Music Appreciation
Part 1
150 words
Please watch the embedded YouTube videos entitled “John Cage about silence” and “John Cage – Branches” before completing this discussion board. In your opinion, what characteristics differentiate sounds from music? Does music have to be pleasing? Is an element of human organization necessary for something to be called music? Do you agree, or disagree with the thoughts of the composer John Cage, and would you consider his piece
Branches music? This all leads to the very important question: in your opinion, what is the function of music? Please elaborate in a post giving
YOUR
opinion to this question, regardless of what you think the textbook would say. You can find the videos on youtube.
Part 2
150 words
Identify the characteristic differences in music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, specifically through the Elements of Music. Listen to Palestrina’s
Pope Marcellus Mass
, and Handel’s
Messiah, “Rejoice Greatly”
. Then identify and post responses to how the two pieces mentioned differ using the following metrics: rhythm, harmony, texture, medium, genre, stylistic era, composer, date, and title.
Part 3
150 words
Before listening to the aria, recitative and trio from the end of Act I of
The Marriage of Figaro, review the characters and the scenario (Chapter 32). Take note of the stylistic differences in the music for Cherubino, Susanna, and the Count. Given the roles of these characters and the situation they are now in, how does Mozart use musical elements (from Module 1) to express the nature of the scene? How does the music cue a comic/serious event or character? What role does the orchestra play? Are the instrumentalists simply providing background music, or are they also participating in the events that are unfolding? How does the instrumentation differ between the three different sections (aria/recitative/trio), and how does the changing instrumentation impact the scenes overall?
Part 4
150 words
The Discussion Assignment Defining unified characteristics of “American” music has always been a complex issue, due to our country’s diverse and complex history. Does “American” music trace its roots back to African-American, Native-American or European musical traditions? Or to all of these, and more? The 19th Century Bohemian nationalist composer Antonín Dvořák (Chapter 39) had his own thoughts about this, and even wrote works often considered “American” (such as his “New World” Symphony and “American” String Quartet). But what makes these works American? You can find the same discrepancy if you look at popular musical styles, such as: country, hip-hop, pop, R&B, etc. We see the composers in Chapters 47-50 specifically attempting to …
