PITCH
Refers to the highness and lowness in sound.
Focus:
1) Melody
2) Tonality
3) Harmony
1) Melody- is a combination of pitch notes played one after the other that sound prominent.
Things to analyse:
What instrument is playing the melody?
Contour of melody-Moving in steps, leaps, jagged, static
Movement of melody- Ascending, Descending, Stagnant-sustaining
Contrary motion- 2 melodies/harmonies moving in opposite direction. here
Similar motion- Melodies/harmonies moving in the same direction. here
Register- High/Middle/Low
Counter melody- a second melody playing at the same time as the main. here
Ornamentation-a musical decoration to add interest to the melody, for example:
a) Trill-2 notes alternating in quick succession. here
b) Acciacatura-Also known as 'Grace Notes' - 2 notes played almost straight after the other here
c) Glissando- Also known as a 'slide' on guitar. Glissando is a rapid slide ascending or descending on an instrument. here
Melodic Ostinato (Riff)- a repetitive melodic pattern. here
- A riff can have a harmonic role as a chord progression would also be known as a harmonic riff.
Motiv- is a short melodic fragment played throughout the song to create unity. A composer can vary the motiv by repeating it with little addition or changes in notes. Eg: Haydn's Surprise Symphony- The theme ( Motif) is varied. here
Sequence- is a melodic pattern that is repeated again straight away but at a different pitch. Eg: Original melodic pattern would be cut and pasted a step higher or lower. here
Repetition- is where the melody or melodies are repeated. Repetition can be used to unify the piece.
Melisma- is where many notes are sung for one syllable.here
2) TONALITY: is what defines the pitch arrangements. The pitch arrangements are usually in a scale,
which is a sequence of notes. It is also known to be called the 'tonal centre' or 'home key'.
In this term we will be focussing on the following types of tonality:
a) Diatonic scales: There are 2 types-
Major: Sounding bright and happy. here
Minor: Sounding dark and sad, mysterious. here
b) Blues Scale: here
Oscar Peterson-'C Jam Blues' using Blues Scale: here
c) Chromatic scale- playing every semitone either ascending or descending.
EG 1- here
EG 2-Listen to the first 10 seconds here
d) Pentatonic Scale- Mostly heard in Asian music. here
'Arirang' A Korean traditional song using pentatonic tonality here
e) Atonal- not belonging to any tonal centre. Heard in 21st century classical music.
Example of Arnold Schoenberg's 'Pierrot Lunaire' here
3) HARMONY- refers to to two or more notes playing at the same time.
Harmonic Rhythm- are the different speeds the chord progressions are played in.
EG Harmonic rhythm can be played in different note value times such as crotchets, quavers, minims, semibreves, dotted note values, etc. here
Harmony is provided in music to add more texture and interest to the melody. It is used to mainly accompany the melody.
Accompaniment Styles vary from:
a) Parallel Harmony- which is playing the chordal harmony parallel with the melody. here
- Another example here
b) Broken Chords- 3 different types:
- Arpeggio- The notes in the chord are played separately. here
- Walking Bass-(Jazz) Blues scale being played on the bass line here
- Alberti bass-(Classical) Notes of a chord alternating. Usually movement -1st note -5th note -3rd note-5th note of the scale.
Eg 1 Watch from 3:10- 5:10 here
Eg 2- Mozart piano here
c) 12 bar blues progression-
Eg 1 here
Eg 2 here
Chord Structure- there are various types of chords:
a) Triad- 3 notes played at the same time. Playing the 1st, 3rd and 5th note of the scale at the same time. here
b) 7th chords- Sounds Jazzy. Playing 1st,3rd,5th and 7th note of the scale at the same time. here
Coldplay- 'Scientist'- Playing combination of triads and 7th chords. here
c) Dissonant chord- a group of notes played together that sound as though they are clashing. here
Consonant chord- the notes played together sound harmonious. Example-Beatles 'Yesterday' on guitar, there are no clashing notes. here
d) Modulation- refers to when the key changes to higher key. Composers usually used modulations to create a climax towards the end.
Example 1- Beyonce "Love on Top" 2 min 36 onwards- the song continually modulates. here
- Music can also change key from major to minor. It is heard in Queen's 'I want it all' 2mins onwards. The music changes from a
minor key to a major key. here
Harmonic features:
a) Harmonic ostinato-a repeated chordal pattern. Eg In Eric Satie's 'Gymnopedie 1', the left hand of the piano plays the harmonic ostinato. here
b) Drone- a single note or a few notes that held (sustained) throughout the piece. It is usually heard in the bass line. A term used in main stream genres -jazz and popular music
EG: Scottish bagpipe music- here
EG: Indian music- Ravi Shankar on Sitar- here
EG: Classical- Mahler Symphony no.1- Introduction- 7 octave drone in the key of A. here
EG: Pop-Seal 'Crazy'- here
c) Suspension/Resolution- here
Another example here
Suspension is created by playing 2 dissonant(clashing) notes at the same time which creates tension or conflict.
Resolution is created by lowering or raising one of the notes that clash to a consonant note.
ACTIVITIES:
Download worksheets based on PITCH below:
1) Complete 'Pitch Activity 1' and email your work to Miss Kim's email.
2) Listen to the first 20 seconds of the following excerpts and complete 'Pitch Activity 2'.
1a) Queen-'Bohemian Rhapsody' here
b) Saint Saens- 'The Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium' here
c) Elvis Presley-'Hound Dog' here
d) Clementi-'Sonatina in Dmajor op.36 no.6'- here
e) Nirvana-'Come as you are'- here
f) Adele-'Someone Like you'- here
2) Kimbra "Settle Down' here
3) Angelique Kidjo 'Wombo Lombo' here