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Simon Goodman
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1 10 Ensemble suggestion: All parts may be performed by soprano recorder if desired. Performance note: the small note in the Tenor Recorder part that is played just before the beat or, if desired, on the beat. is called a grace note. It is a quick note

2 35 Ensemble performing and repertoire Sumer Is Icumen In is a very old English round, perhaps the oldest example of a type of polyphony called counterpoint in existence. The lyrics are in Middle English, the language of Geoffrey Chaucer, whose Canterbury Tales perhaps you have studied. Summer Is Icumen In may be performed in many different ways. A. All recorders can begin with the first staff and play in unison to the end of part 6.

3 54 The tonic triad You just spelled the first chord of the piece Land of the Silver Birch. Now let s look at another piece you just learned to play, Row, Row, Row Your Boat and look at it in a new way. Yes, the whole song is there, except that now it is laid out vertically, just as we would hear it if it were played as an eight-part round. Analyze the harmony of the round on the first beat and on the other strong beat. Do you remember what the other strong beat is in this meter? Fill in this chart from the bottom note to the top note on the first strong beat and the second strong beat, the fourth. Part 1 st Strong Beat 2 nd Strong Beat (G) C (C) The triads on both beats are the same, aren t they? Spell the letters of the three notes of the triad here, lowest to highest:

4 72 Sight reading pieces that harmonize with tonic and dominant triads Have some of your class create an ostinato by playing tonic triads at each X. Circle the Xs where the tonic triad doesn t sound quite right. Try having the class play dominant triads at those points and listen to the sound (see pp ). Follow the same procedure for all of the songs on pages When you harmonize folk songs like these, what kind of musical texture are you creating? (Circle one) Monophonic Polyphonic Homophonic

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6 81 Terms: The 10 musical elements Learning about music theory The following 10 items are the elements of music with brief descriptions of each. Nearly everyone has a concept of each of these items, fuzzy or clear, simple or complex. As you learn more about music, you will grow in your understanding of each of these concepts. Sound elements Time elements Pitch how high or low a note is Harmony/texture when two or more notes sound at once; texture includes monophonic, polyphonic and homophonic Scale a group of notes that form the basis for the pitches chosen in a piece Rhythm/meter varied lengths of notes (such as quarters and eighths) and how they are grouped (as in time signatures) Phrase/form musical thought, often 4 measures in length, grouped together to form patterns such as ABA Tension/release unrest, anxiety, or expectation, and then satisfaction and relief Articulation such as legato and staccato, attached or detached; also includes how a note is approached Dynamics power, how loud or soft the music is Tempo how fast the beats progress in the music Technique coordination in playing an instrument or singing with one s voice; tone and facility; on the recorder, control of breath, tonguing, and fingering The piano keyboard Knowing the arrangement of the keys on the piano keyboard can be very helpful in understanding music theory. Names of white keys Learn the letter names of all of the white keys: F G A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A B C D E

7 106 Phrase and form: full and half cadences, layers of form, theme with variations Consider the first phrase of Simple Gifts: Does it sound like the song could end right there? Or does it seem to need another phrase of music to make it sound complete? Here is the next phrase: What about this phrase: does it sound complete? The first phrase ends with a half cadence or semi-cadence. The second phrase ends with a full cadence or authentic cadence. The two phrases together form a period. The first phrase is like a question, and the second phrase is like an answer. The chords in a full cadence are V I; the chords in a half cadence end with V. In the table below, identify the kind of cadence in each phrase requested. Title Page Phrase Cadence (circle one) He s Got the Whole World 72 1 He s Got the Whole World 72 2 Cockles and Mussels 72 1 Cockles and Mussels 72 2 Shoo Fly 73 1 Shoo Fly 73 2 Shoo Fly 73 3 Shoo Fly 73 4 A cadence is a sequence of two or more chords that concludes a phrase.

8 124 Improvising Using the notes and harmonies you played in Shoo Fly and Hey, Ho, make up tunes for the following poetry fragment and rhythms. Experiment with both major and minor modes. Use a harmonic rhythm (rate at which the harmonies change) of two chords per measure for this piece, confining yourself to tonic and dominant triads. The phrases in this improvisation are an unusual length. How many measures are in each phrase? Do they seem longer or shorter or about the same as standard four-measure phrases? If you end the piece with an authentic cadence, would you prefer a half cadence or another authentic cadence for the first phrase? Hint: When harmonizing an improvisation, you may wish to set your chords first and then make your melody sound good with the chords. Recorder technique Practice tonic and dominant chords in inversions. Use the following Major Minor Major, tonicdominant-tonic pattern as a model. Transpose to any keys you wish to practice.

9 139 Learning about music theory Three forms of minor scales In this unit we explored three forms of minor scales. Musicians know these three forms by the following names: Natural minor the scale that naturally occurs when using the relative major key signature Harmonic minor the scale that occurs as a result of changing the natural v to a more harmonious V Melodic minor the scale that occurs in order to smooth out the melodies that pass through the sixth and seventh scale degrees The natural minor scale is the same as major, except MI becomes, LA becomes, and TI becomes. It uses the same key signature as its relative major. For more information on natural minor please see pages The harmonic minor scale is identical to the natural minor scale, except it uses instead of TE. This is to allow the dominant triad to be major instead of minor. The melodic minor scale uses different notes, depending upon whether it ascends or descends. When it ascends it is identical to harmonic minor, except that it uses instead of LE. When it descends it is identical to natural minor. When it ascends it is brighter; when it descends it is darker. Here are the reference scales for major and natural minor and its two mutations, harmonic and melodic. Play them on your recorder so you can hear how they sound. These scales are relative to one another because they use the same key signatures and use different tonics. We show melodic minor scales ascending and descending, because they are different going up and coming down.

10 157 Four-part harmonic analysis of triad inversions Here is an analysis of a simple four-part harmonic progression. Notice that the key is indicated as C:, which means C Major. The Roman numerals indicate that the progression uses tonic and dominant chords. The figures (Arabic numerals) show which inversions of each triad appear. Listen to this progression as your teacher or one of your classmates plays it on the piano. Hint: Look for long notes when you do harmonic analysis. The G in the tenor line continues to sound across the first two beats. The bass note determines which inversion the triad is using. See your table at the bottom of p If the is in the bass, the chord is in as indicated by Root factor Root position Third factor First inversion Fifth factor Second inversion Now try your hand at some four-part harmonic analysis. Decide whether you ll use the spelling or the drawing method (pages ). 1. Write the key of each selection, using a capital letter for a major key and lower case letter for a minor key. Follow the letter with a colon, like this: C: (C Major); g: (G Minor). 2. Find the roots of each triad and, using Roman numerals, indicate whether they are tonic (I) or dominant (V) in major, or tonic (i) or dominant (v) in minor. 3. Indicate the inversion of each triad by using Arabic numerals:

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12 195 Intervals: All sizes and qualities Recall that interval qualities are indicated according to the table below: Write For Which is M Major Standard for 2, 3, 6, and 7 m Minor step smaller than Major d Diminished step smaller than Minor or Perfect P Perfect Standard for 1, 4, 5, and 8 A Augmented step larger than Major or Perfect Identify the size and quality of each interval on the treble staff given below. Use a number for the size and a letter for the quality. The first one is done to show you how. 1. _P

MUSIC THEORY CURRICULUM STANDARDS GRADES Students will sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music.

MUSIC THEORY CURRICULUM STANDARDS GRADES 9-12 Content Standard 1.0 Singing Students will sing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. The student will 1.1 Sing simple tonal melodies representing