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PREFACE
A piece of music, no matter what style or from what era or culture, will consist of many different musical elements. These elements work together and interact in various ways to create the composition as we know it. Among the most important elements that nearly all works share are melody, rhythm, harmony, sonority, texture and form. Different musical compositions stress different elements: dance music, for example, focuses primarily on the element of rhythm, while countless modern classical concert pieces and especially electronic works are mostly about sound quality and tone color. A large number of compositions, however, strive for a balance of all the elements. This text will describe the major elements of music and define a number of concepts that relate to each of them. It will explore many different techniques and methods used by composers from all eras and styles to create meaningful and unified musical compositions. By reading the text while listening to the musical examples, then discussing the concepts while analyzing additional examples in class, the student will gain a greater understanding of the roles each musical element can serve in a work. This will also allow students to express their ideas and observations about a piece of music using terminology that is universally accepted. This effort will not be successful, however, without careful attention and repeated listening to the musical examples that accompany each chapter. All examples in the book can be heard via the embedded links. Above all, this text intends to expose students to the various elements of music with the goal of understanding how they interact in a composition. By engaging these elements in an active listening experience, it is hoped that a greater appreciation of the composition as a whole will be gained. How to use this text: Highlighted text implies a link to a music example. Students should become familiar with these examples in order to best integrate and interpret the written material and also for possible identification on a quiz. Most of the musical examples played in class will also be found on Blackboard. The text will only be effective when the student listens to the examples online while reading. The importance of listening to the examples online cannot be overstated. Note that the majority of the musical examples are of electronic music, but because a lot of electronic music is not notated, some of the examples use traditional acoustic music, as they best illustrate the concept being covered. The symbol indicates that an assignment is required for the section of text just completed. Short answer and listening assignments are on Blackboard in a folder called Assignments.

Finally, be aware that the text will only be a framework for the course, and topics of interest to
the class may be covered spontaneously. Most importantly, the book is intended to supplement inclass discussions and will be most useful as a means to reinforce concepts covered during the class sessions. It is not intended to standalone as a self-directed reader.
(Thanks to Paul Beaudoin for his contributions to Unit VI and to Brian Robison for his critiques and advice.) -DHM

MELODY

In order to provide a definition broad enough to cover the many different ways melodies can exist in a musical work, we will define melody simply as a succession of musical tones that can be perceived as a whole. In some 20th- and 21st-century concert music, the melody might, on first hearing, sound like no more than a random series of notes. Moreover, in many electronic works, it may be hard to detect any recognizable melody due to the emphasis on other elements, such as sonority or rhythm. After repeated hearings, however, the various aspects of nearly any melody can be identified and analyzed. There are a number of characteristics of melody that are important to consider when evaluating the melodic element of a composition. These include the melodys physical characteristics, meaning its shape or contour; structure, which identifies how the notes are strung together into smaller and larger groupings; and tonal makeup, meaning how the notes are organized into a recognizable collection of notes. These topics, along with other important issues related to melody, will be covered below, but first, a distinction must be made between the terms frequency and pitch. The frequency of a sound is an objective, scientifically measurable characteristic of a sonic event that refers to the number of times per second a sound wave vibrates in the air (this topic will be covered further in the section on sonority). The unit of measurement for frequency is cycles per second (cps), or Hertz (abbreviated Hz), a cycle being one complete back and forth vibration of a waveform. A sounds frequency accounts for our perception of its pitch. The term pitch has two different but related meanings. In a general sense, pitch is the phenomenon of high and low that we experience when we hear a sound. People will differ in their perception of pitch; to one person, a sound might seem to have a very high pitch, while to another, it might be only moderately so. Pitch can also be used as a synonym for note: the note A4 could also be called the pitch A4. Musicians often refer to the entire set of As or Cs or Bs as pitch-classes. In other words, to make a reference to all the As found on the piano you could say there are 8 instances of the pitch-class A found on the piano. Many musical events have a clearly defined pitch, while others tend more towards noise or some other broad-spectrum sound.

Listen to Example 1, an excerpt from "MAA" by Pan Sonic and Example 2, "Midnight Trail" by Tangerine Dream, and consider the relative importance of melody in each composition. Example 1 has no recognizable succession of notes that could be considered a traditional melody, while Example 2 uses a repeating four-note melody that begins on a new starting note with each repetition. TONAL CONTENT The notes used in a melody are typically drawn from various types of pitch collections. Among the most common collections are major and minor scales, though other types, for example, modes and tone rows, are often found in Western music, and additional types of collections also appear in many non-western musical traditions. Electronic music composers also have the ability to use microtonal scales, which consist of distances between notes that are even smaller than those found on traditional acoustic instruments (see below). By listening carefully to the music and examining the notes of a melody from a printed score (if available), the listener can determine what type of collection the notes are drawn from and thereby characterize the tonal content of the music. Like the other collections, major and minor scales are standardized arrangements of notes that form the basis for the melodies found in a composition. Each of these scales is organized in a different way, but they are all similar in that they contain only seven of the twelve total notes that are available in the Western music system. The name for this larger set of 12 is the chromatic scale, but unlike major and minor scales, the chromatic scale is not typically used directly as the source for melodies. Rather, it represents the superset of all possible pitch classes, in effect, the theoretical universe of all the notes available to a composer or songwriter. In the example below, the chromatic scale is written out starting on the note C, but in fact, it could be written starting on any note in any octave, as any written version would contain the same pitches. Listen to Example 3, a chromatic scale and note the identical distance between each pair of notes.

Ex. 3 The chromatic scale contains all pitch classes available in Western music Notice that there are two versions of all of the notes except E and B: the chromatic scale contains C and C# (called C sharp), G and G#, etc. A major or minor scale will only use one each of every pitch class there will never be a repeated note name in any traditional scale. The seven individual notes of a major and minor scale are identified by their scale degree, which is a number that identifies their position within the scale. Each note of the scale also has a corresponding name that identifies the role or function it serves. The first note of any scale, for example, is the tonic, which serves as the home base or resting point, and the fifth, which acts as a guiding force back towards the tonic home base, is

always called the dominant, regardless of what the actual note name might be or what specific scale it appears in. Melodies that employ the concept of home base of having a central focus on a specific note are called tonal melodies, and with few exceptions, using a major or minor scale will produce this result. The scale degrees for a C major scale along with their names are shown below notated on a traditional five-line musical staff. Listen to Example 4 and note that unlike the chromatic scale, the distances between notes are not all identical.

Ex. 4 A C major scale Scales do not exist in isolation; rather, they are part of a larger hierarchy of musical materials called a key. Choosing a key is like setting a context for a musical work; it determines the scale, hence the primary notes that will be used and the relationship of the notes to one another and to the tonic. The key also determines what key signature will be placed at the beginning of the notated music as well as how different combinations of notes from the scale should be combined into chords (chords will be discussed further in the unit on harmony). The key signature is a notational shorthand used to indicate which version of any given note is to be played throughout the composition. This saves the composer from having to use a special mark called an accidental on every instance of that note each time it occurs. For example, in certain keys, the note F natural is used, while in others, the note F# (F sharp) is required. Both F and F-sharp are written on the same space within the staff lines, even though F-sharp sounds a little higher than the normal F. By putting a sharp sign (#) in the key signature at the beginning of each stave of the music, the performer understands that every time an F occurs, it is to be interpreted as F-sharp.

Keys are often chosen because the notes they contain can be easily performed by certain instruments or singers. The keys of C, A, G, for example, are good keys for guitarists because the chords they provide are particularly easy to play. They might also be chosen because of a certain affect or mood they are perceived to have: the key of D minor is

often considered to be a sad key, for example, while D and A major are considered to be bright or happy keys. (These characterizations are mostly subjective.) Any of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale can function as the starting point for a key, though not all have traditional moods associated with them. Many of the notes in a composition will come from the scale determined by the key, which helps provide a sense of unity to a piece. It also helps to create a sense of stability on and around the tonic note. However, nearly all melodies employ chromatic notes (from the Greek word chroma, which means color), which are notes that fall outside the scale determined by the key being used. Chromatic notes add variety to a melody and can create momentary points of tension and instability. Because they are not indicated by the key signature, the music would need to contain accidentals before any chromatic note, as shown in the Beethoven example below. **

Ex. 5 Accidentals are used to indicate chromatic notes (Beethoven: Fur Elise) (QQQ get chromatic electronic melody) Being able to judge if a melodys tonal content is drawn from a major or minor scale takes practice; many listeners cant easily distinguish between these two, especially on first hearing. Melodies based on both these types of scales often have a feeling of moving in a clear direction, of heading to a goal. They typically exhibit a quality of resolving or having reached a conclusion when they end. Major and minor scales account for the vast majority of the music that modern listeners are exposed to, though other options will be considered below. Atonal Melodies In much classical concert music of the past century, both acoustic and electronic, and in various forms of modern jazz, composers often composed melodies that had no tonic note or home base and that were not based on traditional pitch collections. The pitch collections used were often unique and distinct for every new composition. Moreover, rather than using only seven of the notes of the chromatic scale, composers used all twelve notes in individualized arrangements that fit their expressive needs. The melodies thereby created moved freely among the notes of the chromatic scale and avoided the familiar landmarks and references found in tonal music, i.e., music using traditional scales. Melodies of this type are called atonal and have no clear key or home base, though they might focus on a single note or groups of notes at different points in the composition. Because they tend to use all twelve notes throughout a composition, atonal compositions do not use a key signature. Rather, every note that requires an accidental will be written with one preceding it, as shown below.

Example 6 Stefan Wolpe: Piece in Two Parts for Solo Violin, an atonal melody Listen to Example 6 and follow the score. You may find it to be unfamiliar and perhaps even unpleasant. It will, perhaps, sound aimless or lacking direction, and you may be completely unable to predict when or where it will end. Atonal music demands new listening strategies from the listener and is often less accessible, especially on first hearing. Yet with repeated exposure and some idea of the composers intentions and methods, it can be as aesthetically pleasing as any other style. A more systematic approach to atonal melody uses a system developed by Viennese composer Arnold Schoenberg. Schoenbergs system, which is called serial atonality (or serialism), will be discussed in detail in the unit on harmony. In brief, composers using this system employ predetermined pitch collections called pitch-class sets or tone rows. Tone rows typically use all twelve tones of the chromatic scale that they arrange in a set order prior to beginning the composition of the piece. However, rows containing fewer than 12 notes are also common. As with scales, tone rows are used to create both melodies and chords. Because many of the early electronic music composers came out of the 20th classical tradition, a large number of electronic work intended for concert hall performance, use atonal melodies. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS The physical characteristics of a melody involve the way in which it moves through its surroundings, that is, how the notes travel through the "musical space" that has been defined for a particular piece of music. Perhaps it moves ever higher, ascending towards some climatic point, or maybe it descends rapidly to the lowest note of the instrument, then sweeps slowly upward until it hits a peak. A melody might also simply remain in one place, repeating the same note multiple times, or jump randomly from high to low and back. Imagine a melody that would sound like the images below. The first melody would be smooth and move gently between its successive notes while the second is more sharp-

edged or angular, reaching its highest point then dropping to its lowest notes fairly quickly:

Now look at the contours in the figure below and try to imagine what a melody using each would sound like. These graphs were created by a scholar named Inge Skog in his effort to standardize the way melodies from all over the world are classified:

Figure 7 Skog classification of melodic pitch contour In general, good melodies have a clear sense of direction and lead the listener to a climax point or goalthey seem to be heading someplace. Ascending melodies in particular can create a sense of moving forward, of building momentum towards a goal, and descending melodies can imply a sense of release or resolution. However, a good melody will typically have variety and balance in the way it moves. Too much activity in the same direction, for example a melody that moves consistently upward, or only downward, or that focuses primarily on just a single, repeated note, could lead to monotony and predictability and might cause the listener to lose interest in the composition. Some alternation of ascending and descending motion with a climactic point perhaps midway through on the other hand, could make the melodic line more interesting. Look at the lines drawn over the notes in the Mozart example below and listen to Example 7. These contour lines illustrate the movement of the melody and show how it moves downward at times, occasionally upward, and also sometimes stays in place with a repeated note. Trace the movement of the notes across the page by drawing over the contour lines with a pencil while listening to the music. How often does the melody change direction?

Example 7 Mozart: Symphony in G minor, opening theme, mvt. I The terms contour and range are used to describe this movement. Contour, or shape, refers to the way in which a melody moves up and down. The examples above are useful terms for describing the shape of a melody but you might also find other words to be useful. The "curve," "angle" or profile of a melody could be depicted by terms such as "ascending" or "descending," "flat" or "static," "angular" or "sharp-edged" and "wavelike" or "disjunct." (Imagine a melody with a contour like a mountain range...) Listen to Example 7 again - it is well-balanced in the type of motion it employs, and the upward skip in measure 3 contrasts nicely with the descending scale-wise motion that follows it, ending with the focus on the repeated note C5 in ms. 5. Now listen to Example 8, Prep Gwarlek 3b by Aphex Twin. Notice how the melody consists of a sequence of only a few notes, uses entirely low notes, and doesn't span a very great distance overall. With the exception of a few unexpected events that recur starting around :50, the melody is fairly static in contour. Clearly, traditional melody is less of a priority in this piece than in the Mozart. Range refers to the overall distance between the highest and lowest notes of a melody and like contour, is a characteristic of a melodys basic design. Different instruments have wider or narrower potential ranges than others. The piano, for example, has eightyeight notes that span just over seven octaves, which allows a composer to write melodies with a much greater range than the human voice, which has a range of just about two octaves. A typical electronic keyboard has a 61-note range, though larger professional digital pianos often employ the entire range of 88 notes used by an acoustic piano. Therefore, a melody played on one instrument might cover a larger part of that instruments available range than the same melody played on another instrument, and when assessing or describing the range of a melody, it is important to keep in mind the specific instrument that is playing.

From www.cartage.org Melodies that use a large portion of an instruments possible notes are called wide, and those that have only a few notes separating their highest from their lowest pitches would be called narrow. (There are many additional possibilities in between those extremes.) Range can be more accurately characterized by counting the exact number of half steps between the lowest and highest notes and assigning the proper interval, though this information is generally only useful to someone studying a melody for analysis purposes. Listen again to Prep Gwarlek 3b and evaluate the overall range covered by the melody. Now listen to Example 9 Steven Jaffes Silicon Valley Breakdown and evaluate the space from high to low within which the melody, generated by a program that models acoustic string instruments on a computer, uses in the first minute or so. Notice how the range extends even further when the second, counter melody comes in halfway through. Use of Range Rather than use all of the available musical space all of the time, melodies tend to emphasize and exist in different segments of the total range that is available. These segments are called registers, and an instruments overall range can typically be broken down into several distinct registers. For example, it is common to split the available range into at least three registers, described simply as upper, middle and lower. (The term register will be discussed again when the element of Sonority is covered.) In practice, its possible that a melody in one part of a song or composition uses only the highest notes of the instrument and never descends into the lower register. Other melodies in the same composition might move continuously throughout the entire musical canvas, dipping into the extreme lower register before ascending to a climax that employs the highest notes of the instrument. Obviously, the possibilities are endless. The Italian term tessitura refers to the predominant register that is used by an individual instrumental or vocal part for some major portion of a composition. Listen to Example 10, a popular song from the 1960s, originally sung by a male tenor voice. The highest note is F4 and the lowest is C4, so the entire range is just a fourth, or 5 semitones, but the tenor can cover a range of 20 or more semitones. How would you describe the range of this tune? Listen to the example to confirm your assessment.

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Example 10 The Beatles: Come Together main melody.

Like most musical elements, the characteristics of a melody can change dramatically from one part of a composition to another, so its best not to try and characterize too much of a compositions melodic material at once. (It is, of course, possible that no change will occur over a long span of time). Moreover, no analysis can take into account every subtle change in the music, so descriptions of melodies tend to be general in nature (primarily ascending or mostly wavelike, etc.). Most importantly, be sure that any analysis you make of a melody is based on the characteristics and capabilities of the specific performing instruments and that you make your judgments only after listening to the melody repeatedly. STRUCTURE Like sentences in prose, melodies are constructed from smaller segments called phrases. Phrases act like clauses in English grammar and when combined, form larger units of structure. If the music is pitched and/or key-based, phrases will often delineated by the harmonic underpinnings of the music, and phrase endings often coincide with resting points or harmonic goals called cadences. (Harmony will be discussed in detail in the next unit.) Cadences are typically brought about through clearly directed harmonic motion that can be either temporary, like a comma in prose, or terminal (final), like a period. They can also be created through directed melodic motion, for example, a melody that ends on some note that the composer has established as a point of arrival or goal, or through a rhythmic device such as a slowing down of the tempo (called a ritardando). In many cases, all of these methods work together to form the sense of repose or ending that a cadence implies. Another common technique in some styles of electronic music is for the entire composition to be made up of phrases of equal length that simply recur throughout. Example 11 , "4001" by Squarepusher, uses this approach, repeating an 8-beat (two measures of four beats each) phrase structure repeatedly, both during the opening rhythmic section and when the background melody enters. Occasionally, phrases are made up of smaller building blocks called motives, or motifs. Motives are the smallest recognizable elements in a melody and might be no more than three or four notes. One of the most famous of all motives is the opening of Beethovens

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Fifth Symphony, familiar from both many thousands of concert performances and more recently, aspirin commercials. Listen to Example 12 now.

