Getting Started
UNIT 3
Time Machines
Step 1
Tunnel of Love
How have the elements of music evolved
over the course of 1,400 years of 'romance'
I feel as though love has been changed into something more silly compared to the older pieces I listened to. The older pieces
tended to be very beautiful or serious, whereas the more modern pieces seemed silly. Melodies are now these lyrics attempting to serenade an individual even though the lyrics may sound quite
stupid. Modern songs such as the Hannah Montana one seem to highly lack the basics of musical elements. It sounds like a factory-produced song with no real meaning behind it all. I think the
elements of music haven't evolved, but instead the majority of them have disappeared all together. The more recent songs set an odd tone and have very odd dynamics compared to the older pieces,
making them sound unorganized and not very thoughtful.
Step 2
Kyrie Through the Ages
How have the elements of music evolved over the
course of 1,400 years of the sacred text 'mercy'
All of the pieces are more like classical music, making them easier to compare and analyze. I feel as though the same idea of
mercy was kept throughout the majority of the pieces as they all tend to sort of lean in the same direction when comparing musical elements. I think the one with the biggest difference is the
Bernstein Mass, which throughout the whole Mass shows some very frightening images and insane ideas. Some pieces are calmer, while others tend to have extreme dynamics and melodies that make the
listener really understand that the man is descending into madness. Whereas a regular Mass tends to be more calm and organized sounding, with the usual peaceful melodies and such, the Bernstein
Mass twists that idea and makes you really pay attention. Mood differs a lot when you compare certain pieces, but overall I believe mercy tended to stay within the same idea and thought as the
pieces all felt as they revolved around a certain idea.
Period Overview
Step 1
What is your first impression/opinions of Altemberg Lieder by Berg
It at first gives off a very odd and slightly creepy feeling. It then proceeds to get even creepier throughout the whole piece, giving off the feeling of walking through a dark forest at night.
This piece gave me chills down my spine as it progressed on, adding even more elements to make it sound frightening.
Describe musical elements heard
in Clouds by
Debussy
The pitch never goes too high or too low, it feels as though it stays right in the middle and sometimes goes a bit lower. The song tends to stay at a piano/mezzo piano, and doesn't get much louder throughout the piece. The tempo stays at a nice moderate speed the whole time. Both the harmony and melody compliment each other in this very peaceful and relaxing way that makes you feel like you are about to fall asleep while listening to it since it is so relaxing. The mood tends to stay in a nice peaceful state, and has a very dreamy feeling. There is an occasional change where it sounds slightly creepy, but then it goes back to the dreamy feeling.
Step 2
Describe what musical effect a composer can
achieve when using the following scales:
Pentatonic
You can get a very wide variety of pitches using the whole scale, and it doesn't sound too high or too low. It seems like a very simplistic scale that can be universally understood without any
trouble, so it is easy for the reader to understand.
Whole Tone
It gives a very dreamy and relaxing effect, the composer can create a very soft and calming sound. Like the video said, it sounds like the thing you picture whenever you enter a dream. It is
commonly used in cartoons to enter a dream.
Octatonic
It gives off a very dark and spooky effect, and it doesn't go too high when it comes to the range of most instruments. Composers and probably create a very spooky and straightforward piece using
this scale.
Quarter Tone
This one makes it sound almost out of tune, but it also gives off a very frightening and chilling effect to the piece. It feels as though someone is slowly falling down into a state of madness
when you listen to this. Again, this is a scale that the composer can use to create a very frightening and sound that gives off the idea of almost a mental breakdown.
Twelve Tone Row
This also has a creepy feeling like the Octatonic scale. But this one tends to go into higher registers and sticks around the middle a lot. It
doesn't go too low in pitch, but still gives off a very creepy feeling when you listen to it.
Schoenberg
N/A
Period Research
Step 1
Provide approximate dates for Modernism punctuated with notable world/ historical events
The first section of modernism peaked around 1890-1920, which had events such as World War I, the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt became president, Lusitania, NAACP, poison gas was
created, and the 19th amendment was established. Then a second phase hit around 1950, which had events such as the Korean War starting, Rock and Roll seems to begin, DNA was discovered, and the
Vietnam War began.
