Newlands School Music Department presents…

TextureYear 8

KS3 Unit 6

Target from last topic:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………….........

What is Texture?

However, there is much more to it than that…

How many “strands” of sound are playing? So far we have used the descriptions “thick” and

“thin” to describe the texture of a piece of music. For example: A full orchestra playing…

...creates a thick textureJust 2 players…

…creates a thin texture

The element of texture concerns not just how many strands of sound there are, but also how these strands are organised.

Organisation of Sounds

MONOPHONIC TEXTURE

A single, unaccompanied melody

HOMOPHONIC TEXTURE

[] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] []

Each part moving together in chords, OR a single melody, accompanied by chords

POLYPHONIC TEXTURE

2 or more independent melodies, interweaving and overlapping

HETEROPHONIC TEXTURE

2 parts playing the same basic melody, but one of them more “decorated” with extra notes.

WHICH OF THESE TEXTURES DID YOUR RECENT PROGRAMMATIC COMPOSITION HAVE?

Year 8 Texture Listening Task

2. Match the textures to their notated example:

POLYPHONIC a)

HETEROPHONIC b)

MONOPHONIC c)

HOMOPHONIC d)

Extract 1 – “Under Pressure” by Queen1) Circle the word best that best describes the texture of this extract? (1)

Monophonic Polyphonic HomophonicHeterophonic

Extract 2 – “The Lamb” by Taverner1) Which word best describes the texture of this extract? (1)

Monophonic Polyphonic HomophonicHeterophonic

Extract 3 – “Harold in Italy, mvt III” by Berlioz1) Which word best describes the texture of this extract? (1)

Monophonic Polyphonic HomophonicHeterophonic

Extract 4 – “On the Waterfront” by Bernstein1) Which word best describes the texture of this extract? (1)

Monophonic Polyphonic HomophonicHeterophonic

Three Polyphonic Pieces Listening

Piece 1 – Kanon by Pachelbel (c.1680)

1. What family of the orchestra plays this piece? (1)________________________

2. Describe the role of the bass part of this piece. (2)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. For what type of occasion do you think this piece was written? Give one musical feature which led you to your choice. (2)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Piece 2 – Beat Again by JLS (2009)

1. How do you think this piece of music has been created? What equipment have they used? (1)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. If you were to perform this live, which instruments/equipment in the Music Department could recreate the sounds you need? (2)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. For what type of occasion do you think this piece was written? Give one musical feature which led you to your choice. (2)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Piece 3 – Jumpin’ at the Woodside – Count Basie (1938) – First 23 seconds only.

1. List 3 instruments you can hear in this piece. (3)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the name given to this style of music? (1)________________________________

3. For what type of occasion do you think this piece was written? Give one musical feature which led you to your choice. (2)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Task

ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE TASK

In groups of approx. 4, prepare a performance of 1 of the following pieces: Kanon by Pachelbel (c.1680); Beat Again by JLS (2009) or Jumpin at the Woodside by Count Basie (1938)

PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES

AO1 – TechniqueMARK DESCRIPTION SELF TEACHE

R1 – 2 Insecure technical control. The music

is beyond the current ability of the performer

3 – 4 Basic technical control. Generally secure and comfortably within the ability of the performer

5 - 6 Convincing technical control. Music is within the ability of the performer. Good sense of contrast.

AO2 – Expression and InterpretationMAR

KDESCRIPTION SELF TEACHE

R1 – 2 Inconsistent tempo. Little dynamic

contrast or attempt at phrasing. Limited communication

3 – 4 Tempo inconsistent in places. Some dynamics and phrasing present. Sense of communication on occasions

5 - 6 Consistent tempo. Frequent and appropriate use of dynamics and phrasing. Convincing communication

AO3 – Accuracy and FluencyMARK DESCRIPTION SELF TEACHE

R1 – 2 Several noticeable and obtrusive

errors in pitch or rhythm. Fluency is compromised

3 – 4 Minor slips only or only 1 or 2 noticeable errors. Generally fluent and cohesive

5 - 6 Largely accurate performance throughout. Very fluent.

AO4 – Challenge and Difficulty of Individual PartMAR

KDESCRIPTION SELF TEACHE

R0 An unchallenging part. Maybe untuned

percussion or a few simple pitched notes

1 Some challenge presented by the part. Tricky rhythms or keyboard skill required

2 A challenging part. Two-hands, many accidentals or leaps, difficult rhythms

TWEET DATE TEACHER FEEDBACK MY RESPONSE

Option 1 – Kanon by Pachelbel. This piece of music was written around 1680, during the Baroque period of Music history – at a similar time to when Vivaldi wrote The Four Seasons, which you heard last term.

PARTSPart 1: Ground Bass

Other parts (NB these are in the normal treble clef):

Part 2: Main melody

Part 3

Part 4:

Part 5:

Option 2 – Beat Again by J.L.S.

Can you work out which order each part comes in? Listen to the recording!Can you hear any other parts?

All the parts are based upon a Ground Bass. The piece begins with a monophonic texture, building to a homophonic texture, and then more parts come in

gradually, repeating over the ground bass, creating an increasingly polyphonic texture as the pieces goes on. A ground bass is like a long ostinato – a bass line which repeats over and over. It helps to keep the pulse in a piece

of polyphonic music, keeping it organised. See overleaf for how to work out the notes of the bass clef, and why the bass clef is used.

C G A E F C F G

J.L.S. were runners-up in 2008’s X Factor. This track was composed in 2009. It uses lots of synthesised sounds It begins with an instrumental introduction using parts 1 – 3 (below) and a drum beat. Somebody will need to perform the vocal parts. Get the texture right – do they all sing

together, all the time?

Part 1 (Bass line)See previous page for how to read the bass clef.

NB The remaining parts are all written in the more usual treble clef.

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Option 3 – Jumpin’ at the Woodside by Count Basie and his Orchestra

This is a piece of Jazz from the 1930’s, known as Swing. It was composed in 1939 as a tribute to an American Jazz club called “The Woodside”. “Jumpin” is slang for dancing.

Rests

There are some symbols in these parts which mean silence is required.

These are called RESTS:

= ½ beat rest

= 1 beat rest

= 2 beat rest

= 4 beat rest

A 2 3 4 1 2 3 G F 2 3 4 1 2 3 G

Like Canon (Option 1), it begins with a monophonic texture (just the piano), and rapidly more parts join in building up to a very polyphonic texture.

Rhythm is everything in this piece – make sure you give extra emphasis to certain notes, as they do on the recording.

Intro part: The intro is based on a 2 bar ostinato:

Head (main section)

Part 1 (melody):

Part 2 (stab chords):

Articulation

Articulation – the way you “sound” a note - is really important in Swing.

= A note with a dot above or below means “play staccato” – short and detached.

= A note with a “dart” above or below means “accent” – play the note forcefully.

If a note has both symbols (as part 2 does), then it should really have a “stabbing” sound.

SEE THE NOTES FOR OPTION 2 ALL ABOUT REST SYMBOLS!

ASSESSMENT TASK TWEET OPPORTUNITY

TWEET DATE TEACHER FEEDBACK MY RESPONSE

PEER ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK AND REFLECTION

PEER ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK

MY REFLECTIONS ON THE FEEDBACK I RECEIVED:

1 TARGET FOR THE FUTURE: