listen to music pdf ebook

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Listening to Music, Fifth Edition Craig Wright

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Chapter Listening to Music

1 It is perhaps in music that the dignity of art is most eminently apparent, for itelevates and ennobles everything that it expresses.Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (17491832)

It dont mean a thing if it aint got that swing.Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington (18991974)

We listen to music because it gives us pleasure. But why does it give uspleasure? Because it affects our minds and bodies, albeit in ways that we donot yet fully understand. Music has the power to intensify and deepen ourfeelings, to calm our jangled nerves, to make us sad or cheerful, to inspire usto dance, and even, perhaps, to incite us to march proudly off to war. Sincetime immemorial, people around the world have made music an indispens-able part of their lives. Music adds to the solemnity of ceremonies, arts, andentertainments, heightening the emotional experience of onlookers and par-ticipants. If you doubt this, try watching a movie without listening to the mu-sical score, or imagine how empty a parade, a wedding, or a funeral would bewithout music.

When we listen to music, we are reacting physically to an organized distur-bance in our environment. A voice or an instrument creates a vibration that

travels through the air as sound waves, reaching our ears to beprocessed by our brain as electrochemical impulses (see boxedessay). Low-pitched sounds vibrate slowly and move throughthe air in long sound waves; higher pitches vibrate more rapidlyand move as shorter waves.

While these principles of acoustics are invariable, our meansfor capturing and preserving sound have evolved over the cen-turies, with an ever-accelerating rate of change. Most earlymusical traditions were passed down by oral means alone. Notuntil around 900 C.E., when Benedictine monks began to setnotes down on parchment to preserve their chants (Fig. 11),was a significant amount of music preserved in written nota-tion. Thus, at first, only religious music was written down.Popular musicdances and troubadour songs, for examplefirst appeared in notation around 1250. As the centuries pro-gressed, composers began to insert such directions as dynam-ics (indicating louds and softs) and tempo markings (showinghow fast the piece should go), eventually producing the com-plex musical score familiar to classical musicians today.

Machines for capturing and replaying sound began to ap-pear in the nineteenth century, with Thomas Edisons phono-

HOW MUSICAL SOUND AND SOUND MACHINES WORK

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A medieval representation of how musicwas transmitted. Pope Gregory the Great(590604) receives what is now calledGregorian chant from the Holy Spirit (a dove on his shoulder) and communicatesit orally to a scribe who writes down themusic on either parchment or a wax tablet.

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3Listening to Music C H A P T E R 1

graph, patented in 1877, representing the most significant development. Thetwentieth century saw the advent of the magnetic tape recorder (first used torecord music in 1936). In the 1990s, these earlier devices were superseded bythe digital technologies of the compact disc (CD) and the MP3 file. In theseformats, the pitch, intensity, and duration of any sound are converted intonumerical data that can be stored on disc, hard drive, or any number of otherdigital media. When a digital recording is played, these numerical data are re-converted into electrical impulses that are amplified and pushed throughaudio speakers or headphones as sound waves (Fig. 12).

Mozart had an extraordinary musical earor,more correctly, musical brain. In April 1771, atthe age of fourteen, he heard Gregorio AllegrisMiserere, a two-minute religious work, performed in Rome,and later that day wrote it down in all parts by memory,note for note, after just this one hearing. Obviously, hecould process and retain far more musical informationthan can the rest of us. Mozart had a very keen sense ofabsolute pitch (the ability to instantly recognize specificpitches), a gift given to only one in about 10,000 indi-viduals. But how, in simple terms, do we hear and remem-ber music?

When a musician, such as virtuoso Sarah Chang, singsor plays an instrument, she creates mechanical energythat moves through the air as sound waves. These firstreach the inner ear where the cochleae (one for each ear)

convert sound energy into electrical signals. These arethen passed by means of neurons to the primary audi-tory cortex, located in the center of the brain, where theneurons are mapped in a way that identifies the pitch,color, and intensity of sound. How we feel about themusic we hearhappy or sad, energetic or melancholyis determined by different areas in this and other parts ofthe brain. Neurobiologists have observed increased lev-els of the chemical dopamine in our gray matter whenpleasing music is heard, just as when we enjoy such ex-periences as eating chocolate. Thus, sound patternsenter our brain and incite specific neurological reactionsthat can make us feel relaxed or agitated, happy or sad.Oddly then, music alters the way we feel in much thesame manner as a chemical substance, such as a candybar, a medicine, or a drug. We can acquire the mecha-nism for a mood-enhancing experience, it seems, ei-ther over the counter or over the airwaves.

