This specific piece, Gypsy Legend by Kalman Chován, has a slo and sorrowful melody to it, making this song not one of favorites to play all the time. However, the way it is composed brings a new sound to the ear. This piece will not only feel different to play, but has melodies being played by either hands at some point in the song. Let’s begin resolving any musical questions that may be asked about the piece! Starting from the time and key signature, we notice that it is in ¾ time with one sharp meaning it is in the key of G major or E minor. Knowing this will help when knowing what notes to play. The pedal is also used throughout the song, as seen by the line with the small mountain under each line of music, but whether is pedal is used is completely up to the …show more content…
Moving on, we see that at first, the right hand has the melody while the left hand is playing different chord. These chords can be looked at and memorized so that no thinking is required when playing the piece. As the melody moves from the right hand to the left hand, we see that although not all parts of the chord are being played (measure 2), the overall sound is still getting through. This type of rotation continues, but the right hand sometimes plays a different rhythm like the dotted quarter note, eighth note, and then quarter note again (measure 4). This overall pattern continues throughout most of the song until we get to the second page of the song where the right hand is playing the melody and the left hand plays the same three chords over and over again. Practicing these chords hands separately to get comfortable with them is a positive factor when trying to get together a piece, but is optional since some people excel more than others. From there, there are some changes going from bass clef to treble and back to bass. This may trip up some people and is a good point to mention. After that, the rest of the song is basically
Each movement of the work corresponds accordingly to a different country in Europe at the time known for a particular style of dance. The Intrada would be the opening of the program, followed by the French Basse Dance, the English Pavane, the Italian Saltarello, the Spanish Sarabande, and finally concluding with the German Allemande. Even though the work was performed by a modern ensemble, where many instruments had not even been invented when music of this type was originally composed, the instrumentation of the brass section versus the woodwind section and the artistry of the musicians performing are able to recreate a much older style. Overall, the piece Courtly Airs and Dances, is an emulation of a style dating back to the Renaissance period of music, with each movement reflecting a particular style of dance characteristic to the culture of individual European
The piano is what sets the mood of the whole piece, the beginning starts off slow and gloomy sounding, then the vocalist begins to sing and confirms that this song is going to be unhappy. Although the song is gloomy sounding, I still like it, the piano has a pleasant melody and it is calming. It sounds like a song that should be played in a movie when a loved one dies and everyone’s moored at a funeral.
Of the five minutes, I believe that the most interesting segments are the first solo and the last minute or so; I will be analyzing these particular portions in depth. From the very start, this song is hot and fast. To open, the entire band plays a fast phrase that follows the 12 bar blues scale and this phrase remains central throughout the entirety of the song. The bass and piano hold this phrase while the horns transition into a separate rhythm to compliment it. These two phrases are repeated until the beginning of the first saxophone solo at :56. During this solo the bass transitions to a shuffle line while the piano compliments. The other horns join in with riffs after the first two choruses of the solo. The solo continues for another two choruses with the whole band playing before it is rounded off. The final minute of the song begins with a repeat of the third, fourth, and fifth choruses. In the final 20 seconds, things begin to get very interesting. The horns hold the last note of the chorus as the rhythms comes to a sharp halt. The horns engage in a brief agglomeration of notes that exhibits a strong use of polyphony and could be described as somewhat hectic. The drummer begins to shine with a solo of his own which he continues for the final seconds of the song, before resolving the entire song with a final
This musical piece is also a love song, like the song When I Have Sung To You it can be played as a classical, fold or jazz piece. While My Lady Sleeps has a piano theme as well, but in current years they have utilized the soothing sound of cello solos performed by Stella Cho in this composition also. In both works, the music indicates love. Listening to both When I Have Sung To You and While My Lady Sleeps brought showed me tenderness and love throughout the entire musical
Dance: The large percussion section, with timpani and snare rolls opens this section, along with the woodwind. The flute plays an atonal allegretto melody, accompanied by a rhythmic ostinato by the percussion section. There is a crescendo as more instruments join the accompaniment and the strings take over the melody. The music climaxes with the brass playing the melody, still accompanied by the ostinato and the triangle. The strings play the melody again as different percussion instruments are used. There is a crescendo again with brass fanfares and snare rolls. There then is a rallentando with the percussion section.
