Music Question Thread

[angewina_naguen]

Hello,

How do I distinguish between a theme and a motif?
Also, what do I look out for when the question asks for "treatment of thematic material"?

Thanks in advance!

Hey, svnflower!

Good question A motif is a musical phrase that recurs throughout a piece of music. A theme is also a type of motif but it is usually longer in length (not a hard rule but it's usually a clear phrase) and serves a key role in the music (usually developed, repeated, transformed etc.). If you have a listen to the second movement of Haydn's Symphony No.94, it has a themes and variations form. You have the theme first played through and then different versions of it (off the top of my head, there's a minor version, one with a counter melody in the violins and a semiquaver variation in no particular order).

Whenever you have a question on the "treatment of thematic material", you should firstly identify what the theme or themes of the work are. Your next aim is to trace it in the structure of the music and how it appears each time. Ask yourself whether it is a direct repetition or if it has been transformed or developed in some way. Some examples include having it played on a different instrument, having a slower tempo, being varied with staccato and so forth. Your final point in the response should be on how the treatment of the thematic material creates unity, contrast, variety and/or interest in the work (depending on the question you get) for the listener. Hope that helps! 

Angelina 

[svnflower]

Hi!!

I often look out for accidentals but still have trouble identifying the tonality and modulations that occur in a piece. Are there any tips and tricks to identifying the key?

[angewina_naguen]

Hi!!

I often look out for accidentals but still have trouble identifying the tonality and modulations that occur in a piece. Are there any tips and tricks to identifying the key?

Hey, svnflower!

Knowing your key signatures (and whether it changes at any point in the music) is really crucial in figuring out what the key is. If you can identify what the two possible keys are, you can narrow it down and figure out which one it is based on the aural excerpt you have been provided (does it sound "happy or sad"?) OR to look at the starting or ending note (musical works typically start or end with the tonic so if you see a key signature with 4 sharps and C# minor is the beginning, ending or feels like the "home" note, it's more than likely in C# minor). This diagram that I found in Britannica can help you memorise the different key signatures! You can practise this by sight-reading scores and trying to identify what key it is in. You can also tell when there's been a modulation if the score itself has marked that there is a new key signature or if there have been consistent accidentals that suggest a different key. For example, you might be in F major but you start to see E flats being used and more leading note-tonic action so perhaps your new key area might be B flat major instead 

There are also always exceptions. The composer might try to destabilise any sense of tonality and go from atonality instead. In this situation, you would need to mention in your response that although there is a certain key signature provided, the use of other accidentals that are used in the music might be there to play around with the perception of a clear tonality. If none of this makes sense, feel free to ask follow up questions because it's all super complex but hopefully that helps in some way!

Angelina 

[svnflower]

110% makes sense, I'll examine more scores using your advicee. Thankyou so much!!

I've got a few more questions--

With a question like "How have the concepts of music been manipulated", is this simply asking for a discussion and analysis of the music concepts in our chosen piece?

Also, what do the plus signs, circles above the notes and the i's and j's below the notes indicate? (in the attachment)

[angewina_naguen]

110% makes sense, I'll examine more scores using your advicee. Thankyou so much!!

I've got a few more questions--

With a question like "How have the concepts of music been manipulated", is this simply asking for a discussion and analysis of the music concepts in our chosen piece?

Also, what do the plus signs, circles above the notes and the i's and j's below the notes indicate? (in the attachment)

Hey again!

That's exactly what you need to do for a question asking more generally about the concepts of music. To structure your response, you might want to look at two concepts per body paragraph and how they work together in the piece. For example, you might pair up texture with pitch since you can talk about the layers of music and how range/register shapes the motion of parts involved in it. As another example, you could combine dynamic and expressive techniques with tone colour in a discussion since they usually affect one another. This can help you have some more structure and integrate the concepts, rather than just listing how each concept operates in the piece in a long list of a response.

