1. Experiencing Music
Chapter 3

2. What You Will Learn
Compare the various levels of listening to mucis, and explain how perceptive listening can enhance the listener’s appreciation
Identify the intervals found within a major scale
Compare the experience of Listening to music alone with that of listening in the company of others

3. Vocabulary Aural Perceptive listening Aesthetic Scale Major scale
interval
Texture
Ensemble
Monophonic
Mariachi
Virtuoso

4. Musician Profile
Luciano Pavarotti

5. Listening to Music Aural: Levels of listening Hearing related
Different levels of attentiveness impact how we listen to music
Casual - Some music blends into the background (ambient)
You may listen casually or tune this music out
Sensuous listening – “goosebump” listening
Involves an emotional reaction
Perceptive listening:
Listening to and appreciation a musical work for its full range of technical and expressive properties

6. Perceptive listening
Listeners analyze the structure and elements of the music
Accentuates the expressive power of music
The more we understand music, the more likely we are to have a peak experience – heightened response when we listen both sensuously and perceptively
Aesthetic:
Characterized by a heightened sensitivity to the content, form, or emotional impact of an artistic work or event

7. Activity 1, p. 52 CD 2:7
Listen to an excerpt from John Philip Sousa’s “Washington Post March”

8. Becoming a Perceptive Listener
When we listen perceptively we rely on our knowledge of music
Scale
Most music is based on some type of scale:
A sequence of tones arranged in rising pitches
Major scale
A sequence of eight pitches built on the pattern of two whole steps, one half step, three whole steps, and one half step.
Activity 3, p. 53 CD 2:8
“Do, Re Mi”

9. Intervals
The way a melody is constructed often influences the way a piec of music affects us
Interval:
Distance in pitch between two tones
Most intervals are categorized as minor (meaning small), major (meaning large), or perfect(meaning fourths, fifths, and octaves, which are never major or minor)
Activity 3, p. 54

10. How We Experience Music
Listening to music at high volume levels can seriously damage hearing
Activity 5, p. 55 (handout)
Experience music alone
When alone, we choose music to match our mood

11. Activity 6, p. 56 CD 1:1-6
For each of the 6 examples, answer the following questions
Would you categorize this music as classical, traditional, or popular?
What sort of mood does this music create? Where would one listen to this music?
What is the source of sound? Is it sung? Instrumental? If so, what instruments were used?
What is the function of the music?
Where might it be played
What elements are most prominent in this music?

12. Experiencing music together
How you react to music depends on the type of music and how it is being used
The context can dictate the audience’s reaction
Sometimes the music is secondary to the main purpose of th event.

13. Activity 7, p. 57 CD 2:12-15
Listen to the 4 examples and answer the questions
What is the main function of the music?
Describe your reaction to the music. How would you react?
What is the appropriate audience behavior?
How would the event be different without the music.

14. Performing Music Alone
Making music is like other artistic expressions
People enjoy expressing themselves through solo performance
When people make music they become their own audience

15. Activity 8, p. 59 CD 2:16-17
Listen to two Asian solo instrumental performances
Categorize each instrument (idiophone, membranophone, aerophone, etc.)
Select four words that accurately describe the timbre of each instrument
Speculate in what setting each piece might be performed

16. Tuning a Guitar
Some call the guitar the most important musical instrument of the past 50 years
The guitar has 6 strings each tuned to a specific pitch
The thickest string produces the lowest tone
Activity 9, p. 61
DVD – “Tuning a Guitar”
CD 2:14 “Hip Song”

17. The Native American Flute
The flute is a common instrument to many cultures around the world
Made from natural a manufactured materials
During the late 19th and early 20th century, Native American flute playing nearly became extinct
According to legend, the flute was given to the Native American people by the Creator for enjoyment, to ease loneliness
Some tribe sue it for quiet moments
Some use it for courting purposes
A young man would sit outside the home of the woman he likes and play the flute, if she was interested she would come sit beside him
Today there is renewed interest
Activity 10, p. 62 CD 2:18 “Northern Plains”

18. Performing Music Together
Music often functions as a form of group expression
A group can provide more texture-
The way sounds are woven together
Ensemble
Cooperative musical expression
Organizing people to function together in a musically cohesive manner requires cooperation
Monophonic-
In unison with everyone sounding the same pitch or octave at the same time

19. Call and Response Question and answer
Combines solo and choral response
The leader must know all the lyrics while the choirs response is simple
Call and response is found in spirituals and gospel music
Its influence today is heard in jazz, blues, rock, rap, folk songs, and backup vocals
Mixed ensembles
Some ensembles may alternate between a featured soloist and the group but not in call and response

20. Activity 11, p. 64 CD 2:19 /TRB 3-4 “Oh Happy Day”
How many responses did you hear in the first chorus?
Seven responses
Are all the responses exact repetitions of the call? If not, where did they change
“Oh Happy Day” is exact but changes when “washed our sins away” is responded to with the words “Oh Happy Day”
Does the verse use call and response?
The verse uses call and response, but the soloist responds to the call by the chorus, rather than the reverse as in the choruses.

