MUSIC 15 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Frédéric Chopin, Chord Progression, Rhythm
MUSIC 15
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Nyckelharpa: Swedish instrument built with spruce and pear tree wood;
Composers: Write original music
Arranger: One who makes another’s original music sound different
Caprice: A lively piece of music, typically one that is short and free in form
Composer’s toolbox: Fundamental Music Shapes
● Binary (divide into 2; 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2)
○ Hip hop, salsa, tango, reel, swing, polka, disco
● Ternary (divide into 3: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3,)
○ Waltzes, doo-wop, jig, mazurka, hambo, polska
● All music can be divided into either binary or ternary rhythm
○ Fun fact, Mission Impossible theme is 5!
The Dipsea Caprices: From Said Trail in Marin County
● Inspiration: Hike with two friends along trail; one borrowed my camera to take 22 photos,
leading to 22 caprices
● Caprice #9: Schottis!
○ Mathematical symbolism: second half of dance contain odd number of beats
■ 4+4+4+4+4+5 to represent the odd one out of a couple or group; (crooked
tunes)
○ Key of d minor (classical and stereotypical key of death) chosen to match the
dead log in photo
● Caprice #10: Waltz
○ Moderately paced dance in ternary rhythm; basic step outlines are square on
over six beats A ubiquitous dance across Europe and America
○ Melody constructed from scale that walks up and down in near perfect symmetry,
with a new not happening every other bar. The exception is in the end of the
sequence which includes an extra note of d minor, the phrygian/neapolitan note
of the home key area
■ Connotates the closeness of death and morality to life and beauty
● Caprice $4: “Hidden Road Polska”
○ Faster dance in ternary rhythm. Emphasis on 1st and 3rd beats in a lifting
unequal time and danced in a circular whirring manner
○ Symbolism: The hidden road in the photo is very curvy and twisty, with many
places to speed up and slow down, much like the rhythm of the tune
● Caprice #3: Air
○ Air: in Ireland and Scotland, a slow improv on a known dance tune. Steady
rhythm is completely abandoned in the interest of achieving a steady progression
from one beautiful resting place to a phrase in the next
○ One of the only caprices that contains perfectly symetrical of bars and phrases;
meant to be played completely freely without a sense of time, which speaks to
the emancipation of attaining perfection, or of observing it in nature
● Final Caprice #16
○ Slip Jig: a dance form common to Ireland. A jig collides with a waltz to form a
double ternary beat pattern, three groups of three beats in each bar
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
○ Symbolism: A branch with one short stalk and three long branches corresponds
to a tune with one short refrain and three longer improvisations; each improv
represents a different character found through the caprices (protagonist,
antagonist, heroine/narrator), and each connect tot he root in a different
way...each time they occur!
■ It’s up to the performer to decide which connection is the most meaningful
● KEY TERMS:
○ Nyckelharpa: Swedish “Keyed Fiddle”
○ Composer vs. Arranger: one writes originals and the other makes them sound
different
○ Caprice: A short free-form piece of music that is often flashy
○ Binary and ternary: based on groups of two or three, respectively
○ Schottis: lively dance in binary rhythm
○ Waltz: moderate flowing dance in ternary rhythm
○ Polska: quick lifting dance in ternary rhythm
○ Air: improvisation of a dance tune melody. No rhythm, a wandering between
pretty phase movements
Elements of Music
● Pitch: High and low pitches
○ Melody: the “tune”
■ Direction: up, down, same, zig-zag, etc.
■ Motion: stepwise, large leaps, small leaps, stagnant (static), active
(dynamic melody)
■ E.g. Chopin Prelude in D flat major
○ Harmony
■ All the pitches that aren’t making up melody
■ Contain a selection of pitches that make up an “alphabet” called a “scale”
■ Two common types of harmonies: major and minor
■ E.g. Chopin prelude in D flat major- changing from major in beginning to
minor in the middle section
● Rhythm: Underlying pulse of the music, called the beat
○ Meter- how the beats are grouped
■ Regular or irregular
■ If it’s regular, it can either be duple (subdivided in to 2) and triple (3)
● E.g. Mozart’s Minuet in C Major, K. 409 (regular, triple)
● E.g. Aretha Franklin’s Respect (regular, duple)
● E.g. Stravinsky (can be both irregular or regular duple)
○ Tempo (speed): slow, fast, etc.
● Texture: how the sounds are combined
○ Three types
■ Monophonic- one melody with nothing else going on
■ Homophonic- one melody with some kind of accompaniment
■ Polyphonic- several melodic lines at the same time
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Nyckelharpa: swedish instrument built with spruce and pear tree wood; Arranger: one who makes another"s original music sound different. Caprice: a lively piece of music, typically one that is short and free in form. Binary (divide into 2; 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2) Hip hop, salsa, tango, reel, swing, polka, disco. Ternary (divide into 3: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3,) All music can be divided into either binary or ternary rhythm. Fun fact, mission impossible theme is 5! The dipsea caprices: from said trail in marin county. Inspiration: hike with two friends along trail; one borrowed my camera to take 22 photos, leading to 22 caprices. Mathematical symbolism: second half of dance contain odd number of beats. 4+4+4+4+4+5 to represent the odd one out of a couple or group; (crooked tunes) Key of d minor (classical and stereotypical key of death) chosen to match the dead log in photo.