Explain the major differences between Impressionism and
Expressionism in both art and music
Expressionism conveys an emotion through art or music in a way that feels distorted. Instead of showing a reality, it shows something that you may think of when you think of a certain emotion.
Impressionism shows the real world in a very detailed matter with very small, thin lines. It shows light transitioning in a very realistic matter and uses movement very crucially and unusual
human perspectives.
Step 2
What factors influenced art and music between
1890-1940?
The collapse of Romantic political aspirations in 1848, accelerating industrialization, and increasingly
pronounced nationalism, as well as World War I (1914–
Describe some aspects of the 'dark side' of progress.
The development of weaponry was a part of the dark side of progress. These developments ended up causing increased numbers in deaths. It also caused great sadness within the lives of many people
during that time.
How was Visual
Art similar to the Music of this time?
They both seemed very dark and somehow contained meanings that were probably more meaningful and intense than what people imagined.
What characteristics did they have in
common?
They both gave off a very dark and mysterious image that most people would notice the minute they heard or saw the pieces given.
Step 3
Summarize the ballet plot of Stravinsky's The Rite of
Spring
Describe Disney's re-imagining of the story line represented in
Fantasia
How are both of these plots expressed
musically?
Both plots are expressed in a very dark matter, using both art and music to display how dark the plots can
be. Neither of them really sound very happy at all throughout the whole piece and that is how it is visually displayed as well.
Rite of Spring Synopsis
At the beginning, an old woman enters the scene and foretells the future, and then young girls appear and begin to dance. The people then divide into 2 groups and perform the "Ritual of the River
Tribes". The wise elders enter followed by a Sage that blesses the Earth. The people dance and eventually become one with the Earth. The next part then begins as the young girls are walking in
circles. One girl is caught within two circles and is claimed to be the Chosen One. The young girls invoke the ancestors as the Chosen One is entrusted to the care of the old men. In the very
end, the Chosen One performs the "Sacrificial Dance" in front of the old men, and dances to death.
Rite of Spring Ballet
This is just the visual representation of what the storyline of The Rite of Spring is. The actual video feels very dark and almost forced upon you throughout the whole time. There is no speech
but you can have a basic understanding of what is going on. Overall it feels like it is exactly what Stravinsky wanted the people to see when they heard this music.
Disney Introduction
This introduction describes how The Rite of Spring was imagined by Disney as not a form of art, but the development of science and the understanding of species development and history. They show
the start of single cell organisms and then how it leads up to the current day species. Instead of showing the sacrifice and everything else in The Rite of Spring, Disney decided to make it a bit
more educational and child-friendly.
Disney Fantasia
This shows an animation of a rampaging dinosaur attacking the other dinosaurs. It is a great visual for this piece of music because everything is very loud and it sounds frantic and distressed
throughout the piece.
Disney Fantasia
I feel as though this visual was greatly referencing the storyline of The Rite of Spring. Instead of a girl being sacrificed, I think Disney is showing dinosaurs be sacrificed instead. Doing this makes it less impactful for when children watch this film. It would probably scare the children to see a human sacrifice instead of a dinosaur one.
Music and Modernism-Chapter 20
Step 1
Notes: European and American societies and the art they created changed a lot around 1890 and 1940 involving trends such as the collapse of Romantic political aspirations in 1848,
accelerating industrialization, increasing pronounced nationalism, as well as World War I and World War II. Some artists pushed forward with bolder expressions and technique, and others searched
for new vitality in modes of expression that by now seemed traditional. Modern or contemporary refer to anything at all that happens to take place in the present. Modernist or modernism refers to
a special self-consciousness, on part of the artists themselves, of their position at the forefront of new developments. Avant-garde is used to refer to radical artists and thinkers to denote the
forefront of their activity. The avant-garde experiment seemed to rise more around 1900-1920 and 1950-1970, whereas periods of consolidation were bigger in the 1920s and
1930s.
Step 2
Listen Site Reading Quiz:
Early Modernism-Chapter 21
Step 1
Notes: Claude Debussy occupies the border area between late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century styles. Debussy’s tone colors avoid the heavy sonorities that were usual in late Romantic music, merging instead into subtle, mysterious shades of sound. His melodies and motives are usually fragmentary and tentative, his harmonies sound strangely vague, and the tonality of his music is often clouded.
Step 2
Listen Site Reading
and Listening
Quizzes:
