GCSE OCR Music Notes

Baroque (1600 1750)

1. Approx. date: 17th and 18th Centuries (1600 and 1750) 2. Instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Harpsichord, Organ, Recorder, Flute, Oboe

3. Typical forms/structures: Opera, Oratorio, Fugue, Suite, Sonata, Concerto 4. Composers and their works/pieces: Purcell Dido and Aeneas Vivaldi The four seasons J. S Bach Mass in B Minor Monteverdi LOrfeo Handel Messiah Domenico Scarlatti Keyboard Sonatas J. S Bach The well tempered clavier

Romantic (1810 1900)

2. Instruments: Full Orchestra, Concert Grand Piano, Violin, Cor Anglais

3. Typical forms/structures: Opera, Music Drama, Programme Music, Song Cycles, Short Piano Pieces

4. Composers and their works/pieces: Weber Der Freischtz Rossini William Tell Wagner The flying Dutchman Verdi Aida Schubert Die schne Mllerin Chopin Four Ballads and other piano music Tchaikovsky Swan Lake and Symphony no.6

5. Other details: Romanticism in art, literature and music moved away f rom Classicism by allowing emotional content to dominate form.

Classical (1750 1810)

Melody: o Simple o Sometimes decorated with ornaments (trills, grace notes, mordent, turns) Harmony: o Simple o no harsh dissonant chords o based mostly on primary chords Phrasing: o Balanced o regular 4 bar phrases o Question and answer, not call and response. Orchestra: o Small orchestra, o mostly strings with a few woodwind and brass, o Percussion is mostly timpani playing tonic and dominant, also could include piano. Composer: o Mozart o Haydn and Beethoven Concerto:

3 movements fast slow-fast Soloist demonstrates virtuosity during cadenza (end of first movement) Usually a soloist and orchestra
Composers and their pieces: Mozart: Don Giovanni, Die Zalberfloute, as well as many dances/concertos etc Haydn: Surprise Symphony, the creation Beethoven: Pathetique, moonlight, 5th symphony

Set Music
Gamelan
Music from Indonesia (Bali and Java) Based on cycles of melodies played at different speeds Uses metallic instruments such as gong, metallophone and drums Drums keep a steady beat accompanies puppet shows is not notated - pentatonic

Indian Classical Music

Much is based around improvisation Raga: a group of notes like a scale that the melody is based on (sitar or sarangi) Tabla plays rhythmic improvisations forms a tala first beat or the bar called a sam Tala: a cycle of beats that rhythm, is repetitive played on the tabla, forms bassline

African A Capella Singing

Isicathamiya gentle style with Ladysmith Black Mbazo in close harmony Mbube - loud and powerful singing Rhythm gongan and ketog Melody pelog and slendro Texture - heterophony

Pavane
Part of a suite of dances from the Renaissance period The Pavan is the first dance. It is slow and stately In 2/2 time Modal Often has a drone accompaniment Balanced phrases Danced at court in pairs. Formal dance, big heavy costumes

Galliard
Followed the Pavane, often based on the same melody time, o fast and lively Modal Dotted rhythms allow for a jump. Dance in pairs but not as formal as a Pavane Strings, lute, tabor are common instruments.

Viennese Waltz
Romantic period first became popular in Vienna with Johann Strauss. time Um cha cha feel, bass note of a chord accents the first beat of every bar. Harmonies are simple and change slowly (slow harmonic pace) Melody is in balanced phrases, flowing and lyrical. Played by higher instruments (stings, flutes) in orchestra.

Played by a large symphony orchestra Rubato (slowing down and speeding up) is sometimes used although a steady beat is generally needed to dance to the waltz. Partner in a ballroom, formal, social occasion. Upper class dance to set steps. Piano waltzes are common, but tend to be freer and therefore not suitable for dancing.

The Blues
Fusion of American and African music growing out of the slave trade Call and response Swung rhythms Improvisation Blue notes and the blues scale 12 bar blues based on chords I, IV and V Syncopated rhythms anticipate the beat

Salsa:
Cuban Son: o Son is a dance song from Cuba Structured around the son clave rhythm Uses lots of percussion to form complex cross rhythms Call and response between pregon (lead singer) and choro (chorus) during montuno section. Sung in Spanish or Portuguese Melodies move in 3rd or 5ths. Simple harmonies based on chords I, IV and V. Ostinato patterns are based on syncopated rhythms. Use of Bandoneon Astor Piazollo. Electro tango and tango Nuevo.

