0.2 Listening gallery: how music makes sense

The following short works or excerpts are each based on a single pattern that is repeated throughout the work.

These terms will help you answer the questions about how the basic patterns are varied.

Accompainiment    

The support underlying a melody. For instance, in a typical show tune, the singer performs the melody, while the bandprovides the accompaniment.

Contour    

Whether the basic pattern is played right side up or upside down

Density    

How many notes are played at the same time. For instance, if a pianist plays a chord with all ten fingers, that sound isof higher density that if she or he were to just play with a single finger.

Dynamics    

The loudness of the music

Fragmentation    

Smaller segments of the basic pattern are repeated, rather than the whole

Orchestration    

The instruments that are playing the pattern.

Register    

How "high" or "low" the pattern is played. Men sing in the low register, women in the upper. The pianist's left hand generallyplays in the low register, the right hand in the upper.

Speed    

How fast the pattern is played

Grouping

The number of notes in a pattern. For instance, the pattern "da-da-dum, da-da-dum, da-da-dum " consists of a series of three note groupings, whereas "da-da-da-dum, da-da-da-dum, da-da-da-dum" is made up of four note groupings."Da-dum, da-da-da-dum, da-da-dum" consists of mixed groupings.

FURTHER LISTENING: Bernard Rand's "Le Tambourin" is a suite of orchestral pieces drawn from his opera about Vincent Van Gogh. In the movement "Sorrow," Rands creates repetition without redundancy by modeling his compositional method on a technique used by Van Gogh. In sketching his model, Van Gogh placed three sheets of paper on top of one another. His first, rather spare sketch left imprints on the pages beneath. He then removed the top sheet and repeated the process, adding more detail. He then performed the same operation with the third sheet, making it the most elaborate. Rands treats his music in an analogous manner: He presents an initial passage of music. He then repeats this music identically, but adds new details. A third layer of music is then added to the first two. Thus, the music gradually accumulates in the same way as Van Gogh's imprints.