Chapter 3: Color, Texture, and Form Dynamics: How loud or soft the music is • Terminology in Italian Term Musical Symbol Definition Fortissimo ff Very loud Forte f Loud Mezzo forte mf Moderately loud Mezzo piano mp Moderately soft Piano p Soft Pianissimo pp Very soft Color • Color / Timbre • Voice: Classified by range into 4 parts – Soprano, (Mezzo soprano), Alto, Tenor, (Baritone), Bass Musical Instruments • Instrument families have the same basic shape and are made of the same materials – Strings, woodwinds, brasses, percussion, keyboard Strings • Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass (Listening Guide, p. 36) – Core of the Western symphony orchestra – Different string playing techniques • • • • Vibrato: Pizzicato: Tremolo: Trill: • Harp: • Glissando: • Arpeggio: Woodwinds • Flute: • Piccolo: • Clarinet: • Oboe: • English horn: • Bassoon: – Contrabassoon: The lowest instrument of the orchestra • Saxophone: • Listening Guide: pg. 37-38 Brasses • Trumpet: • Mute: A plug placed in the bell of the instrument to lessen the sound • • • • Trombone: French horn: Tuba: Listening Guide, pg. 38 Percussion • Some percussion instruments are pitched – Timpani: percussion instrument most often heard in classical music • Non-pitched percussion instruments: – Snare Drum, Bass drum, Cymbals Keyboard Instruments • Pipe organ: – Stop: Keyboard Instruments Harpsichord • Most popular during the Baroque Era Piano • Invented around 1700 The Symphony Orchestra • Originated during the seventeenth century • Early 18th century: 15-25 musicians • Late 18th century: 25-80 musicians • 19th century: around 100 musicians • Around 1800, a conductor became necessary as ensembles expanded and pieces became more complex – Orchestral score: • Listening Cue: Practice identifying instruments of the orchestra on CourseMate Listening Exercise 3.1 Texture • Texture: • Vincent Van Gogh’s Branch of an Almond Tree in Blossom (1890) Three Primary Textures in Music • Monophony: • Unison: • Homophony: • Polyphony: • Counterpoint: Identifying Texture • The “Hallelujah” chorus from The Messiah by George Frideric Handel (pg. 45) FORM • Form: • Use of statement, repetition, contrast, and variation Five Favorite Musical Forms • Strophic Form: AA – Listening example: pg. 47 (“Lullaby” by Brahms”) • Theme and Variations: A A1 A2 A3 A4 – Listening example: pg. 48 (“Variations on Twinkle Twinkle” by Mozart) • Binary Form: A B – Listening example: pg. 48 (“Andante” from The Surprise Symphony by Haydn) • Ternary Form: A B A – Listening example: pg. 49 (“Dance of the Reed Pipes” from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky) • Rondo Form: ABACA or ABACABA – Listening example: pg. 50 (“Rondeau” by Mouret)