CLASSICAL FEATURES

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STUDY NOTES – MOZART

Theme 1SECTION A SECTION A1

bar 1 bar 53

Key

InstrMelody

Accom

Cadence

Texture

Features

Theme 2SECTION A + A1

bar 12 + bar 68 Coda

Key

InstrMelody

Accom

Cadence

Texture

Features

Theme 3SECTION A (2*) - SECTION A1

bar 20 bar 76

Key F#min – A maj Key

InstrMelody piano (rh) Instr

Melody

Accompiano (lh) plays block chords,strings at end play sustained chords,horn pedal at end

Accom

Cadence Imperfect Cadence

Texture homophonic Texture

Features

crotchet – quaver accompaniment,ornaments (turn), repeated notes,chromatic notes, key change to A maj

Features

MOVEMENT 2 (6/8 time)

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CHAPTER 1 - MOZART

CLASSICAL FEATURES

FIRST MOVEMENT: ALLEGRO (LIVELY), A MAJ

Texture Light and clear, mainly homophonic with a melody above a chordalaccompaniment.

Melody Clear-cut phrases with well-defined cadences meant Classical melodieswere usually formal and structured with elegant and expressive lines.

Instruments Mainly string and woodwind, with added horns and sometimes trumpetsand timpani.

Related Keys Dominant (5th), sub-dominant (4th) and all three related major/minor keys.

The piano and clarinet were new instruments in the 18th century andMozart wrote extensively for both. He excelled as a pianist and wrote andperformed piano music from an early age. He also wrote many solo piecesfor the clarinet as well as including it in his orchestras.

In the analysis, each theme is traced through the different sections.

The 1st movement is in sonata form and has two Expositions, the first of which does notmodulate to the dominant and is played by the orchestra. The second Exposition is for the pianoand does modulate to the dominant. Four themes are heard in both Expositions (A1, A2, B1, B2).A fifth theme, C, is introduced at the end of the Piano Exposition and is then used for theDevelopment. There is one Recapitulation and the movement ends with a Coda. It is in commontime.

Although there are two Expositions, there is only one Recapitulation with elementsfrom both Expositions merged.

SUBJECT I THEMES – A1 and A2

triadic

sequence

parallel 3rds

chromatic

Ic V

THEMES

Subject 1 – A1 is an eight-bar melody and features a two-bar sequence, triadic movement anda rising scale.


CHAPTER 1 - MOZART

A1 and A2 occur at the beginning of the Exposition and at the end of theRecapitulation. A1 also occurs at the end of the Exposition. A3 occurs on its own at thestart of the Recapitulation. This fulfils the Rondo part of this form.

Bars 1 and 9 TRACK

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EXPOSITION

A1 – On piano. Note the lh playing an Alberti bass. Ends with Perfect cadence.

A1 – On first violin. Note the string accompaniment (broken chord and repeated tonic crotchets)and sustained wind and horn. Ends with a Perfect cadence.

Bars 312 and 320 TRACK

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RECAPITULATION

A3 for the third time is on piano. Note the added ornament and Imperfect cadence.

A3 – Final statement is in A min and is a variation. First on flute and bassoon, then piano andfinishing with a dialogue between string, wind and piano.

Bars 441 and 449 and 456 and 464 TRACK

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A1 for the fifth time is on piano and is similar to bar 1 but with added syncopation and achromatic finish.

The final A1 is the same as at bar 9.

Bar 456 - A2 for the third time is the same as at bar 16.

The final A2 has first phrase on piano (string accompany) and second phrase on wind (pianoaccompanies). Followed by a nine-bar link to the Coda, similar to that used in bar 32.


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A2 – First phrase on strings. Note the violin parallel 3rds and the rhythmic imitation. Secondphrase on clarinets and bassoons. Note the bassoons play a sequence and the horns join in forthe cadence.

A2 is repeated with bassoon part varied, followed by a link to A3 (not on CD).


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A3 on piano in A maj. Note the parallel 3rds, the tonic pedal and the Imperfect cadence.

A3 in A maj is a variation on clarinets (horns accompany). The piano takes over and ends on aPerfect cadence, followed by a transition to Subject II (not on CD).


