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Blog 2, Lema
The two musical pieces i have chosen to write about is Kyrie (monophonic) and Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass. For Kyrie (monophonic) there are several musical elements within the piece. The first element being the melody which “can be understood as a unit of pitches (or tones) sounded in succession” (Cornelius 66), in this particular piece I would say has a short range for the high notes Because they don’t go for long but the low notes do go for a bit longer. For scale which “consist of ascending and descending steps”, I could say is both ascending and descending throughout the song. For rhythm, the tempo is overall notes are slower or andante. The harmony is dissonant with more vocals that sound dark and deep making it dissonant. As for the texture, it would be monophony because throughout the piece it is just “one single musical line with no accompaniment”(Cornelius 93) and only an echo otherwise but either way just one musical line. The element this piece doesn’t have is timbre which is the part of the music where an instrument would go in but this song is only vocals.
The other musical piece I have chosen is Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass. To begin the melody it has a long distance between the high and low notes which can contrast to the other musical piece that only had a pong range for the low notes. This would be called a disjunct range which is a long distance between pitches. The scale has more of major pitches throughout the song that can contrast against the other song as well. For the rhythm it tempo I say is adagio which means “at ease”(Cornelius 83). The harmony is I would say consonant with a background pitch of some dissonant notes maybe. As for the Texture could be heterophony, because it is one single line but there are other performers singing it slightly different. The dynamic is from mezza-forte to fortissimo which is a crescendo. Just like the other piece it doesn’t contain a timbre.
Blog 2, Du
The pieces I have chosen to listen to are Kyrie (monophonic) and Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass. In the musical piece Kyrie (monophonic) the musical elements I find most prevalent are melody and rhythm. Melody is a unit of tones sounded in succession-one after another. Rhythm is defined as a pattern of beats determined by the strength of beats. I’ve noticed that the melody in this piece contain conjunct and disjunct pitches. The rhythm of the music goes from a loud to soft pitch repetition. This piece does not have harmony for several reasons. This example is monophonic, which means that there will not be any accompaniment throughout the piece. Also, I have come to believe that this piece would not sound as beautiful if there were to be accompaniment.
In Kyrie from Pope Marcellus Mass, the musical elements that stood out to me the most are melody, rhythm and harmony. The melody in this piece is conjunct and disjunct. I believe the harmony is very consonant, this piece reminds me of holy music, or church music. The harmony of the male and female vocals sounded perfect when combined.
Blog 2, Bessalely
I have researched both Kyrie (monophonic) and Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass and used slides and notes from class to learn about their connection to Texture, Timbre, and Dynamics.
First, texture refers to how different parts of music fit in together. Monophony can describe the texture of a single musical line being used without the accompaniment of other musical parts. Monophony is used in kyrie (monophonic) because there is one lead singer without other noises and parts of music. On the other hand Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass uses Polyphony as its texture. This piece of music includes several voices which change the sound of the music and adds layers. These two pieces of music contrast in the way they sound because of the layers of voices, and different pitches used.
Timbre refers to what makes an instrument unique in terms of its sound and colors. In these two pieces of music, neither have instrumental backgrounds. This emphasizes the voices of the singers as well as the pitches and volumes they use. This makes this music unique, and more simple compared to pieces of music with lots of instrumental layers and emphasis.
Dynamics consider the volume of a note or point in music. Kyrie is monophonic and keeps mainly the same low pitch and medium volume throughout the entire piece. This keeps the music simple and recognizable. On the other hand, Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass has two voices in which are both much higher pitched than the prior piece of music. Also, in this piece the pitches slightly change from high to slightly lower, not keeping one simple note throughout the song. Also, the volume in which they perform this piece is much higher.
Blog 2 Yi
The two musical pieces that I chose to talk about are Kyrie (monophonic) and Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass. The first musical element that I would like to discuss regarding Kyrie (monophonic) is the melody of it. Melody is defined as the unit of pitches (or tones) sounded in succession. The melody in this particular piece sounded like a group of people singing in one voice. There are multiple people singing but because they are singing at the same time with the same pitch it sounds like there is one person singing with a single voice.
The second musical element that I would like to discuss regarding Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass is harmony. Harmony is the sounding of two or more pitches at the same time. In this piece, you can clearly hear the different voices singing. You can hear the male and female voices distinctively and how males were singing the lower pitch while the female were singing the higher pitches. The third musical element that I would like to discuss tempo. Tempo is defined as the speed at which a piece of music or part is played. The tempo for both of these musical pieces were slow. It helped make the environment seem calm and relaxed.
Blog 2 Felorian
Melody is a unit of pitches (or tones) sounded in succession. One of the assigned pieces, Alapana from “Sitar, Sarode, and Tabla” demonstrated this well. The melody in the song overall had a lower sound. This means that there were wider waves, whereas in rare moments of the song the pitch got higher, and there were thinner waves. For most of the song there was a long distance between pitches or a disjunct. Rhythm refers to the ways in which music is organized into distinct time units. Throughout the song, the tempo, or the speed at which a piece of music was played was slow and steady. And to help support the melody and rhythm a veena was used as an instrument. It comprises a family of chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. The timbre, or the particular sound of an instrument made this song different since in modern day songs veenas are not used. It creates a unique sound that one can hear if they go through the process of close listening with the musical instrument in mind. It is almost as if someone is pulling you into a relaxed and zen environment.
On the other hand Kyrie from “The Pope Marcellus Mass” had a higher range in melody. This is because not only did the singers try different pitches but having male and female vocalists present at the same time makes it clearer to notice the highs and lows. The harmony, or the sounding of two or more pitches at the same time was consonant. The males and females sounded pleasing together. Also throughout the song one can hear various chords, or three or more pitches that sound at the same time; built according to specific rules. However the form or the overall shape and structure of this piece of music was not so clear. Although it was published in 1567, and has been studied for centuries as an example of Renaissance polyphonic choral music, there was no chorus after a verse to which modern day music is similar to. This also has a calm feel to it that the listeners can enjoy.
Prompt for Blog 2
REMINDER: I will be collecting your notes worksheet on the musical elements on Wednesday 2/19. Paper copies only.
Under Monday 2/10 in the schedule, I’ve included links to three pieces of assigned listening: Alapana from Sitar, Sarode, and Tabla; Kyrie (monophonic); and Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass. For this blog, you will pick two of these listening examples and discuss them in connection with any three of the musical elements: melody, rhythm, harmony, timbre, texture, or form.
Your discussion can take many forms–the most important aspect of this assignment is that you listen closely, make an effort to apply the musical concepts from class, and describe the results. Here are some things you can choose to do in your blog:
- define your musical elements or terms
- describe how these elements or terms are present in your example
- if you think the elements or terms don’t apply to your example (or you can’t hear them), describe why the music doesn’t fit within these categories, or what information you’re missing to make a decision
- compare/contrast how your examples utilize a musical element
- talk about your process of close listening with the musical elements in mind
You can learn more about the listening examples as well as the elements by consulting the following resources: Chapter 2 of the textbook (available in three sections as PDF files under 2/5 and 2/10 in the schedule); class slides (2/5 and 2/10); your class notes; or finding sources online (but make sure to quote or give credit as necessary!).
This blog is due Sunday 2/16 by 12:00pm. Don’t forget to comment on a classmate’s post and consult the posting guidelines pinned at the top of the blog.
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