Some Principles of Design IN MUSIC Some PRINCIPLES

Some Principles of Design IN MUSIC

Some PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN REPETITION VARIATION CONTRAST BALANCE – symmetry/asymmetry EMPHASIS - accent ECONOMY PROPORTION SCALE

Eadweard Muybridge, photographer

Repetition/Variation in Music Small-scale repetition creates a sense of pulse, rhythm and meter Motific repetition is used to build phrases Repetition of group of notes is a pattern called an ostinato Large-scale repetition creates FORM

within the phrase REPETITION EXTREME MODERATE RARE phrases repeated immediately Immediate Sectional an idea returns after contrasting sections Large-scale

Some repetition in music PHILIP GLASS EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH (an opera)

REPETITION Immediate EXTREME MODERATE RARE Sectional Large-scale

CAILLEBOTTE, Gustave Paris: A Rainy D ay, 1877, Oil on canvas, 83 1/2 x 108 3/4"

Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 1 ST movement The motif is immediately repeated and varied – the music is built with this motif (aka motive) This section of music will return a minute later and then a couple of minutes later – large-scale, sectional repetition

Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 1 ST movement REPETITION Immediate EXTREME MODERATE (usual) RARE Sectional Large-scale some; not exact yes MOTIFIC

Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 3 rd movement • each section is repeated • the first 2 sections return after a contrasting section • General form (design) is ABA • Specifically, it is aabbccddab (does anyone listen that way? ) Based on dance music, but it is not dance music • triple meter

Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor, 3 rd movement REPETITION Immediate Sectional Large-scale EXTREME Yes MODERATE Some RARE Melodic shapes and evolution; rhythmic patterns

CONTRAST

Thelonious Monk, Epistrophy c. 1948, recorded 1957 -58. (From the CD Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane. A photograph of Thelonious Monk, with a stupid caption, appears on p. 23 of the textbook. ) This example demonstrates repetition at three levels “statement, departure, return” at multiple levels contour sequence

FORM The simplest form is unvaried repetition: AAAA. . . A complete lack of repetition creates a complex form: ABCDEFGHI. . . But many forms depend on the sense of STATEMENT, DEPARTURE and RETURN: ABA

Song Forms Verse-refrain (ABABAB). . . - Ex. The Jovial Tradesmen AABA – very standard. Actually, it is abab. Cab; verse-refrain-bridge-verse-refrain (“refrain” is also known as “chorus”). The statement-departure-return (or statement-contrast) structure works at two different levels, abab and the larger AABA. The text varies (usually) only on the verse: text: v 1 – r – v 2 – r – bridge – v 3 – r music: a – b – a – bridge – a – b

Earth, Wind & Fire, Fantasy (1977) Maurice White, Eddie del Barrio & Verdine White Every man has a place, in his heart there's a space, and the world can't erase his fantasies Take a ride in the sky, on our ship fantasii all your dreams will come true, right away Every thought is a dream, rushing by in a stream, bringing life to our kingdom of doing And we will live together, until the twelfth of never Take a ride in the sky, on our ship fantasii our voices will ring forever, as one all your dreams will come true, miles away Our voices will ring together until the twelfth of never, we all, will live forever, as one

Earth, Wind & Fire, Fantasy (1977) Come to see, victory, in the land called fantasy loving life, a new decree, and as you stay for the play, fantasy, has in store for you, bring your mind to everlasting liberty a glowing light will see you through Come to see, victory in a land called fantasy, It's your day, shining day, all your dreams come true loving life, for you and me, to behold, to your soul is ecstasy As you glide, in your stride with the wind, as you fly away You will find, other kind, that has been in search for you, give a smile, from your lips, and say many lives has brought you to I am free, yes I'm free, now I'm on my way recognize it's your life, now in review Come to see, victory in a land called fantasy, loving life, . . . now in review

MUSICAL FORM: So what? Expectations confirmed: SATISFACTION! (clichéd, boring, too predictable) Expectations denied: EXPRESSION! (meaningless, wrong, incompetent)

Other Forms We will encounter many types of forms such as: Variation – A A’A’’A’’’ . . . Binary – AABB Rondo – ABACA Sonata – intro-A-B-dev-A-B’-coda and an entire zoo of forms perhaps not entirely worth cataloging.

