20th century music

Minimalism Electronic music: Gesang der junglinge Serialism: Serialism is a way of composing music using a series of notes in a particular order and using this to build up a whole piece of music. These series and patterns can also be applied to other parts of music (like how loud or soft it is). It uses every single note in a chromatic scale. Put all notes in a random order, uses every single one only once. The line of notes is called serial. Then play the row of notes backwards. Then play it in other ways. Retrograde order.retrograde is where if the first to notes were c to d. Instead of going up two semi tones you go down two semi tones. Berg Webern Schoenberg- inventor of serialism Atonal music Aleatoric music

Romantic Period

Programme Music Programme music is a piece of music for instruments which describes something or tells a story. People only thought a story could be told through song and not just thorugh instrument. Instrumental only piece. Dissonance Clashing sounds. Notes from outside the key being used. Composers needed this to make music song full of emotion. Rule braking, it was not aloud in the classical period. Virtuoso A performer that excels in technical ability. Liszt wrote pieces of music for piano that only he could play at the time. Tone poems Take a non musical source and turn it into music. Such as looking at a painting and writing a song about what they see. Instrumental only piece. Impressionism Impressionist composers using music to show feeling. Romantic symphony Lasted from about 20 to 40 minutes. Didnt have to follow strict rules that classical symphonies had to. More movements than classical period. Much larger orchestras, more expressive using harmonisation, rhythmic patterns and dynamics. Changes in opera Can go on for hours. They were dealing with every form of drama. Enormous orchestra. Lots of brass instruments. Wagner Liszt Schumann Mahler ******

Classical Period

Classical Period

The classical period was from 1750 to 1810.It followed the Baroque period. In the Classical period many new terms and techniques were created and perfected:

Alberti bass: This was used in the classical period.It's played on the left hand of the piano, it's very steady and uses a broken chord. Then a melody is played over the top of the alberti bass part.

Concerto: A concerto is piece of music for a solo instrument and orchestra. The Orchestra accompanies the soloist.

Diatonic music- The phrase diatonic means that the piece of music only uses all notes in the same key. This to ensure that there are no clashing sounds, this would be deemed 'unacceptable' in the classical period if there were clashing notes.

Even phrases- Classical composers made sure all their phrases were balanced an equal. Phrases are measured in bars. They start and end where you would breathe if singing. They are regular chunks of equal lengths of music.

Homo-phonic- The term homo-phonic means that when a melody line moves around the accompanying parts move with it.

Sonata: A sonata was an instrumental composition, usually in three or more movements, for piano alone (piano sonata) or for any other instrument with or without piano accompaniment (violin sonata, cello sonata)

Symphony:This is an extended musical piece split into movements. It's a Large orchestral piece. Classical composers had specific rules about their music. There were three movements in a symphony. The First mvt. was in Sonata form. The Second mvt. was written in a different contrasting key , it was slower and had a stronger melody line. The Third mvt. was livelier and more light hearted.It was in Rondo form.

 

Baroque Period

Figured bass:

Figured bass is a bass line in a piece of music is written out has note form with numbers written underneath to show where to harmonise. It was invented During the baroque period(About 1600-1750). In those days composers only wrote out a melody and a bass line. The melody was played or sung by a soloist! And the bass line was usually played On a keyboard instrument. Such as the harpsichord or organ.

Ground bass:

The ground bass is a bass line that never changes throughout a piece of music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOA-2hl1Vbc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Continuo:

The part that is played by a harpsichord.

Concerto grosso: 

The concerto grosso is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists and full orchestra.

String quartet:

2 violins, viola, cello

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOA-2hl1Vbc

Vivaldi:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZCfydWF48c&feature=fvst

Purcell:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-WyxbwU82A

Bach:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo0K_n3VLG4

Baroque music

Baroque period:

Instruments 1600-1750 Ornamentation - frilly, twiddly bits Harpsichord - has a unique and distinctive sound as inside it was a plucking motion on the strings. Lots of stringed instruments - violins, violas, cello Organ Flutes Trumpets, horns Smaller groups of instruments - chamber music Baroque music was the first time that the style of music, known as opera, was performed. This was known as the birth of opera. Opera - mixture of singing, instrumental music and drama. ( it's a play that is sung) The first instruments involved with baroque music where. Stringed instruments such as violins. Concert keyboard instruments where then introduced.