American Jazz
Big band instruments are used originally (trumpet, trombone, saxophone, drum kit) Brass instruments have stab chords Dialogue between different instruments and use of riffs Piano and guitar use the compong style Syncopated rhythms. SCAT rhythms in vocal improvisations

Bhangra
Punjabi Folk Dance with British Pop Music Folk music to celebrate the end of the harvest Music led by the dhol DRUM playing the chaal RHYTHM Bols are used to help the dhol player know which strokes to use (dha and na) Use of RAGA vocal melody Singing is in Punjabi Styles such as rap, reggae, hip hop, drum n bass have all influenced Bhangra as well as Punjabi fold music.

Bhangra tracks can sound very different to each other as a result of what style is has been fused with. Use a Chaal rhythm and use of the word Hoi Technology plays a big part in Bhangra: o Sampling of other tracks o Remixing old tracks o Effects such as echo/reverb o Sequencing and looping

Tango
March like, slow tempo 2/4 or 4/4 Dotted rhythms and syncopation Sonero and Choro (call and response) Parallel 3rds and 6th

1970s Disco
Began in the USA 120 beats per minute, fast tempo, usually 4/4 time Four to the floor rhythms (accented 2 and 4 beats) Use of hook lines and memorable melody Wah Wah pedal Simple verse and chord structures Informal, relaxed dance in clubs or discos No set dance steps people can dance how they like Dancers can dance alone or in big groups Amplified sound loud. Loops and sequences Hand claps

Club Music
Solo improvised dancing Samplers, drum machines, synthesisers and sequencers Remixing Acid, drumnbass, trance, ambience, garage, house, techno Moved on from disco to get people to stay on the floor longer

Other Important Things

Key Signatures:
F B flat E flat G D A 1 Flat 2 Flats 3 Flats (B, E, A) 1 Sharp 2 Sharps 3 Sharps (F, C, G)

Harmonies:
Diatonic Dissonant Atonal Chromatic Sub Dominant Blue Note Comping

Texture
Counterpoint, Contrapuntal, Polyphonic Obbligato Descant

Articulation
Legato/slurred Pizzicato Arco Staccato Tremolo Accent Rubato Rallentando Acellerando

Vocal Ranges
Soprano: Highest female voice Alto: Lowest female voice Tenor: Highest male voice Baritone: between tenor and bass Bass: lowest male voice

Structure:
Binary: AB Ternary: ABA (or ABA1 where 1 is a variation to A) Rondo: ABACADA (A: refrain; B,C,D: episodes)

Western popular styles

Irish Music
A jig is a performance dance usually in compound time (6/8) and is light and graceful (soft shoes) hard jig is hard shoes A reel is a social dance in simple time (2/4) is fast and uses angular movements Has a relentless rhythm with tonic-dominant harmony Stepwise melody with small intervals Fiddle, bodhran, accordion, tin whistle, uilleann pipes and harp.

Romantic
German Lied (Schubert, Schumann, Brhams) German poetry to music strophic or through-composed Use of piano and voice Word painting

Pop Ballad

Folk song from medieval Britain, passed down aurally In 19th Century it was songs of sentimental value Now slow songs with romantic lyrics

Chamber Music
Baroque uses contrapuntal texture, imitation, can be homophonic Use of trio sonata - 2 melody instruments with the continuo Classical uses melody with accompaniment and question and answer phrasing Use of string quartet and piano trio

Great Choral Classics

Oratoria: overture, recitative, aria and chorus (Handel Messiah) Mass: Latin Catholic Text; 6 movements (Kyrie, Benedictus, Angus Dei, Sanctus, Gloria and Credo) Use a large choir Example: CARMINA BURANA O FORTUNA by Orff

Serialism
Tone row (Prime order) includes all 12 chromatic pitches 20th century technique, made by Schoenberg Detailed dynamics and articulation give serial melodies structure Notes must always be heard in the correct order Variations on tone row include: o Inversion, o Retrograde, o Retrograde inversion Atonal: no sense of tonic home note.

Impressionism
Based on whole tone scale 20th Century technique made by Debussy Whole tone scale is made up entirely of whole tone intervals Linked with impressionism in art Whole tone scale sounds dreamy

Minimalism
Developed as a Classical style of music in the 1960s Influences from Africa, India and Indonesia Composers such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass Cells are staring points for ideas. Repetitions or patterns allow cells and patterns to develop and change over time. Hypnotic quality Technology can be used to loop cells or build them up using multi tracking. Phase shifting Usually diatonal

(Dont necessarily have to know)