Music appreciation class 12/21/2015 11:01:00 AM

THIS IS NOT MUSIC HISTORY, MUSIC APPRECIATION

Make an outline for each class, and take attendance to learn student’s
names, and play for them after the instroduction of class

Start each session with a review

Go to the place a week before, let them know what you’re doing and
familiarizer with the room

You may choose which composers to emphazise

Spend 1-1.5 weeks in the first chapters of the books
Create discussions between the students and the you (discussion groups)

Compare popular and classical music

Get the class involved, don’t just talk
Don’t talk about every single page in the book

PD cue bach (narrated version of symphonies)

Don’t get into the minutia of the works

Skim the surface, a sampler

Don’t be married to what you wrote on the syllabus, be flexible

Use videos to introduce a section, (Amadeus, The Pianist movies)

Keep the lecture with some variety (Video, listening, talking,

discussion)
Class 1 12/21/2015 11:01:00 AM

Introduction

Attendance

Personal introduction

Pass out syllabus

Go over syllabus

The Power of Music

 Express emotion
 Influence people

What music do they listen to?

-
What is classical music?
 Have students say what they think
 Show examples of classical music that is also popular
 Play a classical piece

Popular and classical music compared

 Acoustic vs electric instruments
 Improvisation vs written parts
 Lyrics vs no lyrics
 Strong beat vs stretch rhythm
 Short and simple vs long and complex
 By memory vs reading
Week 2 12/21/2015 11:01:00 AM

Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony

Rhythm: A strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement of sound.

Tempo
 BPM's (Beats Per Minute)
 Allegro
 Andante
 Lento
Meters
 Downbeat
 Double
 Tripple
 Syncopation

Melody: A succession of pitches through time, energized by rhythm.

 Pitch
 Hertz (Hz)
 Octave
 Contour
 Tonality
 Phrases

Harmony: The simultaneous sounding of one or more notes that support and
enhance melody.
 Chords
 Chord Progression
 Major/minor
 Cadence
 Consonance/Dissonance
Class 5 12/21/2015 11:01:00 AM

Classical Period

Opera
 Rise of Opera Buffa or Comic Opera
 It spoke of everyday events
 Created for the new middle-class audience
 It criticized the aristocrats (Le Nozze di Figaro-Mozart)

The Advent of the Piano

 Created in Italy around 1700
 Replaced harpsichord
 Pianoforte Italian for “soft-loud”
 For amateurs, mainly women
 Part of a highly sexiest society

Elements of classical style

 Men powdered their faces and wore white wigs
 Classical music is lighter or simpler than baroque
 Gracious and clear

Melody
 Catchy and simple melodies
 Question-answer melodies
 Symmetrical melodies
 Mozart’s piano concerto in C major

Harmony:
 Most music was Homophonic
 Basso continuo disappeared
 Simpler harmonies
 More fluid harmonic rhythm
 Alberti Bass replaced Basso Continuo
 Alberti gived the illusion of harmonic movement

Rhythm
 Much more flexible than in baroque music
  Baroque had a steady rhythm
 Classical music would have a fast section followed by a slow one
 Stretch of the tempo

Texture
 Composers focused more in charming melodies than advanced
counterpoint
 Less polyphonic lines
 Homophonic

Dramatic quality of classical music

 Unlike baroque, the mood of a piece could change rapidly
 No more doctrine of affections
 Texture change from very dense to lighter in a matter of seconds
 Diminuendos and crescendos appeared
 Rapid changes created more drama in music
 Listener feels rapid mood changes as a result

Vienna: A city of Music

Music – 4 QUIZ #1 Prof. Hermosillo
1. Which of the following are characteristics of classical music?
A) It is long and complex
B) Improvisation is encouraged
C) It is played by memory
D) All of the above

2. Which of the following dynamic marks stands for “fast?”

A) Largo
B) Andante
C) Allegro
D) Grave

3. The role of the conductor is:

A) To keep the time in the piece
B) To give expression to the piece
C) To aimlessly waive his or her hands in front of the orchestra
D) A and B

4. How many voices or lines are there in a Polyphonic piece?

A) 1
B) 2 or more
C) 76
D) 3

5. Which of the following does NOT belong to the brass section?

A) Trumpet
B) Tuba
C) Saxophone
D) Trombone
Quiz 1 12/21/2015 11:01:00 AM