Samba Batucada

Instruments used in African performance:

Timpani               Congo’s

Snare Drums        Cajon

Cow bells             Bongos

Guiro                    Bongos

Shakers                 Piccolo snare drum

Ago-go Bell

Composure & Performance:

Our class formed a percussion ensemble and performed an arrangement of the Samba Batucada at Musicale. We started practice numerous weeks before the actual performance and found that it changed each lesson we practiced it adding dynamics and different instruments to alter the overall tonal quality of the piece. The instruments used were all indefinite pitch creating no more than one sound although it could be altered through dynamics and how you hit the instrument as we soon found out after a bit of practice.

Social & Historical Context

Music of Argentina

Mostly known for its tangos, the tango arose in the brothels, bars and port areas of Buenos Aires, where waves of Europeans poured into the country mixing various forms of music. The result, tango, came about as a fusion of disparate influences including:

• Old Milonga - songs of the rural gauchos.
• Habanera - Cuban music.
• Polka and Mazurka - Slavic music.
• Contradanse - Spanish music.
• Flamenco - from Andalucia.
• Italian folk music.

 Buenos Aires (A):

An Orquesta Típica generally plays the tango and comprises a string section (with violins, viola, and cello), a bandoneón section (with 3 or more bandoneons) and a rhythmic section (with piano, and double bass).

The music usually accompanies the Argentine tango which is a social dance, written in 4/4 measure and with binary musical form. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments like the bandoneón.

Argentina - Tango

Analysis:

Duration:
4/4 time that is played with and streched by the bandoneón.
Piano is using syncopation thorughout the piece
repeatitive patterns include the Bandoneon's jumping though the piece and the strings main melodic line.
Tempo is moderately fast (andante) fromg begining to end with slight changes in the middle of the piece where it gets slower (rubarto).
Strong steady beats are carried out by the piano and the Bandoneon on beats 1 and 3.

Pitch:
Melody is carried out by the Bandoneon, and accompanied by the strings and piano
Melodic range is wide, with riffs occuring as the structure is A-B-A.
Leaps are used by both melody and accompaniment, Disjunct.
Accompaniment is smooth in leaping while Melody is quite staccatod when leaping.
Dissonance is used creating interest within the piece and between the bandoneon and the rest of the strings and piano.
Tonality is Major

Structure:
A,B,A Ternary form
Repetition in both A and B create a sense of familiarity in this thick textured piece.

Lady Smith Black - I Dissgree

Tone Colour:
Warm male voices (barratone and bass), Call and response used, Talking backgruond develops into a singing type tune, Staccato of words in 2nd track, Harmonies are created from melody which has a nasal sound, Acompaniment supporting a changing repeted melody, Rhythimc layering using rhythm of language, range is low

Expressive Techniques:
Pitch bends
Call and response
     vabratoed, nasal, spoken, crecendoed
Response
    Smooth and legato, Crecendos created contrast to call

Texture:
Homophonic
    Dominant texture
    2 Melodies one carried out by man vocalist other melody in group, backing also grouped,
Call = thin, monophonic
Response = Thick, Homophonic
Various rhythms between layers
harmonies making song sound warmer and thincer in melodic rhythms.

Concepts:

Duration

Duration refers to the lengths of sound and silences in music and includes the aspects of beat, rhythm, metre, tempo, pulse rates and absence of pulse.

Pitch

Pitch refers to teh relative highness and lowness of sounds. Important aspects include high, low, higher and lower pitch, direction of pitch movement, melody, harmony, indefinite and definate pitch.

Texture

As texture is the result of teh way voices and/or instruments are combined in music, students should be able to disctiminate between different layers of sound and types of texture, and the ways it is created and used.

Dynamics and expressive techniques.

Dynamics refer to the volume of sound. Important aspects include the relative softness and loudness f sound, change of loudness (contrast), and the emphasis on individual sounds( accent). Expressive Techniques refers to the musical detail that articulates a style or interpretation of a style.

Tone Colour

Tone colour refers to the aspect of sound that allows the listener to identify the sound source of combination of source sound.

Structure

Structure refers to the idea of design or form in music. In organising sound, the elements of duration, dynamics, pitch and tone colour are combined in some way for a particular purpose. Unity and variety are produced by the use of repetition and contrast. Structure, therefore relates to the way in which music sounds the same (or similar) and/or different.

Viva.

VIVA

How do the two pieces by Miriam Hyde “Frost fairies” and “the Abbey Organ” contrast?.

Frost Fairies

Pitch:

1.       Register (Bar 5-7 0:14 -0:22)

2.       Contrast in dissonance and rest of the piece ( bar 9-12 0:25-0:37)

3.       Key in relation to Tonal quality.

·         G major

·         Upper register, Both in treble to start with (Bar 5-7 0:14 -0:22)

·         Light in tone quality

·         Contrast in dissonance in bar 9-11 accidenntals. (0:25-0:37)

Duration

1.       Repetition (Bar 1-2 0: 00-0:06) (bars 5-6, 0:14 -0:18) (bars 17-18, 0:50 - 0:54)

2.       Syncopation (Bar 11 0:32 – 0:36)

3.       Tempo

a.       Pauses (bar 19-20, 0:54-0:59)

b.      Runs (3-4 0:07 – 0:13) (7-8 0:19 – 0:25) (14 0:40 – 0:42) (16 0:45 – 048) (20-21 0:58- 1:02)

c.      