Music and the Brain

Sarah Chang playing the violin.

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4 P A R T I The Elements of Music

Music is heard everywhere in the world. Numerous forms of art music, rootedin centuries of tradition, thrive in China, India, Indonesia, and elsewhere. Mu-sical practices associated with religious ceremonies, coming-of-age rituals, andother social occasions flourish across Africa and Latin America. Dance musicserves a central function for youth culture in nightclubs and discothequesacross the globe. In the West, classical music still holds sway in concert hallsand opera houses, while numerous idioms of Western popular musicrock,hip-hop, and country, for exampledominate the commercial landscape.Jazz, a particularly American form of vernacular music, shares traits with bothWestern classical and popular music.

What is more, the increasing frequency of fusions among musical stylesillustrates the trend of musical globalization in recent years. Afro-Cubangenres draw upon musical traditions ranging from Caribbean styles, to jazz,to the music of old Spain. Classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs with traditionalChinese musicians on the Silk Road Project, while British pop singer Sting hascollaborated with musicians ranging from jazz virtuoso Branford Marsalis toAlgerian singer Cheb Mami. To be sure, there are plenty of styles, and fusionsof styles, from which to choose. We might on occasion choose a certain kindof musicclassical, traditional, or popularaccording to its association withour own heritage, while at other times we might base our decision on ourmood or activity at a particular moment.

Most of the music that will be discussed in this book is what we generally referto as classical music. We might also call it high art music or learned music,because a particular set of skills is needed to perform and appreciate it. Classicalmusic is often regarded as old music, written by dead white men. But this isnot entirely accurate: no small amount of it has been written by women, andmany high art composers, of both sexes, are very much alive and well today.In truth, however, much of what we hear by way of classical musicthe musicof Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms, for exampleis old. That is why, in part, itis called classical. We refer to clothes, furniture, and automobiles as classicsbecause they have timeless qualities of expression, proportion, and balance.So, too, we give the name classical to music with these same qualities, musicthat has endured the test of time.

Popular music, as its name suggests, appeals to a much larger segment ofthe population. Pop and rock CDs outsell classical music recordings by morethan ten to one. Popular music can be just as artful and just as serious as classi-cal music, and often the musicians who perform it are just as skilled as classicalmusicians. Some musicians are equally at home in both idioms (Fig. 13). Buthow do classical and popular music differ?

Classical music relies on acoustic instruments (the sounds of which arenot electronically altered), such as the trumpet, violin, and piano; popularmusic often uses technological innovations such as electrically amplifiedguitars and basses, electronic synthesizers, and computers.

Classical music relies greatly on preset musical notation, and therefore thework (a symphony, for example) is to some extent a fixed entity; popular

CLASSICAL MUSICPOPULAR MUSIC

LISTENING TO WHOSE MUSIC?

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A student listening to an MP3 file on an iPod.

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music relies mostly on oral and aural transmission, and the work can changegreatly from one performance to the next. Rarely do we see performers read-ing from written music at a pop concert.

Classical music is primarily, but by no means exclusively, instrumental, withmeaning communicated through a language of musical sounds and gestures;most popular music makes use of a text or lyric to convey its meaning.

Classical compositions can be lengthy and involve a variety of moods, andthe listener must concentrate over a long period of time; most popular piecesare relatively short, averaging from three to four minutes in length, and pos-sess a single mood from beginning to end.

In classical music the rhythmic beat often rests beneath the surface of themusic; popular music relies greatly on an immediately audible, recurrentbeat.

Classical music suggests to the listener a chance to escape from the every-day world into a realm of abstract sound patterning; popular music has amore immediate impact, and its lyrics often embrace issues of contempo-rary life.

Why Listen to Classical Music?Given the immediate appeal of popular music, why would anyone choose tolisten to classical music? To find out, National Public Radio in 2004 commis-sioned a survey of regular listeners of classical music. Summarized brieflybelow, in order of importance, are the most common reasons expressed byclassical listeners:

1. Classical music relieves stress and helps the listener to relax.2. Classical music helps center the mind, allowing the listener to concentrate.3. Classical music provides a vision of a better world, a refuge of beauty and

majesty in which we pass beyond the limits of our material existence.4. Classical music offers the opportunity to learn: about music, about history,

and about people.