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A1 for third time is on piano and is similar to music from bar 1 with added syncopation and anarpeggio finish.

A1 for the fourth time is like that at bar 9, is on strings, is extended and has more syncopation.Note the music modulates to F# min, the repeated notes, dominant pedal and it ends with anImperfect cadence.

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CHAPTER 3 - DEANE

Bar 140 TRACK

60

CODA – B2 + C2

The crotales play the first six quavers of the Totentanz and the cello and violin (both doublestopping) carry it on. Note piano and marimba cluster chords, flute plays Dies Irae insemiquavers, the changing dynamics, flutter tonguing flute (bar 150), the climax in bar 157,rhythm played by everyone (bar 159 until bar 163), the piercing piccolo, repeated note A onpiano and marimba and the piano and marimba tremolos over repeated semiquavers. Ends withjust the note A and maracas on remaining instruments. No cadence, just a fade out.

Bar 92 TRACK

61

The intervals of a 2nd, 3rd and their inversions dominate throughout. An Inversion of the DiesIrae plainchant in canon up to bar 112 (violin and marimba at a bar distance and at the unison).Note the guiro accompaniment and loud dynamic. Then cello, violin, marimba (all in 5ths) andpiccolo play theme. Note the accompaniment also uses Dies Irae ideas (small intervals), cello5ths (bar 99), piercing piccolo playing parallel to cello (bar 106) and the glissandos on piccolo,cello and violins (bar 113). Descending piano cluster chords (bar 115) are followed by hints ofTotentanz* rhythm and constant reference to the Dies Irae. The section ends with blockmovement.

Bar 1 TRACK

62

Only G, A or C used for first 14 bars. Note the high pitch (15ma), harmonics, tremolo cello, lefthand pizzicato and the sudden A b (bar 15). At bar 17, the piano plays a series of descendingG, F and Ds (inversion of three-note cell) interrupted by different percussive hits – maracas(played by wind player), bass drum, tambourine and cymbals. Note the violin col legno battuto(c.l.) in bar 20 adding to percussion effect.

DIES IRAE

dynamic, martellato (hammered) piano 5ths and many accent points. The piccolo piercesthrough from bar 55 and all the instruments play the rhythm at different places. Tremoloperfect 5ths on marimba and augmented 4ths on piano lead to a bar of silence.

Two themes combine in this section. Tonal centre is C at the start and ends in A.

AND FINALLY – THE INTRODUCTION

This section conjures up images of desert heat and piercing sun. The rhythm issemibreves or longer and the written dynamics are extreme. However, the high pitchand choice of instruments make some impossible to achieve. There are many timesignature changes and even more silences which give an uncertain, lost mood.


CHAPTER 4 – BEATLES

RECORDING TECHNIQUES

INSTRUMENTAL TECHNIQUES

Chapter 4 – Beatles

Panning Passes sound from one speaker to another.

Distortion Overloading the sound. Can be created in the studio or induced with anamplifier. Applied to guitars and other amplified instruments such assynthesisers and the Hammond organ.

Multitracking/ Multiple instruments and vocals can be recorded onto individual tracks Overdubbling which allow them to be edited individually before the final mix-down.

Supplementary tracks can be added if an ‘overdub’ is needed to correct amistake on an otherwise good ‘take’.

Reverb It is the reflection of sound. It locates the music in a specific acoustic space.

The Beatles also manipulated tapes – altering and reusing recordings for different settings.They changed the key of some recordings by speeding them up.

Power chords Guitar player doubles the root and 5th of a chord.

Falsetto Singing outside your normal range.

STYLES

Rock When drums and guitars are the driving force with much use of distortion.Loud and forceful singing. Pop uses the same instruments. It is single basedwhile Rock is album based. Pop singing and lyrics are less harsh.

Jazz Ragtime style (piano) used where the rh plays a syncopated and livelymelody and the lh plays an even steady accompaniment, Jazz instrumentsused.

Classical Tight use of harmonic progressions and counterpoint. Word-painting andClassical instruments used.

Ballad Telling a story. Gentle and uncluttered. Simple accompaniment.