Example 12 Opening motive form Beethovens Fifth Symphony Motives can become very important elements in a work if the composer repeats them or uses them as the basis for variation and development. In some cases, a motive will sound almost insignificant on first hearing but will take on enhanced meaning as it recurs. Motives will typically have a distinctive melodic and rhythmic character, and in some cases, composers will isolate one or more of those characteristics for manipulation over the course of an entire section or movement of a piece. Beethoven, for example, uses only the three repeating-note figure (both with and without the ending note) at many points in his symphony. In the next example, the melody is made up of two short phrases that cant standalone the first phrase seems to ask a question while the second answers it. This type of phrasing is called antecedent-consequent phrasing, which gets its name from a similar technique of English grammar. Listen to Example 12a and note the slight pause between the two phrases. By listening to and examining a melody's component parts and noting the way it is put together, the melodys phrase structure can be characterized. For example, a melody that is comprised of two or three phrases of fairly equal length, such as Examples 12a, is said to have a symmetric (meaning, even or balanced) phrase structure. Melodies made from phrases of considerably different lengths are said to be asymmetric (or uneven). Classically derived styles of electronic music would favor the latter approach, with the possibility that phrases cannot even be distinguished one from the next, while dance or other pop-oriented styles would tend to be far more symmetric in their structure. Typically, a change in some characteristic of the melody will help the listener identify a change in the phrasing. A change in the melodys direction, such as a large leap followed by a sequence of steps, could signal a new phrase. Phrases might be delineated when a melody restarts after reaching a goal or coming to a temporary pause. A change in the dynamics (loudness level) or articulation marking (playing style) is another way phrases could be differentiated. For example, one phrase might be soft and legato (smoothly connected), then the next phrase might be loud and staccato (short, detached). A change in instrumentation, meaning the instrument (or instruments) that is playing the melody, would also be a fairly clear indication that a new phrase has begun, as would a change in register. Like other elements in music, phrase structure is best looked at for only short, distinct portions of a composition, rather than for the work as a whole.

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Listen to and characterize the phrasing in Example 13, the song Twin Soul Trie by Tangerine Dream. Is it mostly symmetric or asymmetric? Can you tell where one phrase ends and the next begins? What qualities allow you to do so? Now compare that with the phrasing in Example 14, Stockhausen's Study #2. How clear is the phrasing in this example? Are the phrases of equal length? Can you predict when one phrase ends and the next begins? How is the music put together? Two or more phrases, such as those in an antecedent-consequent relationship, often combine to form a larger structural unit called a period. There are many types of musical periods, some that stand alone and some that imply further movement or continuation, but a complete discussion is beyond the scope of this book. A later unit on form will explore musical structure in more detail. Tuning Systems Most Western music incorporates a system of tuning in which there are 12 equal divisions of the octave, i.e., each of the 12 notes is equal distance from the next. This system of tuning is called 12-division equal temperament. Other types of equaltempered tunings divide the octave into different numbers of notes, for example, 6 or even 24 equal divisions. In the Stockhausen Study II example above, the composer creates an unorthodox scale that results in a distance roughly 10% larger than the traditional semitone between each scale step. In another of his works, Gesang der Jnglinge (Song of the Youths; 195556) the scales included distances as small as 60 divisions to the octave up to divisions of only seven per octave (as opposed to the 12 divisions found in traditional Western music). The electronic devices Stockhausen used to generate sound in these and his other works gave him tremendous control over the tuning characteristics of his music. Equal temperament is a man-made construct that was created, in part, so that instruments could play in more than one key. It is not based strictly on the laws of physics, which calculate musical intervals according to strict mathematical ratios between the fundamental frequencies of notes. (Recall that frequency refers to the number of times per second that a sound wave repeats its pattern of motion as it travels through the air and is the scientific basis behind our perception of pitch. The distance of an octave in music is equivalent to a frequency ratio of 2:1, for example A4 is 440 and A5 is 880, and other common intervals are also simple whole-number ratios. This topic will be covered in greater detail in the section on Sonority). Equal temperament adjusts the frequency of various notes so that they will be in tune, regardless of what note a melody starts on or what key the music is in. There are dozens of other tuning systems besides equal temperament and each uses different ratios between notes. And as noted above, many tuning systems, including those that use equal division, split the octave into more or fewer than 12 parts. One system, called Just Intonation, uses the strict ratios that occur naturally between intervals with no adjustments or modifications. (Pythagoras supposedly uncovered these relationships through experiments with vibrating strings.) Some people claim that just intonation is more pleasing to the ear, but one problem it presents is that an instrument tuned using just intonation can only play in one key; it must be retuned to play in another. Listen to

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Example 15 to hear a guitar retuned to conform to a just intonation tuning. It may sound out of tune until your ears adjust to the sound. Like Stockhausen, other modern composers, such as American composer Harry Partch (1901 1974), created their own unique tuning systems and even built custom instruments to use them. Partch constructed an instrument that divides the octave into 43 unequal parts, which you can hear in Example 16. Here again, the music may sound out of tune, as the tuning systems are not what we are accustomed to hearing. The term microtone is used to describe any musical distance that is smaller than a semitone, for example, a quartertone, which is one half of a semitone. Microtonal music is a general term that applies to music that uses such intervals. The term microtonal can be used to characterize music that incorporates alternative tuning systems or it can simply refer to a melody where the octave is split into more than 12 parts with no systematic organization. Microtonal music is especially easy to produce on a computer, where composers can create sounds that are extremely small distances apart. To calculate such small distances, composers use a unit of measurement called a cent. A cent is the name for an interval that is 1/100th of a semitone, and most modern synthesizers and synthesis software allows for sounds to be generated using such increments. Microtones are common features of many non-Western music systems, and such systems have served an influential role on various styles of electronic music. The Middle Eastern maqam, for example, is a system that governs how melodies are constructed and used (raga is the name for a similar system that governs melody in Indian music). Example 16a uses a maqam called bayati, which incorporates whole tones, semitones and threequarter tones. The electronic instrument performing the music is a Moog Little Phatty, a keyboard synthesizer that can be easily retuned to produce a wide range of tuning approaches. Such devices are highly programmable, which means that the any frequency desired could result when a key is pressed. This topic will be discussed further when electronic hardware is covered later in the course. The example below shows one means of notating microtonal intervals in an acoustic orchestral work, for which standard notation has no common symbols. The symbols shown here were used by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 - ) in his piece, Anaklasis (1959/60). From left, they indicate 1/3-tone sharp, 2/3-tone sharp, etc. In addition to requiring the performers to play unusual tunings, the piece also requires them to drop pencils on the strings of the piano and sweep the strings of the piano with jazzdrumming brushes. Listen to Example 16b and notice the unusual sounds made by the orchestra. Though all of the sounds you hear are produced by acoustic instruments, its easy to imagine that a composer interested in this type of sound quality would be attracted to electronic music, where similar sounds can be easily created.

Symbols denoting microtones used by Penderecki.

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Easley Blackwood is another composer who has worked extensively with microtones in an electronic context. In Example 17 you can hear his piece Twelve Microtonal Etudes. Each of the 12 short etudes (studies) uses a different equal division of the octave. The movements are called simply 16 Notes, 23 Notes, 20 Notes, etc., and the work is performed using a keyboard synthesizer that was retuned to produce microtones specified by the composer. Compositional Techniques Composing a work for full symphonic orchestra or purely electronic playback may seem like magic to some listeners, but in fact, composers for centuries have relied on a number of common and familiar techniques to assist them in generating the musical material needed to suit their expressive purposes. Developing their craft through many years of study and careful examination of works by influential composers and songwriters, musicians acquire a vast repertory of techniques and processes that they use in their music. In much recent electronic music, modern composers often spend considerable amounts of time planning a composition by developing custom processes or concepts that will determine the melody or other elements of the work. Oftentimes, implementing these processes is more important than the actual notes that are created using such processes. Composer Iannis Xenakis, for example, used mathematical models to determine the distribution of notes in many of his works and allowed the models to determine nearly every aspect of the piece; the composer had no regard for the actual notes that were heard at any given moment as long as they fit the model he chose. More traditionally, melody has played a central role in most styles of music and many techniques have evolved that are intended to help the composer come up with the extensive amount of melodic material that is often needed for a lengthy composition or extended improvisation. These techniques involve reusing the same melody or, perhaps, only a portion of it, in different shapes and guises throughout a composition. The term melodic development is used to describe a large number of different techniques for developing or transforming a melody through varied reuse or alteration. These techniques were developed by classical composers over the years but have now found their way into jazz, electronic music and other styles. Some of those techniques are discussed below. Sequencing is a process where a melody is repeated several times in succession with each repetition beginning on a different note. Each successive starting note of the repeating pattern might be a step above or below the previous one, or each new starting note could be a large interval away from the original. Regardless of which approach is used, the same distance is usually used for each successive repeat, so if the first repetition is a two semitones below the original, the next will be the same distance from that, and so on. Sequencing is a very effective technique over a short period of time but can become monotonous if carried on for too long. Normally after only three or four repetitions, the technique becomes obvious and predictable to the listener. Listen to the melody below and notice the fourfold repetition of the sequence, each starting a step below the previous. (QQQ do new example)

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Example 18 A melodic sequence (QQQ replace this) The song Autumn Leaves below is built on a two-measure sequence, initially starting on the note G4, that is repeated four times. The indications 1. And 2. mean that the melody is to be played through once, then repeated using the section marked 2., which means second ending, on the second occurrence.

Example 19 Autumn Leaves A melodic sequence. (QQQchange this) As you can see in both examples, successive sequences tend to move the same intervallic distance from one another. In both of the examples above, each repetition is one scale step below the previous one. Moving down a step is by no means the only option; each sequence could leap upward or downward by some amount, but as noted, it is common for the pattern of intervallic distance to be repeated with each successive occurrence. Note that the term sequencing has another meaning when used to describe a type of music software that places melodic (or rhythmic) patterns in sequence, one after the other, using a timeline. This type of software will be discussed later in the reading. Motivic development is another rather broad term that refers to the use of a small motive, often simply 2 or 3 notes, as the "cell" or "germinal idea" of a larger section of music. A motive that is well suited to development should have a clear and distinct character including both identifiable melodic or rhythmic traits, which provides the composer with opportunities for variation and transformation while still allowing the motive to remain recognizable. As mentioned above, one of the most famous examples of motivic development is in the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, shown above. This short, 4-note motive is transformed into a large portion of the movements melodic material. By repeating,

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shortening, lengthening, inverting (playing upside down), sequencing and otherwise developing this motive, much of the music for the first movement is created. A number of the most common techniques of motivic development have specific names. For example, to take a melody and shorten all the note durations is called diminution (compare Example 34a with Example 34). To lengthen all the durations is called augmentation (34b).

Example 20 Original form of melody

Example 20a Diminution

Example 20b Augmentation (first two measures only) To play a melody backwards is called retrograde, and playing each note in the opposite direction is called inversion. To isolate just a part of a melodyperhaps the first three notes of a longer melodyis called fragmentation. Listen to the different processes used in Example 35, which will first present a four-measure melody, then use retrograde and

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two types of inversion.

Example 21 Some techniques for developing a melody. Note the difference between Tonal inversion and Real inversion. Of course, any number of melodic techniques can be combined and used at the same time. Inventive composers will find endless ways to create new material from a limited number of basic elements. This helps give a piece of music an "organic" or integrated quality and helps the listener better comprehend the logic of the music. The reuse of melodic material for modern composers is so significant that composers today often use music software to generate a large number of variations and permutations on a melody that they give to the computer as input. This type of software is called algorithmic composition software and it could be used, for example, to quickly create a dozen rhythmic variations on a melody or produce endless variants of an original microtonal scale created by the composer. Bear in mind that when melodies receive the type of treatments described above, they can become thematic, that is, they take on special meaning and significance within a piece. Like the theme or subject of a novel or play, musical themes are often melodies that reappear throughout a work at key moments and that are heard by the listener as the major focus of the composition. This happens when a composer gives emphasis to a melody by reusing it in whole or part over long sections of a composition. In many electronic compositions, however, especially those that focus on sound quality and color above other elements, the music may be non-pitched, meaning it does not contain any specific pitches at all. This approach to composition will be discussed in the unit on Sonority.

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The Maschine Mikro MK2 Groove Production Studio from Native Instruments is a hardware device that can produce a wide range of automated variations on a melodic or rhythmic pattern. Complete Melody Assignment and Listening Assignment 1 now

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Rhythm refers to the flow or movement of music through time and the way in which that movement is organized. It is one of the most significant and distinct elements of music and has served as the basis for much experimentation in the music of this and the past century. Unlike melody, rhythm can stand alone: a single drummer playing a solo, or an Indian percussionist performing by him or herself on the tabla both represent rhythm existing independent of melody. Rhythm occurs on many different levels, from surface activity to a more fundamental, organizing element deep within the background of a composition. The most basic unit of rhythm is the beat or pulse. In most styles of music, the beat serves as the underlying, driving force, and almost all other rhythmic activity in a composition occurs in some multiple or fractional relationship to this basic beat (i.e., twice as fast or half as fast). The speed at which the beat moves is called the tempo, which might remain constant for an entire piece, but might speed up (accelerando) or slow down (ritardando) at important points. Listen to Example 22, Autechres Fold4, Wrap5, from the album LP5 and notice that at the end of every phrase, the music gradually slows down. Though this type of recurring ritardando is very unusual, the technique helps establish clear breaks between one phrase and the next. A solo performer or conductor might wish to interpret a passage of music by playing rubato, meaning to rob the tempo. When playing a passage rubato, the tempo will freely slow down or speed up based on the performers desire to emphasize one phrase or another. The composer might indicate this instruction directly in the score, or a performer might simply use her/his intuition to play the music at appropriate points in this manner. In an electronic piece, the composer can use a variety of means to achieve the same effect for the music. For example, altering the speed of a recording, either faster or slower, as it plays back. Dedicated software called time-stretching software also gives the electronic composer vast resources for altering the speed of the music, from changing the speed of a single repeating loop to expanding the duration of a short sample to many times it original length. Beginning around the first decades of the nineteenth century, composers used mechanical timing devices called metronomes to specify the tempo of a piece. A metronome marking (abbreviated on the written musical score as MM) tells the performer precisely how fast a quarter note should last by indicating the number of quarter notes per minute, as in , which means 120 quarter notes per minute. If there are 120 quarter notes per minute, then each quarter will last one-half second. Because the system of note values is relative, the performer can then determine the duration of all the other note values relative to the duration of the quarter note. Musicians are not expected to perform using a stopwatch or clock, however, as a conductor will typically set the tempo before and while the music is playing. In a performance of music that is not notated, one member of the ensemble (the drummer or bandleader, for example), will simply give a count-off or lead-in to establish the proper speed.

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In music that employs a computer, tempo can be indicated with extreme precision, often down to a tenth or smaller fraction of a specific metronome value. For example using a program called a MIDI sequencer, a songwriter can specify that a musical event such as a note occur 1/1000th of a second before or after another event. Such programs provide extremely high timing accuracy and are especially useful for synchronizing musical events with visuals, for example in a film, animation or even a video game. Before the metronome was invented, less specific terms, such as adagio (slow) or allegro (fast), were employed to designate tempo. Tempo indications such as these do not correlate with any one specific metronome marking but simply provide a general sense of speed. As a result, a performer will use his or her musical judgment and familiarity with the style of the music being performed to determine the exact tempo to be used when one of these terms appears on the musical score. By studying the performance practices of various historical periods and musical traditions, performers can get a general idea of how the music might have been performed at the time it was written.

Shown below are a number of common tempo markings. Assuming Allegro is about quarter = 120, what would be the approximate MM marking for each of these terms? (Hint: markings below the word allegro below would be faster and those above allegro would be slower.)

