Title: The history of Western music
1Lecture 6
- The history of Western music
- The mechanics of Western music since 1600
2Beethovens Symphony No 5 in C Minor, Op.
67Tchaikovskys Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op.
74 (Pathétique)
- Consider
- Christopher Smalls idea of the meta-narrative
of Western culture (i.e., a situation that is
disturbed and then, somehow, reaches equilibrium) - is it possible for you experience these pieces
(in whole or in part) as dramatic narratives? - if so, can you somehow describe the plot of
the narratives? - are the plots the same or different?
- if different, how are they different?
- do the plots have anything at all to do with
traditional Western concepts of masculinity and
femininity? - do you have any thoughts or opinions about
Smalls theory?
3ancient Greece
the history of Western music
6th - 1st centuries B.C.
- Pythagorean theory
- surviving notation
- is cryptic
- suggests that the music consisted only of single
melodic lines - importance placed on the nature of melodic
modes - some were strong and manly, others were soft
and feminine - some were highly moral, others were lewd,
lascivious - we know the names of the modes, but not their
actual sound - Plato (The Republic) Our songs are our laws
-
4early Medieval period
the history of Western music
1st 7th centuries A.D.
- more Pythagorean theory
- music as part of the Quadrivium
- along with arithmetic, geometry and astronomy
- three kinds of music
- musica instrumentalis, musica humana, musica
mundana - as in ancient Greece, music consisted of simple
melodies - all we know about is church music, and we know
that only from theoretical texts - no musical notation, and none was needed
5example of neumatic notation
- Question
- Why was musical notation needed at this point in
time? - Answer
- Because by now there was a relatively large
formal repertoire that needed to be accurately
preserved.
6middle Medieval period
the history of Western music
8th 10th centuries A.D.
- melodic modes (scales)
- only the names (ionian, dorian, phrygian,
mixolydian, lydian, aeolian, locrian) were
borrowed from the ancient Greeks - development of a body of repertoire (monophonic)
- plainchant
- Gregorian Chant, and attributed to Gregory the
Great (d. 604) - beginnings of a simple music notation (neumes)
- assignment of letter names to pitches
- gradual development of a more accurate notation
system - assignment of syllable names to pitches
7Guido of Arezzo c. 991 c. 1040
- invented system of horizontal lines to indicate
relative pitch level - invented the idea of using letters (C and F) at
the beginnings of staves to indicate absolute
pitch - codified the melodic modes according to their
range (ambitus) and their finals - codified the rhythmic modes
- divided the range of pitches into six-note
patterns (hexachords) that sounded relatively
the same - invented a system by which syllable names were
assigned to the pitches of a hexachord
8Guidos hand
9Guidos solmization hymn
10a 13th-century antiphonin Guidonian notation
11Guido of Arezzo
- invented the idea of using letters (C and F) at
the beginnings of staves to indicate absolute
pitch - codified the melodic modes according to their
range (ambitus) and their finals - invented system of horizontal lines to indicate
relative pitch level - codified the rhythmic modes
- divided the range of pitches into six-note
patterns (hexachords) that sounded relatively
the same - invented a system by which syllable names were
assigned to the pitches of a hexachord
12Guido of Arezzo
- Question
- Where did Guidos inventions lead?
- invented the idea of using letters (C and F) at
the beginnings of staves to indicate absolute
pitch - codified the melodic modes according to their
range (ambitus) and their finals - invented system of horizontal lines to indicate
relative pitch level - codified the rhythmic modes
- divided the range of pitches into six-note
patterns (hexachords) that sounded relatively
the same - invented a system by which syllable names were
assigned to the pitches of a hexachord
13Guido of Arezzo
- Answers
- The clef
- The concept of tonality
- The modern staff
- Modern time signatures
- The idea of the scale
- The do-re-mi system
- invented the idea of using letters (C and F) at
the beginnings of staves to indicate absolute
pitch - codified the melodic modes according to their
range (ambitus) and their finals - invented system of horizontal lines to indicate
relative pitch level - codified the rhythmic modes
- divided the range of pitches into six-note
patterns (hexachords) that sounded relatively
the same - invented a system by which syllable names were
assigned to the pitches of a hexachord
14Guido of Arezzo
- Question
- Where else did they lead?
- Answer
- To the creation of polyphonic music.
- invented the idea of using letters (C and F) at
the beginnings of staves to indicate absolute
pitch - codified the melodic modes according to their
range (ambitus) and their finals - invented system of horizontal lines to indicate
relative pitch level - codified the rhythmic modes
- divided the range of pitches into six-note
patterns (hexachords) that sounded relatively
the same - invented a system by which syllable names were
assigned to the pitches of a hexachord
15late Medieval period
the history of Western music
11th 14th centuries A.D.
