Category: Uncategorized

Silent Films interest me because it is up to the audience to interpret it. Of course there is a plot that these actors and actresses were following but there are no descriptions from the characters about what is happening in each scene. Instead it is kind of up to the audience to take in what they see in each scene and interpret in whatever way they are thinking about. Movies today don’t really work like that because we are paying attention to what the actors and actresses are saying instead of taking in the whole scene and depicting it as the audience sees fit.

I think what made the collaboration between Williams and Lucas work so well was that they respected each other. They both respected the final product of work that both of them did. Lucas thought that Williams’ work was able take his movies to the next level. Another reason why they worked so well with each other is that Lucas knew that the music Williams provided was going to be exactly what the movie needed. Many other filmmakers not including Lucas, gave praise to Williams and his body of work.

Fanfare for the Common Man
Aaron Copland
Fanfare
I chose this piece because it was the first piece that we really went over in this class and I felt like it is a good introduction to learning about western classical music or just music in general.

Piano Trio in G Major
Joseph Haydn
Classical
I chose this piece because the piano is probably my all time favorite instrument and I thought this trio with a piano, cello and violin is a great pairing that produces an amazing sound.

Rhapsody in Blue
George Gershwin
Jazz
I chose this piece because it was my favorite that we covered in this class. I really enjoy how the tempo is constantly changing throughout the song. It starts off slow, picks up pace, slows down again. It continues to do that throughout. Overall I just really enjoyed this song.

Clarinet Concerto
Wolfgang Mozart
Woodwind
I chose this piece because it was one of my favorites from Mozart that we covered during this class. I never really listened to the clarinet that much before this class but it has became one of my preferred instruments to listen to.

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Classical
I chose this piece because I thought it was a great representation of a symphony. I also chose this piece because it reminded me of film scores. To me the beginning sounded like the music from star wars.

Ancient Voices of Children
George Crumb
Classical
I chose this piece because I thought that it represented vocal music well. I also picked this piece because it is nothing like I have ever heard before. The chant like melodies are something that I wasn’t familiar with.

Tosca Opera
Giacomo Puccini
Opera – Classical
I chose this opera because of the assignment we did. That assignment was the first time I really focused on the parts of an opera and what each character was trying to portray. I just thought it was a great example of an Opera and I enjoyed it.

The Firebird (1909)
Igor Stravinsky
Ballet Russes
I chose this piece because the combination of the full orchestra and the visual effects was extremely intriguing.

The Planets (1914)
Gustav Holst
Orchestra – Classical
I chose this piece because not only because of the orchestra performance but because I thought it was extremely interesting that somebody composed an orchestra based on the planets in the solar system.

Coco Bongo
From the movie: The Mask
Jazz
I chose this piece because I thought it was a great example of source music from this module and The Mask is one of my all time favorites.

Here’s another example of source music that I found from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

For the most part it seemed like the majority of plots started off with some type of calmness. The calmness then led into some type of struggle or a chase occurred. After that it seemed like most of the plots ended with some type of solution. A couple of plots, mine included, involved some type of thievery. I thought all the plots were different in their own ways but they all kind of resembled a similar plot set up.

One of my favorite movies is Guardians of the Galaxy. This was one of the first songs that popped into my head when I saw this notebook recommendation. In this scene, the song they used is hooked on feeling by Blue Swede. I thought this was pretty unique because they use a kind of happy/upbeat song during a scene when the guardians are prisoners and basically getting tortured.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i2oUp5fAQw

Source music – music in a drama that is part of the fictional setting and so, presumably, is heard by the characters

Underscore – is the playing of music quietly under spoken dialogue or a visual scene

Click track – is a series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings, sometimes for synchronization to a moving image

Composers – John Williams, Alexandre Desplat, Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino, Bernard Herrmann, Hans Zimmer

Ballet – an integrated form, combining music and dance in a dramatic depiction

Ballet Russe – an itinerant ballet company based in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929.

Impresario – a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas

Program Music – creates a musical interpretation of a story through music alone. Sometimes programmatic compositions follow a specific plot, and at other times may only be a loose representation of a general concept.

Symphonic / Tone Poem- a one-movement work whose primary purpose is to tell a story

Absolute Music – instrumental music composed purely as music, and not intended to represent or illustrate something else

Composers: Peter Ilytch Tchaikovsky , Igor Stravinsky Sergei Prokofiev, Martha Graham , Aaron Copland , Rimsky-Korsakov

I found this article very interesting to read and thought I would share. It’s so interesting to me how they can take almost any struggle or success in life and somehow turn it into an amazing opera. In this case they were able to show the negative effects of racism and hazing.

Soldier’s Story Turned into an Opera

Baroque Opera – logical extension of the popular songs that had gained popularity during the late renaissance.

Opera – a staged musical drama incorporating song and dialogue. In its earliest form, standard practices developed. The story lines were often based on Greek mythology or tragedy.

Recitative – short and clear, sung in a “recited” style over subtle, accompanying chords sounded in the basso continuo. It serves as a brief introduction to the aria

Aria – a long, accompanied song for a solo voice, a virtuoso showcase for our star performer.

Oratorio – an extended musical setting of a text usually based on scriptures drawn from classical literature, epic poetry, etc.

Word Painting – musical technique of composing music that reflects the literal meaning of a song’s lyrics

Tragedy – a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

Verismo Opera – based on truth or reality, these operas might reflect the political struggles of a nation or the obstacles faced in a bad economy