Classical listeners were given the chance to elaborate on why they preferthis kind of music. Here is just one typical response for each category:

1. My work is pretty stressful, and when it gets really stressful, I turn to clas-sical. It calms me down. It soothes the savage beast.

2. Its very good for the brain.3. Enjoying a symphony takes me back to great childhood memories.4. Im not educated in music. Im like really stupid about it, but this is one way

[listening on the radio] that I can educate myself, in my own stumbling,bumbling musical way.

From mental and emotional well-being, to increased concentration and en-riched imagination, to deeper understanding of human culture and history, itwould seem that classical music has something to offer virtually everyone.

Classical Music All Around YouYou may not listen to classical music on the radio (found on the dial in mostregions between 90.0 and 93.0 FM). You may not attend concerts of classicalmusic. Nevertheless, you listen to a great deal of classical music. Vivaldi con-

F I G U R E 13

Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis can record aBaroque trumpet concerto one week andan album of New Orleansstyle jazz thenext. He has won nine Grammy awards,seven for various jazz categories and twofor classical discs.

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certos and Mozart symphonies are played regularly in Starbucks. Snippets ofBeethovens Ninth Symphony introduce segments of the news on MSNBC.Traditional operatic melodies provide runway music as models strut in tele-thons for Victorias Secret clothing, and a famous Puccini aria sounds promi-nently in the best-selling video game Grand Theft Auto, perhaps for ironic ef-fect. What famous composer has not had one or more of his best-known worksincorporated into a film score, to heighten our emotional response to whatwe see? Classical musiccomposed by Bach, Beethoven, Copland, Verdi, andespecially Mozart, among othershas also been appropriated to provide sonicbackdrops for radio and television advertisements. Here it usually acts as ahigh end marketing tool designed to encourage rich living: to sell a Lexis au-tomobile or a De Beers diamond, advertisers realize, they must allow Mozart,not Kurt Cobain or Eminem, to set the mood.

Attending a Classical ConcertThere is no better way to experience the splendor of classical music than toattend a concert. Compared to pop or rock concerts, performances of classi-cal music may seem strange indeed. First of all, people dress up, not down:at classical events, attendees wear costumes or uniforms (coat and tie, suit,or evening wear) of a very different sort than they do at, say, rock concerts(punk, grunge, or metal attire). Throughout the performance, the classical audi-ence sits rigidly, saying nothing to friends or performers. No one sways, dances,or sings along to the music. Only at the end of each composition does the audi-ence express itself, clapping respectfully.

But classical concerts werent always so formal. In the eighteenth century,the audience talked during performances and yelled words of encouragementto the players. People clapped at the end of each movement of a symphonyand often in the middle of the movement as well. After an exceptionally pleas-ing performance, listeners would demand that the piece be repeated immedi-ately (an encore). If, on the other hand, the audience didnt like what it heard,

it would express its displeasure by throw-ing fruit and other debris toward thestage. Our modern, more dignified clas-sical concert was a creation of the nine-teenth century (see page 254), when themusical composition came to be consid-ered a work of high art worthy of reveren-tial silence.

Attending a classical concert requirespreparation and forethought. Most im-portant, you must become familiar in ad-vance with the musical repertoire. Go toa music library and listen to a recordingof the piece that will be performed, or per-haps download it from iTunes. Hearing arecording by professional performers willprepare you to judge the merits of a live(perhaps student) performance.

Choosing the right seat is also impor-tant. What is best for seeing may not be C

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Symphony Hall in Boston. The best seatsfor hearing the music are not up front, butat the back in the middle of the balcony.

everyday use of classical music

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where to sit

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focus solely on the music

best for hearing. In some concert halls, the sound sails immediately over thefront seats and settles at the back (Fig. 14). Often the optimal seat in termsof acoustics is at the back of the hall, in the first balcony. Sitting closer, ofcourse, allows you to watch the performers on stage. If you attend a concertof a symphony orchestra, follow the gestures that the conductor makes to thevarious soloists and sections of the orchestra; like a circus ringmaster, he orshe turns directly to the soloist of a given moment. The conductor conveysto the players the essential lines and themes of the music, and they in turn com-municate these to the audience.

