Music: An Appreciation, Brief, 8th edition | Roger Kamien

PART I: ELEMENTS

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 Chapter 1-SOUND
Our world is filled with sounds
•Sounds can be pleasant or unpleasant
•Sound communicates: laughter, crying, singing, honking horn,
yelling

Sound
•Begins with the vibration of an object
•The vibrations are transmitted into sound waves through the
air
•The vibrations cause our eardrums to vibrate
• Signals are sent to brains where they are
selected/organized/interpreted

MUSIC: Art based on the organization of

sounds in time
Four main properties of musical sounds
• Pitch • Dynamics • Tone color • Duration 2014 © McGraw-Hill
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 1. Pitch: relative highness or lowness of
sound
The pitch of sound is determined by frequency of
vibrations
•small object /fast vibration = high pitch; large object/slow
vibration= low pitch
In music, a definite pitch is a Tone (named after
lst 7 letters of the alphabet – a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
•Tones have a specific number of vibrations and are measured
in Cycles Per Second
e.g., A = 440 cycles per second (higher A=880 cps) (lower
A=220 cps)
Interval: distance between 2 tones
•Octave: 2 tones 8 pitches apart (from A to A or B to B,
etc.)
•Tones an octave apart sound alike
Pitch Range/Range: distance between voice or
instrument’s highest & lowest possible tones
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 Intervals

https://youtu.be/Hi9bUcnHLBo

Watch this video to about 1:49 (1 min., 49

seconds) to see and hear an interval of a
second all the way to the interval of an
octave.

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 Piano Keyboard
Keyboard note names with notation

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 2. Dynamics
Relative loudness or softness of a sound
Italian terms are used to indicate dynamic markings
•Changes in dynamics may be sudden or gradual

•Extremes: ppp, pppp, fff, ffff

•Crescendo: gradually louder

•Decrescendo (diminuendo):
gradually softer

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 3. Tone Color (Timbre)
• Quality that identifies an instrument’s or voice’s
sound (distinguishes one voice or instrument
from another)
• Can be bright, dark, mellow, etc.
Unlimited variety of tone colors (Every voice and
every instrument is unique.)
Composers frequently put different types of
instruments together to create new tone colors.

Changes in tone color create variety and contrast

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 4. Duration
Length of time a musical sound lasts
(Will learn more about duration when
studying note values.)

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 Listening Outlines | Vocal Music Guides

Outlines are preceded by descriptions of the music’s main

features
•Before you listen, glance at the entire Listening Outline
or Vocal Music Guide
•Listening Outline: points out notable musical sounds
•Vocal Music Guide: helps the listener follow the
thought, story, or drama
•As you listen, try to follow along and notice the Elements
of Music
*Suggestion: While listening to one passage,
look ahead to what is next

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Follow the Listening Outline in your Book.
The Firebird is a ballet
Listen for the 4 main properties of
Musical Sound:
1.Pitch - highness and lowness of sound
2.Dynamics – loudness and softness of
sound
3. Tone colors - unique instrumental
sounds
4. Duration – length of the piece

LISTENING
The Firebird, scene 2 (1910)
Igor Stravinsky

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 Chapter 2 -PERFORMING MEDIA:
Voices and Instruments

Voices: unique ability to fuse words & musical tones

•Voice range is based on physical makeup & training
•Register – a part of the vocal/instrumental range
•Voice classifications
Female Male
soprano (highest) tenor
mezzo-soprano baritone
alto bass (lowest)
•Vocal music is frequently performed with instrumental
accompaniment (piano, guitar, orchestra, etc.)
•Professional Singers: have great breath control/excellent
diction/able to sing in other languages /ample volume/wide
range of pitch – around 2 octaves (plus a little more) pitch
range
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Musical instruments: any mechanism (other
than voice) that produces musical sounds
•Western instruments: 6 broad categories - we’ll study
5

string percussion
woodwind keyboard
brass (electronic)

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 String Instruments
Sound produced by vibrating strings with bow
The thinner the string and tighter the tension, the higher
the pitch. Pressing on the string changes the length to be
bowed.
Tune by tightening/loosening the pegs.
Orchestral bowed instruments
• violin • viola
• cello
• bass (double bass)
Common playing techniques
• pizzicato • vibrato • tremolo
• double stop • mute
Other string instruments (not played with bow)
Guitar (uses a pick) & harp (fingers)
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 Woodwind Instruments
Early woodwinds were made of wood
•In the 20th century, metal & plastic became common
•The longer the tubing, the lower the pitch
– Holes along instrument change the length of the tube
Main orchestral woodwinds and ranges:

