember these from our blogs on the study of harmony.

MONOPHONIC (no harmony – only melody)

Creation – 60 A.D: Starting with Jubal (the “father of all who handle the harp and organ” according to Genesis 4:21), man discovered pretty quick how to make purposeful noise that entertained and emotionally effected the human being. Overtones through wind instruments were figured out. Strings could be plucked at different lengths creating new pitches. Rhythms could be pounded out, creating a sense of order and creative motion. David (Samuel, Chronicles and Psalms) was probably the greatest composer and music promoter of this era. He strongly supported music education in order to preserve history and to worship God. The Greeks gave us modes (our first scales) and music philosophy (including the claim in the “Doctrine of Ethos” that music was powerful enough to make a person good or evil).

Instruments of the first few thousand years were primarily string instruments (lyre, kythera, harp, psaltry…) accompanying the voice (all in unison – no harmony). The wind instruments (trumpet, shofar…) were more for calls to war or worship. The flute or aulos were “for the country” or “not-so-healthy festive occasions” according to the Greeks (too emotional). Rhythm instruments like the cymbals or timbrel (tambourine) were for very joyful celebrations.

Earliest composition known is the “Epitaph of Seikilos” (Greek): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xERitvFYpAk
Aulos (double pipes) and early harp: (This sounds like harmony to me but extremely primitive…) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvgtAHV4mzw&feature=related

Early Church - 60-500A.D.: In order to avoid association with all the pagan Greek and Roman traditions, the Early Church tried to recreate its music. In order to do this, it stepped back. It almost seemed to stop music development for a while when controversies among Church fathers (Particularly Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, Athanasius, Origen and Basil) suggested no instrumentation and no emotion (which could distract from a focus on God). However, after this “soul-searching” method of purging the World from its music, a brand new sound emerged. Still strongly influenced by the Greek and Jewish traditions, and colored by the new cultures to which the Gospel fast spread (Africa, Ireland…) the Church discovered and developed Chant – a monophonic, modal form of music from which all Western music grew. The most famous chants were Abrosian and Gregorian. The coolest part is that they actually developed a way to write down the sounds they were creating (music notation). This way their music could be preserved (unlike the thousands of years lost from the Greek and Jewish cultures).

Gregorian Chant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlr90NLDp-0&feature=related
Ambrosian Chant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKtyZwtrTCQ&feature=related

POLYPHONIC (multiple melodies)

Middle Ages or Dark Ages – 500-1400A.D.: Someone figured out that two singers singing the same melody but at different intervals and different rhythms could actually sound REALLY COOL together! At first they tried singing it at intervals of 4ths or 5ths all in the same rhythm (Parallel Organum). But they soon found that singing at different rhythms and branching out into new intervals could sound fairly cool as well. Plenty of controversy surrounded this outlandish practice but over the next 900 years, polyphony grew by leaps and bounds – literally! The sopranos tried singing all sorts of frilly parts that didn’t make a whole lot of sense but sounded pretty nifty over the melody in the bass. This was called Florid Organum (organum is another word for harmony). Then altos and tenors tried to to copy each other in rounds – everyone singing the words at a different time until it was really quite chaotic. The sound was so amazing though that it didn’t seem to matter too much that the words were lost.

Composers soon realized if everyone was going to sing the melody at different times, they would need to know when to come in, how long to hold their particular note and when to stop. So rhythmic notation began. At first they just developed rhythmic modes or patterns (6 of them). They would simply mix and match the six rhythmic patterns to create their song. All of the patterns were compound meter (in divisions of 3). 3 was considered the perfect number where as singing in 2/4 or 4/4 would have been imperfect.

Perotin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtnjyH05Yek
Leonin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2TDS255jSE&feature=related

Renaissance –1400-1600A.D.: Polyphony continued to develop and become more and more complex. Each part was still its own melody.  Harmony was the “miracle” of so many melodies getting along.

The rhythmic modes were confining. So Franconian Notation developed in which the individual note head showed a specific time value. This freed composers to break away from only 6 modes to limitless rhythms. Franconian notation doesn’t really look like our standard notation today but, with stems, empty note heads and filled in black shapes, it was definitely off to a great start!

To bring a little more order to the chaos of polyphony, harmony rules developed (like avoiding the tri-tones and try to keep to mostly 4ths, 5ths and 8vas). Chords were being discovered and the concepts of dissonance and resolve were starting to be grasped. Modal music was giving way to tonal music based on Major and minor scales (with a big emphasis on the I and V chords). Solfege was being laid down with a VERY strong DO and SOL.

The bass became the important glue to all the voices skipping and flying around. It was called the Basso Ostinato or Ground Bass (it usually followed a set pattern with little variation). This is where you get good old Pachelbel’s Cannon and other similar songs.

While the voice was still the main instrument of the church, instruments – especially string instruments – were finally on the rise. Secular music was growing too. Minstrels and Troubadours traveled from town to town singing the news and entertaining with love songs. Guillaume Machaut (who wrote both secular and sacred) and William Byrd (late Renaissance composer) both composed incredible polyphonic compositions.

