Igor Stravinsky
(1882 –1971)
The Firebird

Slide 2

Musical Notation
High or Low?
Long or Short?
Loud or Soft?
Fast or Slow?
Accented Notes?

Pitch - High/Low
Staff

Pitch - High/Low
Clef
Treble:             Bass:
Notes

Pitch - High/Low

Pitch - High/Low

Pitch - High/Low

Dynamics - Loud/Soft
p (piano) = soft
f (forte) = loud
m (mezzo) = half, medium

Dynamics - Loud/Soft
ff        fortissimo          very loud
f         forte                   loud
mf      mezzo forte       medium loud
mp     mezzo piano     medium soft
p        piano                 soft
pp      pianissimo         very soft

Dynamics - Loud/Soft
crescendo = gradually louder
decrescendo or diminuendo = gradually softer

Tempo - Fast/Slow
Varies from approximately 30 - 240 beats per minute

Tempo - Fast/Slow
Largo          broad                   43-47
Adagio        slow                     52-58
Andante      medium slow       59-66
Moderato    moderate             77-89
Allegro        fast                   106-119
Vivace        lively                 120-138

Tchaikovsky
(1840 - 1893)
Selections from
Nutcracker Ballet

Tempo - Fast/Slow
ritardando = rit. =
 gradually slower
accelerando  = accel. = gradually faster

Duration - Long/Short
Noteheads - Whole Notes
Stems
Flags
Beams
Dotted Notes

Rhythm
Involves pulse, meter, tempo, and note values

Meter
The combination of strong and weak pulses form a recurring pattern known as meter.

Types of Meter
Duple: ONE - two, etc.
Triple: ONE - two -three, etc.
Quadruple: ONE -two-three-four, etc.

Bars or Measures
Music is divided into bars or measures by means of vertical lines called barlines.

Time Signature
A notation placed at the beginning of a composition

Time Signature
Indicates the number of beats per measure and the type of note receiving the beat.

Meter
Usually the first beat of each measure is the strongest.

Two Terms
Hemiola – Shifting of the accent pattern from what is expected.
Syncopation – Emphasis on the normally weak beats.

Demo
Various time signatures and meters.

Melody
A group of tones sounded in sequence that together make a meaningful whole

Melody
Melody is the horizontal component of music

Melody
Jingle Bells

Harmony
Results from the simultaneous occurrence of musical tones

Harmony
Harmony is the vertical
component of music

Chord
Three or more notes sounded simultaneously

Harmony
Consonance
“Pleasing” Harmony
Dissonance
“Harsh” Harmony

Homophonic
One part (usually the highest) predominates
The purpose of the remaining parts is to provide the harmony

Polyphonic
Characterized by the interweaving of two or more melodically and rhythmically indepen-dent parts

Scales
A series of tones within an octave arranged in either ascending or descending order

Scales
How many tones?
Chinese = 5
Arabs = 17
Indians = 22
Western music = 12

Chromatic Scale
Consists of all the notes on a piano (black and white) within an octave

Semitone (Half Step)
The pitch difference or interval between any two adjacent notes on a piano.

Tone (Whole Step)
  The pitch difference or interval between any two adjacent white notes separated by a black note on the piano, or two semitones.

Sharps and Flats
Used to identify the black notes on the piano

Sharps
Function - Raises desig-nated note by a semitone
Symbol - #
Direction - “Play the black note to the right”

Flats
Function - Lowers desig-nated note by a semitone
Symbol -
Direction - “Play the black note to the left”

Sharps and Flats

Key Signature
Used when one or more notes are always either sharp or flat throughout a composition
Placed on the staff at the beginning

Key Signature

Naturals
Function - Cancels a flat or sharp sign
Symbol -
Direction - “Play the white note instead of the black”

Factor for Octaves
The factor for octaves is 2
Hear pitch in ratios

Factor for Semitones
The factor for semitones is Ö2  » 1.059463...

Intervals
Unison
Octave
11 intervals in between
Table 10.3 in text