Most people would scoff at the idea that they need to learn how to listen tomusic. We think that because we can hear well, we are good listeners. But theability to listen to musicclassical music in particularis an acquired skillthat demands good instruction and much practice. Music can be difficult stuff.First of all, we must learn how it works. For example, how do melodies un-fold? What constitutes a rhythm and what makes a beat? And how and whydo harmonies change? Similarly, we must work to improve our musical mem-ory. Music is an art that unfolds while passing through time; to make sense ofwhat we hear now, we have to remember what we heard before. Finally, we willneed to gain an understanding of the secret signs or codes by which composershave traditionally expressed meaning in music: the tensions, anxieties, andhostilities expressed in musical language, as well as its triumphs and momentsof inner peace. To accomplish this, we must devote our complete attention tothe musicusing it as a mere backdrop to other activities simply wont do.We must concentrate fully in order to hear the mechanics of music at the sur-face level (the workings of rhythm, melody, and harmony, for example), aswell as to understand the deeper, emotional meaning. The following discus-sions and their accompanying Listening Exercises will begin to transform youinto disciplined and discerning listeners. At the same time, you will come to seethat classical musicindeed all musicsometimes works its magic in myste-rious and inexplicable ways.

GETTING STARTED: THREE MUSICAL BEGINNINGS

In a work of art that unfolds over timea poem, a novel, a symphony, or afilm, for examplethe beginning is critical to the success of the work. Theartist must capture the attention of the reader, listener, or viewer by means ofsome kind of new approach as well as convey the essence of the experiencethat is to follow. We can learn much about how classical music works by en-gaging just the beginnings of three strikingly original compositions.

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 5(1808)OpeningThe beginning of Beethovens Symphony No. 5 is perhaps the best-knownmoment in all of classical music. Its short-short-short-long gesture is as muchan icon of Western culture as is the To be, or not to be soliloquy in Shake-speares Hamlet. Beethoven wrote this symphony in 1808 when he was thirty-

LEARNING TO BE A GOOD LISTENER

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seven and almost totally deaf (Fig. 15; see Chapter 21 for a biography ofBeethoven). How could a deaf person write a symphony? Simply said, he coulddo so because musicians hear with an inner ear, meaning that their brains cancreate and rework melodies without recourse to externally audible sound. Inthis way, the nearly-deaf Beethoven fashioned an entire thirty-minute symphony.

A symphony is a genre, or type, of music for orchestra, divided into severalpieces called movements, each possessing its own tempo and mood. A typi-cal classical symphony will have four movements with the respective temposof fast, slow, moderate, and fast. A symphony is played by an orchestra, alarge ensemble of acoustic instruments such as violins, trumpets, and flutes.Although an orchestra might play a concerto, an overture, or a dance suite,historically it has played more symphonies than anything else, and for thatreason is called a symphony orchestra. The orchestra for which Beethovencomposed his fifth symphony was made up of about sixty players, includingstring, wind, and percussion instruments.

Beethoven begins his symphony with the musical equivalent of a punch inthe nose. The four-pitch rhythm short-short-short-long is quick and abrupt.It is all the more unsettling because the music has no clear-cut beat or ground-ing harmony to support it. Our reaction is one of surprise, perhaps bewilder-ment, perhaps even fear. The brevity of the opening rhythm is typical of whatwe call a musical motive, a short, distinctive musical figure that can stand byitself. In the course of this symphony, Beethoven will repeat and reshape thisopening motive, making it serve as the unifying thread of the entire symphony.

Having shaken, even staggered, the listener with this opening blow, Bee-thoven then begins to bring clarity and direction to his music. The motivesounds in rapid succession, rising stepwise in pitch, and the volume progres-sively increases. When the volume of sound increases in musicgets louderwe have a crescendo, and conversely, when it decreases, a diminuendo. Bee-thoven uses the crescendo here to suggest a continuous progressionhe istaking us from point A to point B. Suddenly the music stops: we have arrived.A French horn (a brass instrument; see page 51) then blasts forth, as if to say,And now for something new. Indeed, new material follows: a beautiful flow-ing melody played first by the strings and then by the winds. Its lyrical mo-tion serves as a welcome contrast to the almost rude opening motive. Soonthe motive reasserts itself, but is gradually transformed into a melodic patternthat sounds more heroic than threatening, and with this, Beethoven ends hisopening section.