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Tempo markings are often elaborated by another set of qualifying terms such as molto, meaning "very" (molto allegro, very fast); piu, meaning more (piu mosso, or literally, more motion); and poco, meaning "a little" (poco vivace, a little faster). This provides the performer with even more specific information about the speed of a composition or musical passage. Explicit vs. Implicit When listening to a piece of music, the listener might find that the basic pulse is very prominent and clear, perhaps because one or more instruments is playing with an accent on every beat or because some sound is marking the beat clearly. This type of pulse is said to explicit, that is, it is clearly felt at the forefront of the music. In other cases, it might be harder to identify the main pulse because no instrument is emphasizing every pulse; the pulse is implied but not entirely clear. In this approach, the pulse is said to be implicit, meaning somewhere "just beneath the surface." Dance music is expected to have a clear, explicit pulse, which might be represented by alternate attacks on the bass and snare drums, or by a "walking bass" pattern played by a bass player, where there's one note in the bass part on every beat. On the other hand, some types of music often have a beat that is present but more difficult to find. This is common especially in styles that are not intended for dancing. Music without an explicit pulse can present a challenge to musicians performing in an ensemble that doesnt have a conductor. In acoustic compositions, the performers rely on their ears and musical acuity to follow each other and stay in synch. (Familiarity with each others playing style is also helpful.) Whether explicit or implicit, it's important to attempt to locate the beat (if there is one) before discussing other aspects of the rhythm. Techno, like some other styles of electronic music, is characterized by a very explicit pulse usually created by a bass drum accenting every beat. (A number of classic analog electronic drum machines, such as the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, were developed and used for this purpose.) Listen to this effect in Example 23, the song "Homeless" by the band Fatali. Now compare that with Example 24, "Wood End

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BriteLite" by the band Sol Tek. Can you find a pulse in this song? If so, how clear is it? If not, how would you describe the overall pace of the music? All the instruments in an acoustic piece or layers in an electronic composition rarely perform in rhythmic unison, that is, they don't use the same rhythmic pattern simultaneously. As a result, an extremely dense rhythmic texture could be created if each instrument or layer had its own unique rhythmic pattern. The number of possible combinations is obviously infinite and clearly indicates how much more there is to consider when examining rhythm than just locating the basic pulse. Special mention should be made of the role that repetition plays in the rhythmic practices of many musical styles. Rhythmic patterns are often repeated either intact or with slight variations, which helps brings structure and order to a composition. For example, in many styles of popular electronic music, a process called looping serves as the basic ordering force in the work. Looping takes its name from the tape loop, a short piece of tape that has its beginning and end spliced (connected) together so that it repeats indefinitely when played back on a tape recorder. Today, computer software such as Fruity Loops (currently called FL Studio) is used for looping, and some modern musicians even have dedicated hardware devices for this purpose. Looping can refer simply to a repeating rhythmic part (or groove) or to a rhythmic/melodic combination. Listen to Example 25, which is based on several overlapping looping patterns. Note especially where new patterns begin. Literal repetition of a rhythmic pattern also serves as the unifying force in the music of some recent Minimalist composers (Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and Phillip Glass, among others). In one approach, different musicians start out playing the same pattern but gradually move out of phase with one another by playing their parts at a slightly different speed or just ahead of or behind other performers. Listen to Example 26, the piece Electric Counterpoint, composed by Steve Reich for guitarist Pat Metheny for an example of this technique. In this recording, the guitarist plays live accompanied by an ever-changing recorded version of himself.

METER

Rhythm in music does not usually occur as simply an endless string of isolated beats or pulses. Rather, the beats in a piece of music are typically grouped into small units called measures or bars. (In music notation, a barline is used to separate successive measures.) Music that has this characteristic is said to have meter or to be metered. A composer will indicate a fixed value or length for each measure by using a time signature, such as 4/4 (four quarter notes per measure) or 5/8 (five eighth notes per measure). The actual musical activity, however it may occur, will have to cover the span of four quarter notes (or five eighths) in every measure of the piece or until some new time signature is assigned. Any combination of sounds or silences (which are designated

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by rests in the music) may appear within the measure as long as the total elapsed time is exactly equal to the total duration given by the time signature. (Meter is also found in prose, especially in poetry, where the "basic unit" would be the syllable, grouped into words and sentences. Meters are also given names in prose, for example, iambic pentameter.) Normally, the use of a time signature implies that the first beat (downbeat) of a measure will be emphasized, or accented. Musical styles such as techno and most forms of electronic dance music often emphasize the first beat of a measure, which helps provide a strong aural cue to the listener/dancer. Though we may not be able to distinguish exactly what note value is being used to represent the beat (it could be a quarter, half or eighth note, for example), the grouping of the music into collections of four (or three or six or any recurring number) beats allows us to recognize the presence of meter in the music. Analyzing Metered Music By listening carefully to a piece of music, the various layers of rhythmic activity in a composition, i.e., the rhythmic texture, can usually be identified. The first step is to identify the rate at which the various recurring pulses in the music are appearing, then choose which of the pulses seems most likely to be the beat. Typically, the beat will be a recurring pulse that is neither the fastest nor the slowest of the pulses you can detect. The next step is to identify the relationship between the beat and the other active layers of the texture. Often there will be consistent subdivisions that create rhythmic activity twice or even four times as fast as the basic pulse. Its also likely that there will multiples of the beat that produce a layer of rhythmic activity at one-half (or less) the speed of the beat. Typically, the slower moving layers are in the lower registers of the music, while the more active ones are in the upper registers. Listen to Example 26a and notice the high-pitched drum that is moving at a rate twice as fast as the lower-sounding drum. Once these layers are identified, the final step is to show which instruments or tracks are most closely tied to which layer. You might find that the bass track is playing one note every two beats or that a percussion part is performing a rhythm of steady eighth notes, which is double the speed of the basic pulse. Perhaps another part is using a division of four notes per beats during a section, or, rather, playing long note values that change only every two or four beats. Though every part may not fit perfectly into one of the layers, and it is nearly certain that the rhythmic texture will change frequently throughout a composition, it can be useful to classify how each part's rhythmic pattern fits into the overall fabric of the music. Mixed Meter A composer might choose to switch meter in a composition, for example starting with a pattern of four beats (quadruple meter) and switching to a pattern of three (triple meter). This is called mixed meter. Changes in meter might appear repeatedly throughout a piece or could occur only once at some point where the music moves into an entirely new section. Example 27, the Beatles song, Good Morning, (Sgt. Pepper, 1967) opens with four measures of quadruple meter (4/4), switches to quintuple (5/4) for three measures, triple (3/4) for one measure, quadruple (4/4) for one measure, then back to quintuple (5/4)

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for one measure, and so on. A more regular alternation between duple meter, as represented by the time signature 2/4, and triple (3/8) appears in Example 28a. Try to follow the beat pattern in each meter: 1 2, 1 2, followed by a quicker 1 2 3. A more complex example is found in Example 28b, a techno composition by German artist Gadzatronic. The meter in this song is fairly constant in the opening 30 seconds, then begins to change throughout the rest of the piece. Finally, one of the most famous of all mixed meter examples appears in Igor Stravinsky's ballet score to The Rite of Spring, Example 29. Here, the pounding, driving music and ever-changing placement of the accents keeps the meter in constant flux and must have been a real challenge for the dancers when the work first appeared in 1913. See if you can detect the pattern of accents while listening to this example. Polymeter Another technique, called polymeter, involves the use of two different meters simultaneously. In music that is not notated, for example much popular music, its quite easy for several musicians to perform rhythmic patterns that accent different beats, thereby creating the effect of two simultaneous meters. Listen carefully to Example 30, the Phish song First Tube and focus on the meter established by the bass and drum in the introduction, then the guitar as it enters. Tap each beat of the guitar part as it is playing to determine the grouping of accents. Where do the two parts line up? Can you tell how many beats are implied by the two parts? Does the grouping of beats of the guitar part change at any point or does it stay constant? A rather extreme example can be found in the middle of Example 31, the Frank Zappa song Toads of the Short Forest (Weasels Ripped My Flesh, 1995). According to Zappa, (at this moment) we have drummer A playing in 7/8, drummer B playing in 3/4, the bass playing in 3/4, the organ playing in 5/8, the tambourine playing in 3/4, and the alto sax blowing his nose." In notated music, a composer will typically assign one time signature to the parts of all the performers, then create a feeling of polymeter by instructing one or more performers to use a different pattern of accents than is implied by the time signature. In some cases, composers will even use two different time signatures to impose different patterns of accents on different parts. Some modern piano music, for example, uses different time signatures for each hand. Though this may create problems of notation, it can often be the best way for the composer to impart his or her intentions to the performer.

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Example 32 Gyorgy Ligeti: Piano Etudes, #5. An example of polymeter Notice in the example above that the composer uses both 3 over 4 () and 2 over a dotted quarter to indicate what pattern of accents the performer should play. The notation clearly supports this goal: the beaming in the right hand has three groups of four 16th notes to indicate a simple triple meter (3/4) and the beaming in the left hand uses two groups of six 16th notes each to indicate the compound duple meter. The accents in the left hand on the beginning note of each group of six further clarify the composers intentions. Similar combinations of different metric patterns can be found in much electronic music, where no notation is needed. Ametric Though meter plays an important role in most popular music styles of this century, it has been abandoned in much classical music from the 20th century onward and in some styles of jazz, especially since the late 1950s. Moreover, the vast majority of "classic" (meaning those that stem from a modernist 20th century classical music tradition) electronic works have no meter at all. Works without meter are called ametric, meaning that the music has no regular pattern of accents or has no detectable pulses whatsoever. This characteristic is also found in the music of progressive rock groups such as Yes and King Crimson. When music appears to have no pulse of any type and cannot be tied to a beat, it is most likely ametric. Listen to this excerpt from the piece Sonal Atoms, (Example 33) by composer and author Curtis Roads. There is no recurring pulse in the music and, hence, no meter. The movement of the music through time is based on the composer's intuitive sense of how long events should last and at what rate those events should move. Would you characterize the music as having a fast or a slow pace? Do new events occur quickly or relatively slowly? Do these qualities change during the excerpt? Because ametric music does not rely on a recurring pulse to organize the temporal aspects of a composition, the composer will often use other methods to organize the element of time. These methods might not be immediately obvious to the listener, however. A composer might choose to use some pre-determined collection of rhythmic values repeatedly throughout all or part of a piece, or he or she might pick note values according to a scheme based on actual time durations. For example, a composer could organize a series of timings based on some numeric pattern a credit card number or a list of birth dates or even phone numbers and translate that sequence into the length of notes in seconds. Or a composer might ascribe some number of eighth notes to every pitch in the chromatic scale (C = 1 eighth, C# = 2 eighths (quarter), D = 3 (dotted quarter), etc.) and assign each note actually used in the piece to that duration (so every time a C was heard, it would be one-eighth long, etc.). In other cases, ametric music will rely solely on the composers judgment regarding how long each musical event should last, with no special pre-arranged pattern. There are a limitless number of possibilities once music moves outside the realm of meter, and in most cases, it takes repeated listening and careful analysis to determine what approach to organizing time a composition uses.

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Here are some additional guidelines for dealing with ametric music: Try and determine the composers intention with respect to time and characterize this aspect of the music in any way you can. Does it feel rushed? Is the overall pace fast or slow? Is there a dreamy, timeless, effect? Does the music feel static, with no clear sense of forward motion? Perhaps there are occasional bursts of energy that move the music along, while at other moments, the momentum seems to stall. Finding descriptive terms to characterize the music will require some imagination on the part of the listener, but it is a good way to begin to get a grasp on the rhythmic elements in use. Listen to Example 33b and note the slow pace of the music. The sounds in the lower register sustain like a drone and the vocal-like sound that appears above it enters and exits very gradually. Now evaluate Example 34, the opening of the composition Scambi by French composer, Henri Pousseur, using the same criteria. Note how the music reaches moments of intensity then settles into more relaxed passages. Can you predict when the explosive outbursts are going to occur? Complete Assignment ES_A2_Rhythm now

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Harmony refers to the relationships among the notes employed in a composition and can be thought of as the environment in which the notes of a work interact. In many styles of music, harmony creates a backdrop or tonal landscape that helps establish momentum and direction for a piece. Harmonic elements can produce a sense of movement towards a goal, or, if desired, they can create a sense of wandering and aimlessness, or even complete stasis and lack of motion. The means by which harmony can achieve these goals is the subject of this chapter. In most styles of popular music and in classical music before the 20th century, harmony typically operates as a series of chords that support the melodic layer of a composition. However, several strands of melody occurring simultaneously or even a single melodic line performed on a solo instrument could also create a harmonic framework for a composition by implying specific harmonic activity. In other words, the single instrument could be playing the same notes that might be used by an accompanying harmonic instrument, if there were one. Rather than playing multiple notes simultaneously as in a chord, however, the instrument would play the notes individually in succession. The relationship between harmony and melody in such music is usually very clear: both are derived primarily from the same source, most often the scale defined by the key of the piece. In some cases, the chords are performed by a keyboard part, though in other cases, the notes of the chords are spread out or distributed among several instruments. (The term chord voicing is used to describe the way the notes of a chord are arranged throughout the musical texture, especially in the choice of which registers are chosen for each note.) Even without a chordal accompaniment, a melody might have clear harmonic implications. Such music will often adhere to certain harmonic guidelines and will demonstrate harmonic tendencies through the choice of notes being played. The listener must use his or her ear to distinguish what harmonic information is coming from the music and which chords and tonal functions, i.e., the role these chords play in establishing a sense of key, are being implied by the various notes of the melody. CHORD TYPES One useful way to begin the study of harmony is to summarize the structure of chords. Chords are typically formed by combining three or more notes from a scale, and any of the seven scale steps has the ability to serve as the root or starting point for a chord. Western music most often uses a system called tertian harmony to govern the building of its chords. In tertian harmony, each successive note in a chord is a distance (or interval) of one third away from the previous one. The most frequently used chord type in music is called a triad, which is a three-note structure built by stacking thirds above the root note. In C major, C is the first note of the scale. C to E and E to G are thirds, and the chord built on C would, therefore, consist of C, E and G. The starting note, C, is called the root of the chord, the middle note E is the third of the chord (not to be confused with the fact that it is also the distance of a third from the root) and the top

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note G is the fifth of the chord, because it is the musical interval known as a "fifth" away from the root note C. These assignations hold true no matter how the notes of the chord are distributed among the performers in a piece or which particular note an instrumentalist might happen to be using as the bottom note he or she is playing at any given moment. To provide a composer with the "raw materials" of harmony in tonal music, a triad is built on each step of the major or minor scale that is being used for the composition. (Certain alterations to the notes provided by the scale are used when needed, for example raising the seventh step of a minor scale to make the chord built on the fifth step a major chord.) The resulting seven chords are arranged by the composer into various sequences to provide the music with the type of motion and direction he or she desires. The seven chords built from a major scale are shown here, with the name of the chord quality (major, minor, etc.) shown below. The Roman numerals are a form of musical shorthand that is used to indicate the quality of each chord and its position within the scale.

Example 35 Chords derived from a major scale

Example 36 Chords derived from a minor scale with seventh scale step (B) raised in the G and B chords Other types of tertian chords, such as seventh and ninth chords, are also derived from major and minor scales by adding additional notes above the top note at the required interval. A seventh chord adds another note a third above the fifth of the chord, which forms the distance of a seventh from the root, hence its name, while a ninth chord adds another note a third above the seventh. The process can be thought of as simply stacking alternate notes from a scale, starting on any note:

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Chord type:

triad (Ex. 37a)

seventh (Ex. 37b)

ninth (Ex. 37c)

Seventh and ninth chords are called extended chords and serve the same role or function as the triads they are built on. (Functions will be defined below.) Because they too are built entirely from thirds, they are also considered to be tertian chords. CHORD FUNCTIONS The use of chords in many types of music is governed by a system called functional harmony, which involves assigning a set role or function to each chord in the key. In this system, chords typically fall into one of three categories: 1) Tonic-functioning chords: chords that help establish the tonic, which is the "home base" or harmonic reference point in the music; typically the I (or i in minor) and at times, the vi and iii (III in minor); Subdominant-functioning chords: chords whose role is to move the music away from the tonic; typically the IV (or iv) and at times, the ii and vi (VI in minor); Dominant-functioning chords: chords that prepare the return of or point towards the home base; typically the V (in both major and minor) and at times, the vii and iii. The V must be a major chord to act as dominant, so in a minor key, the seventh scale step, which is the third of the V chord, is raised. (Recall that the raised seventh also converts vii from a diminished to a major chord.) Raising the naturally occurring seventh scale step allows that note to serve as a leading tone, which is what gives dominant-functioning chords their tendency to resolve to the tonic.