Late Renaissance:
Church music was somewhat in trouble with polyphony “getting out of hand”. It was too busy, complicated and hard to understand. Giovanni Palestrina, along with other composers of this time frame tried something that changed the course of both secular and Church music forever. They began to make it homophonic. This meant that they brought the still independent melodies together in rhythmic , stacking the notes in triadic chords and minimizing independent melodies.

Secular Music: Guillaume Machaut (GREAT instrumental piece – note ALL the instruments involved): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOoYtdFhfqw&feature=related
William Byrd: Sing Joyfully: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47_KTPYiVQ&feature=related  (Note all the different parts at different times. See how each voice is an independent melody)
Palestrina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pp0XUU6Rmk&feature=related

Baroque Period 1600-1750: Polyphony (now known as counterpoint) continued but only in the sense that it was ruled by chord progressions. Tonal theory was perfected at this time with Bach (the “Father of Modern Theory”). Dissonance was carefully created and even more perfectly resolved. The basso ostinato became figured bass (like a really fancy tab with improvisation) and ruled the harmonic direction of a composition. Choral music became more hymn-like and less chaotic. Text painting (using music dynamics, range, tempo, articulations, harmony, etc. to illustrate the lyrics) was very important. It was all about the message the composer wanted to portray.

Secular music was on the rise. Operas, oratorios, sonatas and concertos were becoming hugely popular. Because of the Reformation which occurred during the Renaissance period, music took a drastic turn back to simplicity. It had to be understood by the common man. Both Church music and Secular music moved even further away from the complications of polyphony and closer to homophonic music.

Instrumental music was growing fast with the perfection of string instruments (Stradivarius) and the development of woodwind instruments. Horns and percussion were minimal but definitely used. The violin, organ and harpsichord were the primary solo instruments. The harpsichord was a keyboard instrument but the strings were plucked rather than hammered.

Bach: Badinerie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv40mcAM1ZA&feature=fvwrel
Bach: Fugue in Gminor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhRa3REdozw
Handel: Oratorio: Solomon “Oh Praise the Lord”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMLYMD3Dbq4
Christoph Gluck: Orfeo “Orphée et Eurydice (Orpheus among the Blessed Spirits)”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTd_fwRm0wU&feature=related


HOMOPHONIC (melody with accompaniment)

Classical Period: 1750-1820: Now that tonal harmony in Major and minor keys had been perfected, now that rhythmic notation was finally developed, now that polyphony had exhausted itself, music was free to grow and express itself in new ways. The Classical period, now very much homophonic, distinguished itself in the following ways:

1) It focused on the melody. Everything else (rhythm and harmony) was subservient to the creation and development of a beautiful, thematic, melody.

2) It focused on form. Sonatas, concertos, symphonies… All of these had melodic themes which developed in very systematic and reliable forms. This made it easier for the listener to follow. The trick was to be so creative and “sneaky” with the developments that you had to really listen to catch the form. Otherwise you could get bored.

3) It gave us the Piano Forte. Note that “Piano” means quiet and “Forte” means loud. The piano forte was a huge breakthrough in music because it changed the harpsichord from plucked strings to hammered strings. Whereas the plucked strings could never play either loud or soft, the hammered strings COULD play both “piano” AND “forte” thus giving the new instrument its name. We have shortened the name to simply “piano”.

4) It gave us Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. These guys were absolutely amazing composers. It is interesting to hear Haydn (the “Father of the symphony”) and his orderly music “proper” music compared to Mozart and his playful/ADD music, compared to Beethoven and his troubled, rule-breaking music. All three of these men knew and admired each other. In fact Haydn taught Beethoven and would get frustrated that Beethoven kept pushing the rules of harmony. It is a good thing Beethoven tried new sounds however because there was MUCH more to discover in the next periods. In fact Beethoven has been called “the bridge between the Classical and Romantic periods”.

Haydn’s “Surprise Symphony”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqXtKCdqRNA
Mozart’s “Symphony #25”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVjh1YmlKYk
Beethoven’s “Symphony #3, Eroica”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHvztnHOWEQ&feature=related

So this is where I am stopping our exploration. While there is still so much more to know, you need to at least understand music this far. You need to be able to listen and distinguish between music periods (there will DEFINITELY be a listening portion to your exam). You need to understand harmony and form just enough to follow and appreciate it when you hear it and play it in concerts. Developing an inner sense of music, where it came from and how YOU are a part of all of this is absolutely vital to your becoming an excellent musician.

Thank you for letting me take you this far. I have greatly enjoyed reading so many of your blogs.

Getting the Bigger Picture

Coming soon!!!  This next blog will be a three week project and it is taking me a bit longer to put together than I would like.  Hope to have it up tomorrow (Tuesday).  Thank you for your patience.

It's a Classic

Classical music is NOT all music outside of the popular realm. It is actually a period of music spanning only about 70 years (1750-1820). Baroque music perfected the rules. Classical kept the rules and made them pretty. Baroque music was often complicated and heavy. Classical music “lightened things up”. It was more about the melody than the harmony. The Baroque period was the last period in which the Church was the dominating force in music development. The Classical period saw a flood of secular music and with that came operas (started with the Renaissance period but really exploded in the Classical), symphonies and A LOT of instrumental music.


