Everything you'll need to ace the GCSE Music exam- from set works right the way down to genre, melody, contextual points, sheet music, music technology etc. Everything that can come up in the exam is covered in this comprehensive guide!
Romanticism – an artistic movement in Europe, between c.1800-1900 in which the artist was
more concerned with feelings and emotions than with form
Longer melody lines
7ths, 9ths, 11ths feature in the music
Chromatic harmony and discordant to portray strong emotions such as grief and anguish
Strong and varied dynamic contrast (pppp-ffff)
Rise of the virtuoso performer
Development of the piano
It was reshaped and enlarged to create greater sound
Number of notes increased to give seven octaves = greater pitch range for musical expression
Longer and stronger strings to cope with increased tensions
Sustaining and soft pedals were developed
Rise of the virtuoso performer
Came from an increased level of demand in the music
Prelude as a form
A prelude is a brief opening piece that sets a particular mood and is linked to a following fugue in
the same key. We expect a prelude to be followed by something else! However, the 24 Chopin
pieces are all stand-alone preludes each in a different major and minor key depicting a specific
idea or emotion.
Ternary Structure
ABA + Codetta (it is loosely in ternary form) The three sections are unbalanced with Section B
lasting the longest with 47 bars
Recognition of the themes
Section A (1-27) Main tune characterised by the falling motif F-Db-Ab (falling raindrops)
Phrase ends with a perfect cadence and ornamentation
Section B – lengthy and dramatic central section lasts for over half the total length of the piece
Melodic interest is in the left hand with relentless G#s in the right hand – in section A these were
light notes symbolic of gently falling raindrops, but in the middle section the mood of the storm
gives the repeated notes a more insistent quality.
Homophonic throughout this section
Section A reprise - short restatement of the opening section
Codetta Forte top Bb (highest note in the piece) and ends pianissimo with a perfect cadence
, Mozart
The Classical Orchestra
Included a standard woodwind and brass section as well as strings and timpani
No harpsichord
Instrumentation
Violins, violas, cellos, double basses, 1 flute, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 French horns
Does not use trumpets or drums
Sonata form
Sonata form is the first movement of a Symphony
Fast tempo
3 sections – Exposition, development and recapitulation NO INTRO!
Recognition of the subjects
1st subject – bars 1-3 – a repeated idea followed with an upward leap of a sixth
2nd subject – Much more relaxed in relative major and shared between strings and woodwind.
Semitonal chromatic descent
4/4 time
Classical Harmony
Harmony was functional – I, IV, V and VI
Contrast – melodies, key signatures and dynamics
Musical devices
Sequences
Repetition
Features of Classical Music
Structured with a sense of symmetry
Clear-cut schemes with regular cadences
Ideas or contrast – key, dynamics, melodies
Melody-dominated texture
Intervals between parts
Violins play the melody (first subject) in octaves
Violas are playing accompaniment in 3rds and then 6ths at the beginning
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