2)

3)

Chords acquire their roles by the notes they contain: certain scale steps and intervals have tendencies to resolve in certain ways, and these tendencies are carried over into the chords that use these steps and intervals. Such tendencies help define the chords function. For example, the seventh step of the scale, the leading tone, has a very strong tendency to move upward to the tonic. When it is used in the V (as the third of the chord) and viio (as the chords root), it supplies both these chords with the tendency to move to the tonic. Hence they can both serve the dominant function. Some chords contain dissonant intervals (intervals that have a need to resolve), which account for their function. For example, when the third and seventh step of a seventh chord built on the V of a major or minor chord are played together, the sound is very unstable and tense. This quality is past along to the chord that contains these notes,

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thereby producing a tendency to resolve to a more stable interval, such as the major third (C and E) in a major triad:

Example 38 A tritone in a V7 chord resolving to a I (tonic) chord resolution Stable intervals, such as the octave (C to C), perfect fifth (C to G), and major third, are typically considered consonant and do not have the quality of needing to resolve. All intervals can be classified as consonant or dissonant, but these classifications are not absolute, that is, they will depend on context. An interval that sounds extremely dissonant in one context might sound fairly consonant in another. The rate at which the chords of a piece change is called the harmonic rhythm. Many popular songs use a harmonic rhythm of one chord per four-beat measure, others change chords every two beats, but there is no single approach that applies to any type or genre of music. USE OF HARMONY Through the correct use of the seven triads in a key, a composer creates a sense of focus on and around one principle chord or note, which is the tonic mentioned above. If the rules of functional harmony are followed so that the tonic is made clear throughout the work, then the music is said to be tonal and the effect created is called tonality. In other words, by properly applying functional harmony, we create tonality in music. This gives the listener a sense of knowing where home base is and where the music is at any point (whether close to home or far away) relative to that home base. By using tonality, which is extremely common in nearly all styles of popular music, a composer could also create a sense of instability and wandering. For example, the tonic could be avoided or undermined by the use of unusual chords or sequences of chords. This can add tension and excitement to music because it forces the listener to delay the gratification he/she would get upon returning to the expected goal. Such an effect could be suitable, for example, when the lyrics of a song reflect a similar uncertainty or tension or where this quality is desired at some point in an instrumental piece. Note how a clear tonic base is established in Example 39, the song "Ghazal (Love Song)" by Tangerine Dream, right from the opening. The short chord progression includes chords only from the main key and starts and ends on the tonic. That same progression repeats a second time, reinforcing the feeling of home base. After the second repetition, the key changes, a technique called modulation. This effect works best because the tonic was established so clearly at the opening of the song. In Example 39a by Radiohead, the three- (and later, four-) chord progression begins on the tonic chord, but the progression itself, though it repeats numerous times, doesnt have a strong sense of direction; it

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simply ends, then starts again from the beginning, creating a near drone-like effect. Count the number of repetitions of the basic progression that you hear in this example. In large-scale compositions, composers often emphasize one tonal area or tonal region for an extended period of time. It is also common for compositions to modulate to keys that are not closely related to the tonic, again for long portions of the music. These and other harmonic techniques can make it difficult to get one's bearings in the music, making it hard to know what relationship the current harmonic material has to the tonic at any given point. This is especially likely when many chords containing notes outside of the key (called chromatic chords) are used. Therefore, it is often necessary to listen to a composition multiple times before gaining a clear understanding of its harmonic roadmap. Regardless of the musical style, tonal harmony can establish a feeling of continuity and cohesion in a musical composition. Using functional harmony, the composer or songwriter can create consistency and continuity that give the listener familiar landmarks to follow as they move through the music. A good understanding of how harmony operates can help a composer or songwriter establish goals and reach them at the moments he or she chooses. It can also aid the listener in following the logic or momentum of a piece. Atonality One of the hallmarks of 19th century Romantic music was the demand for heightened musical expressivity. To meet their artistic demands, composers began to use to use an increased number of notes and chords outside of the chosen key. Chord sequences became ever more complex as did the construction of the chords themselves. As more and more chromatic notes entered the tonal landscape, the music sounded more intensely emotional an attribute favored by late 19th-century audiences. The drawback to this, however, was that chromatic saturation weakened (and eventually eliminated) the harmonic functionality of diatonic scales, keys and tonality in general. As a result, near the end of the 19th century, the guiding force that tonality provided for music began to disappear. One landmark composition in the demise of tonality is the opera Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner, completed in 1859. This work contained many chromatic notes and it was difficult to determine what the tonic was at many points in the piece. This unsettling quality perfectly suited the theme of the opera, which was, like Romeo and Juliet, unrequited love. The opening measures of Tristan (Ex. 40) are among the most famous in music history:

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Example 40 Opening measures of Wagners Tristan and Isolde The very first chord (measure 2) is ambiguous harmonically and functionally and no simple harmonic analysis can neatly describe it. The chord produces a high degree of tension when it is heard, and the tension is only somewhat resolved in the third measure, which, though less tense, also implies a need for resolution. The vagueness of the chords function reflects the overall harmonic instability that permeates the entire work. Its uniqueness in the history of harmony has earned this chord a special name: the Tristan chord. By the beginning of the 20th century, a number of composers began to find tonal music ever more incapable of expressing the world they experienced around them, and a search for a replacement was undertaken. For a period lasting several decades, and which includes the era during which music created electronically first became established, individual composers developed highly personal approaches to organizing the pitched (and increasingly non-pitched) materials of their work. Much of this music falls into the very general heading of free atonality. Free Atonality The chromatically saturated music of the late 19th century came about as composers relied less and less on the relationships among the notes in the major and minor systems. A systematic substitute for these scales and the functional harmony that governed their use was proposed in 1921 by the Viennese composer, Arnold Schoenberg. The first two decades of the 20th century however, reflect the use of free atonality, a loosely structured approach to organizing the pitched elements in music. (Atonality means, literally, without tonality). Free Atonality was (and is) used in classical works of various types, including solo, chamber and orchestral compositions and is also regularly used today by jazz musicians, especially those who fall under the free jazz" heading. It can also be found in the music of some progressive rock artists and is among the most common approaches used in the electronic masterworks of the past century. Free Atonality stems from the free use of chromatic materials such that the listener hears no strong tonal center in the music. It occurs when a composer uses common chords without concern for their traditional function, or, more likely, when he or she creates chromatic chordal structures that do not fit into any one key. Free atonality can also occur in music that is not chordal at all - a melody that uses a large number of notes that are not confined to a single key could also be considered freely atonal, as would music that is based mostly on noise or on manipulated prerecorded sounds. The constant use of chromatic materials can completely cloud any sense of orientation around a tonal

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center, even though there may be nothing systematic or organized about the way in which the notes and chords are being used (hence the idea of free). Listen to the improvised passage for electric piano and drums from the King Crimson song Moonchild (Ex. 41) and note the lack of any tonal center or focus. In other freely atonal works, a composer might choose some unique or unusual chord formation to unify the piece and serve as its central focus. This is the case with the mystic color chord that Alexander Scriabin used in his orchestral composition Prometheus, The Poem of Fire (1910). (This work also included a part for the live projection of colored light, reflecting Scriabins interest in combining image and sound.)

Example 42 Scriabin: Prometheus chord (mystic color chord) Scriabin moves among various versions of this chord while subtly changing the instruments that play each note, and also uses the intervals that make up the chord in his melodies. This six-note chromatic chord is built using a non-tertian structure and includes notes that would not appear in any single key. Though the composition is 100 years old, the sound would be perfectly acceptable in many forms of modern jazz. Example 42a, entitled electronic soundscape 72113a (composer unknown), is a mostly atonal composition that opens with a focus on a single, sustained note, creating a drone effect. Drones are common in much ambient (slow moving music usually emphasizing long, sustained notes with little rhythmic activity) electronic music and are also often found in non-western musical traditions. The drone in Example 42a is accompanied by a variety of chromatic notes that enter and exit over the first 55 seconds or so, then the harmony begins to move freely to other overlapping notes and soon loses any sense of tonality, becoming atonal. Listen to Example 42a and see if you can detect when the focus on the opening note begins to weaken, then gradually disappears entirely. Serial Atonality Along with other composers of this era, Schoenberg and Scriabins reliance on their own artistic instinct proved a difficult course to maintain as compositions grew longer and longer. Free atonality offered little in the way of organizational standards, forcing each work to be a unique world unto itself. With no pre-conceived framework to rely on, freely atonal music became a challenge for composers and listeners alike. Each new work had to be approached afresh, and repeated listenings were needed before a piece revealed itself fully. One solution to this dilemma, called serial atonality, was proposed by Schoenberg himself.

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In 1921, Schoenberg revealed his method of composing with 12 notes which are related only to one another. That discovery paved a new path for musical organization, one that has a profound impact on music of the last 100 years. Schoenberg's system consists of several key elements. First, the twelve notes of the chromatic scale are ordered into a set arrangement, different for every piece, called a tone row as the basis for every work. Next, because Schoenbergs goal is to avoid giving any one pitch more importance than any other, all of the notes of the row are sounded before any one note is repeated. Once all twelve pitches have been played, whether as part of a melody or in chords, the process begins again. (Other composers have used Schoenbergs basic method since its inception, and there are many variations on the specific way it is interpreted for a piece. Schoenberg himself, for example, did not adhere strictly to the practice of sounding all notes before any was repeated.) The music that results when Schoenbergs 12-tone system is employed is called serial atonal or 12-tone music. Because the row and its variations (described below) are reused throughout the work, the recurring pattern of intervals found between notes of the row provides a strong sense of cohesion for the pitched materials of the piece and, with time, can become recognizable to a listener. If the music adheres to Schoenbergs suggested guidelines, serial atonality can be as powerful as functional harmony (though not as obvious on first hearing) in creating a sense of unity and integration for a musical work. This is one of its biggest appeals to composers who employ it. The careful listener will get oriented to the reuse of the specific intervals in the row as they appear in different musical motives and gestures, though this recognition may not occur until the composition has been heard multiple times, if at all. For example, listen to Example 42b, Total Serial Composition by Biggie Phanrath, and note the recurring 12-tone melody that appears in both the flute and the electronic accompaniment. Because the same row is used repeatedly, you can easily hear the serial quality of the music. Now listen again to Example 14, Stockhausen's Study #2. This work is extremely tightly controlled by serial principles that determine the notes, rhythms and other parameters. Yet the listener cannot recognize this in the music on first hearing, nor would the composer wish them to. Interestingly, visual artists at about this same time were also looking for ways to move beyond realism and the representation of actual physical objects in their work. Artists such as Wassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944), considered by many to be the father of abstract modern art, were directly influenced by Schoenberg in the composers attempt to move beyond tonality. Kandinsky heard a concert of Schoenbergs music in 1911, and the two immediately began a long correspondence about their mutual goals. Tone Rows At an early stage of the compositional process, a composer will construct a unique tone row that best meets his or her musical and expressive needs. A near-infinite number of tone rows can be created using different arrangements of the twelve notes; the number is well into the millions. Any combination of notes (except, perhaps, a literal ascending or descending chromatic scale) is possible: The composer might choose to embed the interval of a perfect fifth at several points in the row so that interval becomes

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characteristic of the music or even use the notes of a major triad somewhere among the succession of 12 pitches. For example, the tone row used by composer Alban Berg in his famous Violin Concerto (1935) has multiple triads embedded among the successive notes:

Tone row used in Alban Bergs Violin Concerto showing embedded triads Listen to Example 43 to hear the full orchestra play the embedded triads one by one followed by the solo violin playing the notes of the row in turn. The composer subtitles the piece To the Memory of an Angel as a memorial to the daughter of a close friend. A composer might use a secondary layer of organization within the larger 12-note framework, for example, arranging the twelve notes into four groups of three, each with a similar set of intervals among the notes in the group. This could give the music a highly motivic quality, as the same small number of intervals will repeat often, helping to unify the piece:

Tone row from Anton Weberns Concerto using four groups of three notes each Note in the example above that every group of three notes includes a minor second (for example, B to Bb and G to F#) and a major third (Bb to D and Eb to G). In practice, the composer does not simply lay out the notes of the 12-tone row from the first to the last then start over at the beginning using the same notes. That would lead to a very repetitive and boring composition. Rather, the original row is used to generate four additional row forms, each of which is then used on any of 12 different starting notes. Combined, this larger collection of related row forms provides unity and cohesion to the pitched materials. This large collection of notes would be very difficult to manage if there were not some way for the composer to visualize the entire universe of available pitches. In order to do so, a grid called a matrix, shown below, is created for each piece. A matrix shows all four row forms in each of its twelve possible transpositions and is an essential tool for use by the composer. The original prime row form (P0) starts at the top left of the matrix on the note F and moves from left to right along the top line, ending on F#. The

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untransposed inversion (I0), where each successive note is as far below as its counterpart was above in the original, also starts on the note F but moves downward along the y axis ending on E. (Note that if you draw a diagonal from the upper left to the bottom right, the note F will appear at every point.) Because the untransposed prime form goes from F down to E (a half step down) between the first two notes, the inversion goes from F up to F# (a half step up). After filling in the untransposed prime and inversion forms, the composer completes the matrix by filling out each of the subsequent prime forms, transposed as needed. For example, the second row contains the prime form transposed to start on F#, because that is the second note in the inverted version.

A matrix showing all 48 forms of a 12-note tone row (from Webern, op. 25) The matrix helps the composer organize the pitch material of the piece and provides an overview of all the different arrangements of notes that can be derived from the basic tone row. The composer selects various row forms to create the melodies and harmonies of the piece using his or her musical sensibility as a guide. Composing serial music in this fashion is not simply a mathematical exercise in cycling through the various row forms in a random or in some predetermined order, however. Every compositional decision must be made by the composer, including what the original series of notes will be, how the various forms of the row will appear in sequence in the work, whether the melodies will be supported by chords from the same or from a different row, etc. In addition, all matters of timing, pacing, rhythm, articulation, instrumentation, and form must be determined by the composer. The vast amount and range of music that has been written using this method over the past 90+ years is a testament to the great flexibility Schoenbergs technique provides.

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Integral Serialism A variation on Schoenbergs basic approach to organizing the pitched material of a composition soon developed that was known as total (or integral) serialism. This concept, which was employed by a number of composers of electronic music, most notably, Karlheinz Stockhausen (mentioned previously), involves applying the principle of serial organization to other elements of the music besides pitch, such as note duration and rhythm, dynamics, articulation, register and perhaps even instrumentation. For example, a composer might assign a different numeric value to each of 12 different note durations, then use a specific note duration in conjunction with the corresponding note number in the row. A composer could also create a set of twelve different note articulations and associate each with a different pitch as well, or perhaps a different version of the row could be used to organize the dynamics (inversion), registers (retrograde), or instrumentation (retrograde of the inversion, for example). Among the composers interested in this approach were Stockhausen, who employed it in many of his electronic works, as did American Milton Babbitt. Schoenbergs student Anton Webern, French composer Olivier Messiaen, and innumerable other composers of the 20th and 21st century have also explored integral serialism in both acoustic and electronic compositions. Stockhausen used serial principles in several ways. One was to set up a set or series of proportions: 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, for example, and apply those proportions to different musical characteristics. For example, he might use note durations that incorporate those proportions (in whatever order he chooses) and use all of them before any one of the ratios is repeated. The dynamics (loudness levels) of notes might be controlled by the same set of proportions as could the pitches or even the amount of time that larger sections of the piece take to occur. Though it is very unlikely that the listener would detect the use of such a set of ratios, it could become apparent over time. It is also likely that such a unifying elements as the recurring use of those numbers might also add to the cohesiveness of the music, if only subliminally. Milton Babbitt was another composer whose music was organized along similar lines. His Composition for Synthesizer (1961) uses integral serialism techniques to govern every musical parameter, including the tone quality of the sounds themselves. Listen to Example 43a to hear an example of this approach to composition; it is not likely that you will be able to perceive any of the specific methods that are used by the composer. Summary Any discussion of harmony in music must include three fundamental concerns. First, a thorough examination of the source of the harmonic materials in the work should be undertaken, whether it is a scale, tone row or other controlling factor. Next, the system that governs the use of these materials, most often functional harmony but perhaps serialism, must be examined and understood. (And of course in some cases, there is no system at all.) Finally, the impact or effect that the harmonic activity has on the listener, whether it gives him or her a clear sense of direction and inevitability or a feeling of uncertainty and confusion, whether the harmonic techniques are clearly perceivable or difficult to identify, should be determined.

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Complete Listening Assignment - Harmony now

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Texture refers to the interweaving of the various layers of a musical composition and the ways in which these layers relate to one another. In characterizing the texture of a work, the listener must identify the number of layers that exist, determine the degree of independence that these layers have from one another, and interpret the role and relative importance of each. Texture has become an increasingly important element in music since the beginning of the twentieth century, as more traditional elements such as melody and harmony have often been de-emphasized. The term voice or part is most often used to refer to an individual strand or line of music that can be identified or isolated within the fabric of a piece. In recent electronic music, an equally common term is track, as in the "bass" or "percussion track." The number of voices or parts does not refer simply to the number of performers in a work; because a piece of music is performed by a group of eight or nine singers or instrumentalists does not mean that there are eight or nine distinct voices or parts in the texture. They might, for example, all be singing the exact same music. Typically, it is the number of distinct and unique musical ideas or lines created by the performers and the way these interact that is significant in helping to characterize texture. The term track, however, will often refer to a single instrument or distinct layer in the music. A number of different terms, both musical and general, can be used to describe the texture of a work. Music that contains many different strands of melody or rhythm sounding at the same time might be described as "thick" or "dense," while a work with only a single instrument performing a single line of melody could be characterized as "thin," "sparse" or "transparent." These terms are obviously not specific but simply give a general description of the fabric of the music. More specific musical terms, to be discussed below, have been adopted to describe the qualities of texture in a composition. Texture in electronic music cannot always be broken down into clearly distinguishable layers - it is often difficult to isolate the various elements in a piece - so broader terms such as "foreground" and "background" are sometimes used to describe how the larger parts of the music interact simultaneously. In the foreground, there might be a prominent sound, which might be louder and more emphasized than other, indistinct sounds in the background, which could, perhaps, be shrouded in dense reverb. As with all musical elements, the texture in a work can and typically will change as the music progresses. The music may sound thin and transparent at the outset, then become dense or opaque thereafter. Changes of texture of this type often signify important formal landmarks or divisions in the music. Listen to Example 44, the short song, "Sarmays," by the band Pan Sonic. How would you describe the texture? How many events are occurring at one time at the beginning? Does that change? Are some sounds clearly in the foreground and others in the background? Make a clear distinction between the number of events that occur at the same time and the nature of those events themselves.

