Lesson 6

The focus of this lesson is to discuss the different styles of music.  This could include discussing the qualities and history of specific music styles, or perhaps discussing famous musicians.

Supplies Needed:

1. Computer with speakers

 

Example of Qualities of Music with Classical Music

Since I am a classical musician, I decided to give an example of an explanation of a music style’s history and primary qualities by playing a classical piece.  Depending on your area of expertise, you may wish to change this section to a different music style.  I have included the example I gave below:

​

Wagner, Ride of the Valkyries (it is a little long, so only play the first couple of minutes)

​

This is a good example of the type of music a symphony orchestra might play.  The strings trade the melody with the brass section, but there’s a defined theme.  There’s abrupt and drastic changes in the dynamics, or volume.  Everything is basically boxed into each measure, and there is not really any improvisation.  This makes sense since it would be hard to improvise with a hundred people in an orchestra.  If you note the instruments being used, there are strings, wind, brass, and percussion.  This is typical of a classical symphony orchestra.

 

In terms of the history of classical music, it developed over a period of several hundred years, from the Renaissance to the end of the 19th Century.  Some of the music was religious, but a lot of it was secular.  Most of the instruments used were either invented during the Renaissance or developed over time from instruments created during the Renaissance.  Typical music forms include the concerto, in which a soloist performs with an orchestra playing an accompaniment, and a symphony, in which no one person has the melody all the time like a concerto, but instead it is shifted around to the different sections of the orchestra.

​

You would typically hear classical music today if you went to an opera, a ballet, or a performance by a philharmonic orchestra.

 

Other Music Forms

Here are some samples of music styles that I used to start discussions with the seniors.  I focused on the qualities of the different styles, but as I said before, you may wish to focus more on the audience’s memories of the music styles and the famous composers and pieces. Click the links under the names of the music styles for recordings:

 

Jazz (play until vocals start)

Characteristics:

• Soloist is given a lot of room for improvisation

• Drum rhythm is syncopated/swing rhythm

• Typical instruments: trumpet, saxophone, piano, drums

 

History:

• Started in New Orleans by African Americans in the late 19th century

• Combines African-American music with European styles

• Throughout its evolution, it became so diverse that it’s now hard to define – many subsets

 

Blues -- start 18:56

Characteristics:

• AAB pattern (1st line lyrics repeat)

• Often has a “Sad” feeling – lyrics describe hardship (e.g. in the song, the man is describing conditions during a flood)

• Used to tell a story

• A lot of the time, involves vocal music

 

History:

• Started mid-to-late 19th century by African Americans in the deep South

• Had a large influence on the development of jazz music

 

Folk

Characteristics:

• Very diverse music style, really refers to any music type performed by a particular community

• Typically includes some event/tradition of cultural importance

• Sung words, not usually just instrumental (this makes it different from classical and jazz)

• Typical instruments: guitar, vocals, traditional instruments

 

History:

• Transmitted through oral tradition – not written down like classical music, but not really improvised like jazz

• Common in many cultures – characteristics vary greatly depending on what country the music is from

  • E.g. Irish music is very different from Chinese music

  • Ask them if there’s any specific music they would consider “folk music” that they heard as kids

 

Ragtime

Characteristics:

• Syncopated (“ragged”) rhythm

• Piano typically plays it

• Written sheet music (almost like scripted improvisation – sounds improvised, but it is written beforehand)

 

History:

• Originated from late 19th century jigs and marches

• Famous ragtime composers: Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb, James Scott

• The first music style to put the syncopated/improvised-sounding style onto paper (since jazz is largely not scripted)

• Popular before jazz, then lost popularity as jazz became more popular

 

Big Band

Characteristics:

• Instruments: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, drums, bass, guitars

• More written-out than music for smaller jazz groups

• Call-and-response was a common pattern in this type of music

 

History:

• Developed in the early 20th century as a form of jazz music, in which there were many instruments (12-25 people) playing together rather than just a couple of people

• Strings were common at first, then they dropped out in favor of brass instruments

• Swing music was one form of band music

• Upbeat band music helped lift morale during World War II