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jamonwindeyer

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Music Question Thread
« on: February 03, 2016, 08:41:48 am »
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Hey there my fellow musicians!

I am one of the members of the ATAR Notes Team. I wrote the Physics notes for the recent lecture series, and I work with Jake and Elyse to answer your questions and create new stuff that will help you guys succeed in the HSC!

The one subject I can have to myself is Music 1  ;) 

Music is an awesome subject because it is so different to the others. It offers a chance for creativity, for creation, and for pursuing a hobby. For marks. Score! However, don't be fooled. Music is difficult, it demands a lot from its students.

This is why I started this thread, for you guys to ask me absolutely anything you want to know about success in Music. I scored 95, and was included in Encore 2015 for musicology , so I'm definitely qualified to give you guys a hand. Plus, I was assessed on all three major areas: Performance, Musicology, and Composition, so whatever you are up to, I can help! I definitely can't play every instrument, but that is why these threads are awesome! Post a Trumpet-related question, and a Trumpet player will hopefully see it and lend a hand.  ;)

So, ask me anything! No question is too far out or too obvious, I'm happy to lend any help that I can. Music is an awesome subject, I hope this Q+A thread makes it even more awesome for you. Let's help each other do the best we can do!  ;D
« Last Edit: November 26, 2018, 07:29:34 pm by jamonwindeyer »

sarahnash98

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Re: 95 in Music and Encore Musicologist: Ask me Anything!
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2016, 05:13:26 pm »
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Hey, I've decided to do 2 performance and 2 musicology this year for Music 1 - how would you approach beginning the musicology work? I've been listening around a lot and I want to do one on film music (maybe Alan Silvestri) and one on a flute concerto (because flute is my instrument). Anyways, how would I get started? thanks  :)

jamonwindeyer

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95 in Music and Encore Musicologist: Ask me Anything!
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2016, 01:22:52 pm »
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Hey, I've decided to do 2 performance and 2 musicology this year for Music 1 - how would you approach beginning the musicology work? I've been listening around a lot and I want to do one on film music (maybe Alan Silvestri) and one on a flute concerto (because flute is my instrument). Anyways, how would I get started? thanks  :)

Hey Sarah! Thanks for the question. Coming up with what to discuss is probably the hardest part of musicology, and there is no easy answer. Definitely, the first motel is to do some listening in the chosen area (in your case, Music for Film). Come up with some pieces that would be interesting to discuss in terms of the Concepts of Music, making sure that each piece contributes something slightly different. Compile a shortlist of possible songs.
In terms of what to discuss, you have a few options. If flute is your instrument, you could examine the role of the flute in your chosen pieces. You can be as specific (expressive techniques used by woodwind instruments to create interest in film music) or non-specific (the flute's roles in modern film) as you like. There is no single answer.
You don't have to be specific to your instrument either, you can focus on something more conceptual. For example, mine was:

How integration of various styles is used to create musical interest in Progressive Rock music, exemplified by the work of Muse.

While I used my guitar and vocals to give examples, I addressed every instrument. You, equally, could focus on something conceptual and just use your flute to give examples.

The options are really limitless for this sort of thing, I could write heaps, and I may even work on a guide to putting together a Viva. Hopefully these ideas get you started, you are definitely on the right track with your listening. Just keep shortlisting pieces and thinking about different ways you can link them together, and above all, do something that is interesting to you! It makes everything loads easier!

jamonwindeyer

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Re: 95 in Music and Encore Musicologist: Ask me Anything!
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2016, 01:26:29 pm »
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And once you have decided on a topic, just start analysing your pieces for things to discuss in terms of your idea. In general, a Viva is just structured around the analysis of each piece in terms of what you want to discuss. Dot points are perfect to start!

caitlynmoore

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Re: 95 in Music and Encore Musicologist: Ask me Anything!
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2016, 08:41:47 pm »
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Wow congrats on being selected for Encore in Musicology!