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Now listening to Example 45, an excerpt from the song "Turning of the Wheel" by Tangerine Dream. How many layers are there at the opening? When and how does this change? How many layers are there when the excerpt ends? Is it easy to distinguish one part from the next or not? Why? Monophony A texture consisting of only a single line, for example, a solo melody without any accompaniment is called monophonic (meaning "one sound"). This texture is common in many non-Western traditions and in some Western classical music, where many great works have been written for single instruments, but is not particularly common in popular music except, perhaps, during an instrumental solo or drum break. Its also not particularly common in most electronic music, with the exception of music that was written for and played on early electronic synthesizers, which were monophonic instruments. A monophonic instrument is one that is capable of playing only one note at a time. Though often performed without accompaniment, the piano, harp and guitar are not monophonic because they can play more than one note at once and have the ability to create the effect of multiple independent voices sounding simultaneously. Listen to Example 45a, a demo performance on a Korg monophonic synth from 1978. Even though the performer can change a variety of settings, such as the brightness or bassiness of the sound, the synth can play only one note at a time. Now listen to a very different monophonic example in Example 46a. Monophonic electronic instruments were often used in live performance, for example, with the keyboard player using an entire rack of multiple instruments, or in the studio during a production that might include the sound of other instruments added into the mix one at a time. Example 46 illustrates a technique in which the notes were not played by a live performer but were generated purely electronically by a device called a sequencer. A melody that is doubled (duplicated or repeated) one or more octaves above or below the original, whether played by two separate instruments or only a single instrument, is also considered to be monophonic. For example, all members of a chorus singing the national anthem in melodic unison would be considered monophonic, even if the different parts started on the same note in different octaves. In any style of music, monophony can appear at a point where the composer or performer wishes to introduce variety in the texture. As an example, a saxophone or trumpet player might take an extended solo in the middle of a jazz performance while the other members of the ensemble remain silent. Listen to the solo section of the Lynyrd Skynyrd song Free Bird (Example 46) and note the shifting texture of the three guitars that are soloing. At what points do the guitars play monophonically and where and how does the texture they create change (focus only on the lead guitars)? Can you tell there are three guitars playing; if not, what does it sound like? Though there are actually multiple guitars playing in this example, a single guitarist can create the effect of unison playing by overdubbing a second duplicate part in the recording studio. The performer will listen to (or monitor) the first part while recording one or more additional tracks over the original.

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Polyphony In musical terms, a texture that consists of numerous musical lines or voices, each of which is equal in importance to the other (i.e., one part is not merely a support or background for another) is called polyphonic, meaning "many sounds." Each layer in this type of texture is independent and has a clear identity of its own. Polyphony is common in both Western and non-Western cultures and is found, for example, in New Orleansstyle (Dixieland) jazz, which features a group of melodic instruments (typically trumpet, clarinet and trombone) improvising simultaneously while being supported by a rhythm section. The specific approach used in Dixieland is called collective improvisation, as each instrument is free to create its own melody, with or without reference to the original melody of the song. The resultant dense and highly active texture is clearly polyphonic in nature, which you can hear in Example 47. You can also hear a polyphonic texture in Example 47a played on the Minimoog, a polyphonic keyboard synthesizer developed by electronic music pioneer, Robert Moog. How many individual layers of melody can you detect in this example? This music, used in a popular video game (Tetris), was actually composed by classical composer J. S. Bach (1685-1750), the most renowned practitioner of polyphonic music in the classical Western music tradition. A very different example of polyphony is in the SquarePusher song "Scopem Hard" (Ex. 48 after about 54 seconds). How many layers of sound are there at the opening of this example? How many when it ends? What are the roles of the different layers - are they equal in importance or does one or more sound like it is secondary or a background for a more important principal layer? Polyphony is not common in many types of popular music, where a single melody is usually performed by only one singer or where one instrument is typically the main focus of the music. However, a polyphonic texture would be created, for example, when two guitars solo simultaneously. Listen to the opening of the song On Reflection (Example 49) by Gentle Giant. What is the texture in this excerpt and how many individual parts do you hear? How long does the first texture last and what texture enters roughly half-way through the excerpt? Homophony The final texture, homophony, is the most common texture in Western popular music and has been used in nearly every musical style since the Middle Ages. This texture has two main variants, the first is called melody and accompaniment and the second is known as chordal or block chord texture. Melody and accompaniment involves the presence of one main melody and a clearly subordinate, usually chordal accompaniment. A solo guitarist improvising against the background of a rhythm section would be a simple example of this approach, as would the highly standard arrangement of a lead singer performing with a backup band. Though this texture involves two layers, the accompaniment in both cases is completely subordinate to the principal melody and does not typically have sufficient musical interest to stand alone (although the backup band might disagree!). Listen to Example 50, the song "Hy A Scullyas Lyf A Dhagrow" by Aphex Twin, and

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notice that there is a melody in the upper portion of the piano's notes and an active accompaniment (chords being played one note at a time) in the lower portion. This simple example of melody and accompaniment homophony demonstrates that the number of instruments being used is not always a factor in determining the texture. Now listen to Example 51, an excerpt from the song "Atlas Eyes" by Tangerine Dream. The melody played by the oboe is rather slow moving but stands out clearly because the oboe tone is so different from the slow sustained chords that accompany it. Spatialization The spatial distribution of sound is often the basis today for live presentations of multichannel electronic music, where composers disseminate or diffuse their music throughout an auditorium in which multiple speakers have been arranged during a live performance. Sitting at a mixing console with his or her hands on the volume and positional (pan) controls, the composer will perform the playback of a prerecorded composition by controlling how much sound appears at each speaker. In some cases, composers diffuse their work into as many as four, eight or even more loudspeakers. Edgard Varse's Pome lectronique (1958), presented at the Philips Pavilion at the Brussels World's Fair, incorporated 20 discrete streams (called channels) of music sent to over 400 loudspeakers. Surround sound, which uses 6 or more discrete channels of sound, gives composers new options for diffusing their work spatially and creating a variety of antiphonal effects. Because most home audio systems and digital music players have only two-channel stereo playback, multichannel works are not usually found on audio CDs or in downloadable audio files (nor can they be demonstrated via the Internet). But a presentation of a live diffused multichannel piece in a concert or theatrical setting, with sound whipping around in front, back and to the sides of the listener, can be a very exciting experience. Numerous multichannel audio programs are available to the modern studio composer for the creation of such works. Clusters Modern composers use numerous different approaches to the distribution of notes within their music. Rather than arrange the musical parts into clear and distinct layers, composers might use clusters to best express their artistic intentions. Clusters are tightly spaced groups of two, three or more notes, typically no more than a few half-steps apart. Clusters can add an evocative color to a composition and are used by both classical composers and by jazz arrangers.

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Example 52 Tone Clusters Composers such as the Hungarian Gyorgy Ligeti (1923 2006) have written music in which every instrument (or instrumental section) of the orchestra is given its own unique note, with each note being only one-half step away from the next. In Ligetis Atmospheres (1961; Ex. 53), for example, fifty-six musicians play different notes, creating a sound mass that is, perhaps, unique in music. The resulting texture consists of a massive cluster spanning a five-octave range in which every note of the chromatic scale is played simultaneously. Ligeti likened the composition to a far-away mass for the dead and called its texture micropolphony due to the shifting entrance and exit of players and the extremely subtle changes in the instruments loudness levels. Example 53a illustrates the use of microtonal clusters created through digital processing of a clarinet and a cymbal. The piece, entitled The Hand of Gravity, is by Michel Plourde and incorporates sounds with no distinct pitch. Another approach to texture is found in Example 53b, Sonal Atoms. Listen to this example and note that there is no distinct melodic layer the music is also entirely nonpitched so the traditional terms used to describe texture do not really fir for this music. A better approach would be to describe the overall density of the music that is whether the texture is thick or thin, or perhaps label it rough or grainy, and as elsewhere, note especially how and when changes in texture occur. Complete Listening Assignment 4 - Texture now

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Sonority, also known as timbre or tone color, refers to the unique qualities of sound produced by any instrument that distinguishes it from all others. These qualities range from the "pure, hollow" sound of the flute, to the honking screech of a saxophone in its highest register, to the "deep, mellow" tone of the cello or bass, to the squeal of a distorted electric guitar, with unlimited gradations in between. Although each of these instruments can play the exact same pitches, the different properties of each is instantly recognizable by any listener, assuming they have had some prior exposure to that instrument. One way to describe timbre is using the language and measurements of science, and in fact, the differences in the tone color of different instruments can be explained rather simply from a scientific basis. Any musical instrument when performed generates a series of multiple simultaneous vibrations that combine to form a unique pattern of wave motion in the air. This motion is called a sound wave or sound-pressure wave. Each of the individual vibrations is a sine wave, which is the basic back and forth wave pattern that all other sounds are made from. The specific combination of sine waves that make up any given sound is called its spectrum, and it is the spectrum of a sound that accounts for the tone color we hear. Its possible to examine and analyze the spectrum of any sound using tools of science to identify and measure the sounds specific components. These observations might be interesting and even helpful to a musician working with modern electronic instruments, as such instruments can either generate any type of sound by adding together individual sine waves or manipulate the spectrum of an existing sound. But there are other approaches and terms that are more generally used to describe timbre in the world of music. A brief explanation of the physics of sound, a field known as acoustics, will greatly aid in the understanding of the musical aspects of sonority. Acoustics: The Physics of Sound Sound begins when molecules in the air are disturbed by some type of motion produced by a vibrating object. The object, which might be a guitar string, human vocal cord or rolling garbage can, is set into motion because energy is applied to it. The guitar string is struck by a finger or pick, while the garbage can is hit perhaps by a hammer or shoe. In both cases, the result is the same: each object begins to vibrate. In fact, they begin to vibrate at multiple rates simultaneously, though what we actually hear is a combination or composite of all these vibrations. Both the rate (speed) of the vibrations and their amount (or strength) is critical to our perception of the sound. If they are not fast enough, we wont hear the sound, and if they are fast enough but not strong enough, we wont hear it either. If, however, the composite vibration repeatedly occurs at least twenty times a second, the minimum for human perception, and the molecules in the air are moved far enough (a more difficult phenomena to measure), then we will detect a sound. To understand the process better, the behavior of a guitar string will be used as an example of a vibrating object producing

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sound. Note that many of the basic characteristics of the string also apply to other objects, such as brass and wind instruments. Frequency. When a pick plucks a string, the entire string vibrates back and forth at a certain rate of speed (see Figure 12 below). This speed is called the frequency of the vibration, and the term frequency is used to describe the rate of vibration of any object set into motion. One single back and forth motion of a vibrating object is called a cycle, and the number of cycles per second, or cps, is the increment of measurement used for frequency. (Cps is also referred to as Hertz, abbreviated Hz, named for a 19th-century German researcher.) The phrase A-440, which is a frequency we associate with the note A above middle C (A4), refers to a vibrating frequency that recurs 440 times per second. This is written as 440 Hz, or 440 cps (see the table below showing the correspondence of pitch to frequency). Like other vibrating objects we might wish to measure, for example the vibration of air inside a clarinet or trumpet, or the vibration of the head of a drum, the frequency of the string is very fast, so we use the abbreviation kHz (kilohertz) to measure frequency in thousands of vibrations per second. A frequency of 2 kHz (read as 2 kilohertz) signifies a vibrating frequency of 2,000 cycles per second. This means the string or other object goes through its back and forth vibrating motion 2,000 times per second, a frequency well within the range of human hearing. Two thousand cps is not a frequency that coincides with a specific musical pitch our system of notation isolates only a few dozen of the nearly infinite possible frequencies our ears can detect and assigns them to pitches. Several of these are shown in the table below.

Correspondence between musical pitch and frequency of vibration Displacement. The actual distance a string or other object moves from its point of rest is called its displacement, and displacement is the main factor in determining the loudness of the sound we hear. The distance the string moves is a function of the strength of the energy applied to it and for that reason, the term amplitude, meaning strength, is commonly used as a substitute for displacement. The material the string is made of and its thickness and length also greatly influence the distance it will move when struck. The scientific measurement used for displacement is not particularly important for this discussion. Rather, it is important to know that the different vibrations that occur when an object is struck are not equal in strength; some are stronger than others by a significant amount. As a result, displacement is usually measured on a relative scale, where the specific amplitudes of the different simultaneous vibrations are compared to one another. However, if there is not adequate displacement to move the air molecules surrounding the

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vibrating object, the waveform cannot travel through the air and we will not hear the sound. FIGURE 12 A plucked string in motion. This figure shows one complete cycle.

As the string in the example above moves, it displaces the molecules around it in a recurring, wavelike pattern; as the string moves back and forth, the molecules also move back and forth. The movement of these molecules is propagated in the air, meaning that individual molecules bump against molecules next to them, which in turn bump their neighbors (much like a chain reaction). If this movement of molecules is strong enough and we are close enough to the source (the guitar string, in this case), the molecules next to our ears will very soon be set in motion (sound travels at over 1130 feet per second in the air and even faster in water), and they, in turn, will move our eardrum in a pattern similar or analogous to the original string movement. Next, our brain will detect this movement, look up the specific pattern in its data bank to see if there is a match, then identify the pattern as the sound of a guitar (assuming it has been exposed to the sound of a guitar before). We will then hear and recognize the sound. Note that sound cannot travel without a medium of transmission; there must be air (or water) molecules for a sound to exist. For this reason, sound cannot occur in a vacuum, for example on the surface of the moon, where there is no medium to sustain the sound. The air- or sound-pressure wave created by the pattern of moving air molecules can be depicted in several ways. One way to represent the wave is to use a mathematical formula. Musicians, however, typically prefer to use software to view an actual image of the wave on a computer screen. The graphic representation shown below is called a waveform plot, and it shows how much air is being moved at any point in time. The amplitude or amount of air pressure is represented on the y (vertical) axis and time is shown on the horizontal x axis. There are two similar graphs because this sound was recorded in stereo, meaning there is separate information for the left loudspeaker and the right:

A graphical waveform representation of a single piano note of 1 duration

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Note in the figure above that there is a very brief point of silence at the beginning of the diagram, then the sound starts at a very high amplitude. Gradually, the sound fades out until it dies at the end of this graphic. The movement of air molecules depicted here lasts less than one second (the indication 00:00:00.500 indicates the half-second point).

Figure 13 above illustrates the movement of air molecules that have been set in motion by a vibrating string. It is an oversimplified plot as it only represents a portion of the actual vibrating pattern, but nonetheless shows clearly how the molecules move during the first portion of the sounds life. The dashed line represents the string at rest before any motion occurs. The segment marked "A" represents the impact of the string vibrating after it is first struck by the pick; "B" shows the air molecule movement as the string moves back towards its resting point; "C" represents the string moving through the resting point and onward to its outer limit; then "D" shows it moving back towards the point of rest. The segment from the start of the graph on the left through to the point marked D represents a single cycle of the waveform. How many cycles are shown in total? This cyclic pattern of vibration repeats continuously until the friction of the molecules in the air (or water) gradually slows the string down to a stopyou can see above that the amount of movement away from the initial point of rest (i.e., the displacement) decreases over time. In order for us to hear the string sound, this back and forth pattern must repeat at least twenty times per second. This frequency threshold, 20 cps, is the lower limit of human hearing perception. The fastest sound we can hear is theoretically 20,000 cps (20 kHz), but in reality, it's probably closer to a frequency of 15 kHz or 17 kHz. Moreover, many playback systems (inexpensive headphones, for example) cannot reproduce frequencies anywhere near 20 kHz. The rate at which the entire string vibrates is called the fundamental frequency, and this frequency is the frequency that gives a sound its strongest sense of pitch. The lowest string of a guitar vibrates at a rate of about 82 Hz, which produces the pitch E2, and the highest string has a frequency of about 329 Hz, which is E4. But if this one, simple back and forth motion were the only phenomenon involved in creating a sound, then all

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stringed instruments would probably sound much the same. We know this is not true and alas, the laws of physics are not quite so simple. In fact, the string vibrates not only across its entire length, producing the pattern of fundamental movement shown above, but also at one-half its length, one-third, one-fourth, one-fifth, etc., simultaneously. These additional vibrations are called overtones because they occur at rates faster than (over) the rate of the fundamental vibration. In addition, their amplitudes decrease proportionally, the faster they vibrate. For example, the first overtone, which is a vibration of the string over one-half its length, occurs at twice the frequency of the fundamental and has an amplitude one-half as strong, the second overtone, a vibration of one-third the entire string, occurs at three times the rate of the fundamental and one-third its strength, etc. Our ear doesn't hear each overtone as a discrete pitched event, however. If it did, we would hear a multi-note chord every time a single note on a string was played. Rather, all these vibrations are added together or fused to form a complex or composite waveform pattern that our ear perceives as a single tone (see Figure 14 below).

