MONDAY 10/3
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Objectives:
1. Review Old Terms 2. New Melody terms |
Assignments:
Ongoing: New: Instrumentation/Texture Assignment DUE NEXT CLASS (weds.) TYPED |
Review Old Terms
- Appreciating Music
- Doctrine of Ethos, Katharsis , Imitation
- Melody , Range , Instrumental Music,
Instrumentation , Timbre , Genre , Texture (Thick/Thin) ,
Instrumentation
Webster Definition: the particular instruments used in a piece of music; the manner in which a piece is arranged for instruments.
Easy Terms: The combination of instruments/different sounds used in a certain song
***Timbre: is the quality of a musical note, sound, or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments.
so....Instrumentation is the arrangement of different Timbres (different sounds/instruments)
THIS IS HOW WE HEAR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS
I.E. the specific sound of an instrument/voice (think of the human voice, no two of us sound the same, we all have slightly different timbres)****
EXAMPLE.......
These could be Big differences in timbre
Trombone vs Saxophone
or smaller differences in timbre
electric guitar vs. acoustic guitar
if we think about a band, it is generally a mixture of Different instruments/timbres, we would not usually see a band made up of all the same instrument - This is important because we can come up with unique sounds when we have combinations of different timbres
In Context.....
We have to think about this concept in terms of choices by the composer - why would the artist chose a certain combination of timbres in his/her song?
Ex. Why did John Mayer chose to use acoustic guitar instead of electric in the second video? and vice versa
They have a lot to chose from....
List Of Musical Instruments
Chart of Instruments
Easy Terms: The combination of instruments/different sounds used in a certain song
***Timbre: is the quality of a musical note, sound, or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments.
so....Instrumentation is the arrangement of different Timbres (different sounds/instruments)
THIS IS HOW WE HEAR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS
I.E. the specific sound of an instrument/voice (think of the human voice, no two of us sound the same, we all have slightly different timbres)****
EXAMPLE.......
These could be Big differences in timbre
Trombone vs Saxophone
or smaller differences in timbre
electric guitar vs. acoustic guitar
if we think about a band, it is generally a mixture of Different instruments/timbres, we would not usually see a band made up of all the same instrument - This is important because we can come up with unique sounds when we have combinations of different timbres
In Context.....
We have to think about this concept in terms of choices by the composer - why would the artist chose a certain combination of timbres in his/her song?
Ex. Why did John Mayer chose to use acoustic guitar instead of electric in the second video? and vice versa
They have a lot to chose from....
List Of Musical Instruments
Chart of Instruments
Questions to think about concerning Instrumentation/Timbres
Why Does Instrumentation Matter?
What affect does it have on the Music?
How does it influence the Song?
How does it influence our Musical Tastes?
***one way to get perspective on instrumentation is to imagine a song you like and imagine it with completely different instrumentation - for example, imagine a rock or hip hop song had it's instrumentation switched out with all violins, trumpets, flutes etc - ****
Example : House/HipHop/Techno played by Trumpet/Baritone Sax/Auxiliary Percussion
What other Physical Characteristics of music and song does Instrumentation Effect
1. Musical Genre
2. Musical Texture
Genre
Webster: A musical genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.
The most important part of this definition is that genre is defined/decided by characteristics of a piece.
Shared traditions/set of convention = set of rules/characteristics
These rules/characteristics could be a long list of things: Instrumentation, Content/Subject matter, Persona of the Artist, Cultural Context, Delivery of the melody, etc.
Example: Think of a typical country-pop song. Imagine the sound and imagine looking at the band on a stage
Automatically we assume certain characteristics about the piece...
Instrumentation: Acoustic guitars, Fiddles, Banjos, drums, upright bass
Delivery of Melody: Southern Accent, Country-style singing
Persona of Artist: Cowboy boots/Hat, torn jeans, plaid shirt
Maybe we could even assume something about Content/Subject Matter..
The most important part of this definition is that genre is defined/decided by characteristics of a piece.