In sum, in the opening of Symphony No. 5, Beethoven shows us that hismusical world includes many different feelings and states of mind, amongthem the fearful, the lyrical, and the heroic. When asked what the openingmotive of the symphony meant, Beethoven is reported to have said, Therefate knocks at the door. In the course of the four movements of this sym-phony (all of which are included in the six-CD set), Beethoven takes us on afateful journey that includes moments of fear, despair, and, ultimately, triumph.

Turn now to this opening section ( /1) and to the Listening Guide. Hereyou will see musical notation representing the principal musical events. Thisnotation may seem alien to you, but dont panicthe essentials of musicalnotation will be explained fully in Chapters 23. For the moment, simplyplay the music and follow along according to the minute and second counteron your player.

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A portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven paintedin 18181819 by Ferdinand Schimon(17971852).

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Peter Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 (1875)OpeningAll of us have heard the charming and often exciting music of Peter Tchai-kovsky (18401893), especially his ballet The Nutcracker, a perennial holidayfavorite. Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer who earned his living first as ateacher of music at the Moscow Conservatory and then, later in life, as an in-dependent composer who traveled widely around Europe and even to theUnited States (see Chapter 30 for his biography). All types of classical musicflowed from his pen, including ballets, operas, overtures, symphonies, andconcertos.

A concerto is a genre of music in which an instrumental soloist plays with,and sometimes against, a full orchestra. Thus the concerto suggests both co-operation and competition, one between soloist and orchestra in the spirit ofanything you can do, I can do better. Most concertos consist of three move-ments, usually with tempos of fast, slow, and fast. Tchaikovskys Piano Con-certo No. 1 was composed in 1875 and premiered that year, not in Russia butin Boston, where it was performed by the Boston Symphony. Since that time,Tchaikovskys first concerto has gone on to become what The New York Timescalled his all-time most popular score.

The popularity of this work stems in large measure from the opening sec-tion of the first movement. Tchaikovsky, like Beethoven above, begins with afour-note motive, but here the pitches move downward in equal durationsand are played by brass instruments, not strings. The opening motive quicklyyields to a succession of block-like sounds called chords. A chord in music issimply the simultaneous sounding of two or more pitches. Here the chordsare played first by the orchestra and then by the piano. Suddenly the violinsenter with a sweeping melody that builds progressively in length and grandeur,a melody surely found near the top of every music lovers list of fifty great

Listening GuideListening GuideLudwig van BeethovenSymphony No. 5 in C minor (1808)First movement, Allegro con brio (fast with gusto)

0:00 Opening short-short-short long motive

0:22 Music gathers momentum and moves forward in purposeful fashion

0:42 Pause; French horn solo

0:45 New lyrical melody sounds forth in strings and is then answered by winds

1:04 Rhythm of opening motive returns

1:14 Opening motive reshaped into more heroic-sounding melody & bbb

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classical melodies. Tchaikovskys beginning makes clear the difference be-tween a motive and a melody: the former is a short unit, like a musical cell orbuilding block, while the latter is longer and more tuneful and song-like. Asthe violins introduce the melody, the piano plays chords against it. Soon, how-ever, the roles are reversed: the piano plays the melody, embellishing it alongthe way, while the strings of the orchestra provide the accompanying chords.To make the music lighter, Tchaikovsky instructs the strings to play the chordspizzicato, a technique in which the performers pluck the strings of their in-struments with their fingers rather than bowing them. Then, after some tech-nical razzle-dazzle provided by the pianist, the melody sweeps back one lasttime. In this glorious, lush final statement of the melody by the strings, we ex-perience the essence of musical romanticism.

Richard Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra(Thus Spoke Zarathustra; 1896)OpeningThere were two important composers named Strauss in the history of music.One, Johann Strauss, Jr. (18251899), was Austrian and is known as the WaltzKing because he wrote mainly popular waltzes. The other, Richard Strauss(18641949), was German and composed primarily operas and large-scalecompositions for orchestra called tone poems. A tone poem (also called asymphonic poem) is a one-movement work for orchestra that tries to capturein music the emotions and events associated with a story, play, or personal ex-perience. In his tone poem Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Richard Strauss tries to depictin music the events described in a novel of that title by the German philoso-pher Friedrich Nietzsche (18441900). The hero of Nietzsches story is theancient Persian prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster), who foretells the coming ofa more advanced human, a Superman. (This strain in German Romantic phi-losophy was later perverted by Adolf Hitler into the cult of a master race.)

