Music Analysis: Styles, Elements, and Context, Lecture notes of Music

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LANGUAGE WE USE

IN

MUSIC

[revised notes 2008]

The Language We Use In Music

Style A music style is defined by the way in which the elements of music are treated. Works within an identifiable style should exhibit similar treatment of the elements of music. A style may encompass music of

• an era/period (for example contemporary popular, bebop jazz, grunge, baroque, romantic, nationalist, impressionist, neoclassical);
• a geographical area (for example Indonesian gamelan music, Australian Aboriginal music);
• a composer (for example Lennon/McCartney, Arcadelt, Beethoven, Carl Vine);
• a performer(s) (for example Aretha Franklin, U2, Louis Armstrong, Jimi Hendrix, Paganini). Elements of music The elements of music, depending on the style being studied, may be analysed with reference to: - structure/form: for example, large-scale structures such as symphonies, dance suites, and operas; medium-scale structures such as twelve-bar blues, sixteen and thirty-two bar song form, verse/chorus, strophic, sonata form, binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variations, through-composed, fugue, round, canon, cantus firmus, metrical and/or harmonic cycles; small-scale structures such as motives and motivic development, phrasing, chord patterns, textural components, modulatory systems; - instrumentation : for example, the list of instruments/sound sources used; - tone colour : for example, the effect of the way in which the instruments/sound sources are used and the effect of techniques employed; combinations of instruments used at various stages in the work or excerpt; particular instrumental techniques employed such as muting, pizzicato, glissandi, flutter tonguing; production techniques such as reverb, chorus, distortion; Timbre or tone color is the term for describing the difference in quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or instrument from another. There is no standardized framework for describing timbre or dynamics. Researchers are reduced to using analogies and descriptive words. For the human voice at one end of the spectrum, a tone might be described as warm, breathy, clear, relaxed, bright, mellow, soothing, whisperlike, or clarion. Toward the other end of the spectrum, tone might be described as small singing voice with moderate resonance and volume, narrow throat, tight throat, croaky, falsettolike, strained, raspy, dark, guttural, percussive, thin, strident, nasal, or heavy vibrato. For many musical instruments, timbre influences how a musical pitch is perceived. For drumming, open stroke and closed or damped stroke are often indicated by mnemonic phrases consisting of syllables that convey both timing and timbre. Besides descriptions used for the human voice, other descriptions for instrumental timbre can be reedy, rapid vibrations, staccato, resonant, high amount of enharmonic noise, piercing, or clunky.

Compositional devices Compositional devices are inextricably linked to the treatment of the elements of music and represent the means by which a music work is developed. These may be seen at the:

• micro level (for example, ornamentation, inversion, augmentation, diminution, fragmentation);
• medium level (for example, imitation; use of sequence; modulation; re- orchestration; re-harmonising; addition/subtraction of melodic lines, rhythmic accompaniment, instruments or layers of sound);
• global level (for example, contrast; repetition; variation). Compositional devices at the global level may occur in relation to the treatment of all the elements of music and their combination. These global compositional devices may also involve specific devices at the lower level/s. Compositional devices include contrast, repetition and variation. Contrast May be achieved via changes to the treatment of dynamics, orchestration, melodic shapes and/or registers, rhythms, metres, harmonies, textures, articulation and/or forms. This may include such devices as modulation, re-orchestration and/or the addition or subtraction of layers of texture. Repetition Can be seen in repeating such things as entire formal sections, melodic lines or phrases, rhythms, intervals, melodic shapes, harmonic patterns, timbres, riffs, ostinati. Variation Includes any change to an established pattern when heard again. This might include such things as shifting a melodic pattern to a new starting pitch; adding ornaments; expanding or contracting intervals in a melody; retaining melodic contour but changing pitches; changing to a new key area, tempo changes (gradual or sudden), adding or removing rubato or metrical changes, using a rhythmic fi gure in different places within the bar, adding harmonic accompaniment, changing harmony, adding or subtracting melodic lines or layers of sound, re-orchestration, changing register, changing articulation and/or sound effects. Conventions Common practices within music styles in the creation and performance of music. For example improvisation in jazz styles, figured bass in Baroque works, lead drum calls in the music of Ghana, guitar effects and distortion in rock styles, sampling and editing techniques in techno music. Performance conventions may also include expected behaviours of both performers and audience. For example the formality and silence within a concert hall setting; applause at the end of solos in many jazz styles; dramatic flair and aggression within heavy metal; the structure of a North Indian raga performance in three parts. Context The context of any music should involve a study of influences on works and music styles, including cultural influences, social issues, practical issues, musical influences, practical and commercial considerations, and issues relating to the likely performer(s) of the work; Some examples might be:
• the geographical move of blues-based music from a southern rural context (Mississippi delta) to urban centres (Chicago) resulting in new instrumentation, stricter rhythms and expanded band arrangements;