In the Classical Period music was developed for its own sake as opposed to a tool used by the Church. It didn’t have to have a specific message. A 3rd symphony was just that – a 3rd symphony. The composers made the music more about them, their bosses and the latest party or social event. Certainly there were stories and ideas that went with the music – especially in opera. But the stories could be about anything – not just Church themes.

If music didn’t have to say something specific, then this means it didn’t always have to be choral (with actual words). So instruments really took off in the Classical Period. Whereas before they were always subservient to the voice, now you could have solo instruments, more brass, more percussion and definitely more piano (the piano finally moved away from the harpsichord and became the “piano-forte”. Quartets, small ensembles, concertos and symphonies flooded the concert halls.

The most famous composers of the Classical Period were Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Since Mozart was in the middle – AND we are doing some of his music this semester, I am thinking we should listen to a little of his music. The trouble is WHICH piece do I post??? He wrote symphonies, concertos, operas, string ensembles, masses and more!

Here is what we are going to do.

1) Type in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Youtube search bar and choose a good composition.

2) It has to be different from everyone else’s posts.

3) Listen to at least 5 minutes of awesomeness from this composer.

4) Copy and paste your link into your comments.

5) Tell me why you picked that piece. Comment on at least three aspects of the music.

6) Listen to someone else’s post and make a short comment on this as well.

USE MUSIC TERMS and explain them.

Looking forward to seeing what music you end up posting! Near the end of the semester we will hopefully get a chance to watch “Amadeus” and get an even better understanding of Mozart’s genius.

Conducting...

This is a quick side trip from our Music History exploration...
Honestly I think this is the most powerful and controlling conductor I have ever seen. Universities should offer a whole year of study based on his technique. I’d like to hear what you, the musician/singer think of his style...

But that is not your assignment. This week I want you to use your good ears. Listen to the link and answer the following questions. If you can get at least three right you have an A. You can have a point for each one after that towards the iTunes card this month. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX1ljYx3g3k

***Guitar and String students please see your assignment below (although you are welcome to compete for the iTunes card as well with the solfege questions).***

1) What is the solfege of the first 4 notes the singer sings (he kind of glisses – or slides them together but there are 4)?

2) What is the solfege of the next note (after the first 4)?

3) Is the third set of notes he sings a scale or an arpeggio (arpeggios are singing the outline of a chord – like do, mi, sol…)?

4) What is the solfege of the last note he sings right before his loooooooooong note?

5) What is the solfege of his long note?

6) What is the solfege of the two note theme in the low brass (played over and over) at the first part of the singer’s long note?

7) What kind of chord is played at the very end by the banjo? Does it resolve?

***Guitar and String students:
Click the link above and answer the following questions:

1) What do you think a conductor actually does?

2) How do they help you as a musician?

3) Would you like to be a conductor? Why or why not?

For fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPCUDAF0bVY This is the full version but in a different language. It was the only one I could find that kind was of decent sound quality.

If it Aint Baroque, Don’t Fix It!

OK – dumb joke (it wasn’t mine) but, to clarify, the Baroque Period was not exactly “broke”. It was a time of prosperity, lavish and gaudy decorations and architecture, amazing paintings and extraordinary music. The Baroque period was when all the known “rules” of harmony were fully discovered and played with – to the point of “overdoing it”. Its music can be so busy that the listener is overwhelmed. A lot of people tend to hear it and, not fully understanding or appreciating it, brush it off as dry, unemotional or just “too many notes”.

But Baroque music was full of meaning. Each note had a purpose, every chord had direction, every rule fully explored, every dissonance resolved, every music phrase painted an image and every composition had a story to tell. They were like mysteries though. They weren’t always obvious. It’s not like a pop song where you get the basic idea in one or two hearings. You really had to dig deep to catch all the tricks and hidden clues. Themes and counter-themes were played upside down and backwards. They were fragmented (small parts of the theme played with instead of the whole theme). There were augmentations (longer note values) and diminutions (shorter note values). Themes were hidden in the inner voices and played over top of each other. This was called counterpoint – basically a really fancy polyphony!

The most famous composer of the Baroque period – also called “the father of music theory” – was Johann Sebastian Bach. His fugues (counterpoint studies) baffle scholars today. If you take a counterpoint class in college, don’t be surprised if all you study is Bach. It’s not that other composers didn’t write fugues, it’s just that he was the best!

Here is a short fugue by Bach. It is laid out in colors so that you can see when each theme enters. Watch it once. Then close your eyes and listen to it again. Try to catch about two themes – the main theme (A/B phrase) and the countermelody. You may think you hear new themes. But they are more likely developments of these three themes. Try to see/hear how many times you hear them – and in how many different ways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVadl4ocX0M

Tell me the following:

How many parts (colors) are there?

How many themes did you find (I may be wrong on just two themes)?

How many times did the main theme repeat?

Name at least three different things he did with the themes.

