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CHAPTER IV

MUSICC
MEANTNG OF MUSIC

Music is the art of combining sounds info a coherent perceptual


experience, typically in accordance with conventional modes and patterns and
for aesthetic purpose. It is the art of combining tones in such a way that is
pleasing, expressiye and intelligible. It is the art of making such combination into
composition of definite form.

NATURE OF MUSIC
From the earliest times, people have always
enjoyed making music. Music can be made with the
voice or by playing an instrument: The first instruments
were played more than 35,000 years ago when people
blew into shells and hollow mammoth bones. Today's
instruments are more complicated; the sounds they
make can be high or tow: This is known as the pitch of
the note. The way these sounds are arranged is called
the tune. Rhythm is the pattern of long and short notes. A
skilful musician can make the same tune sound slow and
sleepy or loud and jazzy.

Music is written down in a special language. Instead of words, there are


notes. The notes are named after letters of the aiphabet. Different countries and
regions have very different instruments and styles of music.

In ancient Greece, music originally referred to all arts presided over by the
nine Muses. For the Greek Philosophers, music was a concrete expression of the
order or the disorder that is present in life and reality. Plato contends that
musical harmonies and rhythms imitate basic patterns in the universe and the
and
soul. Certain musical forms engender love, grace, courage, temperance,
other virtues. On the other hand, there are musical modes that may induce
cOwardice, intemperance., and other vices. What athletics does for the body,
the music does to the mind.
In his ideal society, Plato assigned moral
education as the key function of music.
For him, "'musical training is a more potent
instrument than any other because
rhythm and harmony find their way into
the inward places of the soul on which
they mightily fasten, impairing grace. and
making the soul of himn who is rightBly
educated graceful, or of him who is ill
educated ungraceful....he who has
received this true education of the inner
A being will most shrewdly perceive
omissions or faults in art and nature, and
with a true taste."

PURPOSE/TUNGTIONS OF MUSIC

1. It provides pleasure and relaxes the senses

2. it can imitate moral quaities

2. It expresses emotions (joy, love, melancholy, grief., agony, etc}


3. It can be a means of communication (in opera, musicals, harana, etc)

4. it can perform a purgative or therapeutic function by arousing or releasing


pent-up emotions of fear, anger, pity and enthusiasm.

PROPERTIES OF MUSIC

1, Pitch- refers to the relative highness orlowness of a tone.

2. Duration refers to the length of the time, which a sound occupies.


3. Timbre ~ refers to the quality. which e n a b l e us t o distinguish o n e sound from

another.

4. Irntensity/volume refers to the loudness or softness of a sound.


Smitbb:
worest
Music

p l a p s r on a n e q A a t p i g u s

Elements of Music

1. Melody -

is the series of
consecutive tones, varying in pitch and duration, but
forminga line of individual significance and expressive value.

2. Rhythm -
if refers 1o the fime element produced by accent and duraticn
o
musical sounds. An accent is a stress or emphasis on a note.

3. Dynamics this means the force or percussive effects, degree of loudness J


softness, (forte means loud; messo forte, very loud: piano, soft:
pianissimo very soft

4. Harmony the simultaneous sounding of two or more tones.


a. Tempo s the rate of speed of a composition or section.
b. Texture refers to the number of tone one is expected to
apprehend simultaneously.
Types of texture

a Monophonic resutts when one melody is sung or played with no


accompariiment whatsoever.

bPolyphonic results when two or more melodies are played togetheer.


(Otherwise krnowna contrapuntal music)
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c) Homophonic result when one melody is supported with harmonies.

5. Color this is the result of the difference in timbre or quality in a variety of


voices and instruments.

6. Style this refers to the composer or singer's way of doing his part.

Princlples of Music

which combine
1. heme- consists of melodic, rhythmic and harmonic elements,
to give musical idea a distinct character or individuality.

constituent parts and


2. Unity: is the underlying structure principles when all
of oneness.
section of a composition combine to produce the effects

essentially the same media.


3. Variety- means modification or alteration of

4. Length- the oneness or shortness of a composition.

form consisting
5. Structure- it is either ternary. Binary is a basic musical
binary or
And ternary from which a
of fwo main sections which are usually repeated.
common musical form consisting
of three main sections.

The Media of Musie

1. The vocal media- refers to the human voice.


a.) Soprano- high register female voice
voice
b.) Mezzo soprano- medium register female
voice
C.) Alto or contralto- low register female
d high register mate voice
Tenor-
voice
e.)Baritone- medium register male
f.) Base- low register male voice
the musical instrumenfs.
2. The instrumental media- this refers to

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Sections of an Orchestra
Four Musical

1. The Strings
a.) Violin
b.) Viola .

'

C.) Violoncello (cello)


d.) Double Bass
e.) Harp
f.) Lyre
a.) Guitar

2. The Brass
Piceto
a.) French Horn
b.) Trumpet
c.) Trombone
d.) tuba
rur

3. The Woodwinds French Horn

a.) Piccolo
b.) Flute
c. Oboe
d. English horn
. aro:**
e.) Clarinet
.) Bassoon
g) Saxophone

4. The Percussions
a.) Cymbals
b Tambourine
C.) Xylophone 415DON

d.) Drums

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3. The ensemble medium- produced when two or more performers equally singg
or play a piece of music.
a.) The orchestra- composed of any group of instrumental performers andis
USUally under the direction of a conductor.
b.) The symphony orchestra- this is a large ensemble wherein all the types of
principal instruments are included
c.) Concerto- in this ensemble, one sole instrument is given a dominant role i
music.
d.) Band- an instrumental ensemble. Iarge like an orchestra but is exclusively
composed of wind and percussion instrument.
e.) Randall- the most popular instrumental group in the Philippines.
f.) Chamber orchestra applies to small instrumental ensembles. There are only a
few performers.for a certain musical part.

