Episode 2
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In this second episode we will be talking about the musical element Duration. Rhythm is one of the fundamental building blocks of music. It refers to the way that sounds are organized and structured in time, creating patterns and cycles that give music a sense of movement and energy. It is the element that creates excitement! Please join me and lets explore!
Questions for Programme 2:
1. Please Google Beethoven Symphony number 5 rhythm and follow the Encyclopaedia Britannica link and read up about how that rhythmic motive appears all over the symphony.
2. There is an interesting way of looking at rhythm as a clock face in the following video https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2UphAzryVpY&feature=share
3. Can you think of a reason for the prominence of a drum set and drummer in almost all popular music? (Hint: Think about why the drum set consists of different sizes of drums.)
4. Then can you explain how it is that classical music does not rely heavily on the presence of drums in the orchestra?
5. The very large kettle drums often seen in the orchestra are called the tympani. But they have special uses besides keeping the beat. Read up about them and how they support that alternating bass we have been talking about.
6. What function does that alternating bass serve?
Answers to questions from Programme 1:
1. Please identify a few instruments or singers that use the treble or G clef.
Violin, Flute, Oboe, Cor Anglais, Clarinet, Saxophones, Horn, Trumpet, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Mandolin, Recorder, Bagpipe, guitar, and Soprano and Alto singers
2. Please identify a few instruments or singers that use the bass or F clef.
‘Cello, Double Bass, Bassoon, Tuba, bass Guitar, Tenor and Bass singers
3. Please identify a few instruments or singers that might use the C clef. (Hint: this clef is movable, and can be called the Alto Clef, the Tenor Clef, the Soprano Clef, the Mezzo-Soprano Clef and the Baritone Clef.
Viola, ‘Cello, Bassoon, Viola d’amore, Viola de gamba, Alto Trombone, and Countertenor voice. These 5 clefs were in very common use in the so-called Baroque period, so orchestras or groups that perform on original historical instruments will be familiar with them. Nowadays only the Alto and Tenor are still widely used, and usually the people who can read them also read the more common Treble and Bass clefs.
4. Please think of three reasons why middle C is called middle C.
It’s found on the middle line of the grand staff consisting of 11 lines, line number 6 counting from either the top or the bottom.
It’s the common note between female and male voice ranges for the average singer and it can be played on nearly all instruments both treble and bass.
It’s roughly in the middle of the piano keyboard above the pedals, so it’s easily accessible to both right and left hands. In fact many piano lesson books start on middle C with both left and right hands as the first note that piano students learn to find and read.
5. Please listen to one piece written for a treble clef instrument, one for a bass clef instrument, and the remaining two movements of the Schumann Märchenbilder we heard which are for the C clef instrument. Reflect on whether the relative low or high sounds mean something to your listening experience and which speak most directly to your heart.
So which was it for you? For me personally, it’s the warmth of the notes just around and below middle C and the extreme bass notes on a really good piano. But this could be a male thing, because this is where my voice is pitched. This is the calm and soothing range for me. For many people it is the upper end of the female and male voices that speak to their heart most directly, often because of the excitement and thrill of a really energizing climax to a song like Nessun Dorma. This is highly personal, but has a definite influence on the music you choose to listen to.
Questions for Programme 2:
1. Please Google Beethoven Symphony number 5 rhythm and follow the Encyclopaedia Britannica link and read up about how that rhythmic motive appears all over the symphony.
2. There is an interesting way of looking at rhythm as a clock face in the following video https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=2UphAzryVpY&feature=share
3. Can you think of a reason for the prominence of a drum set and drummer in almost all popular music? (Hint: Think about why the drum set consists of different sizes of drums.)
4. Then can you explain how it is that classical music does not rely heavily on the presence of drums in the orchestra?
5. The very large kettle drums often seen in the orchestra are called the tympani. But they have special uses besides keeping the beat. Read up about them and how they support that alternating bass we have been talking about.
6. What function does that alternating bass serve?
Answers to questions from Programme 1:
1. Please identify a few instruments or singers that use the treble or G clef.
Violin, Flute, Oboe, Cor Anglais, Clarinet, Saxophones, Horn, Trumpet, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Mandolin, Recorder, Bagpipe, guitar, and Soprano and Alto singers
2. Please identify a few instruments or singers that use the bass or F clef.
‘Cello, Double Bass, Bassoon, Tuba, bass Guitar, Tenor and Bass singers
3. Please identify a few instruments or singers that might use the C clef. (Hint: this clef is movable, and can be called the Alto Clef, the Tenor Clef, the Soprano Clef, the Mezzo-Soprano Clef and the Baritone Clef.
Viola, ‘Cello, Bassoon, Viola d’amore, Viola de gamba, Alto Trombone, and Countertenor voice. These 5 clefs were in very common use in the so-called Baroque period, so orchestras or groups that perform on original historical instruments will be familiar with them. Nowadays only the Alto and Tenor are still widely used, and usually the people who can read them also read the more common Treble and Bass clefs.
4. Please think of three reasons why middle C is called middle C.
It’s found on the middle line of the grand staff consisting of 11 lines, line number 6 counting from either the top or the bottom.
It’s the common note between female and male voice ranges for the average singer and it can be played on nearly all instruments both treble and bass.
It’s roughly in the middle of the piano keyboard above the pedals, so it’s easily accessible to both right and left hands. In fact many piano lesson books start on middle C with both left and right hands as the first note that piano students learn to find and read.
5. Please listen to one piece written for a treble clef instrument, one for a bass clef instrument, and the remaining two movements of the Schumann Märchenbilder we heard which are for the C clef instrument. Reflect on whether the relative low or high sounds mean something to your listening experience and which speak most directly to your heart.
So which was it for you? For me personally, it’s the warmth of the notes just around and below middle C and the extreme bass notes on a really good piano. But this could be a male thing, because this is where my voice is pitched. This is the calm and soothing range for me. For many people it is the upper end of the female and male voices that speak to their heart most directly, often because of the excitement and thrill of a really energizing climax to a song like Nessun Dorma. This is highly personal, but has a definite influence on the music you choose to listen to.