- development of simple polyphonic music
(organum) - at Notre Dame in Paris (Léonin, Perotin)
- huge expansion of sacred repertoire
- motets, masses
- notation of secular music (troubadour songs)
- increasing use of binary rhythms in sacred music
- development of polyphony to include three and
four parts - increasing use of imitative counterpoint
16Renaissance
the history of Western music
15th 16th centuries
- increasingly florid melodies
- development of the isorhythmic motet
- development of various fixed forms for secular
music - renewed interest in relationship between music,
mathematics - increasingly complex polyphony in sacred music
- Council of Trent (1542)
- Palestrinas Missa Papae Marcelli
- a new social role for learned music
entertainment!
17Baroque
the history of Western music
1600-1750
- Baroque
- from the Portuguese barroco, meaning
- imperfect pearl.
- ???????????????
- Borrowed from the vocabulary of art and
architectural history refers to a highly
ornate style.
18Baroque
the history of Western music
1600-1750
- new style (much simpler) contrasts with
antique style - the beginnings of opera music as a dramatic
gesture - rigorous counterpoint virtuoso instrumental
writing
- theoretical developments
- problems with Pythagorean system !!!
19Pythagorean system
- relationship between naturally occurring musical
intervals and simple mathematical proportions - 21 the octave
- 32 the fifth
- the circle of fifths
20Pythagorean system
- relationship between naturally occurring musical
intervals and simple mathematical proportions - 21 the octave
- 32 the fifth
- the circle of fifths
- C -- G
- G -- D
- D -- A
- A -- E
- E -- B
- B -- F
- F -- C
- C -- G (A?)
- G (A ?) D (E ?)
- E ? -- B ?
- B ? -- F
- F -- C
21Pythagorean system
- relationship between naturally occurring musical
intervals and simple mathematical proportions - 21 the octave
- 32 the fifth
- the circle of fifths
project 32 twelve times and it should equal
21 projected seven times.
So ???????
22The Pythagorean comma
comma, from the Greek komma, meaning cutting
or gap Theoretically, the 32 fifth projected
twelve times should result in exactly the same
pitch as the 21 octave projected seven
times. The pitch at the end of the circle of
fifths should be an exact replication
(multiplied x 2 seven times) of the starting
pitch.
12
1.0136
7
2
23The Pythagorean comma
- So ????
- In order for music to involve all twelve pitches,
the Pythagorean intervals had to be compromised. - The comma needed to be somehow spread out over
the entire range of pitches. - The musical scale needed to be somehow
tempered. -
24Stuart Isacoff, Temperament How Music Became a
Battleground for the Great Minds of Western
Civilization (Vintage Books, 2001).
- Jacket synopsis
- Few music lovers realize that the arrangement
of notes on todays pianos was once regarded as a
crime against God and nature, or that such
legendary thinkers as Pythagoras, Plato, da
Vinci, Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton and
Rousseau played a role in the controversy.
Indeed, from the time of the ancient Greeks
through the eras of Renaissance scientists and
Enlightenment philosophers, the relationship
between the notes of the musical scale was seen
as a key to the very nature of the universe. -
25Stuart Isacoff, Temperament How Music Became a
Battleground for the Great Minds of Western
Civilization (Vintage Books, 2001).
- Jacket synopsis
- The contentious adoption of the modern tuning
system known as equal temperament called into
question beliefs that had lasted nearly two
millennia and also made possible the music of
Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy and all who
followed. -
26Equal temperament
- A tempering, or adjustment, of all the pitches so
that the relative distance between them is
exactly the same. - In the Pythagorean system, there was a problem
with the second tone of the scale. Depending on
its relationship with other tones, its proportion
(in terms of the first tone) needed to be either
98 or 109. - Singers and instrumentalists could make the
necessary adjustment, but only if the music was
not very complex. - But this wouldnt work if
- the music was complex
- the music involved instruments incapable of
pitch adjustment -
27Equal temperament
- In equal temperament, only the octave retains
the pure Pythagorean proportion (21). - All the other intervals are adjusted to
accommodate the Pythagorean comma. - the fifth is slightly sharper than the 32 fifth
- the fourth is slightly flatter than the 43
fourth - the major third is considerably sharper than the
54 third - the minor third is considerably flatter than the
65 third - the major second is slightly sharper than the
98 second - the minor second is a lot flatter than the 1615
second -
28Equal temperament
- In equal temperament, all the intervals (except
the octave) are by Pythagorean standards out of
tune. - Question
- How can we stand to listen to music in which
almost all the intervals are out of tune? - Answer
- Weve gotten used to it.
-
29Equal temperament
- In equal temperament, all the intervals (except
the octave) are by Pythagorean standards out of
tune. - Question
- What happens if we tune an instrument according
to Pythagorean intervals for one key and then
attempt to play in another key? - Answer
- Yikes !!!
-
30Baroque
the history of Western music
1600-1750
- new style (much simpler) contrasts with
antique style - the beginnings of opera music as a dramatic
gesture - rigorous counterpoint virtuoso instrumental
writing - theoretical developments
- problems with Pythagorean system !!!