Shared traditions/set of convention = set of rules/characteristics
These rules/characteristics could be a long list of things: Instrumentation, Content/Subject matter, Persona of the Artist, Cultural Context, Delivery of the melody, etc.
Example: Think of a typical country-pop song. Imagine the sound and imagine looking at the band on a stage
Automatically we assume certain characteristics about the piece...
Instrumentation: Acoustic guitars, Fiddles, Banjos, drums, upright bass
Delivery of Melody: Southern Accent, Country-style singing
Persona of Artist: Cowboy boots/Hat, torn jeans, plaid shirt
Maybe we could even assume something about Content/Subject Matter..
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Examples of Instrumentation by Genre
Rock: Lead Vocals, Guitars (usually electric), Bass, Piano/Keyboard, Drumset Orchestral (literally named after it's instrumentation; the orchestra): Violin, Viola, Cellos, Upright Bass', Clarinets, Flute, Oboes, Percussion, etc. The list of Possible Genres is Endless |
*****Quick Activity:*****
For the following Genres, research what would be a standard instrumentation within that Style (i.e. all the instruments used in that style) Big Band Jazz Salsa Jug House Grunge |
Texture
Webster: Musical texture refers to the number of layers, as well as the type of layers, used in a composition and how these layers are related. Texture may be monophonic, polyphonic or homophonic. Monophonic - Refers to a single melodic line.
Easy Terms: Describing how a song Sounds and Feels.
This is one concept we where we see parallels in real life. Texture is usually used in reference to the sense of touch or feel.
When using it in this context we can easily imagine/visualize texture using descriptive words
Rough
Slimey
Soft
Spungy
With these words, We can visualize running our hand over a certain material and imagine what it would feel like.
So how do we describe Musical Texture?
Thin VS. Thick
Easy Terms: Describing how a song Sounds and Feels.
This is one concept we where we see parallels in real life. Texture is usually used in reference to the sense of touch or feel.
When using it in this context we can easily imagine/visualize texture using descriptive words
Rough
Slimey
Soft
Spungy
With these words, We can visualize running our hand over a certain material and imagine what it would feel like.
So how do we describe Musical Texture?
Thin VS. Thick
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(........Thickening..............)
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Examples of THICK texture
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Notes about Texture :
-Very Few songs stay the SAME TEXTURE throughout the song.
- a rule of thumb is , the more instruments/timbres happening at one time, the thicker the Texture
- Think about texture as if it were a room you walk into. There could be many conversations, a couple conversations, or just one person talking.
-Very Few songs stay the SAME TEXTURE throughout the song.
- a rule of thumb is , the more instruments/timbres happening at one time, the thicker the Texture
- Think about texture as if it were a room you walk into. There could be many conversations, a couple conversations, or just one person talking.
Examples of Texture Change
Texture can be used as a MUSICAL DEVICE or a TOOL within songs.
Stay Together for the Kids - Blink 182
Don't Forget Me
The Weekend - SNL
Texture can be used as a MUSICAL DEVICE or a TOOL within songs.
Stay Together for the Kids - Blink 182
Don't Forget Me
The Weekend - SNL
Instrumentation/Texture Activity
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For This assignment, you will do a short survey of music you like, in order to see if there are any trends in the instrumentation/texture used in those examples. We have learned what instrumentation/texture are, and what they influence, now we will examine what kind of impact they has on your musical tastes.
Example: Song Artist: Don't Forget me , Red Hot Chilli Peppers Instrumentation: Drumset, Electric Guitar x2, Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, Bass, Genre: Rock Subject Matter: Depressing song - about a man who is lonely, feels alone in the world Similar to others by artist: Very Similar to other songs by RHCP |
Instructions:
1. Make a list of 5 of your favourite songs. These could be current, all time favourites etc. 5 songs that you dig listening to! 2. For each song give the following characteristics: - Instrumentation (list what your hear, use research to check) - Genre (use research to double check) - Brief description (a few words) of Subject Matter ; or , what the song is about 3. Examine your the characteristics for your songs and answer the following questions:
4. Put your songs in order according their textures. Put the Thickest texture at the top, and the thinnest at the bottom.
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