Harmony

Monophonic – Organum – Polyphonic – Homophonic – Counterpoint

These are all words you should know in the evolution of harmony, the science of two or more pitches working together. Harmony is AMAZING. We take it for granted today but as you see from the last blog, harmony was not understood or “codified” until about 3-4 thousand years after Jubal invented his first harp! How is that even possible?!

So here are your definitions. I will quiz you on them later so make sure you take note (and tell all your non-blogging music friends).
Monophonic is the “boring”, “sacred”, “unified”, “peaceful” one-line chant you described in the Greek and Early Church music. No harmony at all. Even instruments doubled the melody.

Organum is the first major attempt to understand harmony by the Church. They wrote 2 main kinds of organum. The first and oldest was Parallel Organum. At first they tried to keep everything to perfect or pure intervals of 4ths, 5ths and 8vas. Imperfect intervals were 2nds, 3rds, 6ths and 7ths. Listen to 30 seconds of this Kyrie and hear almost the oriental sound of the 4ths and 5ths. In parallel organum the melody was on top and the harmony was on the bottom.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYZkguH4asY&feature=related

The second kind of organum was called Florid or Duplum. This is where they would sing each syllable of their chant on VERY loooooooooooooong notes while the upper voices sang melismas (lots of fancy notes) over top of their veeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyy loooooooooooooonnnnng intervals. In Florid Organum, the melody was the long notes at the bottom and the top notes were the harmony or the “decoration”. Listen to about 30 seconds of this Kyrie and hear the difference. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmkhk9Z8Lu4&playnext=1&list=PL923979CF7B087259

Polyphony is kind of like our rounds today – every part is a melody in itself! Just like the “Sing Joyfully” everyone’s part is independent in melody AND rhythm. Yet they work together in harmony. Listen to at least 1 min. of a major Renaissance composer, Palestrina’s, “Sicut Cervus”. Look at the music notation. Notice the music notation and its four parts. Each of them enters at different places and at different intervals. Each of them is the melody. But they all harmonize with each other. How cool is that?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mdmco61Htk

The Early Church gave us monophonic chant, the Middle Ages gave us organum, and the Renaissance exploded with polyphony. But then came more trouble. Polyphony was getting messy. With all the parts weaving in and around each other, it was hard to hear the words or follow the music. The Church started complaining. In fact legend says polyphony was in danger or being banned altogether (here we go again).
BUT Palestrina wasn’t about to let polyphony go that easy! So he wrote a mass for the Pope in order to prove the beauty of polyphony. He “cleaned” it up and unified the parts so that the message could clearly be heard. This is how Homophony came about. Homophonic music puts the melody on the top and stacks the harmonies in rhythmic unison underneath – just like a standard hymn. It is what we are more used to hearing now these days – and definitely more easy to follow. The Pope liked the mass and, as the tradition goes, harmony was saved thanks to Palestrina! While the legend is probably a bit exaggerated it still goes to show that out of conflict, new and awesome music is discovered.
Here is the “Gloria” from Palestrina’s “Pope Marcellus Mass”. Listen to about 45 seconds to see what I mean by harmonies stacked in rhythmic unison (homophy). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIvs7C2nW88

In the next blog we will look at counterpoint in the Baroque period and see how similar it is to Polyphony. It’s pretty cool!

Blog Assignment:
So which is your favorite (monophony, parallel organum, florid organum, polyphony or homophony) and why? Don’t forget that a pop quiz over these terms may be in your near future…

Next Phase in the Evolution of Music

Wow!  Great comments on the last blog!  I say it all the time but you really have some great things to say.  I really enjoy reading your perspectives.

Music reached a major pivot point around 100A.D.  If it wasn't for the following controversy  - or people brave enough to try to figure things out, music would not be what it is today.  Just think about the fact that music was pretty much unison/octaves (NO HARMONY) for THOUSANDS of years.  Because of this conflict (which I am about to tell you), harmony was finally born.  How awesome is that?!!

You all had some excellent thoughts on whether or not a relationship with God brought more rules or more freedom.  This goes right into the situation I am about to describe to you.

Imagine this: let’s say you and your priest/pastor went to a city where was there was no Christianity and the music was like nothing you have ever heard. The people had a confused sense of morals. They set up many social boundaries to make sure that no one impinged on anyone else’s rights. They were even religious in that they thought there were probably some sort of gods that they needed to make happy. They didn’t have much to live for since they believed their lives ended when they died. So their attitudes were more about having the most fun they could have while they could still have it. In fact, fun was so important to them that they would have it at other people’s expense. It was every man for himself (within the boundaries of course). Everyone was responsible for his own happiness which at first sounds good but it went terribly wrong because no one looked out for each other and everyone used each other (since they weren’t responsible to make anyone else happy). They were nice as long as they were getting what they wanted but as soon as their wants weren’t met, they moved on to the next person.


So the city was all about parties, sex and drugs – and a few religious ceremonies to appease the gods. The music (and the music was everywhere) was all about these too. It had a style, instrumentation and beat that really made each party, sexual relationship, drug experience and religious ceremony the most sensually pleasurable experience possible.

