Week 2
Definitions
ASSIGNMENT :
YOUR ASSIGNMENT THIS WEEK IS TO COMPLETE THE 2 ACTIVITIES IN THIS CLASS PAGE LISTED IN RED AS ACTIVITY #1 AND ACTIVITY #2 . There is also a Discussion / Forum at the end of this page. BE SURE TO SUBMIT THESE ACTIVITIES IN THE ACTIVITY / DISCUSSION PAGE ON THE CANVAS COURSE.
Musical Instrument
in·stru·ment
/ˈinstrəmənt/
Long Definition:
A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture
Short Definition:
a device (such as a violin, piano, or flute) used to make music
A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture
Short Definition:
a device (such as a violin, piano, or flute) used to make music
Instrumentation
in·stru·men·ta·tion
/ˌinstrəmənˈtāSH(ə)n/
Long Definition:
In music, instrumentation is the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and the properties of those instruments individually.
Short Definition:
the particular instruments used in a piece of music; the manner in which a piece is arranged for instruments.
In music, instrumentation is the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and the properties of those instruments individually.
Short Definition:
the particular instruments used in a piece of music; the manner in which a piece is arranged for instruments.
Musical genre
mu·si·cal gen·re
/ˈmyo͞ozək /ˈZHänrə/
A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions.
Musical Ensemble:
mu·si·cal en·sem·ble
ˈmyo͞ozək /änˈsämbəl
Long Definition :
A musical ensemble, also known as a music groupor musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music, with the ensembletypically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instruments, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra.
Short Definition
A Group of musical instruments working together with the intention of creating a song.
A musical ensemble, also known as a music groupor musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music, with the ensembletypically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instruments, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra.
Short Definition
A Group of musical instruments working together with the intention of creating a song.
Instrumentation : Different Ensemble Sizes
- For listening examples, it is always useful to listen for yourself once while jotting some observations, then read the observations I have guided (so you know what the description is talking about and can hear it in your head)
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One important thing to notice about the previous video - There is only 1 person, but he is providing 2 instruments (piano and vocals) - often time (especially when vocals are present) we hear one person providing multiple sounds / instruments
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Check out these examples of Musical Scores ( "Score" is the term for a piece of sheet music that has all the instruments' respective musical parts. this is what the conductor of the orchestra is looking at)
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SO....
When dealing with instrumentation, we are observing these 2 variables :
1. How many instruments are present
2. What types of instruments are present
When dealing with instrumentation, we are observing these 2 variables :
1. How many instruments are present
2. What types of instruments are present
Activity #1 :
For the following examples, watch and make some observations about the instrumentation. You should have some bullet points for our 2 main instrumentation questions :
1. How many Instruments are present
2. What types of instruments are present ?
**** Do this for EACH OF THESE 6 examples Below******
****** Sometimes instruments don't come in until later in the song - check out whole thing so you don't miss any ******
1. How many Instruments are present
- # of Instruments ?
- Is it a similar # of instruments to the music you usually listen to ?
2. What types of instruments are present ?
- List the instruments - say the name if you know it, or describe the sound / look - you may have to do some research !
**** Do this for EACH OF THESE 6 examples Below******
****** Sometimes instruments don't come in until later in the song - check out whole thing so you don't miss any ******
Example:
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1. How many Instruments are Present :
2. What types of instruments are present ?
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Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourin Man
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1. How many Instruments are present 2. What types of instruments are present ? |
**** Notice it is a test for your ears when you don't have the luxury of a visual aid like a video with the band*****
European Jazz - Tears in Heaven
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1. How many Instruments are present 2. What types of instruments are present ? |
Esperanza Spalding - Junjo
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1. How many Instruments are present 2. What types of instruments are present ? |
*** If you are not as used to these instruments - you may have more difficulty picking them out ! ***
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
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1. How many Instruments are present 2. What types of instruments are present ? |
Sonny Stitt -
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1. How many Instruments are present 2. What types of instruments are present ? |
**** It can get increasingly harder as more timbres get added in and the instrumentation gets "thicker"
- Some instruments are very obvious and audible - like the vocals or a guitar or harmonica solo
OR
- Some are less easily heard - such as bass or background vocals -
Re-Arrangin Instrumentation
Take a listen to the 2 videos below, the Original being on the left and New version on the right
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- This is a technique that has become popular in the last few years, fueled by social media and the 'viral video affect' (creep cover is sporting a cool 60 million views...).
- You can see this all over -pop tunes that get played by a brass band, country version of a funk song etc....
- Groups like Postmodern Jukebox specialize in taking pop tunes and putting an old-timey spin on them
- one of the main things that changes when groups do this is the instrumentation
- We call this 'Re-Arranging' the instrumentation : arranging or manipulating the Instrumentation of a given song, making a new version of the song.
take a few minutes and listen to each example below . Each one represents a genre. For each video do 2 things (actually take out a piece of paper and write these down as if we were in class..) :
- See if you can list the instrumentation in each video
- after you have all the instruments look them over - are any of them unique , like we wouldn't see them in a lot of other genres ? (i.e. if bagpipes were present, that would be rare/unique)
- Pay attention to the specific elements of the songs that are changing
- Instrumentation will be one !
- they could be big changes such as : different instruments, instruments added or instruments taken away, lack of any lyrics,
- they could be small things: an accent or way the artist is talking, or maybe a slower/faster speed
- We know that they 'sound' different, but what specifically is going on musically that changes the song
Uptown Funk....
Instrumentation :
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Original |
Jazz |
Country |
Orchestral |
Salsa |
Activity #2 :
Questions to Answer about each Video :
- How would you categorize the genre for each of these examples ?
- What is the instrumentation of each ?
- Has it changed from the original genre ? Why ? what are you hearing musically that makes you say that ?
Original..
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1. 2. 3. |
Lucky Chops - Hello
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1. 2. 3. |
Fame on Fire - Hello
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1. 2. 3. |
Mandinga - Hello
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1. 2. 3. |
Jazz and Jass - Hello
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1. 2. 3. |
Forum
Check out the last 2 listening exercises ( Uptown funk and Adele....). For your forum, you will pick an original song, and find 5 new versions were the instrumentation has been re-arranged, resulting in a change in genre. See timeline and forum for further instructions.