Admittedly, I've chosen Music as a subject with the potential to drop off as I only know the basics of guitar and piano in comparison to others who have been playing piano since they were three. I'm planning on doing two performance and two musicology, but my main concern is my lack of knowing expressive techniques as I have never been able to put them into practice (eg guitarists playing hammer-ons) and an inability to tell apart different instruments during Aural exams.

If you have any tips whatsoever it would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!  :)

jamonwindeyer

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Re: 95 in Music and Encore Musicologist: Ask me Anything!
« Reply #5 on: February 29, 2016, 10:18:01 pm »
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Wow congrats on being selected for Encore in Musicology!

Admittedly, I've chosen Music as a subject with the potential to drop off as I only know the basics of guitar and piano in comparison to others who have been playing piano since they were three. I'm planning on doing two performance and two musicology, but my main concern is my lack of knowing expressive techniques as I have never been able to put them into practice (eg guitarists playing hammer-ons) and an inability to tell apart different instruments during Aural exams.

If you have any tips whatsoever it would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!  :)

Hey Caitlyn! Don't worry, that is common, and I'm totally not against the attitude... Music is meant to be enjoyed, so anything that takes the pressure off is okay by me  ;D

In terms of expressive techniques, the best way to improve is simply to practice. Look at the expressive techniques used by your favourite artists and try to replicate them. It's not super important for performances to have those techniques in there, but it definitely helps. This will also get you naturally improving in your ability to identify them. If you want some awesome work with expressive techniques for guitar, check on John Butler, he uses some interesting ones and some common ones. Tommy Emmanuel is always worth a look for technical fluency and classical technique, as is John Williams. Can't offer much in way of piano, I know that my friend (who was an amazing piano player) used Chopin pieces for her performances, maybe do some listening there for inspiration?

In terms of identifying different instruments in an aural exam, it is all about diverse listening. If you listen to a lot of rock songs, you will be able to identify rock instruments. If you listen to Classical for long enough, you will start to notice the difference between flutes and oboes, violins and cellos, trumpets and trombones, etc. Watching performances with video, and seeing the instruments, used to help me massively with learning new ensembles. But yes, it's all about knowing your typical ensembles, and knowing what each instrument normally does. Identifying instruments in an exam situation is tricky, you want the background knowledge to narrow down your choices as much as possible. And by the way, saying: "A high pitched string instrument fills a melodic role" is just as good as saying: "A violin fills a melodic role." A marker won't care about identification of instruments in comparison to discussion of what they are doing  ;D

hannahboardman98

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2016, 08:43:16 am »
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Hi I'm doing 4 performances for my HSC, I'm a vocalist and my area of expertise is music theatre style songs. I've chosen 'Out here on my own' from fame as one of my performances but I'm struggling to find others that really suit my voice and that I'll love! Can you please help me with some ideas?? :)

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2016, 07:25:26 pm »
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Hi I'm doing 4 performances for my HSC, I'm a vocalist and my area of expertise is music theatre style songs. I've chosen 'Out here on my own' from fame as one of my performances but I'm struggling to find others that really suit my voice and that I'll love! Can you please help me with some ideas?? :)

Hey Hannah! Awesome, I hope you are enjoying the course so far!

My performances were for guitar, so although I did do some backup vocals for other people, I definitely can't speak from experience. However, you can't go past Defying Gravity from Wicked. It is a beautiful piece, equally technical as it is powerful and emotive, with lots of opportunity for expression and dynamic variation. It can quite easily be a 20/20 if you pull it off, so I highly recommend giving it a look.

Besides this, I would recommend picking songs you like before anything else! If you are passionate about a song, you will be more likely to sing it well. Go through your favourite songs and listen for things that would make it a good performance; wide dynamic range, expressive techniques, a song you feel comfortable performing in an expressive way. Further, try not to make all your songs sound the same. Show different techniques, use your whole vocal range, show the markers the different things you can do with your voice. It goes further than singing the same style of song with the same techniques 4 times in a row.

