@The Arts Unit Creative Classes

Introduced Species – Lesson 2

Discover contemporary orchestral composition through 'Introduced Species' by Katy Abbott

Student music resource developed by The Arts Unit

Years 11 and 12 music

What will I learn?

In Lesson 2, you will:

  • listen to each of the themes

  • analyse each of the themes and describe how the composer used the concepts of music to achieve the appropriate effects

  • reflect on 'Introduced Species' and how it represents your chosen topic of study.

  1. Listen

The concepts of music

  • Duration refers to the lengths of sounds and silences in music and includes the aspects of beat, rhythm, metre, tempo, pulse rates and absence of pulse.

  • Pitch refers to the relative highness and lowness of sounds. Important aspects include high, low, higher and lower pitches, direction of pitch movement, melody, harmony, indefinite and definite pitch.

  • Dynamics refers to the volume of sound. Important aspects include the relative softness and loudness of sound, change of loudness (contrast), and the emphasis on individual sounds (accent).

  • Expressive techniques refers to the musical detail that articulates a style or interpretation of a style.

  • Tone colour refers to that aspect of sound that allows the listener to identify the sound source or combinations of sound sources.

  • Texture results from the way voices and/or instruments are combined in music.

  • Structure refers to the idea of design or form in music. In organising sound the concepts of duration, dynamics, pitch and tone colour are combined in some way for a particular purpose. Structure relates to the ways in which music sounds the same (or similar) and/or different.

Listen to each of the following extracts.

Comment on each of the concepts of music when listening to each of these excerpts. Use the attached table below to record your comments.

Siren theme

Duration: 00:39

Lullaby theme

Duration: 01:25

Awakening theme

Duration: 00:18

Escape theme

Duration: 00:08

Glisten theme – harp

Duration: 00:16

Glisten theme – clarinet

Duration: 00:05

Trash vortex

Duration: 00:50

Albatross theme

Duration: 00:54

Ode to the Albatross theme

Duration: 03:11
Introduced Species 360 - Analysis of excerpts

2. Reflect

Download the score below and watch the 'Introduced Species' concert.

Reflect on your observations from above while listening to the whole work.

Write a paragraph on how this work represents your chosen or mandatory topic of study.


Katy Abbott - Introduced Species - Score.pdf
Introduced Species score (PDF 3.34MB)

Introduced Species concert

Duration: 21:33

Third-party content attributions

  • Concepts of music icons from NSW Stage 6 Music 1 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2020.

  • Concepts of music definitions from Stage 6 Music 1 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2020.

  • Introduced Species: symphony no.2 Score Reproduced with permission © Katy Abbott 2014/2016 - accessed 12/5/2020.