Listening GuideListening GuidePeter TchaikovskyPiano Concerto No. 1 (1875)First movement, Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso (not too fastand with much majesty)

0:00 Four-note motive played by brass instruments

0:07 Chords played first by orchestra and then piano

0:15 Melody enters in violins and piano plays accompanying chords

0:56 Piano embellishes melody; strings play accompanying chords pizzicato

1:21 Orchestra withdraws; solo piano provides increasingly flashy technical display

2:10 Orchestra reenters with pizzicato playing

2:26 Strings play melody with much majesty; piano accompanies with more frequent chords

3:05 Reminiscences of melody used to create fade-out

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Strausss tone poem begins at the moment at whichZarathustra addresses the rising sun. The listenermay sense in the music the dawn of a new age, theadvent of an all-powerful superman, or simply therising of the sun (Fig. 16).

While the imposing title Thus Spoke Zarathustra mayseen foreign, and the mention of German philoso-phy intimidating, Strausss music is well known toyou. It gained fame in the late 1960s when used as film music in Stanley Kubricks 2001: A SpaceOdyssey. Since then it has sounded forth in countlessradio and TV commercials to convey a sense of highdrama. The music begins with a low rumble as if com-ing from the depths of the earth. From this darknessemerges a ray of light as four trumpets play a risingmotive that Strauss called the Nature Theme. Thelight suddenly falls dark and then rises again, ulti-mately to culminate in a stunning climax. How doyou describe a sunrise through music? Strauss tellsus. The music should ascend in pitch, get louder, growin warmth (more instruments), and reach an impres-sive climax. Simple as they may be, these are the tech-nical means Strauss employs to convey musical meaning. Nowhere in the mu-sical repertoire is there a more vivid depiction of the power of nature or thepotential of humankind.

Listening GuideListening Guide Richard StraussThus Spoke Zarathustra (1896)0:00 Rumbling of low string instruments, organ, and bass drum

0:16 Four trumpets ascend, moving bright to dark (major to minor)

0:30 A drum (timpani) pounds forcefully

0:35 Four trumpets ascend again, moving dark to light (minor to major)

0:49 A drum (timpani) pounds forcefully again

0:55 Four trumpets ascend third time

1:13 Full orchestra joins in to add substance to impressive succession of chords

1:23 Grand climax by full orchestra at high pitches

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A fanciful depiction of the opening of Fried-rich Nietzsches Thus Spoke Zarathustrawith the rise of the all-powerful sun.

Listening Exercise 1Musical Beginnings

This first Listening Exercise asks you to review three of the most famous begin-nings in the entire repertoire of classical music. The following questions encourage

To take this Listening Exercise online andreceive feedback or email answers to yourinstructor, go to ThomsonNOW for this chapter.

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you to listen actively, sometimes to just small details in the music. This first exercise is designed to be user-friendlythe questions are not too difficult.

Beethoven, Symphony No. 5 (1808)Opening

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 (1875)Opening

1. (0:000:05) Beethoven opens his Symphony No. 5with the famous short-short-short-long motive andthen immediately repeats. Does the repetition presentthe motive at a higher or at a lower level of pitch? a. higher pitchesb. lower pitches

2. (0:220:44) In this passage, Beethoven constructs amusical transition that moves us from the openingmotive to a more lyrical second theme. Which is trueabout this transition?a. The music seems to get slower and makes use of a

diminuendo.b. The music seems to get faster and makes use of a

crescendo.3. (0:380:44) How does Beethoven add intensity to the

conclusion of the transition?a. A pounding drum (timpani) is added to the orches-

tra and then a French horn plays a solo.b. A French horn plays a solo and then a pounding

drum (timpani) is added to the orchestra.

4. (0:420:44) Which combination of short (S) and long(L) sounds accurately represents what the solo Frenchhorn plays at the end of this transition?a. SSSSL b. SSSSSL c. SSSLLL

5. (0:451:02) Now a more lyrical new theme enters in the violins and is echoed by the winds. But has theopening motive (SSSL) really disappeared?a. Yes, it is no longer present.b. No, it can be heard above the new melody.c. No, it lurks below the new melody.

6. (1:131:21) Which is true about the end of this open-ing section?a. Beethoven brings back the opening motive.b. Beethoven brings back the material from the

transition.c. Beethoven brings back the second, lyrical theme.