What topics are you studying? You will likely need a piece that isn't musical theatre to fit your topic choices  ;D

jessica.ngan1

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2016, 05:23:15 pm »
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Hi Jamon
I'm a music 2 and extension student.
I was just wondering if you have any tips in how to approach the essay styled/extended response question in the aural/musicology paper. ;D
Many thanks, Jessica Ngan

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2016, 09:21:39 pm »
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Hi Jamon
I'm a music 2 and extension student.
I was just wondering if you have any tips in how to approach the essay styled/extended response question in the aural/musicology paper. ;D
Many thanks, Jessica Ngan

Hey Jess!! Welcome to the forums!  ;D

I must apologise in advance, since I only did Music 1 in my HSC! So I don't know much to help from experience (maybe another Music 2 student may see this and help out?)  ;D

However, I do know about this question simply due to me being interested in Music 2 (I was very close to taking it myself). It is definitely a tough ask, and one that you should spend a lot of time practicing for to get your time management and skills where they need to be. My big tip for the response is just based on me my experiences with Music 1 Aural (which, if I do say so myself, was probably my most effective area of Music 1): No wasted words. Be very efficient, you don't have the time to waste, you want every word to be gold. In Music 1 I always wrote in extended dot point, if you can do it in Music 2 I highly recommend  ;)

Also, have a plan for what to do with your listening times/score reading times. In Music 1, after reading the question, I had a plan as to what I did with every listening time, what I would listen for, when I'd be listening, when I'd be writing. Plan your time effectively to respond best to the question and stick to that plan.

As a Music 1 student, that's all I'd feel comfortable offering, because I simply haven't been in your position! I'm so sorry I couldn't be of more help, I hope someone who does Music 2 can help out!  ;D

Lauradf36

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2016, 11:27:33 am »
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I'm doing a vive voce for one of my four electives - it's on harmony on pop music! What are your best tips/advice? And could you give some examples of typical questions markers may ask??
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jamonwindeyer

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #11 on: July 22, 2016, 11:52:23 am »
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I'm doing a vive voce for one of my four electives - it's on harmony on pop music! What are your best tips/advice? And could you give some examples of typical questions markers may ask??

Hey there! That's an awesome Viva topic!  ;D

So the Viva Voce for Music is interesting, because they can literally ask anything. For example:

I was chatting about the use of guitar in one of the pieces I had chosen, and explained the use of "power chords" as a typical aspect of rock music. I played a progression randomly on my guitar, and they stopped me and said: "What was that?" And I said, oh, it was just a I-IV-V progression in the key of A, and they were like "Major or minor," and then I explained how it was neither, linked to the atonality of power chords, etc etc. Like over a minute of discussion, completely off track from what I was discussing. You need to be ready for anything!

In terms of advice, a few pointers:

- Know any pieces you play as example inside and out, in terms of every concept of music, they can and will press you
- For the summary sheet you present to them, make it easy to follow. They will use it to direct your discussion! Make it clear how YOU want the conversation to go and they will abide by your wishes (and then take you off track on occasion if they want to)
- Know your concepts of music and your jargon
- Make the links to your Viva topic obvious throughout your discussion
- Give practical examples whenever appropriate. I used my guitar to show progressions, play melodies, I sang a few things, I even drummed a beat on the bloody table. Practical examples are your friend!

I'm actually going to be writing some articles for Music in the next couple of weeks. I'm writing one on responding to an Aural Exam properly (that will be out next week), and another on Viva Voce's! I'll be sure to link it here when I'm done, it will contain these things plus a few more  ;D I hope this helps!

Lauradf36

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #12 on: July 22, 2016, 06:34:17 pm »
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Hey there! That's an awesome Viva topic!  ;D

So the Viva Voce for Music is interesting, because they can literally ask anything. For example:

I was chatting about the use of guitar in one of the pieces I had chosen, and explained the use of "power chords" as a typical aspect of rock music. I played a progression randomly on my guitar, and they stopped me and said: "What was that?" And I said, oh, it was just a I-IV-V progression in the key of A, and they were like "Major or minor," and then I explained how it was neither, linked to the atonality of power chords, etc etc. Like over a minute of discussion, completely off track from what I was discussing. You need to be ready for anything!