• the technological advances in the pianoforte from the 18th century through the 19th century resulting in works exploiting the instrument’s range and dynamic capabilities;
• the influence of Asian music on Debussy, The Beatles, John Coltrane, or Phillip Glass;
• the rise of computer-based music and sound production techniques resulting in new and sampled sound sources used in hip-hop, house and techno music;
• the role of the French Revolution on social thinking and structure in Europe, and its effect on the music of the 19th century;
• the beginnings of the recording industry which allowed for only three- to four-minute recordings and its effect on the structures of popular music of the time;
• the cultural integration of music in the North Indian classical tradition resulting in the religious/mood/temporal qualities of the Indian raga;
• the systems of patronage, commissions, dedications and contracts in different periods and their effect on music created. Critical response In forming a critical response it is important that subjective responses and analytical information are linked together. Examples of critical response may include:
• the driving, energetic feeling evoked in the Police song Synchronicity is created by the rapid, consistent regular rhythms of the hi-hat and kick drum aligned with the unison rhythm of the bass
• the lush, rich and lyrical atmosphere of the final theme of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue is achieved by the use of unison, legato full string orchestration. The adjectives in these two examples – ‘driving, pulsating’ and ‘lush, rich and lyrical’ – are responses to music. The analytical information is given in the statements ‘the rapid, consistent regular rhythms of the hi-hat and kick drum aligned with the unison rhythm of the bass’ and ‘unison, legato full string orchestration’.

Homophonic Homophonic music can also be called homophony. More informally, people who are describing homophonic music may mention chords, accompaniment, harmony or harmonies. Homophony has one clearly melodic line; it's the line that naturally draws your attention. All other parts provide accompaniment or fill in the chords. In most well-written homophony, the parts that are not melody may still have a lot of melodic interest. They may follow many of the rules of well-written counterpoint, and they can sound quite different from the melody and be interesting to listen to by themselves. But when they are sung or played with the melody, it is clear that they are not independent melodic parts, either because they have the same rhythm as the melody (i.e. are not independent) or because their main purpose is to fill in the chords or harmony (i.e. they are not really melodies). Examples of Homophony

• Choral music in which the parts have mostly the same rhythms at the same time is homophonic. Most traditional Protestant hymns and most "barbershop quartet" music is in this category.
• A singer accompanied by a guitar picking or strumming chords.
• A small jazz combo with a bass, a piano, and a drum set providing the "rhythm" background for a trumpet improvising a solo.
• A single bagpipes or accordion player playing a melody with drones or chords. Polyphonic Polyphonic music can also be called polyphony, counterpoint, or contrapuntal music. If more than one independent melody is occurring at the same time, the music is polyphonic. (See counterpoint.) Examples of Polyphony
• Rounds, canons, and fugues are all polyphonic. (Even if there is only one melody, if different people are singing or playing it at different times, the parts sound independent.)
• Much Baroque music is contrapuntal, particularly the works of J.S. Bach.
• Most music for large instrumental groups such as bands or orchestras is contrapuntal at least some of the time.
• Music that is mostly homophonic can become temporarily polyphonic if an independent countermelody is added. Think of a favorite pop or gospel tune that, near the end, has the soloist "ad libbing" while the back-up singers repeat the refrain.

Heterophonic A heterophonic texture is rare in Western music. In heterophony, there is only one melody, but different variations of it are being sung or played at the same time.

• There are no examples of heterophonic music that would be familiar to most Western listeners.
• Some Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Native American music traditions include heterophony. Listen for traditional music (most modern-composed music, even from these cultures, has little or no heterophony) in which singers and/or instrumentalists perform the same melody at the same time, but give it different embellishments or ornaments. Texture by diagram Figure 1

Counterpoint Counterpoint is an important element of music, but it is not one of the basic elements. Many pieces of music have rhythm, melody, harmony, color, and texture, but no real counterpoint. In fact, when describing the texture of a piece of music, two of the most important questions that need to be addressed are: is there counterpoint, and how important is it? When there is more than one independent melodic line happening at the same time in a piece of music, we say that the music is contrapuntal. The independent melodic lines are called counterpoint. The music that is made up of counterpoint can also be called polyphony, or one can say that the music is polyphonic or speak of the polyphonic texture of the music. Traditionally, vocal music is more likely to be described as polyphony and instrumental music is more likely to be described as counterpoint. But all of these terms refer to two or more independent, simultaneous melodies. "Simultaneous" means the melodies are happening at the same time. "Independent" means that at any given moment what is happening in one melody (both in the rhythms and in the pitches) is probably not the same thing that is happening in the other melody. First, some examples of music that is not counterpoint. Obviously, there is no counterpoint if there is no melody at all. If there is one melodic line accompanied only by rhythm, or drones, or only by chords, there is no counterpoint. Even if different people are singing or playing different parts, it is not necessarily considered counterpoint if the parts are not independent enough, or if one of the parts is very clearly a dominating melody. Many traditional choral pieces are a good example of this. There are four very different singing parts (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), and each part, sung alone, can seem like its own melody, a melody that does not sound at all like the melody of the piece. But the parts have basically the same rhythms, so that the effect, when sung together, is of chords being sung. "Barbershop"-style music is another good example of this homophonic, or chordal, kind of texture, which is not considered counterpoint. Now for some familiar examples of counterpoint. One of the simplest and most familiar types of counterpoint is the round. In a round, everyone sings the same melody, but they start singing it at different times. Although everyone is singing exactly the same tune, at any particular time different people will be singing different parts of it, so the final effect is of independent parts. You may also have heard some Bach fugues or inventions; there are no better examples of counterpoint than these. Another example that may be familiar is the soloist in a pop or gospel song who, after the refrain has been repeated a few times, takes off on a countermelody or descant part while everyone else continues to sing the refrain. The melody instruments in a dixieland band are also generally playing independent parts, giving this genre its "busy" sound. In fact, when music sounds very "busy" or "complex" or when there is so much going on that it gets difficult to decide where the melody is or what part to sing along with, it is likely that you are hearing counterpoint. Although there is plenty of music that has no counterpoint, independent parts are one of the most basic ways to make music sound rich and interesting. Even if a piece of music cannot really be called "counterpoint" or "polyphony", because it clearly has one melody, the accompaniment lines may still be quite contrapuntal. Even music that most people would describe as homophony or chords, because all the lines have exactly the same rhythm, is usually written following the rules of counterpoint.

Counterpoint [continued] This gives the music a much richer, more interesting texture. Next time you are listening to your favorite song or your favorite piece of music, don't hum along with the melody. Instead, listen to the bass line. Listen to the inner voices and the instrumental accompaniment parts. Chances are that you will hear some interesting lines, even little pieces of melody, that are completely different from what you usually sing along with. Some Useful Terms