The electric guitar is front and center throughout the entirety of the song, playing the main harmony. The guitar is heavily accented on the last note of the chord and played with finger vibrato thus giving it a very resonant and bright sound. In the later verse and refrains of the song, a second guitar is much more noticeable and plays polyphonically with the lead
...ers and the audience. The dramatic nature of this piece alone is something to be reckoned with as it is extremely passionate. The symphony is presented in 4 movements as is common and begins with a Poco Sostenuto- Vivace, followed by a Allegretto movement, Presto movement, and finally ends on an Allegro con brio movement. the central theme of this piece is introduced in the first movement by a flute playing in tripple meter continuously ascending up the scales rising in dynamic contrast, continuing to grow into a louder and more stark contrast between it’s highs and lows. Consistently dance like, the piece is celebratory of its roots buried in historical Austrian music that has been present in the culture for years. The accomplishments of the soldiers for which the piece was composed for are easily told of simply by the energy and power present throughout the piece.
The first song played was from a genre that I had previously taken a test on, Sonata. The musicians played the song by the book. There were three movements and polyphonic texture. It was even fast and jerky. Nonetheless, this is the part where my rollercoaster was going down. In my opinion it was boring. Although very well played, the song itself did not interest me. I did not like the roadrunner, coyote essence of the song. The piano accompaniment would sometimes play the melody and let the clarinet follow and then they would switch. This to me seemed force instead of like the Sonatas that I listened to in class. However, apart from the musical aspect of the first piece there was a certain intensity expressed by the performers. I had never seen a
In the second movement have a brief violin solo songs with the latter half of the elements (Schwartz, 2015). Faster featuring piano part as follows, gradually building, until near the end, in a piece of this point seems to pull back to the original melody, now given to the flute. In a peaceful, introspective rhythmic movement ended.
The piano plays the main themes, and it was absent from playing before. The piano plays two octaves in the treble register. There is a viola in the background playing a counter melody, which slows towards
This is how I heard the music, piece by piece with some help to understand and ...
There are two main rhythmic ideas that are present in this piece. The first is the regular rhythmic pulse in the pianos and mallet instruments
This is the second movement of the piece. It lasts around five minutes of the total 22 minutes of the whole Orchestral Suite. Air is written for trumpet, timpani, oboe, violin, viola and continuo. It is written in major key. The meter is duple, and I would dare to say that it is quadruple.
The fascination with exoticism was more and more prevalent within romantic compositions as there was an increased yearning for far off lands within the composer’s imagination. ‘Composers of such works were not terribly interested in authenticity; their primary concern was to create a picturesque atmosphere that would appeal to audiences.’(Machlis p.190) Bizet romanticized gypsy culture in his opera and through the character, ‘Carmen’. The libretto gives off ideas in relation to the emerging theme of ‘naturalism’, where much focus was given to the working class and their suffering. Carmen and the other gypsies don’t have that middle class virtue. ‘But they are seen against the exotic allure of Spain and Bizet’s music invests them with a human dignity.’ (Machlis192) In much of the art, music and literature of the 19th century the female gypsy, in particular was characterized and stereotyped as free-spirited, strong, deviant, demanding, sexually arousing, alluring and dismissive. This romantic construct of the Gypsy woman may be viewed as completely opposite to the proper, controlled and chaste, submissive woman held as the Victorian, European ideal. These descriptions are likened to the characters of Carmen in contrast to Micaela. ‘Carmen’ is all about women, especially women with exotic qualities who challenge the traditional morale. The women in ‘Carmen’ are seen not as passive but as active players in the social game. Carmen forever sings about freedom and love with no limits. ‘The freedom to travel, the freedom to exist – Carmen fights for the right to live.’(Feminist endings) The oriental fascination with the forbidden and taboo world of the gypsy other in music is characterized by the spontaneous dance-like rhythms, melodies and orchestration. Carmen’s most famous aria, ‘Habanera’ in which she tells of her conception of love, is a borrowed Cuban dance form, from Havana exhibiting Spanish flounces and likened to the ‘Tango’ dance style. The duple metre slow dance, lined with graceful dotted rhythms involves a lot of body movement and expression, characteristic of the gypsy. ‘Seguidilla’ also demonstrates the importance of dance to the gypsy culture, set in a typical ¾ rhythm and sung to a poetic verse form. The combination of guitar-like accompaniment, pizzicato on the strings laced with ornaments and triplets, gives the piece character and cheek, as Carmen taunts Don Jose to fall for her charms. The accelerating gypsy dance opening Act 2 uses dissonances and sliding harmonies, creating that colour and richness typical of the exotic influence.
There seems to be some type of saxophone or other instrument in the background which I believe the artist is using as an accent. It does so by simultaneously playing in the background and adding more emotions. When the song hits 2:25, you can hear a dotted rhyme. There is a note not played and then a short note and then another long note. This is actually the part where the song gets the most emotional and it seems to add a little tension to the song.