- the galant style (simple textures, lots of
ornamentation) - doctrine of the affections music as
expression - theoretical writings
- temperament, functional harmony, tonal
system -
31functional harmony and the tonal system
- in the tonal system (tonality), the pitches
exist in a hierarchy that makes one of them (the
tonic pitch) the most important. - in a major scale (do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do)
the tonic pitch is do. - in the tonal system, the hierarchy of pitches
implies that music eventually needs to resolve on
the tonic (i.e., on do). - to feel this, just listen to an ascending major
scale that ends on ti. - in the tonal system, the tonic in effect wields
a magnetic attraction over the other pitches. - but all the pitches exist in some sort of
magnetic relationship with one another. -
32functional harmony and the tonal system
- a system in which simple harmonies based on
the various tones of the scale have functions
based on the tones magnetic attraction toward
one another. - a simple harmony, in this case, is a triad
(i.e., a group of three pitches) built on
successive thirds. - in other words, a pitch, then a third above
that, then a third above that. -
33functional harmony and the tonal system
In the key of C major, the tonic pitch ( do)
is C.
- The tonic harmony consists of the pitches C, E
and G (do-mi-so).
34functional harmony and the tonal system
- After the tonic, the two most important pitches
in the hierarchy are - the fourth tone (fa)
- the fifth tone (sol)
- Similarly, after the tonic harmony, the two most
important harmonies in the hierarchy are the
triads built on - the fourth tone (fa-la-do)
- the fifth tone (sol-ti-re)
35functional harmony and the tonal system
In rudimentary musical analysis, these harmonies
are identified by Roman numerals. (upper case
major triad)
- The strongest magnetic attractions are between
the harmonies related by the interval of the
fifth. - V is a fifth above I
- I is a fifth above IV
36functional harmony and the tonal system
In rudimentary musical analysis, these harmonies
are identified by Roman numerals. (upper case
major triad)
- The magnetic attractions are strengthened when
the harmonies are expanded to include a
dissonant minor seventh (i.e., a minor seventh
above the harmonys root pitch.
37functional harmony and the tonal system
The harmony based on the second scale degree is a
minor triad. (lower case minor)
- The ii harmony has two pitches in common with
the IV harmony, so these two harmonies are
closely related.
38functional harmony and the tonal system
The same close relationship (because of tones
in common) exists between the harmonies built on
I and vi
- and between the harmonies built on V and
iii.
39functional harmony and the tonal system
Remember the fifth relationships (and strong
magnetic attraction) between V-I and I-IV ???
- There are also fifth relationships (and thus
attractions) between iii-vi, vi-ii and ii-V.
40The tonal system with its functional harmony
is complex, with many intertwining relationships.
functional harmony and the tonal system
- Yet we can easily hear the functional
relationships between harmonies in simple songs. - The patterns of harmony in simple songs makes
sense to us because - were accustomed to the tonal system
- the system itself is theoretically
(mathematically) logical
41Bingo
functional harmony and the tonal system
- I IV I
V I - I had a dog and he had me, and Bingo was his
name-o. - I IV V I
vi ii - B, I, N, G, O B, I, N, G, O B, I, N, G, O
- V I
- And Bingo was his name-o.
42Santa Catalina
functional harmony and the tonal system
- I vi ii V
- Twenty-six miles across the sea,
- I vi ii V
- Santa Catalina is a-waiting for me,
- I vi ii V
- Santa Catalina, the island of
- I vi ii
V - romance, romance, romance, romance.
43Classical
the history of Western music
1750-1800
- theoretical development of equal temperament
- increased use of chromaticism, modulation
- development of sonata form
- in Exposition two themes are contrasted not
just by character but also by tonality - in Development fragments from both themes are
intermixed, modulated from key to key - in Recapitulation the two themes are
presented in the same key
- aesthetics music as abstract form
- idea of the composer as craftsman
44Romantic
the history of Western music
1800-1900
- practical use of equal temperament
- increased use of chromaticism, modulation
- aesthetics the sonata as dramatic form
- in the sonata form
- the two themes are presented in dramatic
opposition - the development section a conflict
- the recapitulation a resolution of the
conflict - idea of the composer as artist
45Review
the history of Western music
- for simple music in isolated communities,
notation was not necessary - notation became necessary as repertoire
stabilized and grew - accurate notation enabled growth of musical
complexity - rise of secularism led to dramatic musical
gesture and concept of music as expressive of
emotions - increasingly complex and expressive music led to
expansion of the Pythagorean system - expansion of (and problems with) Pythagorean
system led to functional tonality and to equal
temperament - functional tonality expressiveness led to the
idea of music as dramatic musical structure
46Beethovens Symphony No 5 in C Minor, Op.
67Tchaikovskys Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op.
74 (Pathétique)
- Consider
- Christopher Smalls idea of the meta-narrative
of Western culture (i.e., a situation that is
disturbed and then, somehow, reaches equilibrium) - is it possible for you experience these pieces
(in whole or in part) as dramatic narratives? - if so, can you somehow describe the plot of
the narratives? - are the plots the same or different?
- if different, how are they different?
- do the plots have anything at all to do with
traditional Western concepts of masculinity and
femininity? - do you have any thoughts or opinions about
Smalls theory?