·         6/8 regular

·         Repetition Bar 1-2 0: 00-0:06 (5-6 0:14 -0:18) (17-18 0:50 - 0:54)

·         Bar 11 (0:32 – 0:36) syncopation in the melody (top line)

·         Fast Duration ...... (bars 3-4 0:07 – 0:13) (bars 7-8 0:19 – 0:25) (bar 14 0:40 – 0:42) (bar 16 0:45 – 048) (bars 20-21 0:58- 1:02)

Texture

·         Light (8va) homophonic melody (one melody), few notes played at once.

Articulation

1.       Staccato (seen in whole piece)

2.       Contrast to Slurs (seen mainly in runs ) (bars 3-4 0:07 – 0:13) (bars 7-8 0:19 – 0:25) (bar 14 0:40 – 0:42) (bar 16 0:45 – 048) (bars 20-21 0:58- 1:02)

Dynamics

1.       Overall Dynamics of piece (MF = bar 17-19 0:48 – 0:57) (PPP = Bar 24, 1:10 - 1:12)  

2.      

·         Predominately soft. P > PPP (piano > piano pianissimo)

·         Highest volume is mf (mezzo forte) when the theme returns and played more in bass ** Tone Colour

Expressive Techniques

·         Delicato

·         Brocken Chords (23-24 1:05 – 1:11)

The Abbey Organ

Pitch

1.       Key

2.       Range in comparison to Frost Fairies (focus on bass (bar 9-13 0:12-0:18)

3.       Melodic shifts (bar 9-13 0:12-0:18)

·         Minor – Clash and Dissonant

·         Wider Range

·         Focus on Bass (bar 1 0:00-0:02)

·         Sustenance

·         Melody Shifts to bass (bar 9-13 0:12-0:18)

·         Repetition of Melody (bar 1-8 0:00-0:12 Repeated in bars 37-44 0:52-1:03)

Duration

1.       Tempo

2.       Accents in bass (bar 1 0:00 – 0:02)

3.       Repetition (bar 1-8 0:00-0:12 Repeated in bars 37-44 0:52-1:03)

4.       Ralls (bar 36 0:48-0:50)

·         ¾ Moderate

·         Heavy accent on beat 1 of most song. (bar 1 0:00 – 0:02)

·         Simple rhythm crotchets, dotted minims. (Bar 1 0:00 – 0:02) 

·         Repetition  (Bars 1-8 repeated 37-44) (bars 9-13 repeated 45-49)

·         Ralls (bar 36 0:48-0:50)

Tone Colour

1.       sustenance (bar 67-74 1:34-1:47)

2.       Use of Low Register in conjunction to sound quality.

·         Pedal – sustenance (bar 67-74 1:34-1:47)

·         Slurs 1:15-1:16 ,1:17-1:18, 1:20-21, 1:22-1:23

·         Low register

·         Rich Thick Dissonant

Texture

1.       Homophonic

2.       Thick  (bass and sustained) (bar 14 0:18- 0:20)

3.       Dissonance

Dynamics and Expressive Techniques

1.       Slurs 1:15-1:16 ,1:17-1:18, 1:20-21, 1:22-1:23

2.       Range

3.       Accents contrast within piece

4.       Dynamics (F = bar 1 0:00 – 0:02) (P = bar 63-74 1:28-1:44)

·         Forte f (bar 1 0:00 – 0:02)

·         Range

·         Accents (bar 54  56 58)

·         Sustained through slurs

Brainstorm.

1950's - Slim Dusty, Johnny O'Keefe, Warren Williams and the Squares, The Bushwhackers


1960's - Olivia Newton-John, Pat Carroll, Helen Reddy, The Loved Ones, The Seekers, Little Pattie, The Masters Apprentices, Laurel Lee


1970's - Daddy Cool, Skyhooks, Sherbet, AC/DC, Midnight Oil, Redgum


1980's - Hunters & Collectors, The Church, Divinyls, Hoodoo Gurus, Mondo Rock, The Sunnyboys, Men at Work, The Go-betweens, The Triffids, The celibate rifles, INXS, Cold Chisel, Kylie Minogue, Hard-ons, The Cosmic Psychos, Severed heads, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds


1990's - Silverchair, Spiderbait, Powderfinger, Savage Garden, Tina Arena, Natalie Imbruglia


2000's - The Distillers, Spinnerette, Jet, Ben Lee, Missy Higgins, The Veronicas, Casey Chambers, Shannon Noll, Guy Sebastian, Delta Goodrem, The Rogue Traders, Angus and Julia Stone, Kate Miller Heidke