Area of Study 2

Melody-

(Schoenberg)

• Made up of many short, fragmented motifs

• Melodies are disjunct and often sound angular.

• The motifs use octave displacement

• Motifs aren’t developed but use techniques such as – inversion and rhythmic augmentation. 

Rhythm, Metre and Tempo:

(Schoenberg) 

• The metre changes between 3/4, 2/4 and 4/4 

• The tempo is Sehr rasch – very quick

• Rhythms are complex and varied and change quickly. 

• Schoenberg layers a number of complex rhymic patterns on top of each other resulting in a complex contrapuntal texture 

Tonality and Harmony:

(Schoenberg) 

• The piece is atonal 

• Uses a lot of dissonant harmony 

• Chords and melodies are often built from hexachords 

Structure:

(Schoenberg) 

• The piece is in free rondo form with five sections

• (ABACA) 

Context:

(Schoenberg) 

• First composed in 1909
• Considered experimental at the time
• Needed a huge piece orchestra (90 Players)
• First performance was given in 1912 at the Proms in London  
• “Peripetie” means Sudden Change 

Instrumentation:

(Schoenberg) 

• The piece requires a huge orcehstra of 90 people 

• The instrumentation changes rapidly throughout creating many contrasts in timbre 

• Performers are requried to play to the extremes of their range 

• Unusual effects are used- Examples:           Cymbals played with bows                                         Strings play very close to their bridge 

Context:

(Bernstein)

• West Side Story was composed in 1957.

• Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

• Influenced by Jazz and Classical

Instrumentation:

(Bernstein)

• A song for solo tenor accompanied by a band made of woodwind, brass, percussion and strings. 

• Band make sure they don’t overpower singer with quiet dynamics, soft timbres and a homophonic texture. 

Structure and Melody:

(Bernstein)

• The melody is entirely syllabic which is based on three themes:

1. Quiet, syncopated opening
2. Loud strident theme in 2/4 
3. Lyrical, slow-moving theme

Rhythm, Metre and Tempo:

(Bernstein)

• The metre changes between 3/4 and 2/4.

• The chaning metre, fast tempo and frequent syncopation help to maintain excitement and anticipation.

• The accompaniment is made up of an on-beat bass part with off-beat chords. This creates a cross rhythms.

Harmony and Tonality:

(Bernstein)

• The piece is in D major with the contrasting sections in C major. 

• There is a frequent use of the sharpened fourth and flattened seventh in both keys. This creates interval of a tritone with the key note. 

• The unresolved flattened seveneth creates the feeling of expectation at the end of the song. 

• The harmony is tonal and jazz influenced with the use of 7th chords and other added notes

Texture:

(Bernstein)

• The texture of the song is homophonic and there are three main ideas for the song:

1. The repeated riff that opens the song
2. The short mainly syncopated chords 
3. A fast um-cha accompaniment 

Context:

(Reich)

• Electric counterpoint was written for the famous jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. 

• First performed in 1987.
• The piece consists of 3 movements. (Studying movement III) 

Instrumentation:

(Reich)

• The movement contains:

1. A live guitar
2. Seven guitars (Recorded)
3. Two bass guitars 

• The live guitar part is amplified to blend in well with the recording 

Structure:

(Reich)

The movement is made up of three layers: 

1. A syncopated quaver motif which is introduced by the live guitar and is played with the first four recoreded guitars (one at a time)
2. A new syncopated quaver motif is introduced with the bass guitars
3. A more sustained motif (built on three chords) begins with the live guitar which is then transferred to the other parts

Melody ; Texture:

(Reich)

• The melody is made up of one bar motif which is repeated continuously to form an ostinato 

• This motif is introduced by the live guitar and top four guitar parts at differnt times, creating a canon

• In some parts the melody is created with note addition. 

• A resultant melody is created 

• The piece also has a contrapuntal texture 

Rhythm, Metre and Tempo:

(Reich)

• The main metre is 3/2. Meaning that there are 6 crotchets or 12 quavers per bar 
• The tempo is crotchet = 192, a very fast speed indeed. 
• There is little rhythmic variety since the piece is made of repeating patterns and quavers. 
• There is frequent syncopation.
• Reich uses an effect called metrical displacement– guitars 1 to 4 play the same motif but start in differnt parts of the bar. They therefore sound out of sync. 
• Towards the end of the piece it goes to 12/8 then 3/2. Therefore it means there is a polymetre

Harmony and Tonality:

(Reich)

• The music is largely in the key of G major with some sections at the end in Eb major. It is entirely diatonic.

• Reich uses hexatonic scales

• Conventional harmonic progressions aren’t used