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March 29, 2024, 03:21:34 am

Author Topic: Music Question Thread  (Read 83721 times)  Share 

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(PhysChemMath)^iπ

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #240 on: January 20, 2020, 01:21:12 pm »
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Hello Everyone,

In A Thousand Years by Christina Perri (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00), in the intro, there is a soft high-pitched sound, that is held throughout most of the intro. It seems to be either high register violin or organ.

If you can't hear it I know it is a Bb so you might be able to play that note on an instrument and try to listen out for it (maybe Bb5 or 6)

I was wondering if that could also be a drone, but in my research I found that drone is a low-pitched sustained note so I was unsure is a high-pitched sustained note is also a drone

This is for a music assessment where I need to analyse 4 songs with my instrument for Instrument and its repertoire

Thank you in advance for any help

angewina_naguen

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #241 on: January 21, 2020, 04:26:27 pm »
+5
Another question along similar lines ~

How can I use a modal scale successfully in a composition?
Also, how can I 'not-so-awkwardly' modulate from a major/minor scale to a mode or vice versa?

Thanks in advance  :)

Hey, sunflowah!

This is also another matter of experimentation but it'd be good to clarify one thing first!

So a scale is a collection of pitches arranged to have a certain melodic character. For example, a scale built from C includes the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, B. A mode is created when you take any of those pitches and start the scale from there. That scale already in the example is C Ionian mode or more commonly known as C major. However, if I started on say D using those exact same pitches, I don't get D major (because D major has an F#); instead, I get D Dorian mode. Modes as a concept honestly still confuses the heckles out of me even as a university student taking music theory but in short, your major and minor scales are also modes (Ionian and Aeolian respectively).

If you wanted to integrate modes in your composition, you could disrupt the expected intervals and borrow from other modes instead. If we keep using C as the example, you could go from C Ionian/major to C Phrygian by using the flattened notes in the mode. This can create some interesting colours and pitch relations in your composition. Beyond that, it really just depends on how you want to play things out! Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly are fantastic composers to look at if you want to see great modal music in action. I'd highly recommend Kodaly's String Quartet No.2 Op.10  :) Hope this helps!
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angewina_naguen

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #242 on: January 21, 2020, 04:34:53 pm »
+1
Hello Everyone,

In A Thousand Years by Christina Perri (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtOvBOTyX00), in the intro, there is a soft high-pitched sound, that is held throughout most of the intro. It seems to be either high register violin or organ.

If you can't hear it I know it is a Bb so you might be able to play that note on an instrument and try to listen out for it (maybe Bb5 or 6)

I was wondering if that could also be a drone, but in my research I found that drone is a low-pitched sustained note so I was unsure is a high-pitched sustained note is also a drone

This is for a music assessment where I need to analyse 4 songs with my instrument for Instrument and its repertoire

Thank you in advance for any help

Hey, (PhysChemMath)^iπ!

I can only just hear it but I can't seem to pinpoint what instrument it could be. That being said, a drone is usually a sustained note that provides what Britannica has defined as "a sonorous foundation" for the melodic material to unfold. If we are working with this definition, the sound could be considered a high-pitched drone (since it also establishes the tonic Bb) to an extent but it seems to soar above the melody, not necessarily supporting it or building a platform for it to develop. Based on this, I'd advise you to just call it a sustained note and discuss how it's played in an extreme upper register to further affirm the tonality of the song.

As a general tip too for musicology, it's okay to not be entirely specific with the sounds you are hearing  :) If you know what it's called, then use the terminology. Otherwise, use the concepts of the music and general terms like sustained note to help you frame and describe the sounds you're hearing as I've done above. Hope that helps and good luck for the assessment!

Angelina  ;D
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sunflowah

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #243 on: February 13, 2020, 09:25:59 pm »
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Hello!

What would be considered primary and secondary sources? Would interviews and quotes from the internet or own score annotations count as primary sources?

angewina_naguen

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #244 on: February 13, 2020, 09:41:33 pm »
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Hello!

What would be considered primary and secondary sources? Would interviews and quotes from the internet or own score annotations count as primary sources?

Hey, sunflowah!

Great question! When I was trying to differentiate between primary and secondary sources, I found that this website was really helpful! Your own score annotations, listening logs and annotations of the works you're analysing are your best primary sources.  I'd definitely recommend listening to your works at different stages in the year and completing separate annotations for them because you'll always hear something new each time! You can look at the logs I did for my Music 2 essay at the end in the appendix if you want a good reference on how to potentially structure yours.

You could also potentially interview a scholar who might know a bit about your composer. I can't think of anyone at the top of my head but perhaps Rachel Campbell from the Con might be worth emailing? She runs Music in Modern Times at my uni and she's very interesting  :D Otherwise, it's totally cool if your primary sources are mainly annotations and independent analysis so long as you've got plenty there and they're backed with secondary sources. Hope that helps!

