Answering Aural Questions

1. Answering Aural Questions A framework for answering aural questions using the 6 concepts of music.

2. Answer the question • Read the question carefully and take careful note of key words. • Which of the concepts are involved? • Words like unity, contrast and interest!

3. Pitch, Pitch, Pitch • On first listen work out the structure of the excerpt. • This gives you the opportunity to answer with reference to a number of sections and fills out your answer. • Use dot points or short sentences with one idea per point or sentence.

4. Practice, Practice, Practice • Listen to an excerpt and write down the structure. Harmony • Describe the overall harmony/chords used (major/minor, atonal, modal, dissonant) • Does the piece modulate (change tonal centre or key and where?).

5. Harmony • Intro/Section 1 • Are there any repeated chord patterns? • What is the rate of harmonic change (fast or slow chord changes). • What types of chords are used? (triads, arpeggios or broken chords). • Are there any cadences? (a harmonic motion associated with the ending of a phrase). • Where do cadences occur?

6. For each section!! • Repeat the questions for each section.

7. Melody • What instrument plays the main melody? • Is the pitch range wide or narrow? • Describe the contour of the melody (smooth, jagged, steps, leaps, ascending, descending, sequence?) Draw the melody graphically and identify any intervals you can. • Are the phrases long, short, symmetrical or uneven in length. • Count the number of bars in phrases.

8. Counter Melody! • What instrument plays the counter melody? • Describe the contour of the counter melody. • Describe the phrases in the counter melody (long, short, symmetrical etc) • Count the number of bars for the counter melody.

9. Other riffs & ostinatos? • What instrument plays the riff or melodic ostinatos? • How many notes in the riff/ostinato? • Describe the contour of the riff/ostinato (smooth, jagged, steps, leaps, ascending or descending). • Draw the contour of the ostinato. • Identify any intervals you can. • Where does the interval appear?

10. Melodies working together • Is there call and response in the piece? • What instruments and where in the music? • Describe the use of repetition? • Describe the use of imitation? • How do the different melodic structures interact with themselves and each other?

11. Unity • Unity refers to anything that is the same or similar. • Repeating melodies using the same instruments that introduce it or different instruments. • Melodies with similar contours (jagged, smooth etc) • Range and register. • Phrase lengths.

12. Contrast? • Contrast refers to difference and diversity! • High and low sounding instruments. • Range and register. • Variations and ornamentation to the melody. • Changes in tonality/modulation. • Chord structures.

13. Important words • Melody is a series of notes played one after another. • Harmony is at least 2 notes played at the same time. • Scales are a series of pitches based on a home pitch. • Tonic is the first note of a scale. • Key is the home pitch and scale used for a composition.

14. more important words! • Drone or pedal point is a long continuous low pitch played to maintain a tonal centre. • Semitone is the smallest interval in diatonic harmony. • Tone is two semitones. • Modulation is when the key centre changes during a piece of music. • Chords are at least 3 or more pitches played at the same time.

15. And more important words! • Cadence is a two chord progression that acts like a punctuation point in a musical phrase of section. The most common cadence is the V – I or perfect cadence. • Consonance is when two or more pitches played together sound “settled” or “sweet”. • Dissonance is when two or more pitches played together sound “unsettled” or “clashing”.