21. Mariachi tradition Mariachi
A musical group with several violins, trumpets, large bass guitar, and special five and six-string guitars
Bass guitar – guitarron
Five-string guitar(short and used as rhythm guitar) vihuela
The two most popular types of Mariachi music
Son jalisciense – song for Jalisco
Cancion ranchera – a country song
“La Negra” is the most well known of the sones jaliscienses
Activity 13, p. 65 CD 2:20

22. Critiquing Music Acquiring criteria for evaluating music performances
Opinions are never wrong – they are a matter of taste
Opinion is not enough in judging a work or genre
Every performance must be judged on its own merits
Music critics
Professionals who write about musical events, performances, and albums

23. Criteria for critiquing music
Timber – quality of tone, range, variety, appropriateness and appeal
Expressiveness – interpretation
Technique – performer’s skills
Presentation – choice and appropriateness of the music
Impact – artist’s charisma
Activity 13, p. 67, CD 3:1-3 TRB 3-6

24. The role of a critic
A responsible critic will do more than condemn or rave about a performance
They must be perceptive listeners
They must analyze and communicate their opinions
A good critic takes in non-musical aspect such as the conductor, acoustics, and size and reaction of the audience.
Music Critics influence public opinion which is a big responsibility.
Your job when reading a review is to distinguish between fact and opinion
Activity 14, p. 67, TRB 3-7

25. Luciano Pavarotti 1935-2007 One of the most famous opera singers
Born in Modena, Italy
As a child he sang in the local chorus with his father
Performed in his first opera at age 26
Numerous recordings
Stadium crowds
“Nessum Dorma”
“My first, my last, my everything” with Barry White

26. Assignment Activity 15, p. 68 Fact & Opinion
Read the column from The New York Times (TRB 3-8).
Underline the words or phrases that provide basic information.
Circle the words or phrases that are clearly the reviewer’s opinions
Is it clear that the reviewer was well informed?
Was he able to back up the views expressed
Did the review seem credible to you?
How do you know?

27. Assignment Cultivating the language of criticism
Critics use colorful language to communicate their reactions and judgments
Fair assessments
Activity 16, p. 68 From the Top CD 1:5
Listen to Elena Urioste play the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. What are some adjectives you would use to describe her performance?
Read the 2004 review of Elena Urioste’s debut with the Cleveland Orchestra (TRB 3-9). Identify and circle all the “color words” – descriptive nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs – that indicate whether the critic’s reaction was favorable or unfavorable. Use the “Critical Words Worksheet” to list the positive and negative terms used. How well do they match the descriptive vocabulary you used?

28. Musical Artistry in Schools
Activity 17, p. 70, CD 3:4-7
Identify difference among student musical ensembles
Listen to two recordings of “Hodie Christus Natus Est.”
One is sung by a junior high school choir, and the other by a high school group
What are some of the main differences between the performances?
List to two recordings of “Colonel Bogey March.”
One is performed by a junior high band and the other by a high school band.
Which is performed by a high school band?
How do you know?

29. Assignment Activity 18, p. 71 CD 3:8-9
Listen to and analyze the quality of performances by two different choirs. Then write a critique comparing the two groups. Which choir would be more likely to receive a higher score from a panel of judges? Why?

30. Assignment Activity 19, p. 71 CD 3:10-11
Listen to the recordings by two high school jazz bands, and answer the following questions.
Aside from the different timbres of vocal sounds and instrumental sounds, which performance has the stronger jazz feel?
Does one ensemble seem more accomplished that the other? Why?
If you could choose, which of the recordings would you buy? Why?

31. Review - terms Perceptive listening Mariachi Flute Aural
Listening to and appreciating a musical work for its full range of technical and expressive qualities
Mariachi
A musical group with several violins, two trumpets, large bass guitar, and special five and six string guitar
Flute
A melodic instrument used most widely by the Native Americans
Aural
Hearing related experiences, such as listening

32. Review – more terms Texture Aesthetic Interval Major scale Kaen
The way sounds are woven together
Aesthetic
Heightened sensitivity to the content, form, or emotional impact of an artistic work or event
Interval
The distance in pitch between two tones
Major scale
A sequence of eight pitches built on a pattern of two whole steps, one half step, three whole steps, and one half step
Kaen
Cousin of the harmonica used in Thailand and Laos

33. Review – even more terms
Monophonic
In unison with everyone sounding the same pitch or octave at the same time
Scale
A sequence of tones arranged in rising pitches
Virtuoso
A performer with a brilliant, flawless technique
Ensemble
Another name for a musical group
Call and response
A question and answer pattern in which a group responds to a leader

34. Review – misc.
What was the most important musical instrument of the past 20 years?
Electric guitar
From where is mariachi style music?
Mexico
Who was the famous operatic tenor we discussed?
Luciano Pavarotti
Who decides how much attention a listener give to the music
The listener
How much influence do music critics have on public opinion?
A great deal
How do most people play guitar?
The left hand presses down the strings and the right hand strums

35. Explain the differences among casual listening, sensuous listening, and perceptive listening.
Casual listening means not giving the music your full attention
Sensuous listening means being absorbed in the music and allowing the music to move you emotionally
Perceptive listening is listening to and appreciating a musical work for its full range of technical and expressive qualities

36. How is listening alone different from listening in the company of others?
Experiencing music alone allows you to choose the music to match your mood
Experiencing music with others depends on the type of music and the context in which the music is performed