This song features Paul introducing a fictitious band. To give the effect of a ‘live’show, we hear an audience and tuning instruments (previously recorded material,edited). Introduction: note opening chord of A (major supertonic), standard drumbeat, and drum fill (bar 4).

Album features no banding between songs, printed lyrics on the album sleeve and innovativeuse of recorded sounds. The Beatles show their love of fusing styles and their choice ofinstruments is unusual for the 1960s.

SGT PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND ALBUM

SGT PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND ROCK AND CLASSICAL 4/4 G MAJ

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CHAPTER 5 – IRISH MUSIC

47

INSTRUMENTS

TRADITIONAL FEATURES

FUSION

The following features are common to many pieces of Irish music but not to them all!

• ornamentation. There are regional styles of instrumental and vocal ornamentation• unaccompanied• free rhythm• repeated last note• modal. Flattened 7th or a gap scale• wide range• few dynamics• sean-nós features other that above include glottal stops, nasal singing and ending a phrase

with a consonant such as m, n or ng or by speaking.

Traditional music is often fused with other genres. In an answer, you must be able to identifythe features of both the Irish traditional music and the other genre that you hear. Somepointers for recognising these are listed below.

Classical Rock (or Pop)Instruments (orchestral - identify)Harmony or CountermelodiesTexture (e.g. rich, polyphonic…)Dynamics (e.g. dramatic, expressive…)Formal and structured with clear definedcadences

Instruments (identify)Driving force is the drumsRecording techniques (panning, distortion…)Electric (synthesiser or guitars)Loud

Ballad Jazz

Instruments (identify)Simple accompaniment Storytelling

Improvisatory Instruments (identify)Rhythm (swing, syncopated)Harmony (blues notes)

Céili American

Instruments (identify)UnisonRhythmic and repetitiveFunctional

Mixed InstrumentsLarge, theatrical soundBig production soundFilm soundtrack

Ethnic/New AgeInstruments, including ethnic instruments from other countriesUse of everyday appliances (hairdryer, doorbell….)Electronic (synthesiser)Mystical and atmospheric (recording techniques used to alter sound)

The essay MUST include examples and names of performers and recordings. The student MUSTshow they have listened to these examples by describing a performance in detail and givingdescriptions of the performance or performers. There is negative marking in this question andall examples MUST make sense and the information should be coherent so as not to incur anypenalties. Source your information on the Internet, TV, CDs and in books. There are manyrecordings and videos on YouTube that will give you ample information.

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CHAPTER 7 – MELODY

54

DYNAMICS

MINOR MELODY

Write dynamics below the stave. These must make musical sense. Avoid extreme dynamics asthese would be inappropriate in such a short piece. The dynamics must lead into each otheraccurately.

Place your dynamic mark at the start of a phrase rather than at the start of a system.

There is no requirement to modulate in the minor melody. The important tonic solfa notes inthe minor key are lah and me. You will need to watch the 6th and 7th notes of the key - usingthe melodic minor idiom where necessary, i.e. raising the two notes if played beside each otherascending (fe – se) and lowering both notes if played beside each other descending (soh - fah).It is best to avoid the pair except at important points where the key can be accentuated. UseAABA as before. Avoid clumsy leaps and augmented intervals (aug 2nd fah – se, aug 4th re –se and aug 5th doh – se).


E


CHAPTER 8 – HARMONY

61

Example – harmonisation showing poor progressions and cadence

BASS LINES

Add bass notes, aligned properly, under correct chord symbols.

You MUST have a bass note under each chord symbol. Ensure the rhythm you use allows thecorrect note under the correct box. Simply placing the note under the box will not suffice if therhythm is incorrect. You need to be careful with alignment.

Example

X X X X

Example – harmonisation showing good progressions and cadence

The rhythm used inthe bass means the Awill be struck underthe B even though it iswritten under the C.There are not enoughbeats in the bass.

The rhythm used in thebass means the D willbe struck under the F#even though it iswritten under the G.There are not enoughbeats in the bass.

The rhythm used in the bassmeans the A will not be struckunder the chord symbol. Thevalue of the minim G is too longfor the rhythm of the previouschords. You will lose marks forthe bass note as a result.


CLASSICAL FEATURES

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