Simply measuring the combination of simultaneous vibrations that occur when any instrument is played still does not account completely for the uniqueness of the timbre of different instruments, as there is another major factor that comes into play before the sound propagates through the air to reach our ears. This is factor is the resonator, and it has a significant role in determining the sound quality of the tone we ultimately hear. The resonator in the case of the guitar is the large block of hollow wood that the strings are attached to, that is, the guitar body. It is also the body of the violin or harp, the large sounding board and case of a piano, and the body of a clarinet or trumpet. The resonator

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strengthens (or amplifies) some of the vibrations produced by the instrument and weakens (or attenuates) others. Different types of guitar bodies and even different types of wood will impact the sound differently, though perhaps only in very subtle ways. Similarly, a clarinet will sound different if it is made of wood, metal or plastic, even though the basic physics of sound production on any clarinet are much the same. Ultimately, it is the combined effect of all the simultaneously occurring vibrations produced by an instrument being altered by the resonator, then fusing into a complex wave pattern as they travel together through the air that accounts for the phenomenon we identify as a musical sound. Stringed instruments provide only one model of the acoustic properties of instruments. Wind and percussion instruments as well as the human voice share certain acoustics properties with strings, but each instrument has its own unique physical attributes that demand different types of representation. A thorough discussion of the properties of instruments is beyond the scope of this text. In summary, sound consists of three primary stages, each with multiple components:

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INSTRUMENTATION AND ORCHESTRATION The number of different timbres that exist among the entire realm of acoustic instruments and human voices is obviously infinite. In addition, new musical resources made available through the use of electronic instrumentation and the computer have vastly enhanced the composer's palette and choice of timbral combinations (more on electric sound below). As a result, sonority in and of itself has become a fundamental organizing force in music, and no composer can completely separate this element from his or her use of elements such as pitch, rhythm or texture. Sound quality is often among the most important traits in distinguishing one style of music from another. It can be characterized in many different ways and involves not only the type of electronic sounds or acoustic instruments that are used and the groupings they are put into, but the ways in which they are produced or performed. Two issues that must be addressed when discussing sonority are instrumentation, which is the term used to describe which instruments are found in any ensemble, and orchestration, which describes how the instruments are used in combinations within that group. Choosing the instruments, or in the case of electronic music, designing or creating them, and orchestrating them are two of the most important tasks any composer will undertake. In electronic music, the term "instrument" is often used to describe a sound created electronically by the composer using one of the synthesis methods described elsewhere in this text. This instrument will likely be an original "design" of the composer or perhaps just a modification of some pre-existing or preset sound supplied by the manufacturer of a device and will incorporate whatever sound-generating or sound-manipulating techniques the composer desires. In the world of MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), a protocol or language for communication between musical instruments and digital devices, such unique sounds are called "patches," which is a term that harkens back to the days of analog synthesis when composers created their sounds by linking together actual wires called patch cords (see Figure 15 below) . In the MIDI universe, patches are also known variously as "programs," "tones," or even "sounds" or "instruments" depending on the terminology used by the device's manufacturer. A commercial synthesizer may contain as many as 1,000 or more preset patches (known simply as "presets") supplied by the manufacturer and will also allow the user to modify and save those presets or create his or her own from scratch.

Fig. 15 An analog synthesizer that used patch cords to interconnect synth modules

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The focus on sound quality or timbre in modern electronic music has created a new approach to experiencing music called "timbral listening" or "timbral music." In this approach, the sonority of the sounds is far more important than the pitched or even the rhythmic elements. Along the same lines, a new form of composition called "spectral composition" emphasizes relationships among the components that make up the music's spectrum, for example, working with and developing procedures, some of which involve complex mathematical formulae, for manipulating the ratios between the various partials that make up a sound, or attempting to serialize the various frequencies of the sounds that are used. A corollary of this approach works in reverse, where composers try to mimic as closely as possible the spectra of electronically generated sound using combinations of traditional acoustic orchestral instruments. This technique is known as "spectral composition." French composers Tristan Murail and Gerard Grisey, both of whom conducted research and composed at the French institute IRCAM, are interested in using a traditional orchestra to create sounds that resemble those more closely associated with electronic music. Listen to Example 53b, Murails Gondwana, and note the similarity to electronic music heard elsewhere in these readings. One common combination of sound resources found in electronic music today is called electroacoustic. Electroacoustic refers to the combination of a live acoustic instrument with a purely electronic part, which might be prerecorded on a laptop or also performed live by a second musician. An important consideration when analyzing the sonority of an electroacoustic work is to determine the relationship between the two parts. The listener must consider whether the prerecorded part is intended to enhance and extend the timbre of the live instrument, perhaps resembling it in a variety of ways but performing music faster or maybe higher or louder than the live instrument could perform. In this approach, the prerecorded electronic part becomes a super flute or super piano and might use electronically manipulated flute or piano sounds as all or part of its source material. A different type of relationship between the two would be where the prerecorded part is meant to serve as a contrast to the live one, offering a completely different sonic universe than that of the acoustic instrument. Listen to Example 54, the opening minutes of Mario Davidovskys Synchronism #6, originally written for piano and prerecorded magnetic tape, and note the relationship of the tape and piano parts. When and in what ways are they similar and where do they appear to be clearly contrasted? In a performance of this piece, an engineer sits on or near the stage and starts and stops the tape part with some flexibility to choose when that occurs, thus becoming an integral "performer" in the music. Modern performances of electroacoustic works might consist of the tape part being played back from a computer that the performer is to start and stop using an electronic foot pedal or some other device, though this would not be very practical for a pianist, as his or her feet are engaged with the pianos own pedals. Now listen to Example 55, the opening of Milton Babbitt's Philomel for soprano and tape and make similar observations about the relationship of the two main parts. What role does the prerecorded electronic part serve? Is it an equal partner to the vocalist? Do they

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share actual melodies or rhythms? Note in particular any changes in this relationship as the music evolves. ARTICULATION Articulation refers to the actual manner or method by which a sound is produced on an instrument and can be examined and discussed equally with sounds produced electronically. Articulation is a key aspect of sonority and composers of all styles of music use a vast number of approaches to achieve the quality of sound they desire. For example, a melody might use notes or sounds that are smoothly connected with no apparent space between them, a technique called legato, or the notes might be short and detached, an articulation called staccato. Listen to Example 56, the song "Cliffs" by Aphex Twin, and note the music's quality. What term best describes the articulation in this example? Does it change at any point? Now consider the next example, "4001" (Ex. 57) by SquarePusher and notice the space between successive notes. What happens at around :25 seconds when the second layer comes in? These types of articulations, along with dozens of others, are found in both notated and improvised forms of music and help give a piece variety and color. Keep in mind that different tracks or layers of a composition might employ different types of articulations simultaneously. In the Tangerine Dream song, "Turning of the Wheel," (Ex. 58) you should be able to identify at least three different types of articulation within the first minute or so. How would you describe each? In the example below, the composer has added detailed articulation markings for every note. In addition to the symbols used to inform the performer about how to play the note, the passage also contains very exacting dynamic markings that are used to create changes in loudness. Dynamics (discussed below) play a large role in compositions of all styles and are among the most powerful types of expression markings composers use to clarify their intentions.

Articulation and dynamic markings. Sometimes an entire passage of music contains one predominant type of articulation. When the music switches to another form of articulation, the listener is given a clear cue that a new passage or section of the work has begun. This is one means by which composers use articulation to help delineate the overall structure or form of a composition. In other instances, articulation is used simply to add an expressive quality to a composition and does not have any particular implications for the design of the work.

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The example below shows a number of symbols that are used to indicate various types of expression marks to a performer. When an electronic work is notated, similar markings are used to signify the composers intentions. Tenuto means to hold the note out to its full value, accent and marcato are two different ways to imply a heavy emphasis on the note under the symbol, a breath mark tells the performer where a break is allowed to accurate, tremolo means to move rapidly between the two indicated notes and repeated note simply means to play the note repeatedly as fast as possible for the duration of the notes value. The tremolo example uses two different notes, which is the way nonstringed instruments would interpret the marking. A stringed instrument can also perform a tremolo on a single note and all of these markings can be realized by electronic instruments just as easily:

Some common articulation markings Dynamics Controlling the loudness levels of entire musical passages or even single notes is an important way for a composer to insure that the music is performed as he or she intended. Below are some common dynamic markings used in notated music, which are typically written in Italian. Dynamic levels are relative a piccolos ff is much louder than one played on an English horn, and a single loud note on an electric guitar could easily overpower a quartet of clarinets playing mf.

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Dynamics are often used to shape or clarify a phrase. A long crescendo can help add tension to a passage of music and bring it to a point of climax. Repeated, rapid changes from soft to loud can also help build excitement or momentum. Composers often use extreme dynamics in their work: Tchaikovsky, for example, specified markings between pppppp and ffff in one of his symphonies, while modern composers have used more poetic indications such as al niente (meaning fade to nothing) to instruct the performer in the nuance they desire. In electronic music, dynamics can be extremely precise. The MIDI language, for example, provides 128 (28) dynamic levels (numbered 0 - 127) to indicate the value of every discrete note as well as 16,384 (214 ) values that can be used for a gradual, continuous change in volume. (Dynamics in MIDI are called Velocity because they are a function of how fast or a slow a key on a keyboard moves when pressed.) Using specialized software to create sounds synthetically, composers have access to 65,536 (216) or more distinct dynamic levels, which makes long fade ins and outs extremely smooth. Listen to the first few minutes of the Merzbow composition "September" (Ex. 59) and note how many changes in dynamics occur. Are the changes gradual or instantaneous? Changes in dynamics can occur either by raising the actual loudness level of a single event or by adding or decreasing the total number of events sounding at once. How do the changes occur here? Now listen to Example 59a , a work entitled Volumina by Gyorgy Ligeti. This composition, for electronic organ, opens with the performer pressing every key on the organ using the maximum possible volume, then gradually over an extended period, reducing the volume to almost nothing (you can see the effect in a waveform view

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of the recording below). Clearly, dynamics play a significant role in the composers concept underlying the work.

This image shows the waveform of Ligetts Volumina for electric organ REGISTER Another element of sonority that helps account for the sound quality of music is register. As mentioned earlier, register refers to the specific segments of the overall range that is used in a composition. By emphasizing a single register for some section of a piece, a composer can give the music a dark and solemn quality, or, if preferred, a bright and glittering sound. The latter occurs, for example, in the opening of Maurice Ravels piano piece, Gaspard de la Nuit (Example 60), in which a bright, shimmering sonority results through the exclusive use of the pianos upper-most register. The overall range of most musical instruments can be divided into different registers, and, in some cases, the sound of these regions are so distinct that they have names. The lower register of the clarinet, for example, which includes the notes from E3 to Bb4 (written), is called the chalumeau register and is characterized by a dark, woody sound.

Chalumeau register of a clarinet Listen to Example 61, Spasm by Michael Lowenstein and identify the various registers used by the different elements in the music. Can you detect where changes in register occur? Does the music reach the upper most registers of the instrument or remain in a fairly low register? Now listen to Example 61a, Proximity, an electronic work by Tokyo Dawn Labs & Vladg Sound, and note the use of different registers simultaneously. How many registers are there and in which registers do the main musical events occur? Using electronic instruments, the available range of sound extends even farther than when acoustic instruments are used, and composers have often employed tones that reach the extremes of human perception. (The range of tones a human can hear, assuming normal hearing, extends above and below the extreme notes playable by an orchestra.) Moreover, sounds generated electronically can be so close in frequency or duration that they can be beyond the limits of human perception. Though a traditional keyboard synthesizer normally is programmed to play notes that fall roughly within the range of an

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orchestra from highest to lowest, sound synthesis software allows composers to generate tones of nearly any frequency. Descriptions such as "high," "middle," and "low" still apply, however, when characterizing the register in which electronic sounds occur, but far more accurate gradations are often useful. OTHER SOUND CHARACTERISTICS Pitch-Noise Continuum From a scientific standpoint, a "pitched" sound is one whose waveform repeats in a regular, periodic manner. The graph below shows the first few cycles of a sine tone generated electronically. Note the "purity" of the wave shape and the absolute regularity of the up and down wave motion, which results in a very pure sound with a distinct pitch, in this case, the note A4 (A440). Listen to Example 62a and become familiar with this tone. Because it is generated electronically, it will never change quality, unlike an actual acoustic instrument.

Graph of a few cycles of the note A-400 Compare that with the graph and sound of a flute playing a low D-flat (Ex. 62). The flute is the instrument that produces the most sine-wave like tone of all instruments, but it clearly has more components in its spectrum than just the single sine tone.

Graph of a flute playing a D-flat 4 In the next example, Example 63, a noise-based sound is shown as a complex, irregular and non-recurring pattern of motion. This example was created using a noise generator and will sound like static to most people; in fact, noises such as these are the starting points for several types of sound synthesis and are used as the basis for more familiar tones including brasslike and other sounds.

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Graph of a noise waveform Pitch and noise are polar opposites and there is a vast range of sound between them. Identifying where on this continuum a composition's sounds fall and when and how it might change will be an important part of assessing the sonic characteristics of a piece of music. Envelope Some sounds begin instantaneously or nearly so following an initial action by a performer. An electronic organ for example, begins to sound the moment a key is depressed. A piano also starts almost immediately after a key is struck, while a stringed instrument, like an oboe and some other woodwinds, will take a longer time (measured in milliseconds) to "speak." The figure below shows the first 2/100s of a second of a piano note.

Unlike a piano, which begins to die away after the note is hit, an electronic organ will continue to sound as long as a key is held down, and a woodwind or stringed instrument will make sound as long as the player blows into it or rubs the bow across the string. These properties, which describe the "evolution" of a sound from its beginning to end and refer equally to acoustic and electronic sounds, are a result of the instrument's amplitude envelope. An amplitude envelope (or simply "envelope") describes how the loudness of a sound varies over time and can be graphed visually. In the example below, the changes in the sounds loudness (marked as v for volume) level are plotted on the y axis and the time for each to occur is shown on the x axis. Note that there is a slight amount of time (no specific time reference is given) for the sound to reach its maximum loudness level. This segment of the envelope is marked A for Attack. After the sound reaches its peak, there is a slight dip in the level that occurs a little faster than the time it took for the Attack segment. This portion, labeled D for Decay, brings the sound to its S or Sustain level. If this graph were showing the amplitude envelope of an electronic sound played on a synthesizer, for example, the Sustain portion would normally last until the performer took his or her finger off the key, at which point the final segment, labeled R for Release, would occur.

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The envelope above, known as an ADSR envelope, is a model for many musical instruments. A clarinet, for example, takes a short amount of time to make a sound, during which the player actually blows too much air into the instrument (a natural occurrence), then finds the proper pressure level and maintains it (the Sustain) for as long as needed. The Sustain portion on a clarinet is not nearly as steady as the example shown above, as small fluctuations in air pressure would appear more as a wavy line for this segment than shown here. After the player stops blowing, the reed takes just a few milliseconds to stop vibrating, which represents the Release segment. The term "envelope" can be used for other characteristics of a sound; in fact, it can refer to any aspect of a sound that changes over time. This might include its pitch or its position in a stereo field (moving between the left and right speakers), or any other characteristic of its timbre. To be clear, when used alone, the term will be considered in reference to a sound's changing dynamic level, and when applied to other concepts, the term will be used in conjunction with that specific characteristic, for example, pitch envelope or stereo-position envelope, etc. USE OF SONORITY Many listeners will respond immediately and intuitively to the sonority of a work - its sound quality - almost without thinking. On first impression, a piece might sound loud and aggressive, or maybe its heard as soft and soothing. A listener might notice a shimmering quality upon first hearing a new composition or detect a dark, "moody" tone. These and many other attributes can be created by the composer through the careful interaction of all the elements of a composition, but especially by close attention to its instruments capabilities and characteristics, whether real or virtual. In classical music, sonority serves numerous functions. Before the twentieth century, sonority was used most often to help define and distinguish the main melodic elements of a composition. For example, it was not unusual for a composer to employ different instruments to perform the various phrases of a melody. A flute might be used to play the antecedent part of a phrase, while the strings might answer with the consequent. In this way, sonority helped guide the listener to an understanding of what the main melodic themes consisted of while clarifying their structure.