Angelina  ;D
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sunflowah

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #245 on: February 15, 2020, 08:16:19 pm »
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Hi all!

I'm having trouble with answering this question: 'How has the 6 concepts of music been used together to create an effective musical outcome'? (p.s. not exactly certain on what 'effective musical outcome' means)

jamonwindeyer

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #246 on: February 16, 2020, 08:49:21 pm »
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Hi all!

I'm having trouble with answering this question: 'How has the 6 concepts of music been used together to create an effective musical outcome'? (p.s. not exactly certain on what 'effective musical outcome' means)

Hey!

I'm going to assume this is a Music 1 musicology listening question. So you've nailed the important bit of this question - What the hell is an 'effective musical outcome'? Best bit is you define this yourself - Is it musical interest? Is it creation of tension? It may depend on the context of the piece, but you can effectively define what the effective outcome is and run with that ;D then you just provide your evidence, using the concepts of music, as you normally would choose to do for a listening question ;D

sunflowah

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #247 on: February 29, 2020, 10:08:29 pm »
+1
 :) Thanks a lot Jamon!

sunflowah

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #248 on: March 07, 2020, 08:45:59 am »
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Hello all,

Which music software is best for notating music?

angewina_naguen

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #249 on: March 07, 2020, 11:26:07 am »
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Hello all,

Which music software is best for notating music?

Hey, sunflowah!

I could go on for hours about which software you should/should not use. Personally, I prefer using Sibelius since it has an amazing playback (the oboes actually sound like oboes) and it's quite easy to navigate once you're used to it but it is ridiculously expensive for students. In my HSC, I used NoteFlight which was free and super easy to use and got by with it for my composition. It has a terrible playback though so if you're using the notation software for composition, I'd recommend finding people to record a live of it instead of using their audio file. A few people I know also really recommend MuseScore but I'm not a huge fan since it's not as comprehensive as Sibelius and NoteFlight, and I have heard decent things about Finale despite never using it. Try them all out and see what works best for you! It really is all a trial and error process  :)

Angelina  ;D
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sunflowah

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #250 on: March 11, 2020, 07:49:06 pm »
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Thanks Angelina!  :)

If I were to record my composition live, where/how could I find people to play my composition?

angewina_naguen

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #251 on: March 11, 2020, 08:04:03 pm »
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Thanks Angelina!  :)

If I were to record my composition live, where/how could I find people to play my composition?

Hey, sunflowah!

You could ask your teachers for any recommendations or any of your classmates if they can play the parts you have (if you've got a violist in your class, use them)! You can also post to different Facebook pages and ask if anyone would be interested in recording your composition. Usually people will expect a monetary compensation so just source from people around you first before you reach out to others! Good luck with finding people  :)

Angelina  ;D
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svnflower

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #252 on: May 22, 2020, 05:37:04 pm »
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Hello,

How do we plan out & structure a Q4 in the Music 2 paper?
Is it like an English essay where we need a brief introduction (thesis statement, introduce the piece/s to be discussed, composition date of pieces, etc.) and how many score references are recommended?

:) Thanks in advance

angewina_naguen

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #253 on: May 23, 2020, 11:51:19 pm »
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Hello,

How do we plan out & structure a Q4 in the Music 2 paper?
Is it like an English essay where we need a brief introduction (thesis statement, introduce the piece/s to be discussed, composition date of pieces, etc.) and how many score references are recommended?

:) Thanks in advance

Hey, svnflower!

Great question! I would structure the essay question similar to a mini-essay (introduction, number of bodies dependent on how many works you are required to discuss, conclusion). Your introduction needs to really answer the question because Music 2 is notorious for never having predictable ones. The key words and concepts mentioned in the question should be integrated throughout the response for you to write an effective response  :)

It's also really important you can recall enough examples to satisfy your arguments. When making your notes, aim to have three score references per concept for the work (so you should have in total around 18 excerpts). If you can find score references that overlap across concepts, that can also save you from having to memorise an excessive amount; for example, I used the same three bars for both pitch and tone colour for one of my set works. In the actual essay, each body should have three score references but do ask your teachers what they think would be sufficient (mine said three but I know a few of my friends at the Con had less/more per body so it's more about quality and relevance to the concept in discussion, rather than quantity). Hope that helps!

Angelina  ;D
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CallumPike16

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Re: Music Question Thread
« Reply #254 on: May 27, 2020, 09:22:21 am »
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Hey everyone!
Currently doing Music 1. I chose 3 Viva Voce for my electives alongside my core performance. I was just wondering what kinds of topics I could do? Or is it different for every school/year?

Additionally, does anyone have any tips for a viva voce?

Thanks all!