Now let’s say you and the priest/pastor decide to start a parish/church and bring the stark contrast of Christianity into this City. You start telling people “Come to my parish/church! Find out about a life filled with purpose, a life that never ends. Find out how this life is actually more fulfilling and more complete than a fun that crashes with the party. Find out about a Love that actually cares about you without expecting anything in return. Find out about a God Who wants to set you free to live as you were meant to live.”

Sure enough people see a difference in you. They listen to you and wonder if maybe there is something beyond the next new drug, party or broken relationship. So they come, they hear the incredible good news of Jesus Christ and what He did for them and they turn their lives over to Him. Their lives change. No more parties, sex (outside of marriage) and drugs. No more trying to keep the gods happy. They are excited to honor God in every area of their lives. They are pretty zealous to get rid of anything that even resembles their old lifestyles.

But what about the music? Should that change too? What if just the words change? Wouldn’t that make it Christian? Couldn’t the same style, instrumentation and beat that was used to promote the worship of self be used to promote the worship of God? Would God approve? Or should the music just be dumped and a new style brought in?

Well, that is exactly where the brand new Church found itself just into its first few centuries. People argued like crazy about what kind of instruments they should use – or if they should be banned all together. Church fathers disagreed from church to church on what is good music and what is bad. After all sorts of opinions and struggles what came out was a new brand of music. It didn’t sound like the party/sex/drug/religious music of the day. It was all about God and it was beautiful.

But you listen to it (one time through is fine). It’s pretty one-line or monophonic (unison). It sounds more like the Greek music to me. It’s almost like it took a step backwards and started over again. Instruments were pretty much banned for a while. So the choral side really stepped up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MbDqc3x97k

Eventually someone figured out harmony (I won’t bore you with too many dates and names). Called organum or polyphony, harmony exploded into the Dark Ages bringing life to an otherwise dark period. Church music was FAR superior to anything the secular world had to offer.

Check out this Renaissance music and note how far it came since the Greek music you listened to 2 weeks ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiL4805W2B0  

It makes me wonder, if the Church had just accepted the secular music and not tried to be different, would it have made these amazing advances? Would we still be in the Dark Ages with music? If it weren’t for the Church’s organum and polyphony, you would not enjoy the metal, rock and country you listen to today. It was the Church that discovered and figured out how to use lead lines, chord progressions, rhythms and such. The secular world had to borrow these.

But I am getting ahead. We still have a ways to go…

Your Assignment:
Find two statements in the scenario above and one aspect of the music and give your opinion.

Spring Break!

So I was going to put up a new blog just so you would stay in routine.  But I never got around to it...  Let's just have a nice spring break! 

- Miss Burk

It's All Greek to Me!

Great job on the sonata!  You guys are all so smart!  I would like to give you like 5 more sonatas with themes that a little harder to follow and see how you do with those... But knowing how 3 of my Band Room stuffed animals met their fate and considering that I may be next if I attempted to give such an assignment, I shall refrain.


So let's move on.  How did music come about in the first place?  I know that music was created when the world was created.  In fact, the world was created through sound.  God spoke and there it was.  I love the Narnia version: Aslan sang the world into existence.  The Bible says the angels sang when the world was created (Job 38:7).


But who on earth actually discovered “music” as opposed to random sound? Who found out that certain frequencies put together in a particular arrangement to a particular beat made something beautiful? The Bible says that Jubal (great, great, great grandson of Cain – the guy that killed his brother Abel) was the “Father of all such as handle the harp [string instruments] and organ [wind instruments]” (Genesis 4:21). So it started pretty soon after creation really – makes sense that it would.


After the big split at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) three huge music cultures went their separate ways and two of them didn’t meet again until thousands of years later. These were the Greek and Hebrew cultures – the two strongest influences in our western music today. Keep in mind that “western” music does not mean Country Western. It actually means European music as opposed to Asian music (the third music culture).

The Greeks really focused on music as it related to man. Music was emotional and spiritual. In fact it was so powerful, the wrong kind of music could destroy a nation. The Greeks discovered the seven modes (all based on our C major) and assigned certain powers to each one. They wrote down their music which is very handy for us because we have actually been able to figure out some of the notation and play a little of their songs. The oldest song we know comes from the Greeks. It is called the “Epitaph of Sikelos” (a song encouraging everyone to enjoy life while it lasts). Listen to it on the link below and check out all the instruments they played way back then. They’re pretty cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIBF-2k9wfw&feature=related

The Jews really focused on music as it related to God.  Music was all about praising God, telling stories about God, petitioning God, complaining to God, etc. Music was not really powerful in itself. It was the person who used it and the Person to Whom it was given that gave music its worth. In that way music actually had more freedom. You could do anything you wanted with music (unlike the Greeks who had limitations and rules). It was at your creative disposal. As a result, the music of the Hebrew culture was incredibly advanced. Whole families were devoted to music as their entire livelihood. Their housing, music education, food, etc. were all paid (I Chronicles 25:1-5).