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In the twentieth century and beyond, changes in instrumentation or timbre can still help distinguish divisions of a piece, but sonority has become even more significant as an independent musical element. For that matter, like certain styles of modern art, some compositions, especially electronic ones, are simply "about color"- their focus is on exploring and developing sonority and timbre above and beyond the other elements of the piece. Beginning with Claude Debussy and other Impressionist composers (in particular in France at the beginning of the 20th century), color for its own sake became a working premise. Choosing from the unlimited palette of colors that the orchestra provided, composers often attempted to create new and highly original sound combinations. Some pieces consisted of nothing more than gradual movements from one tone color to another. Schoenbergs orchestral work Five Pieces for Orchestra, Opus 16, for example, contains a movement called Farben (Color; Example 64) that reflects the subtle hues of a shimmering scene by the lake, with occasional flickers of activity. The sound is a continuously evolving melting and blending of colors, or in Schoenbergs words, a melody of color (in German, klangfarbenmelodie). Ravels orchestral work Bolero (Example 65) on the other hand, evolves by repeating a small number of melodies layered over a recurring rhythmic pattern played by a snare drum a vast number of times. The shifting and ever-changing instruments used to play the theme give the piece a kaleidoscopic quality. A focus on sonority as an element equal to (if not surpassing) others has become commonplace in classical music since 1950 and in electronic and computer music in particular. Electronic music composers have a vast range of tools available to them to employ in their search for unique and personalized sounds, some of which will be discussed below. Indeed, the process of designing new sounds for each new work is often equal in importance to the actual composition and sequencing of those sonic events. Though at first glance this may seem an incomplete or inappropriate working premise for creating a composition, the main intention in such works is often to sensitize the listener to the incredibly rich and varied sound quality music can provide. Moreover, popular music of many styles now uses more advanced elements of sonority, including electronic instruments and digital effects processing, than at any time in the past.

ELECTRIC SOUND Since the early decades of the 20th century, composers have employed electrical and, later, electronic devices of various kinds in their search for an expanded sonic palette. In some cases, phonographs and tape recorders were used manipulate prerecorded sound; slowing down or speeding up a phonograph, for example, or cutting magnetic tape into small pieces and recombining them into a new arbitrary arrangement. (These and similar techniques were the precursor of modern sampling.) By the mid 1950s, composers were able to generate new sounds by entirely electrical means, often using equipment such as soundwave generators that were initially designed for other uses.

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In the next section, several recent techniques of electronic sound production will be covered. As before, these tools are used to give the composer an ever-greater world of sound to manipulate. What follows is simply an introduction to each topic; additional resources for each can be found online. Sampling Sound created on or by a computer is found everywhere in todays music. In some cases, a computer is used to manipulate or process acoustic (natural) sounds that have been previously recorded. This technique, called sampling, is common in both popular music and in electronic (computer) music that is intended for the concert hall, and because it uses natural sounds, it gives a composer the potential to use any sound imaginable in his or her work. Sampling is also commonly found in music that accompanies visual media such as film or games, for which a sound designer creates the effects requested by a director or producer. (Creating sounds for use with other media is a process known as sound design.) A sample is typically a short sound, either electronic or, more likely, acoustic, that has been recorded onto a computer or onto a standalone electronic hardware device called a sampler. Once it has been recorded, it can be manipulated in a vast number of ways. For example, a sample can be pitched-shifted (transposed) under the control of a MIDI keyboard. Example 66 illustrates this effect, playing first a sample of a soprano singing a short phrase, then a version of the phrase shifted one octave down that retains the original duration. If the sample happened to be the sound of a trumpet playing a middle C, then when the performer played the note middle C on the keyboard, the sound at its original pitch level would be heard. But if a D, E or other note were played on the keyboard, then the trumpet sample would automatically be pitch-shifted by the sampler and would play back at that new pitch. Pitch-shifting works well if the original sound is pitch-shifted no more than a fourth or fifth up or down, but is not effective when the original sound is transposed more than that amount. As a result, musicians often use a technique called multisampling, whereby multiple notes of the instrument are sampled perhaps every three half-steps and no sample would need to be shifted more than just a few steps. (For a variety of reasons memory limitations, most notably it is not feasible to sample every note of an instrument. New approaches to sampling are now bypassing such limits, however.) A sample could also be time-stretched, whereby it would be lengthened or shortened without having its pitch changed. Unlike simply changing the speed of a tape recorder or record player, where the sound would slow down or speed up and the pitch would be altered, time-stretching allows the composer to alter the length of a sample yet keep it at its original pitch. This has both corrective uses, for example, changing the length of a music cue that is intended to accompany a specific scene in a video, or artistic ones. Example 67 illustrates time-stretching, playing first the same soprano sample used in Example 66 stretched 5 times its length, then stretched 15 times its length with the pitch staying the same in both cases. Filtering is a very common process in which a sounds spectral makeup is altered. A filtered sample could be made to sound brighter or duller than the original, or it could be made to sound as if it were emanating from a tin

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can, a large gymnasium, an old AM radio or even underwater. It could also be altered into an unrecognizable state. Example 68 is a drum loop played in its original version, then played using two different filtering effects, one after the other. Another type of filtering, called convolution, can be thought of as spectral cloning, where the spectral characteristics of one sound are applied to another. This can produce effects like a cat singing or a baby meowing. Example 69 begins with two cat meows, which are followed by a single note on a Jews harp, then a convolution of the cat with the Jews harp. It appears that the cat is actually inside the Jews harp, creating the sound. In the modern studio, a composer is likely to use sampling techniques one of three ways. First, a traditional hardware sampler, one that can record sounds and play them back via MIDI control, is a viable option. Companies such as E-MU and Kurzweil have made very high quality hardware samplers over the years, many of which are still in active use. Next, composers might employ software samplers such as those from Native Instruments and Steinberg, which are computer programs that offer features very similar to their hardware counterparts but exist entirely in the "virtual world" on the computer. Ironically, most software samplers do not actually sample - they have no sound recording capabilities. Rather, it is assumed that composers using such software would have other means to get their audio onto the computer. Yet the ability to integrate a software sampler into a complex audio production environment, where sound from one program can easily be sent directly to another with no wires to attach or cords to plug in, or where the limits of hardware samplers in the amount of data they can store are entirely mitigated, is a huge advantage over using the hardware option. Finally, many of the same techniques that would be available from any type of sampler, hardware or software, are now being performed in multitrack digital audio editors, (often referred to a DAWs, for Digital Audio Workstation). These programs, of which Digidesigns Pro Tools is the best known, let the composer organize a vast number of overlapping sounds of any length or complexity along a timeline with very exacting control as to the start time, duration, loudness level, stereo position and other aspects of their playback. Of course this method of arranging sonic events on a timeline cannot be done in real time the way the sounds in a hardware or software sampler can be performed live from a keyboard. This is not a limitation for most studio musicians, though, and it is not unusual for composers using such tools to work on a single piece for many months. Note below the appearance of a MIDI software program in which instructions, represented by dash lines, are being sent to a sampler informing it when a note is to be played and for how long. Below that is the interface from a digital audio editor in which the actual sounds, not simply instructions to another device to begin playing, are shown. Composers will use one or perhaps both of these approaches depending upon their own personal preference.

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A MIDI sequencer sending instructions to a synthesizer

A digital audio editor sending actual sound files to loudspeakers Now listen to excerpts from two works, Bill Brunsons's Inside Pandora's Box (Ex. 70) and Christopher Calons Les Corps Ebouis (Ex. 71), which use sampling extensively. The exact methods used to process and transform each individual sound cannot usually be determined simply by listening (though it is assumed none were simply played live from a keyboard and recorded), but it is certain that the composers took great care in ordering and manipulating each of the huge number of individual events that make up the composition. Sound Synthesis A second approach to creating sound on the computer is called synthesis, and with this approach, a sound is generated by the computer or a hardware synthesizer (which contains a microprocessor) literally from scratch. In sound synthesis, the computer is given an algorithm, which is a set of instructions (or recipe) that describes what

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processes or operations it should perform to create the desired sound. Unlike sampling, which manipulates natural sounds, sound synthesis can be used to create new and unique sounds that could never occur in the natural world. Sound synthesis is used in a number of commercial software programs, some of which provide the user with colorful, graphical interfaces for designing sounds of any complexity. Reaktor, by Native Instruments, is an example of this type of visual interface. Each of the small boxes in the example below represents some type of soundgenerating or sound-manipulating process, and the result of all these processes interacting result in the sound a user hears when a trigger note is sent from some MIDI device.

Main interface for Native Instruments Reaktor There are also several sound programming languages dedicated to synthesizing sound entirely in software. Csound, developed by Professor Barry Vercoe at MIT, is the most popular of this type of application. The text below is the exact programming code that would be used by the Csound language to create a simple sine tone, the most basic sound in nature. This tone will have a frequency of 440 (A above middle C) and a relative loudness of 5000 (out of a possible 32,000). The instructions regarding how long the tone should last would appear in a separate file:

You can hear the sound in Example 72.

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There are many different synthesis methods available to the computer musician, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages and each of which will generate its own class and category of timbres. Frequency Modulation (FM), for example, is particularly useful for synthesizing metallic, brass and percussive sounds. Listen to Example 73, which starts with a harsh sounding FM phrase followed by a more-musical bell sound also created with FM. FM works by using one sound wave to change (or modulate) another sound wave. Additive Synthesis, a process where many dozens of individual sine tones, all with different frequencies and in varying amounts, are added together. It is effective for producing vocal timbres as well as flute and other woodwind simulations, organs, and more. Listen to Example 73a and you may notice that this additive synthesis excerpt, created on a synthesizer offering hundreds of sine waves for manipulation, resembles the sound of an organ. In fact, organs from the earliest times used primitive forms of additive synthesis to generate sound. Because it operates with the most basic components of all sounds, additive synthesis has the potential to recreate synthetically nearly any sound imaginable. But the effort and computations required to synthesize highly complex sounds such as a grand piano are not worth the effort, especially because other, newer techniques are far more effective for that task. Subtractive synthesis is perhaps the most common of all synthesis methods and has been used in nearly every genre of electronic music. It employs a sound source such as an oscillator (a digital function used to generate a basic waveform) or noise generator, a filter to shape the sound, and an amplifier to control the final output level. All of these processes are modeled in software; like the others, there is no hardware required by this method. Listen to Example 74, which begins with a fairly complex waveform called a sawtooth wave, then ends with an elaborate, animated sound created by modulating the waveform using filters whose own characteristics change over time. One of the newest synthesis techniques, Physical Modeling (PM), is a novel approach for creating the sound of both highly realistic acoustic instruments and completely otherworldly virtual instruments, such as the sound of a 10-foot long glass flute or string or the sound of an instrument that gets larger while it is playing. Physical Modeling works by analyzing the most significant physical properties of an instrument that determine its sound, such as its length, width and the material it is made of, as well as how air travels through or across the instrument, then generating a mathematical formula that models all those properties. All of the sounds heard in Example 75, an excerpt of a composition entitled Monostique by Philippe Drogis, were created using this method. What types of natural materials do you hear represented? A modern electronic music studio (often called a home or project studio) will no doubt be based largely around a personal computer on which many different types of software for creating, editing and notating music have been installed. A studio might also contain a number of actual hardware devices, for example a sampler or sample player (which could play back actual sound files but not record them), one or more synthesizers (either with or without a keyboard attached), and some type of keyboard or other MIDI

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controller. A controller is a device used to transmit performance instructions to a soundgenerating module such as a synthesizer or sampler for real-time performance or to a computer to be recorded. Controllers can take the shape not only of keyboards, but also guitars, wind instruments, electronic drums, etc. More recent controllers can even convert and transmit brain waves to an electronic instrument.

An electronic-wind instrument (EWI), a form of MIDI controller A well-equipped studio would also contain audio hardware such as an amp, a mixer, headphones and speakers (called studio monitors), as well as processing gear to manipulate sound, for example reverb and delay units, compressors, EQs, and more. All of these hardware devices have been modeled (simulated) by software applications, however, and todays studios, even those of many professionals, have become almost entirely computer-based. Complete Listening Assignment - Sonority now

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Form refers to the overall outline or design of a musical composition. It is the structural element of a piece of music that helps account for that composition's sense of long-range coherence and continuity. Because it can involve materials that extend over long spans of time, the form of a work is often difficult to perceive on the first hearing. However, composers use a number of means to give their music coherent shapes that can be recognized and understood by the listener, though perhaps only after repeated listenings. Musical compositions are organized in many ways and on many different levels. Certain connections among the elements of a piece are obvious or at the surface. For example, two sections of a piece might be in the same key, use the same instrumentation or focus on the same electronic sound. Or an entire composition might consist of a series of variations on a simple rhythmic idea stated at the outset. Other connections between and among the elements in a work are more subtle, often hidden beneath the surface. For example, the beginning and end of a large-scale composition might use elements that are similar to one another but varied just enough so that no connection between them is immediately apparent. The way in which the musical elements of a work are interrelatedthe way in which they are shaped and held togetherdetermines the overall form and design of a composition. Using and reusing elements, introducing them at important moments along the roadmap of a piece, allows the composer to create large-scale connections among the sections of a musical piece and helps insure that the work as a whole is unified and coherent. The same idea is relevant for improvised music a performer might build an improvised musical performance around a central theme or idea that reoccurs in different versions throughout the piece. Repetition and Contrast Regardless of the musical style or era, several general factors are important in the creation of a cohesive musical composition. Among the most important of these are the principles of repetition and contrast. Repetition, the reuse of the key elements in a work either immediately after they first occur or at later moments, helps the listener become familiar with the principal melodies, themes, sonorities, rhythms, and other materials that make up the piece. It creates a sense of unity and continuity for a work, whether a popular song, electronic piece or a symphony, and helps establish reference points and associations that will assist the listener in following the logic, direction and goals of the music. Contrast, on the other hand, is the use of materials that are totally new or radically different from others used elsewhere. It is essential for giving a work variety, for keeping it from becoming monotonous or predictable, and for creating a sense of surprise, tension and anticipation. The bridge section of a popular song, often in a different key and using a new chord progression, is a simple example of contrast and is the section where a song moves away from the musical elements it had been using up to that point. Just like a contrasting new section in a classical piece, the bridge adds variety to the song, and when

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it ends, there is most often a return to the familiar music that preceded it. Similarly, a composer might use any of the musical elements above to add contrast to a composition For example, a piece may begin with a very soft, quiet section that contains only a few isolated, short events, then gradually (or perhaps abruptly) shifts to a section with numerous long, loud sounds the possibilities for incorporating contrasting materials of any type is obviously infinite, and it is important to recognize exactly which elements are being used to create the contrasting music and which (if any) have remained the same. A successful balance of repetition and contrast, between the reuse of existing materials and the introduction of new materials, must be maintained by a composer if his or her music is to present itself as a coherent, continuous entity. Very few musical forms are based entirely on exactly repeating material or the presentation of entirely new music in ever section. Tension and Repose Tension and repose offer another dialectic for organizing a composition. Especially with music that is not based around traditional melodic or harmonic landmarks, the contrast of moments of heightened activity and sections of little or minimal action in the music can be a vital force in propelling a composition forward. Tension is created in a variety of ways. A composer might build up the listeners expectations by continuously repeating a rhythmic or melodic idea. This might go on for an extended portion of time, then stop abruptly. The listener is then unsure whether the theme will return or if something new will happen the moment is tense because the listener does not know what to expect at this point. The more a composer affirms the expectations of a listener, the higher that listener's "comfort level" will be. On the other hand, constant surprises and denials of expectations are likely to produce a lower comfort level and result in increased tension. Contrasting fast rhythms, dense textures and/or loud passages with slow rhythms, thin textures and soft passages over either a short time or long time frame can also set up a conflict between tension and repose. This conflict is often very important as an organizing principle in music and should be a part of any examination of the element of form. ANALYZING FORM One key challenge in analyzing the form of a work is determining where "to draw the line," that is, where to make a distinction or division between one part of a work and the next. Equally important is knowing whether changes that are detected represent shortterm divisions or are major formal landmarks in the music. Another goal is to identify representative elements within the music, whether melodic, rhythmic, harmonic or timbral, and determine whether they represent fundamental building blocks that recur and are reused in various transformations or if they are simply secondary or transitional elements that appear as contrast to elements more central to the music. There is no single or simple way to accomplish these tasks, but understanding form will always involve

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repeated listenings: the more familiar you become with the music, the easier the task will be. Here are some key steps. First do a little research on the composer or performers. From what musical era does the work come? Does it fit easily within some recognizable musical style or genre or is it more of a hybrid of several styles? You can gain some expectations about form if you know the music was written during the 1950s and not the 1990s or that the composer is known as a minimalist or a serialist or what have you. Does the composer have a particular technique that he or she is known for? For example, is he or she associated with a synthesis technique such as FM or granular synthesis? Who are the composer's influences? Where did he or she study and is that institution known for perpetuating certain compositional approaches? How has the composer's styles changed over time? Also, find out if the composer has written something about the work itself. Next, listen to the piece repeatedly until you become very familiar with its intricacies. Listening to the work multiple times will make you familiar with the overall flow of musical events and help you better understand both the large-scale structure of the work and the subtle details. If at all possible acquire a score of the piece you are going to analyze or, if possible, make your own using software such as Variations Audio Timeliner (http://variations.sourceforge.net/vat/). Most purely electronic works do not have a printed score, but works that combine live performers and a prerecorded part (i.e., electroacoustic music) are usually represented in some visual form. Composers work very hard at including important structural information in their scores. After all, it will be easy to detect sections that repeat or have texture or sonority changes just by looking at the music itself. Look for and highlight repeat signs, double bar lines, second endings, Da Capo markings and any sectional information that you see on the printed score. Next, detect and mark areas where there are significant changes in timbre, dynamics or meter. Large-scale repetition, motivic connections, moments of tension and release and structural breaks will all be clearly seen (and probably heard) in the musical score. Listen again and verify that you have marked the changes that sound most important. Note these same elements if you have made your own timeline. You might find it helpful to write down your responses to the piece you are listening to. For example, noting that a high sustained brass-like tone entering after a quiet pad-like section was shocking, or that the loud percussive gesture just before the final dense chordal ending seemed really dramatic. This kind of observation can guide you through a piece of music in a more informed way. Dont be surprised that you will hear new things each time you listen. Next, determine whether the work is sectional or continuous. A sectional work will most likely have clear, distinct areas that should be easy to identify and isolate. You might hear strong cadences at the end of each section, significant changes in the tempo of the music, the introduction of entirely new timbral, changes in register or texture or other cues. Sectional works tend to be balanced in length, meaning its likely that the sections

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will be relatively the same in length, but there is, of course, no guarantee that that will be the case. Its also possible that a sectional work will have a single section of music that simply repeats, perhaps with minor changes or the addition of a few new elements each time. For example, note in Example 76 that a single section of music repeats multiple times. Within the larger section A are four smaller sections, which would be labeled using small letters a and b, or if the listener thinks the second melody is different enough from the first, then the b phrase would instead be labeled a1 (a prime). A graph of the form would look like this (the numbers represent the number of measures of 4 beats each per phrase): A a a b b 4 4 4 4 transition A a a b b 4 4 4 4 etc.