CONTRAST IN MUSIC Mozart -- first movement from Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385, "Haffner" LOW/HIGH (contrast in register) LONG/SHORT Contrast in timbre (sound color): Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (also contrast in dynamics – loud and soft)

BALANCE symmetry E Q U I L I B R I U M

Assymetical balance in music? A concerto sets a soloist or small group of soloists “against” an orchestra

EMPHASIS accent

ECONOMY limitation of a composition to a few essential elements; usually a voluntary constraint that is part of the creative process SPECIFIC TO AN INDIVIDUAL WORK, NOT THE GENRE , TYPE OR MEDIUM Examples in music: deriving everything from a single theme (musical idea), limiting the number of pitches, type of instrument, etc. Steve Reich, Music for Pieces of Wood, Clapping Music, or other pieces DC Meckler, Bliss (1999) Morton Feldman, Three Voices (1982)

ECONOMY – very little suggests a lot Picasso, Femme

PROPORTION

Shahn, Ben, Vacant Lot, 1939 Watercolor and gouache on paper mounted on plywood panel, 19 x 23 in

Proportion in music A matter of time, usually lots of time. Example: 3 Beethoven string quartets (Op 59, 1, 2 & 3). Each in 4 movements. No. 1 – BIG 1 st mvt No. 2 – nervous 1 st mvt, BIG 2 nd mvt No. 3 – BIG finale (4 th mvt)

SCALE - the size of a work compared to the environment: miniature, human, monumental. The term can also apply to musical works, although it has an entirely different meaning than “musical scale. ” (“A symphony is a large-scale musical work when compared to a song. ”)

Claes Oldenburg, Knife Ship I, 1985 Vinyl-covered wood, steel, and aluminum with motors, dimensions variable, maximum height 31 feet 8 inches x 40 feet 5 inches x 31 feet 6 inches.

Miniature Leaf from Futuh al-Haramain (Description of the Two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina), mid -16 th century; Ottoman, 8 x 5 in.

a bit bigger. . .

Some examples of time scales in music Less than a minute - Miniatures – Chopin, Webern, Schoenberg Pop songs – 3 -6 minutes Early symphonies – 25 -35 minutes Later symphonies – 45 min - 1 hr Longest – Mahler – 1 ½ hrs Short opera – 2 hours Average opera – 3 -4 hours (including intermissions) Long opera – 5 hours Longest traditional opera – Wagner’s RING – 18 hours

Some PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN REPETITION VARIATION CONTRAST BALANCE – symmetry/asymmetry EMPHASIS - accent ECONOMY PROPORTION SCALE

Monk, Epistrophy repetition at three levels a a b b a'a'b'b' a a b b c c' c'' d d' a'a'b'b' (The little mark indicates some degree of variation. ) Three levels of repetition: small-scale (motific) – aa phrase level – a a b b compared to a'a'b'b' sectional – the return of the a'a'b'b' after the bridge (c c' c'' d d')

Monk, Epistrophy “statement, departure, return” – STATEMENT: a a b b DEPARTURE: a'a'b'b' RETURN: a a b b – STATEMENT: a a b b a'a'b'b' a a b b DEPARTURE: c c' c'' d d' RETURN: a'a'b'b' (complete structure: AA’A’ABA’) – STATEMENT: AA’A’ABA’ DEPARTURE: solos – RETURN: AA’A’ABA’ A [ending]

Monk, Epistrophy contour and sequence contour – melodic analog of shape in art – a rises – b rises and falls sequence – repeating a pattern up or down a scale step or series of steps – d d’

Louis Andriessen, De Staat, (The State, 1973 -1976) Contrast in timbre (sound color): DOUBLE REEDS/BRASS/VOICES+PIANO (double reeds = woodwind instruments: oboe, English horn, bassoon)

VARIATION: the alliance between repetition and surprise The extensive poem, moreover, satisfies another twofold requirement, one that is closely related to the rule of variety within unity: repetition and surprise. Repetition is a cardinal principal in poetry. Meter and its accents, rhyme, the epithets in Homer and other poets, phrases and incidents that recur like musical motifs and serve as signs to emphasize continuity. At the other extreme are breaks, changes, inventions - in a word, the unexpected. What we call development is merely the alliance between repetition and surprise, recurrence and invention, continuity and interruption. Octavio Paz, “Telling and Singing” in The Other Voice

CONTRAST IN MUSIC Mozart -- first movement from Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385, "Haffner" LOW/HIGH (contrast in register) LONG/SHORT Contrast in timbre (sound color): Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (also contrast in dynamics – loud and soft)