If the Jews wrote actual music notation, and it is fairly certain they did, we have not been able to decipher it so far. The Psalms are filled with music directions (like who should sing and which instruments should be used for certain songs) but the odd markings thought to be notation have never been figured out. Still, we have some pretty good ideas of what their music actually sounded like (given their well-preserved culture). Here is a link to give you a basic idea of our Jewish heritage. It’s really modern but the cool part is that Jews really did have that many instruments playing (and more).  Also, whereas the Greeks had no harmony, the Jews very possibly did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPH5PhxkS1I&feature=related

Answer all three:

1) What are similarities in the sounds of the two music clips?

2) What are the differences?

3) Does it seem surprising in any way that the focus on man actually resulted in more rules, whereas the focus on God brought more freedom? Do you think the same idea could apply to every area of life?  Have you found this true in your life?

Classical Form Continued

CRITIQUING:

Pretty good job on the “Theme and Variations”. Some of you tried to analyze the whole piece instead of your favorite variation. A lot of you need to start using more music terms (like “piano” instead of quiet). Also try not to say things like “there are a lot of notes there” or “it has dynamics”. That kind of goes without saying. Use specifics, like “the density of chords is thickest in the last three measures” or “it starts a crescendo at measure 4 and hits a fortissimo at measure 8”. I am going to start grading a little harder here. If you need to brush up on music terminology, DO IT. I am always here to help if you need it.


A NEW FORM (BTW there may be a test on this in the near future so you might want to read thoroughly...)
Now we don’t always get to play with the same theme over and over. Sometimes music has more than one theme. These are usually related but they have a kind of A B form (like a verse/chorus). They compare and contrast with each other to make themselves all the more awesome – like a question and an answer.

One of the most well known forms in music is the sonata form (that’s right Dominic – your favorite). This is a three part structure that you hear in symphonies, solos, ensembles and more. It’s a lot like our five paragraph essays. It goes something like this:

A: The Exposition

a) This is two or more themes laid out very clearly.

b) Like the 5-paragraph essay, the exposition is the opening paragraph laying out its case.

c) The Exposition usually repeats.

d) It is all in the TONIC (meaning in the key of the actual key signature).

B: The Development:

a) This plays with the themes from the exposition – like theme variations - only the variations and development can be so tricky to hear (like playing a theme backwards or upside down) that it is sometimes hard to follow (this is where you often start drifting, feel lost or just plain sleepy). It takes a good ear to be able to follow the hidden themes.

b) Like the 5-paragraph essay, this is where all the points are developed and the whole case laid out.

c) It is in many different keys but especially in the key of the DOMINANT (meaning it modulated to the key of V or sol).

A: The Recapitulation:

a) This comes back to the themes and tries to repeat them almost exactly as before.

b) Like the 5-paragraph essay, we are wrapping up our points by repeating them once more.

c) It is back in the TONIC.
Here is the very famous Mozart Sonata in C. See if you can follow the sonata form. Tell me at what time you think the Exposition, Development and Recapitulation start and end (give me a time such as 2:13). Describe a couple of ways the themes were played with in the Development. USE MUSIC TERMS!!!

Mozart Sonata in C
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcUh-ggBfzI

Theme and Variations

Amazing comments from last week.  I was very impressed by many of your excellent points and well-thought reasoning.  I sure have an awesome collection of students.  Wow!

Moving on... Many of you have a very healthy respect for “Classical Music” but how well do you really understand it? I would like to start a series of blogs exploring this genre beyond the surface level. I want you to understand at least two things when we are finished: 1) The distinct periods of music and how they influence us today and 2) How to follow classical music or understand it’s form.


First, let’s see if we can start grasping the mechanics behind a classical piece. If you know what is happening, you may be less likely to fall asleep at Philharmonic concerts!

You already know what musical form is. You hear it all the time in contemporary music:
Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus, Ending

If you were to put some sort of music terminology you could say it is something like this:
Intro A B A B C B B Coda

Well, Classical Music has forms too. It has themes that repeat, develop and play with variations.

Check out the variations Mozart wrote on “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. It’s the same song 12 times in 12 different ways. See if you can still hear the basic melody in each variation. Pick a favorite variation and tell me why you like it. Describe ALL of the following: the rhythm, tempo, meter, density (lots of notes or few), dynamics (fortes and pianos), whether you hear more chords or scales, where you hear the melody (bass, middle or high?), what key it is in (name of the key and is it major or minor) and special techniques in playing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO-ecxHEPqI&feature=related

P.S. For Recording Students and OSSAA soloists' sake, I will give you ALL two weeks to accomplish this blog. DO NOT wait until the end of the second week to try to finish this.  You may want to split the work into two sessions instead of one as this is a rather long assignment if you do it correctly.

"To The Cloud!"

In our blog on virtual reality (Blog 3) I asked “how real are you?” Torta’s response: “I don’t feel like I understand the true definition of being real”. Sylas even said “calling it ‘real’ is a bad name for it”. Jakob says “Virtual existence IS Reality”. In the truest sense of the word he is right – virtual existence exists and that makes it part of our reality. But is that the “reality” to which I was referring? What does it mean to be “real”?