• Canon - In a canon, different voices (or instruments) sing (or play) the same melody, with no changes, but at different times. The melody is usually sung at the same pitch or an octave higher or lower, but there are also canons in which the second part comes in a fourth or fifth higher or lower than the first part.
• Round - In a canon, obviously every section of the canon must "fit" with the section that comes after it. (In other words, they must sound good when sung or played at the same time). A round is a special type of canon in which the last section also fits with the first section, so that the canon can be repeated over and over without stopping. Rounds are usually pretty short and always start at the same note, or the octave.
• Fugue - A fugue usually has at least three independent parts, or voices. The different voices enter at different times on the same melodic theme (called the subject), so that the beginning may sound like a canon. But then the different voices develop the theme in different directions. A second melodic theme (called the countersubject) is usually introduced, and the middle of the fugue gets quite intricate, with the subject and countersubject popping in and out of various voices, sometimes in surprising ways (upside-down, for example).
• Countermelody or descant - Sometimes a piece of music that is basically melody-with-accompaniment (homophonic) will include a single part that is truly independent of the melody. For example, a choral piece might be chordal for a few verses and then, to keep the music interesting and fresh, add an independent part for a flute or for the highest sopranos on the third verse. This is a countermelody, sometimes called a descant part. Gospel and pop singers often add countermelodies, sometimes improvised, and classical music also contains many, many examples of countermelodies.

Countermelodies Zum Gali Gali Some more ideas on the elements of music. Musical texture refers to both the horizontal and vertical relationships of musical materials. Western music usually assumes some sort of harmony if there are more than two parts. Western harmony may not exist in non-Western music, but the terms may be useful in describing horizontal relationships. Kinds of texture Monophony Musical texture with a single melodic line. Heterophony Musical texture in which the same melody is played by all voices and instruments but with variations and omissions depending on the particular nature of the each. Polyphony Musical texture composed of two or more voices. Parallel organum Polyphony composed of a melody and a second part that parallels it.

Drone Polyphony composed of a melody supported by one or two unchanging pitches. Homophony Polyphony composed of a melody supported by chords. Independent polyphony The melodic voices move in different directions. (The term "independent polyphony" is not necessarily recognized as standard, but it is useful to illustrate a point. Some scholars restrict the term "polyphony " to mean "independent polyphony.") Imitative polyphony The melody of one voice is based on another; it imitates it. Canon (or round) All or almost all the material of the first voice is repeated by one or more following voices. Fugue A single melody is repeated at different times by different voices. Rhythm may be irregular but is usually regular. When regular it will have an underlying beat which is referred to in terms of meter and tempo. Rhythm can be defined as "the whole feeling of movement in music, with a strong implication of both regularity and differentiation in the division of time." Kinds of rythm Polyrhythm The simultaneous use of strikingly contrasted rhythms in different parts of the musical fabric. Proportional rhythm “Normal” rhythm. Smaller rhythmic units are simple proportions of larger units. Speech rhythm Rhythmic system of a musical composition wherein the rhythm is determined by the rhythm of the spoken text. Free rhythm Notes of irregular length with no discernible pattern. “The pattern of fixed temporal units, called beats, by which the timespan of a piece of music or a section thereof is measured” Indicated by time signatures (for example, 2/2, 4/4, 6/8). Isometer The use of a repeated pulse without its organization into groups. Mixed meter The sequential use of two or more different meters in one piece.

Modulation Change of tonal center or key within a composition Writing about Articulation Slur & Phrase - Music, like written prose, tends to be made up of short sequences we call phrases. If we look at Swift's 'A satirical Elegy on the Death of a late Famous General' - in which each line is a single phrase. But what of what, his friends may say, He had those honours in his day, True to his profit and his pride, He made them weep before he dy'd. Each line expresses a single idea which is the fundamental characteristic of a phrase. Of course, the choice of phrase length is not 'set in stone'. One might 'feel' that a more natural phrase length here is the pairing of lines (1 with 2, 3 with 4). This freedom to feel poetry in various different ways occurs too in music and phrasing is a matter best left to the performer to communicate to the listener as he (or she) thinks best. In the setting of words to music, the phrasing of the words tends to find its mirror in the shaping of the musical line. The desire of editors and composers to make their intentions clear down to the very last detail has meant that phrasing is shown through the use of large sweeping 'slur- like' lines called 'phrase marks'. Slurs, which tend to embrace a smaller number of notes, help to shape the musical line even within broader phrasing marks and performers must be able to distinguish between them. On wind instruments, all the notes under the slur except for the first, are un-tongued, the breath flowing continuously while the fingers move. On stringed instruments, the equivalent effect is achieved by using a single sweep of the bow for each slur or phrase. On keyboard instruments the notes are played legato (smoothly) and with a light touch. The slur removes the attack from the start of each note under it except for the first so providing a contrast in strength, a dynamic variety, between the first and the later notes. If slurring is to be effective, or indeed a distinction made between different phrases, the performer must avoid playing un-slurred notes too smoothly. Pre- nineteenth century music was played in a more detached manner than we associate, say, with the repertoire of the late-Romantic. The advantages of a detached manner when playing in a large acoustically resonant building become clear. When the notes 'ring on' around the room, the harmonies overlap instead of flowing neatly one into the other. Slurring, in such surroundings, would obscure the line, and so the performer has to be able to adjust the performance to the demands made by the surroundings by ignoring slur and phrase marks that may have become redundant.