4 2 (inst) (vocals)

Follow the graph above as you listen to the music and note the difference in the 4measure melody between its first two repetitions and the second two. Decide if you think it is different enough to be called a b phrase or if a1is better in your opinion. Continuous forms do not have clear sections. Works of this type, which are often called through-composed, simply spin out their ideas along lines of continuity and cohesiveness determined by the composer. As in other, more structured forms, one would still expect to find a balance between similarity and contrastunity and variety that would guide the composer in his or her choice of material. Moving from loud, aggressive music after a long, extended soft and slow section, for example, or shifting to music mainly in the low register after a section mostly in the upper register are both possible reasons for explaining how a composer organizes the materials in a piece. Note any recurrence of melodic, rhythmic or timbral elements and determine if their reappearance signifies a meaningful division in the work. Listen to Example 77 and notice that there are no recurring elements that define or distinguish one section of the music form the next. New elements appear and disappear essentially at will over the recurring drum part. The listener cant really predict how long any one melodic idea will last or if it will be repeated or when a new idea might appear. This form is continuous and through composed (it is also mostly improvised in live performance). Continuous works can often be unpredictable, which can produce a feeling of excitement and anticipation in a listener or, on the other hand, may make them feel uncomfortable. These qualities are mostly under the control of the composer and are often used to manipulate the response a composer wants from his or her audience. Some through-composed works are episodic, meaning they contain numerous short episodes consisting of musical ideas that are developed over a short span of time and then moved away from. Other pieces might use dynamics as a structural element - the music simply gets louder from the beginning to the mid point, then gets softer again from the middle to the end. This is one of many ways a composer might create a giant arch form, which is a formal shape used in various ways throughout music history.

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Because there is no preset arrangement of the materials in a through-composed work and there is typically no repetition of distinct sections, through-composed music is more challenging for the listener to follow (and for the analyst to analyze). Yet every new piece will expose its logic and order over time to the patient listener. Indeterminancy Another approach to creating a musical form involves the use of indeterminacy, which is a technique of composing in which the composer leaves many aspects of a compositions elements to chance or to decisions made on the spot by performers. American composer John Cage was a major proponent of this approach and used techniques such as rolling dice or simply putting numbers on paper, then randomly reshuffling them to determine how long each section of a piece might be. He and others also used graphical notation, which involves creating elaborate pictures with a variety of shapes and forms whose meaning performers are supposed to interpret as musical instructions. Clearly, indeterminancy will produce music that never flows or evolves the same way twice each realization of a musical performance will be different in some way, which is what the composer intends. For example, in his piece, Fontana Mix (1958), a work scored for any number of tracks of magnetic tape, any number of performers and any number of instruments, the performers use the image below to guide them in their decisions about the musical material of the work.

Score for John Cages Fonatana Mix (1958)

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To begin the analysis of a musical work, ask some questions about the structure of the music. The questions below are a guide to help you refine your analysis. Not all the questions will apply to all music. Remember that the purpose of formal analysis is to deepen your understanding of the organizational principles of the music you are experiencing. 1) How unified is the musical material? Are there obvious contrasts of thematic and non-thematic elements? Are the melodic themes strongly contrasted with each other? Are the themes clearly stated? (Use your understanding of melody to determine your answers here). If melodic themes are not found, what other elements seem to be the central focus? 2) Is there a transition between the thematic elements of the music, whether those be melodic, rhythmic, harmonic, etc? If so, what does the transition bring about: A change of key? A change of texture? Sonority? Do the transitions serve more to link or separate the materials? Does a new theme arrive during the transition or after some section of the piece has been reached? 3) Is the piece sectional? If it is, what is the overall tonal plan of the music? At what points is the tonic clearly established? Do these coincide with the statement of familiar material or do they bring new material? If the work is not tonal, then how are the sections distinguished from one another? 4) Does the music come to a stop at some point before the piece ends? When does the stop occur and what does it signal? Is the stop a moment of tension or of release? Does the music repeat after this stop or does it continue to new material? 5) When, where and what is the moment of highest tension? What are some of the characteristics that give this moment its identity? 6) Does the moment of most significant repose occur soon after the moment of highest intensity? 7) Does any of the opening material reappear near the end of the work? Is this a literal repetition? In what way has the opening material been altered (change of key, change of instrumentation, change of register, etc.)? 8) Is there any musical material that appears only once in the piece? Can you explain why that material is not repeated? Is it just filling space, killing time, transitioning between more important sections? 9) Does the piece have a follow-up section after it seems to have concluded? If so, why? What does this add to the composition? Does it impact the balance of tension and repose in the piece? 10) Identify the phrase lengths are they symmetric or asymmetric? Do they fluctuate between the two? How do the phrase lengths affect your experience of the work? Do these elements become predictable (do you tune out)? 11) Count the number of measures for each section you detect. What are the proportions of each section? Are they equal in length? Unequal? 12) Does your understanding of the form of the piece accurately reflect your experience of hearing it? Can you follow the roadmap set out by the composer? 13) Does your written analysis reflect your understanding of the piece? Have you clearing explained your observations?

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Your written analysis of a composition should help a reader understand the way you experienced the music. Try to be convincing in your writing and be specific when giving representative examples: Event X occurs in measure Y and from that point forward, the music does such and such This helps your reader understand what you believe the important landmarks in the work are. Though there can be correct and incorrect parts of the same analysis, for example, a phrase may or may not be symmetric or a modulation may not have occurred where you thought it did, each analysis is a reflection of one listeners experience of the music. Everyones experience will be slightly different, but the more compelling, convincing and accurate your powers of observations are, the more likely you will persuade others to experience the piece in the way you have. SUMMARY The theorist Wallace Berry in his book Form in Music (1986, Prentice-Hall) speaks of five overriding elements that govern a vast number of musical compositions. These are: the process of introduction, in which the major elements that will be used in a work are first prepared and in which expectation of what is to come is created; the expository process, in which a statement of the principle thematic materials occurs; the process of transition, where the music moves from the expository section to what is to follow; the developmental process, where musical activity is intensified and where elements from the exposition are reviewed and explored; and the process of resolution, in which closure and conclusion occur. Though not every work will use each of these processes in a clearly defined way, they are the underlying principles that operate in a great number of musical compositions from all eras. Not coincidentally, the same processes could be identified in other time-based art works, such as film, theatre, certain forms of dance (particularly classical ballet) and fine-art animation. They might equally apply to a novel or epic poem. Being familiar with representative forms from different musical eras and cultures is a significant part of understanding and appreciating music and will help the student expand his or her understanding of how musical processes work. Form may not be the most obvious musical element to detect but, ultimately, it is what makes a composition most successful and satisfying to the listener. Listen carefully to each new piece and try to detect what the composer is saying, and try to determine how they are saying it. Then listen again and see what new information you can acquire. Gradually and over time, every new work will reveal itself to you. Complete Listening Assignment - Form now

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Approaches to Music Analysis Though many electronic compositions will reveal characteristics that conform neatly to the musical elements discussed in the above units, other compositions, especially those intended for playback in the concert hall, consist of materials that cannot easily be identified or defined by the listener. When analyzing music of this type and writing about it in a listening report, other approaches are needed to best describe the composition, and new guidelines for listening and discussion must be used. For example, when a musical composition does not illustrate clear melodic or harmonic characteristics, or the rhythm and texture cant easily be described using terms such as meter or homophony, the listener might find it helpful simply to describe the events in the music as they occur from beginning to end, outlining the musics main activity as if it were a running commentary or play by play narrative. With this approach, recognizable musical elements can be alluded to if and when they occur, but the listener has more flexibility in his or her use of terms to describe the music being heard. Every piece of time-based art will have different priorities and will express its meaning in a distinct and perhaps unique way, so its important to identify what aspects of the composition are primary - which recur and become significant motivating elements in the music - and which are only secondary and do not seem to play a major role in the unfolding of the music. These and other topics should be considered when evaluating a new work for the first time. Read the list of topics below, which should be included in your own listening reports, then listen to Example 78 several times, the opening minutes of The Wild Bull by Morton Subotnick. When you are familiar with the music, read the listening report that was written by a student for this music, then complete the online listening assignment (Listening Assignment - Analysis) on Blackboard and answer the questions using terms and concepts that you feel best fit the music. Note that when you write your required report, you do not need to write it as a long series of answers to these specific questions. Instead, write it as a continuous narration that covers some or all of these points and anything else you feel is important for the music. Be sure to use a music player that displays elapsed time so you can identify exactly where important events occur. Use the time format you see below (01:15, for example, for one minute and 15 seconds of elapsed time into the music). Describe the sonic elements at the opening of the piece. Are the events that appear there sustained throughout the work? If so, how and for how long? Do they recur later? Explain how new elements appear in the work. Are they introduced by foreshadowing or do they enter abruptly? Is there a smooth fade-in or crossfade between one element and another? Give some examples using specific timings as a reference. At what rate or pace do new elements appear? Is the work static for long sections? Are there sections where new events appear at a rapid pace? Are there any sections of the work that occur totally "without warning," i.e., that were not in any way anticipated? Were you surprised at their appearance? If so, why?

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In the music, do the timbral elements bear any resemblance to the timbres of acoustic instruments? Are any of the sounds vocal or percussive in quality, for example, or do they appear to be modeled after any other family of acoustics instruments? Are there one or more predominant synthesis or signal-processing methods, and if so, which one(s)? Is spatial dimension of elements in the work clearly defined? Does the sound seem up close and in your face or is it well back in a huge cavernous environment, or somewhere in between. Does this aspect of the music change? Does the music have clearly defined pitch elements? Can you detect what type of pitch system is in place? How important is spatial/stereo movement in the music? Do sonic elements move between the two stereo channels? Do elements move from the front of the soundstage to the back or vice versa? What registers does the music use? How important is the use of register in your opinion? Does the work have clear-cut sections? If so, how many are there? How are they distinguished from one another? If not, what keeps it moving? Describe the ending of the piece. Was it anticipated or is it a surprise? Do you hear a strong cadence, a sense of closure, or does it seem as if it might have continued beyond the end point? Explain your reasoning. What other elements of the music seem especially significant for this piece?
Listening Report: The Wild Bull This report will discuss the piece, The Wild Bull by Morton Subotnick. The Wild Bull was written in 1968 and was intended for playback on prerecorded tape. The composition uses a Moog synthesizer as its only sound source. The Wild Bull opens with a descending tone sweeping from the middle register to the bottom. The tone has no clear pitch and is moderately loud. This is followed by a lengthy silence, then a second similar tone that descends farther and over a longer amount of time. Another silence follows, then the original tone is heard accompanied by a short, second sound that enters at the same time. This sound sounds almost like a bull roaring. A series of non-pitched bass-drum type sounds enter at around 1:10 and last for a few seconds, then after the bass-drum sounds start to accelerate, a loud clanging metallic timbre enters at 1:20 and continues for the next 10 seconds, with more and more layers of very short, quick sounds adding to it. Some of the new layers sound as if they are underwater. The opening section seems to end at around 1:30 where a new sustained tone in the mid to upper register enters. The music beginning at 1:30 alternates between a fairly high tone that is repeated several times and other pitches, some of which sustain, in different registers. The high tone often sweeps upward like a siren. Even though the high pitch often repeats, it does not sound like a tonic, as there is no clear connection between the high repeating tone and the other notes that are sounding at the same time. The high tone has a timbre somewhat similar to a trumpet or some other brass instrument. At around 2:08 the rhythm of the high note becomes more active and the tone is heard many more times than it was originally. The other pitches continue to sound through this section but still sound as if they are background to the high repeating tone. At 2:28, the high note is no longer heard but the background sounds remain. The pace of this section is fairly slow and there is not a lot of activity. Occasionally, a new sound will appear in the upper

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register, but nothing major happens until around 3:15, when some of the drum-style sounds heard earlier appear again in conjunction with a lot of other sounds that come in in different registers. All of these sounds have a clear electronic quality and last for only a few seconds each. There is no feeling of any tonal home base. Instead the notes seem to be randomly places up and down the various registers. There is also nothing that could be called a unified melody at this point, as the notes do not feel connected to one another. This type of music continues for several minutes but around 4:15 the music begins to get very gradually louder. At 4:50, the music suddenly changes and seems to be getting faster as more and more sounds come in almost on top of one another. The texture here seems to be polyphonic as its easy to hear several distinct layers in the music. It is also still atonal and many of the sounds do not have a clear pitched quality. Starting around 5:40 a long series of low notes are heard in succession, but here again none of the notes sound as if they are any type of tonal center. While the low notes are playing, other notes appear at random points in different register. Some of these are sustained tones but most are short notes and some are louder than others. The long sequence of short quick notes continues for several minutes but during this time, the music moves higher and higher until it reaches the upper register. At around 8:00 it becomes even more chaotic with notes sounding in nearly all registers. Also at this point, the notes get longer and more sustained and begin to overlap. The individual pitches are also less clear as many of the notes seem to sweep upward or downward very quickly. The entire pattern changes at 8:21 when non-pitched percussive notes enter. These tones sound like wood or breaking glass. At 8:27 a sharp bell-like sound enters and serves as a signal that something is happening. At this moment, the music becomes very sparse like the music of the very beginning, and bell like sounds occur at random moments, with long silences between them. The tones are moderately loud and sound like someone is hitting a bell with a hammer. They do not have a clear pitch so the music remains atonal. The entire pace of the music slows are good amount in this section. At times, it almost sounds like the piece has ended. At around 9:00, low sustained electronic sounds enter accompanied by some higher sound music that has no clear pitch. Other tones, both electronic and some that sound like bells, also appear at random points. The music is mostly soft at this point and as before, has no clear meter. It is hard to tell when one sound will end and the next begin. At 9:30, a struck bell sound enters and repeats multiple times. After the fifth or sixth repetition, this sound really becomes prominent and seems to be signaling some new section. The bell sound occasionally alternates with some other low electronic sounds, but none of those seems to be very important as they are much softer and are definitely in the background. At 10:07 the struck bell sound disappears without warning and the music consists of several layers of music of the same type that has been heard elsewhere, Low electronic sounds alternate with sounds in other registers with no clear focus or emphasis. Occasionally theres the sound of a dying trumpet or some other type of strange brass instrument, but there is no meter or any type of focus on a central note. A repeated siren like sound comes in at around 10:30 and takes over some of the focus of attention. Overall, The Wild Bull consists of a large number of electronic sounds that appear in different combinations throughout. At several points in the piece, one sound seems to be more important than others, but for most of the composition, there is no clear timbre or pitch that seems more important than any other. The pace of the music is mostly slow, though there are times where it seems to speed up. Overall, it seems like the composers intuition is mostly responsible for the choice of sounds.

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