KINDS OF MUSIC

1. Program Music this kind of music is


connected with elements of a story or a poem.
a.) Imitative- music copies the actual
sound of the subject
b.) Descriptive- music pictures an event
or scenee
C.)Naraive- music intends to tella
story or represent a series of related
events.
2. Folk music- the traditional and spontaneous
music of people, race, nation or region. It has passed
down from one generation to another and is
generally not a composer's work; it is traditional music 9OUTH
often played by local people.
3. Art song- is usually composed with a piano
PUSIC
accompanied and is often sophisticated. It is a work
of a composer who is trained in music.
4. Jazz music- having syncopation and rhythmic
background.
WER
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What is jazz? It is a type of western music/ uUSually accepted
as Negro in
origin,
basically made up of two components: African tribal music and
European folk
music. Chief characteristic of jazz is its coerclve and
pulsating rhythm.
One quality of a jazz player is his freedom the musician
-

may create or
improvise he goes along,
as that is, he can change the
rhythm, the timing
the loudness as he pleases. and

Jaz has two common varieties:


Ragtime- much syncopation, more instrumental, fastertempo.
.Blue much syncopation, more vocal, slower tempo (ex, Plantation songs and
spirituals).
Hof Jaz emphasizes spontaneity, intensity uses percussion instruments.
Cool Jazz- softer, suave, languid, uses string instruments.
Jaz playing has two basic forms:
Free-for-all each instrument goes its own
way in competition with otther instruments.
Take- your- turn - each instrument plays a
solo while the other instruments
provide aa
subdued background.

CLASSICAL MUSIC is any musical


composition of enduring excellence
The operais the
wonderfu
combination of vöcal and instrumental
music, ensembles, soloists, chorus, ballet/
orchestra, scenery, pantomime and acting.
When listening to an orchestra, the
istener should not concentrate on
only one
section or an individual player. He should
realize that the melodic line passes from one
section to another; hence he must be alert
to follow its peregrination.
The Human Voice

There singing: folk singer croons softhy or a choir boy


are many styles of a

sings with clear tones:; an Islamic preacheror muezin calls people to prayer ina
mosque or from an Austrian who makes of the yodel to project his musicC.
use

Pop and rock singers use microphones to make their voices louder, so they
the
can sing softly and stil be heard by a large crowd. Everyone has a comfortable

siniging range. The highest singing voice is the soprano. In a chiid this is caliled a
treble-Then the ato, called a counter tenor in a man. Men USually sing in one or
two ranges -either tencr or bass.

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Why Music Affects Us

either would
MUSIC and language uniqyely human. A world without
are
De hard to
imagine. "Both language and music are characteristics of the human
species that seem to be universal" says the book The Musical Mind. They are
aspects of our need to communicate. So it could be said that, as is frue o
anguage, when music "'speaks" our emotions "listen.

Why and how does music speak to our emotions? To answer that we
need to consider: (1) the musical elements themselves and the way that our
brains process them: {2) our emotional makeup and cultural backgrounds which
influence our reaction to music; and (3) language, which can also affect our
reactions.
Musele and the Brain

Some suggests that language and logic are predominantly functions of the
left side of the brain, while music is processed in the right side of the brain, which
deals largely with feelings and emotions, Whether this is so or not, it is obvious
that music evokes spontaneous reáctions from listeners. The journal Perceptual
and Motor Skills expresses it this way: "Music has the power to create feelings
and emotions in a quick and effective manner. What a book would require
many sentences for description... in music can often be conveyed by just one
measure or one chord."
As to the interaction between seeing and and the responses to
hearing
each of these, the book, Music and the Mind makes this
interesting observation:
"there isa closer relation between hearing and emotional arousal than there is
between seeing and emotional arousal. Seeing a wounded animal or
.

Suffering person who is silent may prodUce little emotional response in the
observer. But once they start to scream, the onlooker is
usually powerfully
moved."
The Power of Music

"Music alone with sudden charms can bind the wandering sense, and calm
the troubled mind."

So wrote Williaim Congreve about 300 years ago in his Hymn to Harmony.
Centuries earlier, ancient Greek writings claimed that "musical training is a more
potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way
into the inward places of the soul."

The truthfulness of that had been seen by some parents who have
observed their teenagers being sullen and'
uncooperative after feeding on a
steady diet of heavy metal music. It was also seen during the 1930s and 1940s in
Germany when the Nazis used stirring march music to help prepare
large
crowds to listen to Adolf Hitler's mesmerizing
speeches.
Unquestionably music can affect minds and hearts and can be used to
manipuiate them either for good or for bad. For example, exposure of young
children to certain types of music is believed to enhance their intellectual and
emotional development. Even those who stammer can sometimes
sing
sing
sentences they cannot speak.

The effects of music upon patients who have neurological diseases


CaUsing movement disorders are sometimes
astonishing, according to Anthony
Storr in his book Music and
Mind. Storr cites the female patient:
example of a
Frozen into immobility by [Parkinson's] disease, she would remain helplessly
unable to move unfil she was able to recall
tunes she had known in her yoUn.
These would suddenly release her
ability to move again."
ORCHESTRA

Some musicians play music


in a grOup called orchestra. An
orchestra four sections: string.
has
percussion woodwind and brass.
The different sound and notes,
from as many as 120 instruments in
a
symphony orchestra combine to
form marvellous music. Orchestras
USJatly piay classical music, often
ritten by great composers of the
Jast, such as Mozart and Beethoven.

The conductor stands in front of


the musicians so that they can see the
baton. if ail the instrurnents in
an orchestra played at different speeds they
would sound dreadful. The musicians keep in time by
watching a conductor
who waves a baton to the beat of the music. A baton is a short stick that
keeps
the beat. Besides his baton, facial expressions tell the musicians when to
play
quietly, when to play loudly, when to start and when to stop, when to slow down
or draw the music out. The conductor also tells the orchestra how the music is to
be interpreted. A conductor's job may look easy but behind it are long hours of
practice time called rehearsals.

String. The leader of an orchestra is always a violin player who sits near the
conductor. The string instruments consist of the violin, the viola, the cello and the
double bass. The violin is probably the best known of al orchestral instruments.
The violin bow makes use of strands of horsehair coated with a soft, sticky gum
called resin to make the string vibrate properly. The ltalian musician Antonio
Stradivari was d great violin maker. The instruments he made are now 300 years
old but they still make wonderful sounds- His secret was probably a combination
of the design. the thickness of the wood and the varnish. The British violinist
Yehudi Menuhin started learning the violin when he was four and was already a

brilliant player by the age of founded a school in England for


seven. He
It the
musically talented children. The viola is slightly larger than the violin. piays
middle notes of the musical picture. The cello, whose proper name is
violoncello
with the
produces a wonderful rich sound. To play the instrument. yoU sit down
and the neck rests on your shoulder. A spike oh
instrument between your legs
the base of the cello rests on the floor. The double bass is the largest string
Some
instrument. It is about 2 meters tall, and its strings are 108 centimeters long.
stool when they
players find it most comfortable to sit on the edge of a high
to stand upp
play. The famous American jaz musician Charlie Mingus prefers
consists of two violins, a viola and a
playing the double bass. A string quartet
cello
back in
Percussion. In a western orchestra, the percussion is right at the
playing
the center. In a large orchestra, there may be three or four percussionists
the composers are: the
a variety of instruments. Instruments normally require by
snare drum, the bass drum,
the going, the
fimpani (also called kettledrums), the
for
the and the glockenspiel. There are music that calls
cymbals, xylophone
and castanets.
instruments such as the mbira, tubular bells, triangle
percussion instruments. To be a
as 80
The percussion section can contain as many
instruments in the
SUCcessful percussionist you must be able to play all the
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percussion section which requires many different skills and years to
earn. The
famous British percussionist James Blades has achieved this, and
he is alsa well
known for making and collecting percussion instruments.

Wind. In The Magic Flute, an opera by Mozart, you will heara


concert flute
played to mimic the sound of panpipes as characterized by
Papageno. A
smaller concert flute is called fhe piccolo flute because piccolo means
small in
ttalian. You can hear the piccolo in the Nufcracker Suite, a
composition by Peter
Tchaikovsky. The trumpet was developed in. 1800. A famoUs piece of music
written for a trumpet is Haydn's Trumpet Concerto. French
composer Maurice
Ravel aranged the musiC.. Pictures at an Exhibition by Modeste
an orchestra- He chose a tuba to
Mussorgsky for
represent the sOund of the ox cart. Trombone
was called the sackbut after the French word
saqueboute meaning pul-push.
AS you play the trombone, your
arm does a 'push-pull action to move the slide
in and out, making the passage of air
longer and changing the pitchof the note
you play. .

A RUssian composer, Sergei Prokofiev wrote the story and music of Peter
and the Wolf. He used the three main reed instruments in the orchestra the
clarinet, the oboe and the bassoon. The clarinet can jump easily from high to
low notes. play very loudly or very quietly and move fast or slow. The low sounds
are rich and velvety: the ones are piercing and bright. It is likened to the
high
sound of a cat. The oboe can also move very quickly from sound to sound. its
low sound are raucous and reedy, its high ones thin and penetrating. This is
possible because the oboe has two reeds which vibrate against each other,
exactly like the shawm. The bassoon's tubing is four times as long as that of the
oboe. If makes a lower sOund than the other reed instruments, which was shy i
was chosen to play the voice of Peter's grandfather.

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