Slurs are distinguishable from ties , because ties only link together notes of identical pitch (e.g. B to B) while slurs never link together notes of identical pitch. Tenuto & Staccato The idea that music can be 'smoothed out' using slurs can be reduced to just a single note, which if normally played in a detached manner, would now need to be held for its full written value. This mark, a small horizontal line over or below the note head, is called a tenuto mark. If the use of tenuto is extended the composer may place the word tenuto in the score rather than pedantically marking every note. The reverse, i.e. the shortening of a note by replacing part of its time value with a period of silence, is called staccato, a sign introduced into music in the late eighteenth century. This is marked with a small dot (for staccato) or a horizontal line and dot (for mezzo staccato), or a single 'quotation mark' or 'wedge' (for staccatissimo). Staccato means no more than sustaining the note, so marked, for only half its written length, replacing the other half with a period of silence. Some players mistakenly strengthen the shorter note in the belief that staccato is used to make a note rhythmically 'stronger' when it is actually used to make it 'weaker'. Mezzo staccato means hold the note for three quarters of its time value, while staccatissimo means hold the note for one quarter of its time value. We give a number of examples below. Slurs & Staccato When used under a slur, the staccato mark will have a slightly modified effect depending on the 'weight' of the note within the slur were it to have no staccato mark. If a note is slurred in pairs, the effect is to sustain the first but slightly lift the second. The staccato mark, therefore, on either or both, must be seen to modify this

Normal Accent moderately sharp attack that can be used at any dynamic level from pianissimo to fortissimo Legato Accent this can be used at any dynamic level and is a slight stress without a noticable attack and held to the full duration of the note Combined Accents (1-8) Strong & Staccato Strong & Legato Strong & Staccatissimo Legato & Staccato Legato & Staccatissimo Normal & Staccato Normal & Legato Normal & Staccatissimo Strong Accents Medium Accents Accent Name Description Strong & Staccato Accents very percussive and shorter duration than notated Strong & Legato Accents very percussive while retaining full duration of notation Strong & Staccatissimo Accents strongest percussive attack possible with an exaggerated short duration Legato & Staccato Accents stressed and moderately short, separated from next note Legato and Staccatissimo stressed and quite short Normal & Staccato Accents moderately percussive and short Normal & Legato Accents moderately percussive with full note duration Normal & Staccatissimo Accents moderately percussive with short note duration

Articulation on Wind Instruments We summarise below information about articulation and accent as applied to wind instruments. Woodwind articulation Legato usually marked by a slur, the first note only will be tongued and the remainder of the phrase in play under a continuous stream of breath Soft or tongued legato every note is lightly tongued, with a softer syllable ( du instead of tu ) Staccato notes played half their written length, every note started and stopped by the tongue Double tonguing fast alternating syllables, usually tu and ku Triple tonguing like double tonguing but alternating tu , ku and tu Flutter tongue a vibration of the tongue, as if rolling the syllable rrrr Articulation on Stringed Instruments We summarise below information about articulation and accent as applied to stringed instruments. String players will apply bowing marks to indicate where the bow is to move up or down. The "up-bow" mark looks like a V and the "down-bow" mark like a square missing its bottom side. The modern bow-hold has the bow held between the tips of the fingers and thumb with the palm of the hand facing down towards the floor. "Up" means start at the tip. "Down" means start at the frog which is where your right hand is. On most modern stringed instruments the "down-bow" is stronger than the "up-bow", this due mainly