How different movements of a longer work are related or contrast each other

The concert report is the equivalent of a term paper for MUSC 101. As such, they are expected to be neatly typed, well organized and well written, and uploaded using the “Concert Report” link located on the main class webpage. Approximately 4-5 pages (not including title page or “works cited” page) is required. Pages with a three inch border are not considered full pages. Neither are pages that use a 26 pt. font. As is standard with MLA format, text should use a 12 pt. font with 1″ borders, and should be double-spaced. General Points To Consider: 1. How different movements of a longer work are related or contrast each other. 2. How two different works or movements project specific moods or characters (cite the musical elements that the composer used to create that character/mood). 3. What are the different instruments used and how are they used? For example, do the strings or brass play all the time, or maybe the brass only plays at specific moments in the piece? What effect do you think the composer or piece is trying to achieve? 4. How musical elements (listed below) and lyrics (if used) define the character, emotions, and style of a song. 5. We will study Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionism, and 20th c. Modern styles. Which period does a particular piece belong to? Aside from the date it was composed, what musical characteristics place it in that period? Many 20th c. composers borrow techniques and styles from earlier periods. Does this apply to any of the 20th c. works? Specific musical features you should consider: 1. Form – What is the form of the piece? Binary (AB) – which is also common in most pop songs and called verse (A) and chorus (B), Ternary (ABA), Theme and Variations (Jazz), Strophic, Ritornello (Rondo), Sonata-allegro, or Through-composed? Is there a recurring melody (or motive) as heard in Beethoven’s 5th Symphony? 2. Timbre (Instrumentation/Orchestration) – What types of instruments/voices are used? Is it a solo instrument/voice or a group of instruments/voices such as woodwinds, brass horns, strings, percussion, or SATB? Which instruments dominate a particular movement? How does the timbre relate to style, and effect on the listener? 3. Meter/Tempo – Is there a steady beat or pulse? What is the meter? 2/4, 3/4, 4/4. What is the tempo? …Slow-Fast? Does the meter or tempo remain the same throughout the song, or does it change? 4. Melody – Are the melodies conjunct (move by scale step) or disjunct (consisting primarily of leaps)? Do the melodies consist of short phrases or long phrases? Are the melodic phrases in consistent groups of 2 or 4 measures, or does each phrase vary in length? 5. Range and Register – Does the melody use a limited range (an octave or less), or a wide range (two or more octaves)? Which register (high – medium – low) is being used? Why did the composer choose that particular register? 6. Tonality – Is the piece consonant or dissonant? If the music is consonant, which tonality is being used, major or minor? What instruments or voices are providing the harmony? Does the piano provide the harmony while the voice provides the melody? Is the piece polytonal (simultaneously using more than one key — sounding rather dissonant)? Is it atonal (lacking a sense of key or tonic)? — this only applies to 20th C. Modern style because prior to ca. 1880 ALL European music is tonal, meaning it’s either major or minor! 7. Texture – Is the music monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic or other? (melody & drone). Are there soloists such as in a concerto? 8. Dynamics – Is the music loud (forte) or soft (piano)? Does it gradually become louder (crescendo) or softer (decrescendo)? Does it suddenly become louder or softer? 9. Text/Lyrics/Libretto – What is the subject matter of the text/libretto and how does it relate to the music and/or listener? Is there any form of word painting between the text and the music? For example, on the word “higher” or “mountain,” the melody ascends or leaps upward, which creates the effect of actually going “higher” or ascending a “mountain.” How does the music reflect the meaning of the text? —- Remember to always focus on the musical elements: melody, harmony, tonality, rhythm, texture, instrumentation, form, dynamics, and lyrics/text (if there are text/lyrics present). How do all of these elements combined, contribute to the effect on the listener? Which of these elements specifically contribute to the style or character of each piece? Try to avoid a “blow by blow” description of the music, such as saying, “the first one was slow then fast then slow again and ended fast”. Instead, answer the more general questions and support your answer with specific musical characteristics. For example, you might say, “The music made me dance in an uncontrollable frenzy. The musical features that contributed to my deranged behavior were the dissonant harmonies screaming from the brass, the pulsating beat (felt like duple meter) echoing from the drums, and the operatic style singing that penetrated the very essence of my soul. Or you might say, “This piece conveyed the image of a unrequited love. The musical characteristics, aside from the repetitive French text, “mal de coeur brise” or, as we say in English, “achy breaky heart,”was the use of violins playing a minor harmony and scale, a slow adagio tempo and the flutes singing a pianissimo sad melody. Try to see the larger picture, making general points and backing them up with specific observations. In your final paragraph, state your subjective experience – (I hated this song, I liked this song, this song put me to sleep, this song made me cry, this song made me want to dance etc.). But you should be able to clearly articulate why you felt the way you did, what specific qualities in the music contributed to your impressions. Your conclusion must contain the statement; “I liked/disliked this concert because…”. Each paper is worth 50 points. So before handing it in, proofread it and ask yourself, “Would I give this paper 50 points?” . . . or 25? TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW (and use in your paper) DYNAMICS – volume of sound pianissimo (pp) – very soft piano (p) – soft mezzo piano (mp) – medium soft mezzo forte (mf) – medium loud forte (f) – loud fortissimo (ff) – very loud crescendo (cresc.) – getting louder decrescendo (decresc.) – getting softer diminuendo (dim.) – getting softer TEMPO – rate of speed of beats adagio – slow andante – moderately slow (“walking tempo”) moderato – moderate allegro – lively, fast presto – very fast, rapid accelerando (accel.) – speeding up ritardando (rit.) – slowing down rubato – flexibility within a given tempo (freely)