GTA Office Hours• Ms. Catheryn Van Kley (PAC M 203) is

available at the following (& by appointment):- Monday (3:00-4:00 pm)- Tuesday (4:15-5:00 pm)- Friday (10:30-11:15 am)

• Assistance w/ course materials

• To see your previous tests

• To make up tests- only by appointment- MY APPROVAL REQUIRED

NB. The following slides (on Terminology) are not covered

in the text book.

What is “Music”?

“Organized Sounds and Silences”--John Cage

What can you organize?• The 4 Parameters of Sound• Pitch = the frequency of vibration (heard as

“high” vs. “low”)• Duration = the length of time a sound lasts

(heard as aspects of rhythm)• Timbre = tone color (the source of the sound, i.e., instrument, voice, other)

• Dynamics = Loudness/Softness• More Music Terminology—mine (not in the book)—

this week and next

“RHYTHM”

• From a Greek word (“rhythmos”) that means “flow”

• Refers to all temporal (durational) elements in a piece of music

• “The organization of time in music, dividing up long spans of time into smaller, more easily comprehended units”

Some Terms related to Rhythm• Beat – regular, unchanging pulse• Accent – emphasis on a beat (or other)• Meter – measurement of time in regular

groupings of beats• Measure or Bar – one group in a Meter

- can be Duple, Triple, or Quadruple• Division of beats can be Simple (2) or

Compound (3)• Tempo – speed of the beat

Examples for Rhythm

• The Thunderer by John Philip Sousa – YouTube

• Johann Strauss II - The Blue Danube Waltz – YouTube

• Dave Brubeck - Take Five ( Original Video) – YouTube

• Alan Jackson - Amazing Grace – YouTube

• The King's Singers - Greensleeves – YouTube

• Jethro Tull - Living In The Past 1969 – YouTube

• Don Ellis 1977 (10) Pussywiggle Stomp

• Monks singing Gregorian Chant in a Catholic Benedictine Seminary

Rhythm – Last Term• New word: syncopation – irregular or

surprising accents in rhythmic patterns that disrupt the regular flow of a melody

• For information and explanations of meter, etc. - see the Textbook Appendix, p. 566-7

• For information and explanations of form(on later slides)- see the Textbook Appendix, p. 567-8

• For external help w/ basic theory see: Music Theory at the Piano - Lesson 1: Pitches, Notes, and Octaves – YouTube and following lessons (Hannah Hoffman)

Five “Themes”

1. Listening Critically

2. Music and Identity

3. Music and Technology

4. Music is a Business

5. Music has “Centers” and “Peripheries” (places)

Music and Business(Theme 4)

• Music as a commodity(something bought and sold, and “consumed”)

• Industrial Model- efficient (“assembly line”) production- marketing- distribution and sales

• Illusion of “individuality”- manipulation of taste- leads to passivity- fragments community

Theodor Adorno

1903-1969

Music MakersBrill Building (NYC)

Capitol Records (LA)

“Wrecking Crew” (LA Studio Musicians)

Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller

“Indies”(Independent Regional Companies)

Sun Records (Memphis, TN)

Sam Phillips (1922-2003)

“Million Dollar Quartet”

Behind the Scenes

David Sarnoff(1891-1971)NBC, RCA

Berry Gordy(b. 1929)Motown Records

Phil Spector(b. 1939)

“Brill Building”

Quincy Jones(b. 1933)

trumpeter, conductor, arranger, composer,

producer, record company executive.

27 Grammys (79 nominations),

Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame (2013)

2009 – Conviction for 2nd degree Murder

(Still More) Useful Terms for Describing Music

(my terms – most not in the textbook)

Dynamics• How loud or soft (…in Italian…)

• “piano” = “soft” (abbrev. = p)

• “forte” = “loud” (“strong”) (abbrev. = f)

• “mezzo” = “medium” (abbrev. = m)mezzopiano, mezzoforte (mp, mf)

• “-issi-” = “-er”, e.g., pianissimo = pp,pianississimo = ppp, etc. (also fortissimo, etc.)

• Changing dynamics (growing louder/softer)crescendo / descrescendo or diminuendo

What can you organize?The 4 Parameters of Sound

• Pitch = the frequency of vibration (heard as “high” vs. “low”)

• Duration = the length of time a sound lasts (heard as aspects of rhythm)

• Timbre = tone color (the source of the sound, i.e., instrument, voice, other)

• Dynamics = Loudness/Softness

PITCH

• Function of “frequency” (how many vibrations per second)

• Usually described as “high” or “low”

• Individual sound sometimes called a “note” (from the written symbol for a single sound)

• Range of human hearing 20 – 20,000 Hz

Some Useful Terms related to Pitch

• Interval – “distance” between 2 pitches• Octave – 2:1 ratio of frequency• Tonality – organization around home

pitch • Tonic – the home pitch• Key – collection of pitches around a tonal

center• Scale – set of pitches in ascending and

descending order (scala [Ital.] = “ladder”)

Friendly Warning

Test # 1 in about 10-12 days(covers Chapter 1 & Terminology)

Official Date to be announced next Tuesday