Music 10 Quarter 1 Lesson 1 2 Notes

MUSIC 10 QUARTER 1 LESSON 1
Tonality and Atonality defined

Tonal Music – principle of organizing musical compositions around a
central note, the tonic.
Atonal Music – condition of music in which the constructs of the music
do not “live” within the confines of a particular key signature,
scale, or mode. That is why when you listened to piece no. 2
from “What’s In” you may have found the music chaotic,
random noise or simply unpleasing to the Ear.
20th Century Musical Styles

Impressionism - It is a French movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. The sentimental
melodies and dramatic emotionalism of the preceding Romantic Period (their themes and melody are
easy to recognize and enjoy) were being replaced in favour of moods and impressions. There is an
extensive use of colours and effects, vague melodies, and innovative chords and progressions leading
to mild dissonances.
In impressionism, the sounds of different chords overlapped lightly with each other to produce new
subtle musical colors. Chords did not have a definite order and a sense of clear resolution. Most of the
impressionist works centered on nature and its beauty, lightness, and brilliance. A number of
outstanding impressionists created works on this subject. Some of the composers that uses this style
are Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Arnold Schoenberg, and Igor Stravinsky.
Expressionism - revealed the composer’s mind, instead of presenting an impression of the environment.
It used atonality and the twelve-tone scale, lacking stable and conventional harmonies. It served as a
medium for expressing strong emotions, such as anxiety, rage, and alienation.
Neo- classicism - was a moderating factor between the emotional excesses of the Romantic period
and the violent impulses of the soul in expressionism. It was, in essence, a partial return to an earlier
style of writing, particularly the tightly knit form of the Classical period, while combining tonal
harmonies with slight dissonances. The neo-classicist style was also used by composers such as
Francis Poulenc, Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, and Sergei Prokofieff.
Avant Garde Music- closely associated with electronic music, the avant garde movement dealt with
the parameters or the dimensions of sound in space. The avant garde style exhibited a new attitude
toward musical mobility, whereby the order of note groups could be varied so that musical continuity
could be altered. Improvisation was a necessity in this style, for the musical scores were not
necessarily followed as written. Some of the Avant Garde composers are George Gershwin, Leonard
Bernstein, Philip Glass, and John Cage.
Modern Nationalism- is a looser form of 20th century music development focused on nationalist
composers and musical innovators who sought to combine modern techniques with folk materials.
FIRST PERFORMANCE OUTPUT IN MUSIC

Expressionism is a 20th century musical style where the music piece revealed the
composer’s mind, instead of presenting an impression of the environment. To explore this
style in 20 minutes, you will be tasked to create your own expression of the song “Bahay
Kubo”. You are free to create your own melody and tempo of the song depending on how
you feel or what your preference is. Record your own expression of the song in your
Phone, using the recorder app. After recording the song, listen to your record and answer
the following questions:
1. What was the whole mood of version you made?
2. How did you feel about your own version of Bahay Kubo?
3. How did you come up with this version? Do you have anything in mind while doing this
activity?
MODULE 2
PERFORMANCE PRACTICE OF 20TH CENTURY MUSIC
Performance Practice is a term used to define musical techniques that are implied in a performance of a
specific musical genre during a musical era. But these techniques are not written or notated.
IMPRESSIONISM
• CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)

He was the primary exponent of the impressionist movement and the focal point for other impressionist
composers. He changed the course of musical development by dissolving traditional rules and
conventions into a new language of possibilities in harmony, rhythm, form, texture, and color.
The creative style of Debussy was characterized by his unique approach to the various musical elements.
Debussy’s compositions deviated from the Romantic Period and is clearly seen by the way he avoided
metric pulses and preferred free form and developed his themes.
Here are some of Debussy’s work:
Pelleas ET Melisande (1895)—his famous operatic work that drew mixed
extreme reactions for its innovative harmonies and
textural treatments.
La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative and atmospheric symphonic work for
orchestra about the sea
Images, Suite Bergamasque, and Estampes—his most popular piano compositions; a set of lightly
textured pieces containing his signature work Claire de Lune (Moonlight)
• MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)

The compositional style of Ravel is mainly characterized by its uniquely innovative but not atonal style of
harmonic treatment. It is defined with intricate and sometimes modal melodies and extended chordal
components. It demands considerable technical virtuosity from the performer which is the character,
ability, or skill of a virtuoso—a person who excels in musical technique or execution.
The harmonic progressions and modulations are not only musically satisfying but also pleasantly
dissonant and elegantly sophisticated. His refined delicacy and color, contrasts and effects add to the
difficulty in the proper execution of the musical passages. These are extensively used in his works of a
programmatic nature; wherein visual imagery is either suggested or portrayed. Many of his works deal
with water in its flowing or stormy moods as well as with human characterizations.
• • ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874–1951)