As for those symbols, I believe the plus signs and circles are marked for when horned instruments use the plunger. The plus signs are for when the player presses the plunger and circles indicate for the player to lift it. Any symbols like these mean different things depending on the instrument and when the composition was made. For example, the circle sign usually means in contemporary music for strings to play natural harmonics and in Baroque music, the plus sign often suggests a trill. If you are ever unsure, you can refer to them in your responses as "extended techniques" and/or describe the sound quality to the best of your ability  Hope that helps!

Angelina 

[svnflower]

Thanks heaps Angelina!   

[Fluffysama_]

hello! I have an aural exam coming up and have been finding sample answers to be pretty insightful, however I can only find

https://arc.nesa.nsw.edu.au/standards-packs/SP01_15290/
 
this site which has sample answers for past papers and only the 2001-2002 ones but they have like 3 example responses for each question which is quite good, has anyone found more sample answers somewhere else? Also, been reading the marking notes from nesa for aural here

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/3a8e6873-10b1-45d3-b97a-74d72a7c784e/music-1-hsc-notes-2002.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-3a8e6873-10b1-45d3-b97a-74d72a7c784e-nbDp1l7

it gives a brief breakdown on what the key points of the exerpt is which is still very good

Also, I'm not sure how to approach questions about structure, like laying out the exerpt's structure and then I label it and also state what I think it is in, binary etc and then I sort of just compare and contrast like section A with B whats different and similar ? not sure if this is the way to hit the mark ?
a question i did was "describe the structure of the excerpt ahahha
thanks!
ps: would appreciate any tips! I've read Jamon's article was really spicyyy n very helpful

[Fluffysama_]

hello! I have an aural exam coming up and have been finding sample answers to be pretty insightful, however I can only find

https://arc.nesa.nsw.edu.au/standards-packs/SP01_15290/
 
this site which has sample answers for past papers and only the 2001-2002 ones but they have like 3 example responses for each question which is quite good, has anyone found more sample answers somewhere else? Also, been reading the marking notes from nesa for aural here

https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/3a8e6873-10b1-45d3-b97a-74d72a7c784e/music-1-hsc-notes-2002.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-3a8e6873-10b1-45d3-b97a-74d72a7c784e-nbDp1l7

it gives a brief breakdown on what the key points of the exerpt is which is still very good

Also, I'm not sure how to approach questions about structure, like laying out the exerpt's structure and then I label it and also state what I think it is in, binary etc and then I sort of just compare and contrast like section A with B whats different and similar ? not sure if this is the way to hit the mark ?
a question i did was "describe the structure of the excerpt ahahha
thanks!
ps: would appreciate any tips! I've read Jamon's article was really spicyyy n very helpful

oh and just say katie's vid excited to watch, oop

[Fluffysama_]

Hi!!

I often look out for accidentals but still have trouble identifying the tonality and modulations that occur in a piece. Are there any tips and tricks to identifying the key?

Hey! I have the same problem and was hoping someone could also pls kindly help, for aurals not for score analysis though

 I've hit a hurdle with modulation?? and like modes in general, everyone in class started discussing dorian, frugian/ phrydian ?? modes etc in class before and I fully could not understand a thing, most of them have done music since year 7 and I literally don't know whats going on, I feel like I don't have to know this to do well but like the more you know the better I guess, from what I got, they are just scales with different properties and like they all start on different notes? please lmk if you can help with this

 For key changes I can only hear key changes when they are super drastic like from major to minor etc (oft it do be spicy with cadences hashdha)  but like not so much when they are in the middle of the piece, is practice the way to go and just more practice will help me distinguish between key changes? I don't tend to pick it up

thankyou!