Mary Beth had a great explanation when she commented on the virtual choir: “It sounds perfect – almost too perfect… you start wondering what’s real and what’s fake. Makes you wonder what all else music you think is real isn’t.” Christian admitted the song was beautiful but also says: “We need to remember that the credit for the song goes to the voice scrubbers, mix masters… not necessarily to the voice that sang them.”

Ever seen that commercial for Windows where the mom is trying to get the perfect family picture but they are all acting crazy? She says “to the Cloud” and, working with a photo editing program (virtual reality), she creates a perfect family picture. Then she says “Window’s gives me the family nature never could.” What if we did that to the Band Room? Took all the craziness, all our racket, all our mistakes, all our humanness and went “to the Cloud”? We could make ourselves something we really aren’t – something everyone else wants to see.

But would that, as Katlyn commented, take away from “the purpose of music – the reality of it”? What is the purpose of music? What is the reality of it?

Several of you (Dominic, Rachel, knowingly or unknowingly, used words to describe “real”: vibrations, feeling, closeness, huggly, touch, natural… Things that can’t be found in a virtual world. A “real” choir, by these descriptions, rubs shoulders, makes mistakes, speeds up, slows down, has issues with pitch and blend and shows individual personalities – for good or for bad. A virtual choir is polished, blended, perfect and erases individual quirks. All our studio recorded music is virtual or “canned”. Thanks to the “mix masters”, it really is beautiful. You don’t listen to it hoping it the performers “get it right”. You can just relax and enjoy.

Was the family of the “to-the-Cloud” lady beautiful just the way they were? Is our music from the Band Room beautiful compared to all the “cool” music from the virtual world? What is the point of doing it if it isn’t? What is “real” and why is it important?

Andrew talked about the competition of the virtual world – everyone trying to outdo each other in virtual creativity. At this point we are not only trying to look or sound like something we are not, we are trying to be cooler than other virtual families or bands. Everyone can be what they make themselves to be. You have to not only be virtual, you have to be cool virtual. What happens when you want to just be real? Does it make you doubly “uncool”? Jacob described a legitimate concern when he said he was “worried that no one would listen [to him on his simple acoustic guitar] because they will be too busy with… all the neat little gadgets [of virtual reality]”. He has a good point. Who wants reality when they can have virtual reality?

Is being real too embarrassing? Is it too hard? Is it too vulnerable? If we all just went “To the Cloud” we could look pretty, sound pretty and really believe we are pretty. We can even compete on who is the prettiest. Why be real when you can have “the Cloud”?

Now I am not saying technology is bad or good. I agree with many of you who showed that technology is something that can be used either way. A tool is only as moral (good or bad) as the human controlling it. I have “fixed” my family picture in Photoshop and the Band Room is currently “canning” hit songs for Cleopatra Records. None of this is bad. That is not the argument. The question was –and is: “how real are you”? How in touch to real life, real relationships, real music, real you, real God are you?

Here is my definition of “real” (I would like to hear your definition). To be real is to live on purpose, not reactively. To be real is to value our family and friend relationships – not just for what you can get out of them but for what you can give. Real musicians don’t just play what’s on the page – they make it come alive. Real people are not afraid to find out who they are and live up to the potential God gave them. Like Pinocchio, we don’t become “a real boy” until we are willing to be true to what our Father/Creator made us to be. And speaking of God, to be real is to know the ultimate Reality – and that is God Himself. That is my reality. It hurts, it’s embarrassing, it’s full of life, it’s fun, it’s scary, it’s can be really hard but it’s extremely simple. It is the only place I want to be.

Copy three points made and respond to them. Yep! That’s right – no listening – just commenting.

Overtones!

Remember how overtones or harmonics work? In our beginning classes we broke a sound wave produced by a plucked string or air-blown tube (the fundamental) in half and then in half again and then another half and we just kept going. We end up with partials (or overtones) in the order of 8, 5, 8, 3, 5, 7 (do, sol, do, mi, sol, te) and so on... These are the basic fundamentals of keys, chords and natural harmonic progressions.

Every time you change the fundamental (string or airwave) you have a whole new set of overtones! We have heard this on our brass instruments. Different lengths of tubing make different fundamentals. These are controlled by only 3-4 pistons or valves. All the notes (or partials) in between are produced by changing the embouchure (the position of the lips, tongue and teeth) and the air pressure.

Again, we can see how overtones work by the harmonics on guitar strings. We know that we can get the octave (do) at the 12th fret (half way), the 5th (sol) at the 7th fret (half of the first half) and the octave again at the 5th fret (half of the last half).
But have you ever heard overtones performed by the human voice? There is actually a way to sing a low fundamental and then sing (yes, two notes at the same time) a high overtone melody. This is called human multi-phonics or, more correctly Tuvan throat singing. When you first hear this style singing, it sounds like a very loud drone. That is the fundamental. But if you listen very closely, the overtone part can be heard very high above it – like whistling. It is definitely harder to hear but it is the most interesting part.