Woodwinds: single note instrument

Sounds produced by blowing (player’s breath)
• “whistle mouthpiece” • single reed • double reed
• saxophone: single reed instrument; common in jazz
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 Brass Instruments
Orchestral brasses (in order of range)
•trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba
•cornet, baritone horn, & euphonium used mainly in
concert and in marching bands
Sound produced by blowing into mouthpiece
•Vibration of player’s lips produces sound
•Sound exits through flared end called bell
•Pitch changed in 2 ways:
― Pressure of player’s lips (together and against
mouthpiece)
― Lengthening the instrument via slide or valves
o Trombone uses sliding tubes
o Others use valves connected to additional tubing
o Generally, the longer the tube, the lower the pitch
•Tone color is altered by inserting mute into bell
Brass provides power and emphasis in music
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 How instruments work
Try this on your own!

https://method-behind-the-music.com/mecha
nics/woodwinds/

Click on this link

Find Mechanics of Music (on the left)
Find How Instruments Work and click on each
Brass/Woodwinds/Strings/Percussion

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 Percussion Instruments
Sound (generally) produced by striking or shaking the
instruments
•Instruments of definite pitch produce tones
•Those of indefinite pitch produce noise-like sounds
•Instruments make use of membranes, pieces of wood or metal

Percussionists must play many instruments

Percussion traditionally emphasizes rhythm
20th-century music: greater use of percussion

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 Keyboard Instruments
Harpsichord
Clavichord
Pianoforte
Piano
Organ

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Benjamin Britten wrote this piece to teach people
about the instruments of the orchestra, how they
look, and how they sound.

Follow the listening guide in your book as you

watch the video!

Listen for:
•Theme – a melody used as the basis for a
composition (written by Purcell)
•Variations – varied repetitions of the theme

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vbvhU22uA
M

LISTENING
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,
Op. 34 (1946)
Benjamin Britten

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 Chapter 3 - RHYTHM
• Rhythm - Particular arrangement of note lengths (more
specific definition) or the flow of music through time
(general definition)
BEAT
– Regular recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal
units of time (beats are organized in groupings of 2/3/4, etc.)
METER – Organization of beats into regular groups
– Grouping of beats into 2’s, 3’s, 4’s (Simple Meter)
6’s, 9’s, 12’s (Compound Meter)
– There are natural strong and weak beats
– Simple Meter ( 2 = Duple, 3 = Triple, 4 = Quadruple)
– Compound Meter
ACCENT and SYNCOPATION
– Accent: note is emphasized/played louder than the notes
around it.
– Syncopation: when an “off beat” note is accented
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 Examples of Meter
Duple Meter (slow tempo):
https://youtu.be/F90Cw4l-8NY

Triple Meter (moderate tempo):

https://youtu.be/yivLt9cTaio

Quadruple Meter (moderate tempo):

https://youtu.be/wdEe68SR-uY?si=8ZhgEcogb
b3GCY0I

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 Tempo
• Tempo - The speed of the beat; how fast or slow music
flows
• Tempo markings are indicated by Italian Terms (like
dynamics)
• The tempo marking is indicated at beginning of the
music.

–Added terms for tempo: Molto, non troppo, accelerando, ritardando

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• Metronome: indicates exact tempo Education
 Chapter 4 - MUSIC NOTATION
• How music is written/communicated
– Allows composers to communicate their ideas to
others

Notating pitch – specific tones

• Letter names used in music: A B C D E F G
• Staff – 5 lines and 4 spaces (horizontal)

• Grand Staff
− G Clef or Treble
− F Clef or Bass

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 Notating Pitch
Keyboard note names/Grand Staff note names
Note: a symbol that represents 1. a specific
tone and 2. the duration of that tone
Ledger Lines: Added lines above or below
the staff

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 Notating Rhythm
• Notes placed on a staff indicate a specific pitch
(tone) and a specific amount of duration
Adding a dot to the right of any note
will increases it’s duration

Notating Silence
Rests: indicate
notated silence

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 Notating Meter
• Time signature/Meter Signature: indicates the
meter of a piece of music
(duple/triple/quadruple/compound)
– Appears at beginning of piece after the Clef and the Key
Signature
– Appears again whenever meter changes
– Written as two numbers, one above the other
2 3 4 6 top number: how many beats per measure (meter)
4 2 4 8 bottom number: what type note = 1 beat
(quarter/half/eighth)
– Common time/ cut time

The Score – what musicians read

• Includes music for each instrument/voice
• Conductor’s Score can include 20+ lines of music at
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Example of Music

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 Chapter 5 - MELODY
• Melody - A series of single tones that add up to a recognizable
whole
• Begins, moves throughout, ends
• Melodies move by Steps (adjacent scale tones - from a line to a
space or a space to a line), Leaps (skips - anything greater than a
step), or repeated tones
• Legato (smooth and connected) vs. Staccato (short and detached)
• Made of phrases (parts)
• There are climactic phrases in melodies
• At the end of a melodic phrase there are Cadences.
• Cadence: Complete Cadence (sounds final) vs. Incomplete
Cadence (sets up expectation for continuation/unfinished sound)

LISTENING
Listen, then follow the
Over the Rainbow (1938) listening outline to this
Harold Arlen selection in CONNECT MUSIC

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 Chapter 6 - HARMONY
• Harmony - The way chords are constructed and
how they follow each other
• Chord: three or more tones sounded at once
– Melody is a series of individual tones played one after
another

Types of Chords: Consonant and Dissonant

• Stable, restful chords (Consonant)
• Unstable, tense chords (Dissonant)

• Resolution: movement away from a dissonant

chord towards a consonant chord

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 The Triad
• The triad is the simplest, most basic chord
Made up of three notes
Notated on 3 adjacent lines or 3 adjacent spaces
• Tonic triad: built on 1st scale tone
Most stable, restful chord
Pieces usually begin and end on this chord
• Dominant triad: built on 5th scale tone
Moving from a dominant to tonic chord feels conclusive

Broken Chords (Arpeggios)

• The tones of a chord played one at a time (not
together)
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Follow the Listening Outline in your
Book
Listen for:

Simple melody line, played by the

pianists right hand (treble clef)
Harmony (chords) played by the
pianists left hand (bass clef)

LISTENING
Prelude in e minor for piano, Op. 28, No. 4 (1839)
Frédéric Chopin

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 Chapter 7 - KEY
Centering a piece of music around a central tone, a central
scale, and a central chord is the definition of “Key”

Scales are made up of whole steps and half steps. A half

step is the smallest interval in a scale. Two half steps equal
one whole step.

The Major Scale

Whole steps and half steps occurring in a predetermined
order
Major Scale = bright, happy sound

The Minor Scale

Whole steps and half steps occurring in a different
predetermined order
Minor Scale = dark, sad sound 2014 © McGraw-Hill
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 Key Signature
• Pieces based upon major scales are written in major
keys
• There are 12 major keys - some sharp keys (#)/some flat keys (b)
• Pieces based upon minor scales are written in minor key
• There are 12 minor keys - some sharp keys (#)/some flat keys (b)
• There are a total of 24 keys
• A key can have from 1 to 7 sharps or from 1 to 7 flats
• A key can also have 0 sharps or flats
– The Key Signature is found at beginning of written music between
the clef sign and the time signature
The Chromatic Scale
Utilizes all 12 notes within the octave – a series of half steps
– Includes both black and white piano keys
– This scale does not define a key
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 Modulation
• Modulation - To move from one key to
another in the same piece of music.
• Provides contrast within a longer piece of
music

Tonic Key – The first key seen

The main key of a piece of music
• Modulation to different keys sometimes occurs in
music, but the music will typically begin and end in
the tonic key.
• Return to tonic creates feeling of resolution and
conclusion.
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 Chapter 8 - MUSICAL TEXTURE
Texture - Layering of sound by singing voices or instruments
Monophonic Texture – voices or instruments
Single layer of sound produced by: one voice/one instrument/more than
one voice or instrument in unison (no harmony)
Polyphonic Texture – voices or instruments
One melody begins then a second begins a little later, then a third,
etc. (singing in a “round”, “imitation” – Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
Homophonic Texture – voices or instruments
One melody with harmony all beginning at the same time.
(produced by voices only/ instruments only/voices with
instruments)
Changes of Texture
Within a piece, creates variety and contrast
A Capella – voices singing with no instrumental accompaniment

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Follow the Listening Outline in your Book.
Listen for the 2 contrasting themes:
1.March Theme in a Minor Key
2.Lively Theme in a Major Key

Listen the & try to identify following

textures:
•Monophonic
•Polyphonic
•Homophonic
LISTENING
Farandole from L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2 (1879)
Georges Bizet

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 Chapter 9 - MUSICAL FORM
Musical Form – the organization of musical elements
in time

Techniques that create musical form

•Repetition—restating musical ideas
•Contrast—avoiding monotony with new ideas
•Variation—reworking ideas to keep them new

Types of Musical Form – Ternary – 3 part form

•simple
•subdivided
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Follow the Listening Outline in your
book.

•Ternary form – 3 part form – ABA’

•Identify the A music, the
contrasting B music, and the return
of A (A’) only shorter.

LISTENING
Dance of the Reed Pipes from Nutcracker Suite
(1892)
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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 Types of Musical Form
Binary – 2 part form
•A B
•A AB
•A BB
•A ABB

•Follow the Listening Outline in our book.

•This is in AABB form. Hear the return of A and the
return of B Listen, then follow the listening outline to this selection
LISTENING in CONNECT MUSIC
Bourée from Suite in e minor for lute (1710)
Johann Sebastian Bach

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 Chapter 10 - MUSICAL STYLE
• Characteristic way of using melody, rhythm, tone,
color, dynamics, harmony, texture, and form
• Western art music can be divided into:
Middle Ages, 450-1450
Renaissance, 1450-1600
Baroque, 1600-1750
Classical, 1750-1820
Romantic, 1820-1900
20th Century to 1945
1945 to present
• Shaped by political, economic, social, and
intellectual developments

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