[angewina_naguen]

Hey! I have the same problem and was hoping someone could also pls kindly help, for aurals not for score analysis though

 I've hit a hurdle with modulation?? and like modes in general, everyone in class started discussing dorian, frugian/ phrydian ?? modes etc in class before and I fully could not understand a thing, most of them have done music since year 7 and I literally don't know whats going on, I feel like I don't have to know this to do well but like the more you know the better I guess, from what I got, they are just scales with different properties and like they all start on different notes? please lmk if you can help with this

 For key changes I can only hear key changes when they are super drastic like from major to minor etc (oft it do be spicy with cadences hashdha)  but like not so much when they are in the middle of the piece, is practice the way to go and just more practice will help me distinguish between key changes? I don't tend to pick it up

thankyou!

Hey, Fluffysama_!

Great questions Firstly with modes, I personally don't think they're that important for Music 1. You might discuss modes in relation to pitch as a concept if you were comfortable with it and able to identify it aurally but NESA wouldn't ask a specific question on modes in the HSC. If you wanted to learn about this, this video I've embedded below is a great way of conceptualising the modes and illustrating how they operate using repertoire examples 

As for key changes, I really struggle with this myself when it comes to music that does a fairly good job at disguising it. Many classical symphonies modulate from the tonic to the dominant as a typical pattern of tonal movement but I can't tell unless I have a score with me because aurally, I have problems with hearing it. Usually, the key changes that can be picked up most easily are those that move up chromatically and that's signalled with the feeling of the song "lifting." A really good example is Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror because it does this at the end of one of the choruses on the word "change" which is quite clever. Otherwise, it's a matter of listening to different songs and asking yourself whether you can sense a shift in tonality. The more practice, the better you get at it! Sorry I couldn't explain it better but here are some awesome videos that might also help! Let me know if you have any follow up questions though and I'll try my best make it clearer!

Angelina 

[katie,rinos]

Hey! I have the same problem and was hoping someone could also pls kindly help, for aurals not for score analysis though

 I've hit a hurdle with modulation?? and like modes in general, everyone in class started discussing dorian, frugian/ phrydian ?? modes etc in class before and I fully could not understand a thing, most of them have done music since year 7 and I literally don't know whats going on, I feel like I don't have to know this to do well but like the more you know the better I guess, from what I got, they are just scales with different properties and like they all start on different notes? please lmk if you can help with this

 For key changes I can only hear key changes when they are super drastic like from major to minor etc (oft it do be spicy with cadences hashdha)  but like not so much when they are in the middle of the piece, is practice the way to go and just more practice will help me distinguish between key changes? I don't tend to pick it up

thankyou!

Hey,

I also definitely agree you don't need to know modes for Music 1. I didn't know them in year 12 and only really learnt them in 2nd year uni (still wouldn't be able to tell you any details off the top of my head). It's amazing if you can identify a piece is modal but it won't be required at all!! I find modulations and key changes really difficult as well!

If you want to know a little bit more about how to identify modal scales this is a diagram we made in one of my uni theory course (but keep in mind you don't need to memorise or know this at all!):

Identifying modes diagram

Hope this helps! 

[svnflower]

Hello

For music compositions, is it necessary to have program notes? If so, what things do we need to include? e.g. do we need to state the length of our composition and do we need to include a short summary/story/influences of our composition?

[jamonwindeyer]

Hello

For music compositions, is it necessary to have program notes? If so, what things do we need to include? e.g. do we need to state the length of our composition and do we need to include a short summary/story/influences of our composition?

Hey! To my understanding only the composition and associated scores/notations are actually marked, but you still need accompanying program notes/progress journal as proof the composition is yours (NESA can request to see these if needed). It's also just good practice in composition (even if it is a bit of a pain...).

^ That's my understanding, if anyone reads this and thinks I'm wrong do correct me!

[svnflower]

  Thankyou Jamon!!

[svnflower]

Hello,

Can a recurring single note throughout a piece be considered a motif? Also can contemporary expressive techniques that are repeatedly used throughout a piece be a motif?

If there is a lack of motifs in a piece, how can we justify this in our response if the question is in relation to "motivic development"?