7. Student choice (no correct answer): How do you feelabout the end of the opening section, compared to the beginning?a. less anxious and more self-confidentb. less self-confident and even more anxious

8. (0:000:06) How many times does the French hornplay the descending motive?a. once b. three times c. five times

9. (0:070:14) Which instrumental force plays thechords first?a. The orchestra plays them first (then the piano).b. The piano plays them first (then the orchestra).

10. (0:150:43) As the violins play the melody, the pianoaccompanies them with groups of three chords. Whatis the position of the pitches of the three chords ineach group?a. high, middle, lowb. middle, high, lowc. low, middle, high

11. (1:302:22) In the section of piano solo razzle-dazzle,which sounds more prominently?a. the four-note descending motiveb. the long, sweeping melody

12. (2:262:54) During this final statement of the mel-ody, the piano is again playing chords as accompani-ment. Now there are many more of them, but thegeneral direction of these chords is still what?a. moving high to low b. moving low to high

13. (3:053:21) Tchaikovsky revisits which musical mate-rial to create this fade-out?a. the four-note descending motiveb. the beginning of the sweeping melody

Strauss, Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1896)Opening

14. (0:000:15) Which is true about the opening sounds?a. The instruments are playing several different

sounds in succession.b. The instruments are holding one and the same tone.

15. (0:160:20) When the trumpets enter and ascend,does the low, rumbling sound disappear?a. yes b. no

16. (0:160:22 and again at 0:350:43) When the trumpetsrise, how many notes (different pitches) do they play?a. one b. two c. three

17. (0:300:35 and again at 0:490:54) When the timpanienters, how many different pitches does it play?a. one b. two c. three

18. (1:151:21) In this passage, the trombones enter andplay a loud counterpoint to the rising trumpets. Inwhich direction is the music of the trombone going? a. up b. down

19. (1:27) At the very last chord, a new sound is addedfor emphasisto signal that this is indeed the lastchord of the climax. What is that sound?

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Licensed to:

13Rhythm C H A P T E R 2

a. a crashing cymbalb. a pianoc. an electric bass guitar

20. Student choice: You have now heard three very differentmusical openings, by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and

Strauss. Which do you prefer? Which grabbed yourattention the most? Think about why.a. Beethoven b. Tchaikovsky c. Strauss

classical music (4)popular music (4)acoustic

instrument (4)encore (6)symphony (8)movement (8)

orchestra (8)symphony

orchestra (8)motive (8)crescendo (8)diminuendo (8)concerto (9)

chord (9)melody (10)pizzicato (10)tone poem

(symphonic poem) (10)

Key Words ThomsonNOW for Listening to Music, 5th Edition,and Listening to Western Music will assist you inunderstanding the content of this chapter withlesson plans generated for your specific needs.In addition, you may complete this chaptersListening Exercise in ThomsonNOWs interactiveenvironment, as well as download Active Listen-ing Guides and other materials that will help yousucceed in this course.

ChapterRhythm

2Music can be defined as sound that moves through time in an organizedfashion. It involves, therefore, the interaction of time (expressed as rhythm,the subject of this chapter) and pitch (expressed as melody and harmony, thesubjects of Chapters 3 and 4). Rhythm, melody, and harmony are the build-ing blocks of music, and how they are arranged affects the color, texture, andform (the subjects of Chapters 5 and 6), and, ultimately, the meaning of everymusical composition.

In discussing rhythm, melody, and harmony, we rely on terminology thathas developed alongside the practice of notating music. Musical notation is asystem that allows us to represent sound on paper by means of special signsand symbols. In Western musical notation, the passing of time (rhythm) isrepresented by notes placed on a horizontal axis (moving left to right), withblack (filled) notes moving more quickly than white (empty) notes. Pitch(melody and harmony) is shown by a vertical axis (top to bottom) with thehigher-placed notes representing higher pitches. Example 21A shows low,slow sounds that become progressively higher and faster, while Example 21Bshows the reverse:

EXAMPLE 21A EXAMPLE 21B

the terminology of musical notation

3491_Wright_Pt01 12/14/2006 11:17 AM Page 13



Chapter 1: Listening to MusicHOW MUSICAL SOUND ANDSOUND MACHINES WORKLISTENING TO WHOSE MUSIC?CLASSICAL MUSICPOPULAR MUSICLEARNING TO BE A GOOD LISTENERGETTING STARTED:THREE MUSICAL BEGINNINGSKey Words

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