In terms of advice, a few pointers:

- Know any pieces you play as example inside and out, in terms of every concept of music, they can and will press you
- For the summary sheet you present to them, make it easy to follow. They will use it to direct your discussion! Make it clear how YOU want the conversation to go and they will abide by your wishes (and then take you off track on occasion if they want to)
- Know your concepts of music and your jargon
- Make the links to your Viva topic obvious throughout your discussion
- Give practical examples whenever appropriate. I used my guitar to show progressions, play melodies, I sang a few things, I even drummed a beat on the bloody table. Practical examples are your friend!

I'm actually going to be writing some articles for Music in the next couple of weeks. I'm writing one on responding to an Aural Exam properly (that will be out next week), and another on Viva Voce's! I'll be sure to link it here when I'm done, it will contain these things plus a few more  ;D I hope this helps!

Thanks so much for your advice! There isn't a lot of info on vivas out there (it's a bit of a weird concept) so it's good to get more perspectives than just my music teacher.
With having clear links to my topic, my teacher said you need to cover all concepts of music briefly - so some of mine don't link explicitly to harmony, I'm just talking about the similarities and differences in concepts used in pop music. Is that ok too or should I make a reference to harmony within that?
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jamonwindeyer

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #13 on: July 22, 2016, 10:52:40 pm »
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Thanks so much for your advice! There isn't a lot of info on vivas out there (it's a bit of a weird concept) so it's good to get more perspectives than just my music teacher.
With having clear links to my topic, my teacher said you need to cover all concepts of music briefly - so some of mine don't link explicitly to harmony, I'm just talking about the similarities and differences in concepts used in pop music. Is that ok too or should I make a reference to harmony within that?

I'd try to link to harmony at least loosely, so obviously Pitch is covered. For the other concepts:

- Tone Colour: Talk about the tone colour of the harmony instruments
- Dynamics/Expressive Techniques: Expressive techniques used by the harmony instruments (this is probably the toughest)
- Structure: Changes in harmony in different sections
- Duration: Rhythms used by the Harmonic Layer
- Texture: Harmonic Role

You can definitely talk about some broader things, but you've specified Harmony, so that should resonate throughout your response!  ;D


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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #14 on: July 23, 2016, 12:28:48 pm »
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Hi Jamon
I'm a music 2 and extension student.
I was just wondering if you have any tips in how to approach the essay styled/extended response question in the aural/musicology paper. ;D
Many thanks, Jessica Ngan

Hey,
I'm currently doing Music 2 and Ext, although not sure if i'm qualified enough to answer this; but here's what I've been doing in my revision.

Firstly have at least one other work from the core topic and one from your additional topic, that you have analysed yourself.
Try to make them contrasting pieces. For my 'related pieces' within the core topic: I chose Ulpirra (1993) - Ross Edwards and We are Never Ever Getting Back Together (2012) - Taylor Swift; and for my additional topic which is "music 1945 to music 25 years ago" I have New York State of Mind (1976) - Billy Joel.

For the extended response question, you almost always have to compare the provided piece (which is always from the core topic) with one of your own. The easiest way to do this is to have a thesis along the lines of "Music of the last 25 years cannot be singularly categorised; instead it is a combination of all the musical eras and cultures that predate it. Thus composers within this period produce works that contrast each other." This gives you a platform to compare the musical concepts (duration, pitch, dynamics & expressive techniques, tone colour, texture and structure).

Also, make sure that you compare the manipulation of these concepts within the piece itself. E.g. time signature changes, polyphonic to monophonic, tempo changes - and compare to your other related work. Ensure that you have adequate textual references - bar numbers or even notating pitch/rhythm/ostinatos (for your other work you will have to do this on manuscript paper provided)

Hope this helps :)
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