Check out this link and comment on it. The guy is pretty funny – and looks like he might pass out a few times but it is amazing how he produces the high overtones. Give him a chance and then tell me what you think.  Did you hear the high celtic sounding melody? Which of the seven styles did you like the most?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zZainT9v6Q

For extra credit, check out a guy singing “Amazing Grace” in overtones (you really have to listen for it but it is definitely there) and then explaining how you can Tuvan throat sing. Don’t hurt yourself trying OK?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFWYSW4vfcA&feature=fvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a940YFaRI50&feature=fvw

Is It For Real?

We are living in a virtual age. While that is a no brainer for you guys, for someone just a little over a decade older than you, I have a hard time with this. I grew up with no TV, no cell phone, no computer and no X-Box. I played outside and made up my own adventures. We grew our own food in the garden. My relationships were face to face – not Facebook to Facebook or text to text. I loved tangible, live, acoustic sounds. I felt alive and connected to everyone and everything.


And that is what is so strange to me about the virtual world. We are more connected than ever but relationships are so fragile and shallow it scares me. We feel alone and isolated. We retreat into our fantasy worlds of X-boxes, texts and iPods. We watch movies to stimulate a feeling of being alive. Reality is boring or it hurts. Don’t get too defensive on me. We are all doing this on some level or another. I admit I would rather text than speak to someone face to face – or even voice to voice.

I’m not necessarily saying that technology is bad – it’s just not what I grew up with so I have a hard time with it. A lot of people will automatically say that something that feels strange or different is bad. I think God made us smart enough to invent technology so it can be just as good as it can be bad – it just depends on how we use it.

What does all this have to do with music? Well, I really have a hard time with electronic gadgets and sound effects when it comes to music. It feels like canned sound to me. Canned peaches are cool but nothing compared to a peach picked right off the tree. In the same way, the acoustic violin sounds worlds better than keyboard strings. But that is too bad for me because the musical world is being taken over by electronic and digital gadgets. Some of them sound pretty good too. Electric guitar is definitely a keeper in my book.

What I would like to do this week is have you respond to my rambling. Listen to this link and tell me your opinion of this virtual age – YOUR age. Have you ever stopped to think what your life would be like without all the modern gadgets (no movies, no games, no cell phones, no apps or GPS’s…)? How much are we like the music in this link? Do you find this music beautiful (I admit that I do), disturbing or both? How real are you? On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being total reality and 1 being completely caught up in a virtual existence, where are you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7o7BrlbaDs&feature=related (You may stop it at 4:36)

Feel free to post more electronic/digital/virtual music for extra credit – as long as it is Band Room appropriate.

Interpretation and Comparison

Pretty good comments for the first week. Make sure you are listening to the new posts AT LEAST TWICE. Three times is much better. Listen to it once without commenting. Listen to it again to see what you missed the first time. Then listen to it again as you comment. This isn't about hearing music, it's about understanding it.


We are on separate assignments again this week.

BAND: Compare these two versions and answer the following questions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGA6bpscj8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceIpM_bLSTA
            1) What are at least two main MUSICAL differences (not visual)?
            2) Some say that conductors should always try to interpret the score exactly as the composer would
                want it. If you were a composer and someone were conducting or performing your piece how
                much would you want them to stick to what you wanted?
            3) As a performer, how much do you think we (the Band) ought to stick to exactly what the
                composer wants?


CHOIR: Compare these two versions and answer the following questions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsLiivVgxmM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqIeEMdCOCk
           1) What are at least two main MUSICAL differences (not visual)?
           2) Some say that conductors should always try to interpret the score exactly as the composer would
               want it. If you were a composer and someone were conducting or performing your piece how
               much would you want them to stick to what you wanted?
           3) As a performer, how much do you think we (the Band) ought to stick to exactly what the
               composer wants?


STRINGS: Compare these two and answer the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJyiWsp-FJs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w94_eIpRUro&feature=related
         1) Name two ways in which these pieces differ
         2) Name two ways in which they are the same.


GUITAR: Listen to this link and answer the following questions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muUzaCFPxOg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxQhEHwSUyQ&feature=related

         1) In what 2 MUSICAL (not visual) ways are these songs the same, besides the fact that they are the
             same song? 
         2) In what 2 MUSICAL ways are these songs different?

Welcome Back!

This week we are going to try to split assignments.  Here is what I would like you to do:

BAND: Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tGA6bpscj8&feature=related
              Answer the following questions:

                     What is this piece?
                     Who is the composer conductor?
                     Pick a musical aspect and comment on it in at least 5 sentences.
                  
CHOIR:  Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsLiivVgxmM&feature=related
            Answer the following questions:
                     What is this piece?
                     Who is the composer and conductor?
                     Pick a musical aspect and comment on it in at least 5 sentences.

STRINGS:  Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJyiWsp-FJs&feature=related
           Answer the following questions:
                    What is the piece?
                    Who is the composer
                    What is the instrumentation?
                    Pick a musical aspect and comment on it in at least 5 sentences.

GUITAR: Click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH2w6Oxx0kQ
          Answer the following questions:
                   What is the piece?
                   Who is the group?
                   Pick a musical aspect and comment on it in at least 5 sentences.

Have fun!