Schoenberg’s style was constantly undergoing development. From the early influences of Wagner, his
tonal preference gradually turned to the dissonant and atonal, as he explored the use of chromatic
harmonies.
• • IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882–1971)
Stravinsky adapted the forms of the 18th centurywith his contemporary style of writing. Despite its
“shocking” modernity, his music is also very structured, precise, controlled, full of artifice, and
theatricality. Other outstanding works include the ballet Petrouchka (1911), featuring shifting rhythms
and polytonality, a signature device of the composer. The Rake’s Progress (1951), a full-length opera,
alludes heavily to the Baroque and Classical styles of Bach and Mozart through the use of the
harpsichord, small orchestra, solo and ensemble numbers with recitatives stringing together the
different songs.
PRIMITIVISM
• • BELA BARTOK (1881–1945)
As a neo-classicist, primitivist, and nationalist composer, Bartok used Hungarian folk themes and
rhythms. He also utilized changing meters and strong syncopations. His compositions were successful
because of their rich melodiesandlivelyrhythms.He admired the musicalstyles of Liszt, Strauss,
Debussy, and Stravinsky.
NEO-CLASSICISM
• • SERGEI PROKOFIEFF (1891–1953)
His style is uniquely recognizable for its progressive technique, pulsating rhythms, melodic directness,
and a resolving dissonance.
• • FRANCIS POULENC (1899–1963)
Francis JeanMarcel Poulenc was a member of the group of young French composers known as “Les
Six.” He rejected the heavy romanticism of Wagner and the so-called imprecision of Debussy an
dRavel. His compositions had a coolly elegant modernity, tempered by a classical sense of proportion.
Poulenc was also fond of the witty approach of Satie, as well as the early neo-classical works of
Stravinsky.
Poulenc’s choral works tended to be more somber and solemn, as portrayed by Litanies a la vierge
noire (Litanies of the Black Madonna, 1936), with its monophony, simple harmony, and startling
dissonance; and Stabat Mater (1950), which carried a Baroque solemnity with a prevailing style of
unison singing and repetition.
AVANT GARDE
• • GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937)
Gershwin’s melodic gift wasc onsidered phenomenal, as evidenced by his numerous songs of wide
appeal. He is a true“crossover artist,” in the sense that his serious compositions remain highly popular
in the classical repertoire, as his stage and film songs continue to be jazz and vocal standards.
Considered the “Father ofAmerican Jazz,” his “mixture of the primitive and the sophisticated” gave his
musican appeal that has lasted long after his death.
• • LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918–1990)
Bernstein’s philosophy was that the universal language of music is basically rooted in tonality. This
came under firefrom the radical young musicians who espoused the serialist principles of that time.
Although he never relinquished his musical values as a composer, he later turned to conducting and
lecturing in order to safeguard his principles as to what he believed was best in music. He achieved
pre-eminence in two fields: conducting and composing for Broadway musicals, dance shows, and
concert music.
• • PHILIP GLASS (1937)
He explored the territories of ballet, opera, theater, film, and even television jingles. His distinctive style
involves cell-like phrases emanating from bright electronic sounds from the keyboard that progressed
very slowly from one pattern to the next in a very repetitious fashion. Aided by soothing vocal effects
andhorn sounds, his music is often criticized as uneventful and shallow, yet startlingly effective for its
hypnotic charm.
ELECTRONIC AND CHANCE MUSIC
ELECTRONIC MUSIC - Music that uses the tape recorder is called musique concrete, or concrete
music. The composer records different sounds that are heard in the environment such as the bustle of
traffic, the sound of the wind, the barking of dogs, the strumming of a guitar, or the cry of an infant.
• • EDGARD VARESE (1883–1965)
The musical compositions of Varese are characterized by an emphasis on timbre and rhythm. He
invented the term “organized sound,” which means that certain timbres and rhythms can be grouped
together in order to capture a whole new definition of sound. Although his complete surviving works
are scarce, he has been recognized to have influenced several major composers of the late 20th
century.
• • KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN (1928)
He is a central figure in the realm of electronic music. Stockhausen’s music was initially met with
resistance due to its heavily atonal content with practically no clear melodic or rhythmic sense. Still, he
continued to experiment with musique concrete. Some of his works include Gruppen (1957), a piece
for three orchestras that moved music through time and space; Kontakte (1960), a work that pushed
the tape machine to its limits; and the epic Hymnen (1965), an ambitious two-hour work of 40
juxtaposed songs and anthems from around the world.
CHANCE MUSIC - refers to a style wherein the piece always sounds different at every performance
because of the random techniques of production, including the use of ring modulators or natural
elements that become a part of the music. Most of the sounds emanate from the surroundings, both
natural and man-made, such as honking cars, rustling leaves, blowing wind, dripping water, or a
ringing phone.
• • JOHN CAGE (1912–1992)
He was known as one of the 20th century composers with the widest array of sounds in his works. He
challenged the very idea of music by manipulating musical instruments in order to achieve new
sounds. He experimented with what came to be known as “chance music.”

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MUSIC 10 QUARTER 1 LESSON 1

Tonality and Atonality defined

20th Century Musical Styles

FIRST PERFORMANCE OUTPUT IN MUSIC

• CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)

• MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)

• • ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874–1951)

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