Bach to RockWhat does a dude that lived three centuries ago really have in common with a geological object?

Let’s find out!!!

•The truth is, when you consider the progression of music from Bach to rock, you might find more common ground than you dreamed possible!

•Before we consider this progression, one question must be answered . . .

What is music?

•Before doing anything else, please define music in your own words.

Now let’s see if you were correct . .

.•Please visit dictionary.com, wikipedia.com, and a third dictionary website of your choice to look up the definition of music.

•Following each definition (or brief summary if the definition exceeds two sentences), please include one or more sentences agreeing with, or refuting, the definition.

But how can we define music

without hearing some music first?

•We can’t. Open your ears and buckle your seatbelts . . .

Because we’re off to the wonderful

world of YouTube!!!

Johann Sebastian Bach

• Please listen to Tocatta and Fugue, followed by Prelude No. 1 in C Major, and please describe each piece in your own words.

• Toccatta and Fugue in D Minor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o

• Prelude No. 1 in C Major: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdSlu06gDy8&feature=related

• It is argued sometimes that music written in major keys sounds more upbeat or “happier” than music written in minor keys, which many say sounds “sad”. Based on what you just heard, do you agree or disagree, and why?

• Do you think any factors other than the type of key affect the mood created by this music? If so, what and why?

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

• Please listen to the 1812 Overture with your eyes closed or in a dark room, and describe the moods that the piece evokes.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgunF7KbgmY and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6LY11kV444&feature=related. You must listen to both excerpts as, combined, they’re the piece.

• How does this piece differ from the two Bach pieces you just heard? How is it similar?

• Some people consider Tchaikovsky’s music to be deeper and more evocative than that of earlier composers such as Bach. Do you agree or disagree, based on the three pieces you’ve heard so far? Why? Think about your previous answer.

It’s History Time!!!

•The 1812 Overture commemorates the Battle of Borodino.

•Please briefly research and summarize (no more than 3-4 sentences) this battle using a search engine of your choice.

Time-Line Time

• Now please go to http://academics.hamilton.edu/russian/home/warandpeace/vb/, participate in the virtual tour of the battle from the Russian side, and take notes on any events you find significant.

• Please listen to the YouTube recordings again, take notes on what you hear at a minimum of five specific times, and list them on a timeline.

• Please add war events from your virtual tour that you think best match up with your five musical events.

John Cage•Contrary to popular belief, he was a

composer and not a prisoner. (ha ha)

•Please listen to 4:33 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04F22C_u658) and describe, in your own words, what you hear, as well as your reaction to the piece.

•Play this piece for a friend of yours, and describe his or her reaction. How did it compare with yours?

I’m sorry, but you’ll never get

those four minutes and thirty-three seconds of your

life back!!!

AND ALL THAT JAZZ!

•Please visit Wikipedia, dictionary.com, and one other website of your choice, and look up their definitions of improvisation. Explain it in your own words using all three definitions.

•Is jazz real music in your mind, based on these definitions?

Now let’s listen . . .•Please go on iTunes, find Miles Davis’s

Kind of Blue album, and listen to “So What” in its entirety. Very little of what you just heard was strictly notated; it was the result of the band’s live interaction.

•After listening, do you consider this form of music more, less, or equally legitimate compared to what else you’ve heard so far?

Hands-On Time• Please open a new GarageBand file and drag “So What” from your iTunes window

into the file. It should appear on the top track.

• Using the white keys, and only the white keys, on your attached MIDI keyboard (you’ll do this part in school), please record yourself improvising on top of the song.

• Start improvising when the solo trumpet comes in. Remember fast isn’t always best.

• When it starts to sound funny, switch to the black keys only. When that starts to sound funny, return to the white keys. These are where the song’s formal sections switch (we’ll learn more about that in our jazz unit next month).

• Save this file AS, give it a new title, and re-attempt your improvisation. You’ll eventually reach the point where the all white or all black key rules are unnecessary and you can mix and match based on what you hear.

• Please export both files to iTunes and burn them onto an audio CD.

Elton John’s “John-re” Blending

• Please Google search art music and popular music, and define each.

• Please share your initial opinion on whether all art music must be “classical” and whether all popular music must be “rock”.

• Please go on iTunes, search under Elton John, and listen to Funeral For a Friend, Bennie and the Jets, and Carla Etude.

• Please classify each piece as art music, popular music, or both, and justify your classifications musically. A Google search of each song’s background may help with this.

Dave Matthews Band• Please watch a live recording of “Why I Am”, as well as a live

recording of “Crush”.

• Why I Am: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN5ue-Pmebg&feature=related

• Crush: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZKXchvbED0 (Pay particular attention at 9:25)

• Please compare and contrast the two pieces from a stylistic standpoint.

• This band uses some largely “classical” instrumentation in its music. Do the saxophone, violin, and trumpet enhance or detract from the music, and are they played the same way a classical player would play them? Are they played in the same way a jazz player would play them? Is it a mix of the two playing styles, or something completely different? Is it the same or different for each of the two songs? How do you know? Please explain your findings in one or two paragraphs.

Conclusion: What is music?

•Now that we’ve toured music, and several of its elements, from Bach to Rock, please re-define music in one paragraph, and in a second paragraph, explain why your definition is or isn’t consistent for all types of music (in other words, some of what people consider to be music isn’t actually music according to your definition).

Checklist!• Original definition of music prior to any listening or research.

• Definitions of music from the three listed websites, and agreements/disagreements. Major = happy and minor = sad debate.

• Other factors that influence mood evocation by music.

• Brief description of moods evoked by the 1812 Overture.

• Differences and similarities between 1812 Overture and two Bach pieces.

• Agreement/disagreement that Tchaikovsky’s music is deeper than Bach’s.

• Summary of the Battle of Borodino

• Timeline correlating musical events of 1812 Overture with war events.

• Description of, and reaction to, 4:33.

• A friend’s reaction to 4:33 and comparison to yours.

Checklist (ctd.)• Definition of improvisation.

• Answer to “is jazz real music” question.

• Answer to above question after sampling “So What”.

• CD with two improvised solos over “So What”.

• Definitions of art music and popular music.

• Justifications (or not) of all art music being classical and all popular music being rock.

• Classifications of three Elton John pieces.

• Comparison of two Dave Matthews Band pieces.

• One or two paragraphs on use of “classical” instruments in rock music.

• “Informed” definition of what music is, and whether or not all “music” is music.