Cities and Signs - Vault - composed by Peter Knight, originally performed by the 5+2 Brass Ensemble.
This is the first of our 5 works we will study as part of the mandatory Music 2 topic "Music of the last 25 years - Australian focus".
Here is a recording of the whole work, including Vault.
And here is a link to the score at the Australian Music Centre (a preview pdf is available if you need it).
For each of our 5 works studied in the HSC we will work through things in the following order (and collate our work here for easy reference):
1. Background, stylistic influences and context (studying other music from 20C as relevant, and other pieces by the same composers)
2. Short composition tasks exploring styles and techniques used, and performing excerpts of the pieces
3. Concept-by-concept analysis
4. Preparing examples and plans for possible exam questions
5. Short practice essays
A background piece to study:
A background piece to study:
Learn to play this song, and arrange it. Experiment with harmonising the head in different ways, and improvising using different scales.
What elements does it have in common with Vault?
Cities and Signs - Vault
1. Read this interview on Cities and Signs
1. Read this interview on Cities and Signs
and summarise the background of the piece and Peter Knight's musical and non-musical influences.
From a suite/collection of tone poems based on the novel Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. The structure of the book was the main inspiration - a collection of vignettes, each strikingly different in atmosphere but linked together at a fundamental level. Musical influences include: Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Scott Tinkler - combined with contemporary compositional techniques.
What other period of music used literature as inspiration?
Romantic period - program music/ tone poems
How is Knight's music different? His aim is to evoke rather than represent, to use the stories as a starting point.
How does he get the feeling of cities into his music? (Are there any moments like this in Vault?)
Simultaneous, overlapping, independent narratives going on at any moment - no conscious techniques used though. Repetitive sounds of horns sound like traffic, general bustle of the music, overlapping melodic ideas
What possibilities does the brass ensemble open up for Knight? How did he avoid it sounding like "half a brass band"? Sudden contrasts of texture from lush to sparse; extended techniques like blowing, tapping can be audible with 5 brass instruments. Experimenting with chord voicing (spacing).
How is composing for jazz musicians different from classical composition?
Composition leaves room for the individual musicians to bring their own ideas into the piece - they're expected to contribute their own ideas; the piece was written with specific musicians in mind.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vaultmelbournesculpture.jpg
From a suite/collection of tone poems based on the novel Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. The structure of the book was the main inspiration - a collection of vignettes, each strikingly different in atmosphere but linked together at a fundamental level. Musical influences include: Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Scott Tinkler - combined with contemporary compositional techniques.
What other period of music used literature as inspiration?
Romantic period - program music/ tone poems
How is Knight's music different? His aim is to evoke rather than represent, to use the stories as a starting point.
How does he get the feeling of cities into his music? (Are there any moments like this in Vault?)
Simultaneous, overlapping, independent narratives going on at any moment - no conscious techniques used though. Repetitive sounds of horns sound like traffic, general bustle of the music, overlapping melodic ideas
What possibilities does the brass ensemble open up for Knight? How did he avoid it sounding like "half a brass band"? Sudden contrasts of texture from lush to sparse; extended techniques like blowing, tapping can be audible with 5 brass instruments. Experimenting with chord voicing (spacing).
How is composing for jazz musicians different from classical composition?
Composition leaves room for the individual musicians to bring their own ideas into the piece - they're expected to contribute their own ideas; the piece was written with specific musicians in mind.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vaultmelbournesculpture.jpg
2. What are the main features of jazz in general? List as many as you can for:
melody Chromaticism, blue notes, scat (vocal), improvisation, playing with motifs derived from a theme (licks)
harmony modal harmony (in modal jazz 1950s on), extended and added chords, quartal harmony (1960s-on), sometimes standard chord progressions like 12 bar blues or "rhythm changes" or 6-2-5-1 used
tonality often pentatonic - blues scales used, or major/minor, or bebop scales (more chromatic), modes used (modal jazz), modulations common, "out" improvisation used sometimes (notes outside the scale implied by the chords)
rhythm - syncopation, swing, polyrhythm, hemiola (in 3/4 or 6/8), rhythmic ostinatos, rhythmic improvisation
tone colour - saxophones, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, flute; rhythm section: piano, bass, drums, guitar, percussion
expressive techniques - blue notes, bends, slides, hits; variety of instrumental techniques and sounds used in solos - dirty sounds, growls, mutes
texture - tied to structure (thick-thin-thick), antiphonal exchanges;rhythm section supplies harmonic and rhythmic framework for melodies and solos (including fills and comping)
structure - ostinatos used, head-solos-head, repetition with variation, motivic development of fragments of themes (heads), AABA structure common in heads
melody Chromaticism, blue notes, scat (vocal), improvisation, playing with motifs derived from a theme (licks)
harmony modal harmony (in modal jazz 1950s on), extended and added chords, quartal harmony (1960s-on), sometimes standard chord progressions like 12 bar blues or "rhythm changes" or 6-2-5-1 used
tonality often pentatonic - blues scales used, or major/minor, or bebop scales (more chromatic), modes used (modal jazz), modulations common, "out" improvisation used sometimes (notes outside the scale implied by the chords)
rhythm - syncopation, swing, polyrhythm, hemiola (in 3/4 or 6/8), rhythmic ostinatos, rhythmic improvisation
tone colour - saxophones, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, flute; rhythm section: piano, bass, drums, guitar, percussion
expressive techniques - blue notes, bends, slides, hits; variety of instrumental techniques and sounds used in solos - dirty sounds, growls, mutes
texture - tied to structure (thick-thin-thick), antiphonal exchanges;rhythm section supplies harmonic and rhythmic framework for melodies and solos (including fills and comping)
structure - ostinatos used, head-solos-head, repetition with variation, motivic development of fragments of themes (heads), AABA structure common in heads
3. Which of the above features are found, or extended, in Vault? Give examples.
Chromaticism (most of the piece - eg chromatic melody of motif 1, motif 2)
improvisation (solo sections)
modes (Dorian mode used - bars 10-20, 2nd half of trumpet solo)
modal harmony (eg Dbm7, Ebm7/Db chordal riff bar 66)
quartal harmony (opening fanfare - bars 1-8)
syncopation (whole piece - usually at level of quaver)
polyrhythm (eg bar 86 bass & btbn line against syncopated quavers of trumpets and horn)
head-solos-head structure (loosely - although head modified each time it reappears)
motivic development and variation of fragments of theme (eg motif 2 bars 23-36)
modulations (one - to Db bar 42)
Chromaticism (most of the piece - eg chromatic melody of motif 1, motif 2)
improvisation (solo sections)
modes (Dorian mode used - bars 10-20, 2nd half of trumpet solo)
modal harmony (eg Dbm7, Ebm7/Db chordal riff bar 66)
quartal harmony (opening fanfare - bars 1-8)
syncopation (whole piece - usually at level of quaver)
polyrhythm (eg bar 86 bass & btbn line against syncopated quavers of trumpets and horn)
head-solos-head structure (loosely - although head modified each time it reappears)
motivic development and variation of fragments of theme (eg motif 2 bars 23-36)
modulations (one - to Db bar 42)
bII- I cadences (deriving from tritone substitution (bII instead of V) at bar 8, and at each modulation (D-Db bar 42, Eb-D bar 88)
parallel chord movement (eg bars 1-8, 86-88)
extended and added harmony (throughout whole piece, eg "So What" chord (CFBbEbG - Cm7sus4) bar 1)
bass ostinatos (throughout)
Rhythmic improvisation and variation (drums, bass - throughout)
Call and response (eg bars 132-147)
some of the instrumentation (trumpet, trombone, bass and drums)
Slides, blue notes, growls etc - used in solos
Blues scale (used at some points eg bars 54-59 of trumpet solo)
"Out" improvisation (eg end of trumpet solo bar 76)
Comping and fills, interaction between melody and backing (although comping done by ensemble rather than a chordal instrument)
Drone (bass pedal note) - often used in modal jazz
Chromatic enclosure (eg bar 2)
bass ostinatos (throughout)
Rhythmic improvisation and variation (drums, bass - throughout)
Call and response (eg bars 132-147)
some of the instrumentation (trumpet, trombone, bass and drums)
Slides, blue notes, growls etc - used in solos
Blues scale (used at some points eg bars 54-59 of trumpet solo)
"Out" improvisation (eg end of trumpet solo bar 76)
Comping and fills, interaction between melody and backing (although comping done by ensemble rather than a chordal instrument)
Drone (bass pedal note) - often used in modal jazz
Chromatic enclosure (eg bar 2)
4. Which normal jazz features are not found, or only partially found, in Vault?
Swing (very slight)
Chord progressions
Regular AABA phrase structure
Piano or other chordal instruments
Swing (very slight)
Chord progressions
Regular AABA phrase structure
Piano or other chordal instruments
5. What are some of the other musical features of Vault that are not normally found in traditional jazz?
Highly angular, unpredictable and atonal melodies at some points (eg bars 23-36)
Head is extended in length and very complex and irregular in structure
Cluster chords, dissonance (eg bar 79)
Irregular metre at some points, and rhythmic complexity
Extended techniques (at end - flutter tongue, blowing into instrument, etc)
Varied repetition as a structural device - unpredictable development of "cells" like Stravinsky/Bartok
Highly angular, unpredictable and atonal melodies at some points (eg bars 23-36)
Head is extended in length and very complex and irregular in structure
Cluster chords, dissonance (eg bar 79)
Irregular metre at some points, and rhythmic complexity
Extended techniques (at end - flutter tongue, blowing into instrument, etc)
Varied repetition as a structural device - unpredictable development of "cells" like Stravinsky/Bartok
Rhythmic displacement, varied rhythmic alteration eg motif 2 trombone and horn section bars 24-32
Use of melodic/rhythmic motifs as accompaniment figures (eg riff at bar 66, 7/4 bass ostinato (motif 1) in bass trombone solo)
Bi(Poly)tonality at some points (trumpet solo, arguably as well the establishment of C as alternative tonal centre over D bass pedal, bars 23-36)
6. Research and give definitions of the following musical features of Vault, find examples of where they occur within Vault, and discuss what other music shares these features.
* Quartal harmony (and the "So What" chord)
Harmony based on fourths - eg bars 1-8. Found in 1960s jazz (Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner), also Ravel, Bartok, Scriabin, music of early 20th century modernist composers. "So What" chord made famous by Miles Davis "So What" - three fourths with a major third above (EADGB) - coincidentally the open strings of the guitar... (so that hay feeding video used the So What chord...)
* Extended instrumental techniques
Unconventional, unorthodox or non-traditional techniques of playing instruments (found at end in improvised duet between bass trombone and trumpet 2).
Examples include: harmonics, col legno, sul pont (strings), flutter tongue, multiphonics (winds) and many more...
(extreme extended techniques - don't play this piece for your HSC)
* Varied repetition (Repetition with change)
Repeating an idea but changing it each time. Variation can occur in any way but commonly through such devices as truncation, extension, rhythmic alteration, rhythmic displacement, intervallic expansion, contraction, decoration, transposition etc evident in Vault in trumpet solo (starts of phrases are often the same but then extended and developed in different ways) and in "angular" section bars 23-36 (including rhythmic displacement and intervallic expansion)
A common contemporary compositional technique - beginning with Stravinsky and Bartok, also used a lot by Ross Edwards
* Chromatic Enclosure
Circling a note either side before hitting it - can be chromatic or diatonic. Common in bebop jazz. Heard in Vault eg in bar 2, bar 23
* Cluster chords
A chord combining at least three adjacent notes in a scale. eg diatonic cluster CDEFG bar 16, chromatic cluster F# G G# bar 89) a 20th Century device, used in music such as Bartok, Ligeti, also in Jazz (this works because inversions of sevenths and ninths result in clusters) - watch this explanation:
* Irregular metre (another explanation)
Any metre that involves mixtures of groupings of 2 and 3 at some level: eg in Vault at bars 92, 109 (note that highly irregular rhythmic groupings are used over 4/4 ostinatos in first section)
Common in: Eastern European music; 20th Century art music (although occurred (rarely) in 19th Century - see Tchaikovsky 6th symphony 2nd movt); "math-rock" (eg Radiohead, Battles, Tool, Soundgarden); and increasingly in jazz after 1950s.
* Antiphony (Call and Response)
Musical dialogue between separate groups of instruments. The "response" may echo the musical material of the "call", or may repeat a separate refrain. Found especially in the trombone solo of Vault. C&R is one of the basic musical features of most African-American musical forms (blues, jazz, gospel), as well as of course African music; in Classical music it is referred to as "antiphony", associated in particular with Venetian polychoral music of the late Renaissance (eg Gabrieli) - choirs and groups of brass instruments answering each other, usually from different parts of a church, creating a stereo effect.
* Added/extended chords
Added tone chords do as they say - add a note to an existing chord. eg C +9 = C, E, G + D on top.
Extended chords extend the triad by thirds, which are all played in the chord: eg Cmaj9 = C, E, G, B, D
Both are used in jazz (you very rarely hear a triad by itself in jazz). Used throughout Vault.
History: Open fifths were used in medieval times - thirds were increasingly added in the 15th century, and used all the time in the 16th - 7th chords are common since the 17th century; 9th chords were used in the 19th century; 11th, 13th and add6 chords since late 19th century, all manner of crazy chords since then. When extended chords are used for colour, not for harmonic direction, it is called "non-functional harmony" - a characteristic of Debussy, Ravel and other impressionist composers of early 20th Century.
* Modes and modal harmony
The 7 modes (rotations) of the diatonic scale (here given in C) are: Ionian (CDEFGABC) (= major scale); Dorian (DEFGABCD) (=minor scale with M6); Phrygian (EFGABCDE) (= minor scale with b2); Lydian (FGABCDEF) (= major scale with #4); Mixolydian (GABCDEFG) (= major scale with b7); Aeolian (ABCDEFGA) (= natural minor scale); Locrian (not usually used! BCDEFGABC) (=minor scale with b2 and b5). In Medieval and Renaissance times these were used (with added sharps on leading notes and added flats to avoid tritones) instead of the major and minor scales we have now, which crystallised in Baroque period.
Modal harmony constructs chords out of the notes of a particular mode: eg a chord progression like Dm - Em - G uses a B natural (instead of a B flat from D minor scale) which makes it Dorian harmony. This is common in late Romantic music of some composers such as Mussorgsky, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Faure and Balakirev who looked to the modal melodies of folk music (and Renaissance music) for harmonic ideas, as well as Impressionists.
Jazz musos like Miles Davis and Bill Evans pioneered "modal jazz" in the late 1950s which used modes as a structure to improvise with (often over harmonically static ostinato basses) instead of complex chord "changes" of 1940s-50s bebop.
* Pandiatonicism
Harmony using all the notes of the diatonic scale freely without conventional resolutions (try holding the pedal down and playing random white notes for a while).
Heard in Vault in some sections - bars 9-22 for instance.
Originated with Debussy and impressionists, and further developed by Stravinsky, Poulenc and Copland among others; heard particularly in modern music like Arvo Part and Eric Whitacre. A byproduct of all of the above - modal harmony, clusters and extended chords.
* Tritone substitution
A common jazz technique of chord substitution - because 7th chords have a tritone between the third and seventh, they can be substituted with a (chromatic) chord with a root a tritone away: eg instead of a perfect cadence Dm7-G7-Cmaj7 you can play Dm7-Db7-Cmaj7 - this bII-I cadence is heard at each modulation of Vault (D#m11-D bars 8-9, Dm7+13-Db bars 41-42, Eb(9)-D7 bars 92-93).
* Polytonality (bitonality)
The use of more than one key simultaneously. Heard in Vault at some points, mainly in the solos ("out" improvisation) and in the motif 2 section bars 23-37 where an alternative tonal centre of C is established by the brass instruments over a held D pedal in the bass, creating tension. Bitonality and polytonality are used by early 20th century composers such as Ives, Stravinsky, Milhaud and (sometimes) Britten (Les Illuminations). Check out Ives' "The Unanswered Question":
* Lydian diminished scale
The Lydian mode with a flattened third (12b3#4567). Used in the first part of the trumpet solo. Apparently well-known in modern jazz, but pretty rare otherwise outside of Romania and India!
* (Rag Madhuvanti)
The (Northern) Indian version of this scale. Note the similarity in melodic development between this traditional alap and Peter Knight's solo (starting on one note, expanding out to explore other parts of the scale gradually).
6. Research and give definitions of the following musical features of Vault, find examples of where they occur within Vault, and discuss what other music shares these features.
* Quartal harmony (and the "So What" chord)
Harmony based on fourths - eg bars 1-8. Found in 1960s jazz (Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner), also Ravel, Bartok, Scriabin, music of early 20th century modernist composers. "So What" chord made famous by Miles Davis "So What" - three fourths with a major third above (EADGB) - coincidentally the open strings of the guitar... (so that hay feeding video used the So What chord...)
* Extended instrumental techniques
Unconventional, unorthodox or non-traditional techniques of playing instruments (found at end in improvised duet between bass trombone and trumpet 2).
Examples include: harmonics, col legno, sul pont (strings), flutter tongue, multiphonics (winds) and many more...
(extreme extended techniques - don't play this piece for your HSC)
* Varied repetition (Repetition with change)
Repeating an idea but changing it each time. Variation can occur in any way but commonly through such devices as truncation, extension, rhythmic alteration, rhythmic displacement, intervallic expansion, contraction, decoration, transposition etc evident in Vault in trumpet solo (starts of phrases are often the same but then extended and developed in different ways) and in "angular" section bars 23-36 (including rhythmic displacement and intervallic expansion)
A common contemporary compositional technique - beginning with Stravinsky and Bartok, also used a lot by Ross Edwards
* Chromatic Enclosure
Circling a note either side before hitting it - can be chromatic or diatonic. Common in bebop jazz. Heard in Vault eg in bar 2, bar 23
* Cluster chords
A chord combining at least three adjacent notes in a scale. eg diatonic cluster CDEFG bar 16, chromatic cluster F# G G# bar 89) a 20th Century device, used in music such as Bartok, Ligeti, also in Jazz (this works because inversions of sevenths and ninths result in clusters) - watch this explanation:
* Irregular metre (another explanation)
Any metre that involves mixtures of groupings of 2 and 3 at some level: eg in Vault at bars 92, 109 (note that highly irregular rhythmic groupings are used over 4/4 ostinatos in first section)
Common in: Eastern European music; 20th Century art music (although occurred (rarely) in 19th Century - see Tchaikovsky 6th symphony 2nd movt); "math-rock" (eg Radiohead, Battles, Tool, Soundgarden); and increasingly in jazz after 1950s.
* Antiphony (Call and Response)
Musical dialogue between separate groups of instruments. The "response" may echo the musical material of the "call", or may repeat a separate refrain. Found especially in the trombone solo of Vault. C&R is one of the basic musical features of most African-American musical forms (blues, jazz, gospel), as well as of course African music; in Classical music it is referred to as "antiphony", associated in particular with Venetian polychoral music of the late Renaissance (eg Gabrieli) - choirs and groups of brass instruments answering each other, usually from different parts of a church, creating a stereo effect.
* Added/extended chords
Added tone chords do as they say - add a note to an existing chord. eg C +9 = C, E, G + D on top.
Extended chords extend the triad by thirds, which are all played in the chord: eg Cmaj9 = C, E, G, B, D
Both are used in jazz (you very rarely hear a triad by itself in jazz). Used throughout Vault.
History: Open fifths were used in medieval times - thirds were increasingly added in the 15th century, and used all the time in the 16th - 7th chords are common since the 17th century; 9th chords were used in the 19th century; 11th, 13th and add6 chords since late 19th century, all manner of crazy chords since then. When extended chords are used for colour, not for harmonic direction, it is called "non-functional harmony" - a characteristic of Debussy, Ravel and other impressionist composers of early 20th Century.
* Modes and modal harmony
The 7 modes (rotations) of the diatonic scale (here given in C) are: Ionian (CDEFGABC) (= major scale); Dorian (DEFGABCD) (=minor scale with M6); Phrygian (EFGABCDE) (= minor scale with b2); Lydian (FGABCDEF) (= major scale with #4); Mixolydian (GABCDEFG) (= major scale with b7); Aeolian (ABCDEFGA) (= natural minor scale); Locrian (not usually used! BCDEFGABC) (=minor scale with b2 and b5). In Medieval and Renaissance times these were used (with added sharps on leading notes and added flats to avoid tritones) instead of the major and minor scales we have now, which crystallised in Baroque period.
Modal harmony constructs chords out of the notes of a particular mode: eg a chord progression like Dm - Em - G uses a B natural (instead of a B flat from D minor scale) which makes it Dorian harmony. This is common in late Romantic music of some composers such as Mussorgsky, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Faure and Balakirev who looked to the modal melodies of folk music (and Renaissance music) for harmonic ideas, as well as Impressionists.
Jazz musos like Miles Davis and Bill Evans pioneered "modal jazz" in the late 1950s which used modes as a structure to improvise with (often over harmonically static ostinato basses) instead of complex chord "changes" of 1940s-50s bebop.
Harmony using all the notes of the diatonic scale freely without conventional resolutions (try holding the pedal down and playing random white notes for a while).
Heard in Vault in some sections - bars 9-22 for instance.
Originated with Debussy and impressionists, and further developed by Stravinsky, Poulenc and Copland among others; heard particularly in modern music like Arvo Part and Eric Whitacre. A byproduct of all of the above - modal harmony, clusters and extended chords.
* Tritone substitution
* Polytonality (bitonality)
The use of more than one key simultaneously. Heard in Vault at some points, mainly in the solos ("out" improvisation) and in the motif 2 section bars 23-37 where an alternative tonal centre of C is established by the brass instruments over a held D pedal in the bass, creating tension. Bitonality and polytonality are used by early 20th century composers such as Ives, Stravinsky, Milhaud and (sometimes) Britten (Les Illuminations). Check out Ives' "The Unanswered Question":
The Lydian mode with a flattened third (12b3#4567). Used in the first part of the trumpet solo. Apparently well-known in modern jazz, but pretty rare otherwise outside of Romania and India!
* (Rag Madhuvanti)
The (Northern) Indian version of this scale. Note the similarity in melodic development between this traditional alap and Peter Knight's solo (starting on one note, expanding out to explore other parts of the scale gradually).
7. Break Vault up into sections and subsections, and split up the piece between you equally in 5 sections. (Note that you will need to listen to the recording as well as read the score.) for your section, break it up into smaller subsections, and describe what happens in each section (discussing all concepts at once).
Collate your work here when you're finished. DUE 31 OCT/1 NOV please
Bars 1-23: Annabelle
Bars 24-40: Lucy
Bars 41-81: Indiana
The tempo is steady/moderate.
Bars 82-128: Emma
Bars 129-end (including impro stuff on recording): Sabrina
Collate your work here when you're finished. DUE 31 OCT/1 NOV please
Bars 1-23: Annabelle
The piece begins on the ‘So What Chord’: Em7 sus 4. Parallel
quartal harmony is used throughout the ‘fanfare’ that begins the piece,
reflecting a 60s-70s jazz influence (parallel non-functional harmony). The first 8 bars is a brass ‘fanfare’,
is devoid of a drum beat, or bass line. Along with being played by the brass
this makes this introduction a ‘fanfare’. The first 8 bars introduces the first
motif, which is then developed through the piece. The fanfare introduces the
reoccurring idea of the bII-I cadence (tritone substitution - bII instead of V) in bar 7. Extended chromaticism is
used throughout the fanfare, indicating the extended chromaticism that
characterises the rest of the piece. The static pedal note of the bass line
creates a cross rhythm against the straight drum beat when they enter in bar 8.
The second idea is based on the D dorian mode. Bar 12, the Trumpet 2
and Horn are in unison while the bass trombone is in relative unison (an octave
lower). At bar 13, the bass trombone and trombone are a tone apart, creating
unresolved dissonance. The parallel harmony of the hemiola in bar 14
is octave unison between the trumpet and horn.
The tied notes are not only emphasized by the accents by the drum is
indicated to play in unison. The diatonic cluster chord on bar 16 creates
dissonance. The 2nd motif is introduced in the horn, trombone and bass
trombone. Bar 18 is in rhythmic unison - similar to the contour of the Dorian
section. The dynamics are undulating. The Motif 2 is extended in bar 21, with
the accent emphasizing the syncopation.
Bars 24-40: Lucy
Vault – Peter Knight Analysis
There is a octave unison in the horn and bass
trombone where they play a series of quavers which displays a chromatic
enclosure with a passing note – C, B, D, Db rest (lets call it motif a) in bar
23-24. There is truncation of the phrase motif a and this motif is based on
notes of a minor 3rd, where as the extension of motif a is based
around a major 3rd. There are also signs of rhythmic displacement
where fragments of motif a i.e. bar 25, is played after a quaver rest, and in
the extended part of the motif in bar 26. This is all happening over the top of
a driving straight feel in the drums and a constant bass ostinato pedal note on
the D, which makes it feel displaced. There is use of accents, including
tenutos, which creates a swing feel as the tenuto is on the first quaver and
the accent is on the second quaver, which is similar to a dotted quaver
rhythm. Over the page, the motif is
continuously extending and slowly ascending in the range. There is a use of
silence in the other instruments during this time. However, by bar 34, the
texture thickens as all the other instruments join in octave unison along with
the crescendo from p to ff. The return of motif 3 in bar 38,
including the ascending pitch, creates a preparation for a solo. The last chord
is a Dm7add13 chord in the brass, which is also a tritone substitution to the
Db dorian bass in the trumpet solo section.
Bars 41-81: Indiana
·
No sudden changes.
·
Repetition with variation.
·
The range goes from the lowest part of the upper
range down to the lowest range of the instrument.
·
He uses “out improvisation”.
·
Cantabile (singing style) sound to the trumpet
when not playing the repeated notes. Result: sonority.
·
Free chromatic run at the end.
·
More use of stepwise movement rather than leaps.
·
Melodic features: ornamentation = use of
acciaccaturas.
·
3 note sequences (almost) and a gradual descent
in bars 11-15.
·
Elements of dissonance – however, the trumpet
also demonstrates consonance in the melodic/legato parts.
·
It is modal jazz – use of Db Lydian diminished
scale, C# dorian, F blues scale and it finishes on C# dorian.
·
Dynamic levels go from pp to ff.
·
He has changes in dynamic levels – decrescendo
on bars 14 and 40 and crescendo at 36.
·
It has no changes in tempo.
·
Articulation: staccatos, slurs and accents
(tenuto and normal accents)
·
Aspects of both laid back and energetic feel –
they contrast.
·
Style:
like free jazz/cool jazz.
·
Bends, squeezes and grace notes have been used.
·
·
Accompaniment: Double bass, drums, horn,
trombone, bass trombone and trumpet 1.
·
Pandiatonic/modal harmony in accompaniment.
·
Accomp. Has a light texture and soft tone. The
light texture is demonstrated because it is all detached and the accomp. Is a syncopated repetitive
rhythmic figure.
·
The trumpet has a mellow sound to it.
·
There is a constant chordal accompaniment and it
has a Thin density – light + musical rests.
·
Homophonic texture – trumpet with harmonic
accompaniment.
·
Antiphony used in relation to accomp. – soloist
– accomp (call and response).
·
Unity has been shown through repetitive patterns
(motif and riff).
·
Bars 42 to the end (call and response) –
question = 42 – 47 and answer = 47 – end.
·
Tension and climax – binds it all together.
Bars 82-128: Emma
Bars 82-128
Trumpet
1, horn and bass trombone begin in unison in octaves and play very angular and
unpredictable rhythms from motif 2. This melody is atonal and features octave
displacement by the trumpet in bar 83 and chromatic enclosure such as in beat 4
of bar 84. From bar 86, both trumpets and the horn extend motif 2 and this is
starkly juxtaposed against the bass trombone, double bass and drums which play
motif 1 in unison. A cluster chord is suddenly played by the trumpets
which imitates the blaring horns of cars in the city. The rhythm section with
the trombones start off with the extension of motif 2 from bar 90, moving in ascending
parallel movement. The upper section play minims in parallel 2nd inversion triads. There is a
temporary change of time signature to 5/4 in bar 92 and tritone substation is
used to modulate to D where the bass trombone solo begins. The double bass
plays a syncopated drone on D as the bass trombone introduces its solo with a
short antiphonal phrase which is replied by the upper section playing motif 2
at bar 94 (also bar 108). The bass trombone solo is very contrasting to the
trumpet solo and features many fast moving notes. The bass trombone stays a lot
in the D minor and minor blues scales, however from bar 109 begins to use more
out and chromatic notes that clash against the bass line and creates this
growing tension. From bar 109 the bass trombone becomes more rhythmic and makes
more use of techniques such as sliding. The time signature also changes to 7/4
and the double bass reintroduces motif 1 as a riff as played before in the
bridge. At bar 117, the horn and trombone begin to join in playing fragments of
the riff in octave unison. Motif 2 is brought back by the trumpets but is
intervallically altered in bar 120, thickening the texture and preparing the
return of the head. The clashing semitones by the trumpets again imitate the
blaring car horns. At bar 125, the time signature changes back to 4/4 and the
rhythm section move back to the original riff.
Bars 129-end (including impro stuff on recording): Sabrina
8. Summarise (don't narrate) the features and techniques observable in the piece by concept, giving examples. Divide into 5 and collate your work:
due Monday 11/11
Duration: Lucy
metre (does it change?)
rhythm (discuss rhythmic devices and rhythmic motifs/ideas used)
tempo
Pitch: Sabrina
ranges/registers used
ranges/registers used
melody (melodic ideas - describe them) melodic development - in both composed and improvised sections intervals used, relationship to harmony
harmony (types of chords, spacing of chords, and harmonic movement, other harmonic devices)
tonality of each section (justify your categorisations with examples)
Dynamics and Expressive Techniques: Indiana
Dynamics and Expressive Techniques
DYNAMIC INDICATIONS
• Starts off mf
• Decrescendo in bar 8
• Mf in bar 9
• Bar 12, starts p with a crescendo and ends on forte in bar 13
• Bar 17, mf
• Bar 18, crescendo to ff (bar 19)
• Bar 20, mf
• Bar 34, starts p and there is a crescendo that last until bar 37 (with ff)
• Bar 38 – mf with a crescendo to 39 (ff)
• Bar 40, mf
• Bar 50, mp
• Bar 60, f
• Bar 82, mf
• Bar 86, f
• Bar 89, ff
• Bar 90, f
• Bar 117 – f
• Bar 129 – mf with crescendo
• Bar 130 – forte with crescendo to fff
• Bar 132 – f
• 136 – mf
• 148 – f
• 150 – ff
• 151 until 153 - decrescendo to mp
• Bar 155 – ff
• Bar 156 – mf
• In trumpet solo - He has changes in dynamic levels – decrescendo on bars 14 and 40 and crescendo at 36.
• Dynamic levels go from pp to ff in trumpet solo
OTHER SCORE MARKINGS AND SYMBOLS
• Bends, squeezes and grace notes have been used in the trumpet solo
• Trumpet solo - Melodic features: ornamentation = use of acciaccaturas.
• Bar 10 – repetition marking
ARTICULATION
• Slurs e.g. bar 30 slur on last two notes before staccato to create a sense of contrast (sharp and smooth)
• In trumpet solo - staccatos, slurs and accents (tenuto and normal accents)
• Articulation marking in bar 1
• Bar 6 – tenuto
• Bar 9 – accent
• He creates interest through the mixture of tenutos and accents in bar 12 and 13
• Bar 16 – accents on irregular beats and then finishes the bar with a sharp/strong accent
• Bar 82 to 90, accents are used to emphasis syncopation
• Alternates between the accent and the tenuto to enhance motif 2 (bar 125 and 126 and bars 129-130)
• Bar 58, SFZ
• Pizzicato in the double bass
• Bar 34-37, the articulation of tenuto, staccato and accents enhances the crescendo
JAZZ-SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES
• Improvised solos
• “Out” improvisation in the trumpet solo
• Bends and squeezes
• Riff/Ostinato in the Double Bass
• 109 – melodic ostinato
• 125 – original ostinato returns
Tone Colour: Emma
Use of unusual brass ensemble:
Instruments= trumpet, trumpet, horn, trombone, bass trombone, double bass and drums. Some of the instrumentation is to typical of jazz like trumpet, trombone, bass and drums however Knight also adds unusual instruments like the horn and doesn’t use a piano or any other chordal instrument. Instead, the ensemble rather than a chordal instrument does comping. The double bass and drums act as the rhythm section. The double bass mostly plays a syncopated drone on D throughout the piece. The brass creates an overall forceful, bright and sharp sound. Extended techniques like blowing, tapping and the use of only 5 bass instruments enables these sounds to be audible. Slides, blue notes and growls are used in the solos and during the improvisation at the end between the bass trombone and trumpet techniques such as breathing through trumpet, flutter tongue and singing in instruments can be heard.
Texture: Emma
harmony (types of chords, spacing of chords, and harmonic movement, other harmonic devices)
tonality of each section (justify your categorisations with examples)
Dynamics and Expressive Techniques: Indiana
Dynamics and Expressive Techniques
DYNAMIC INDICATIONS
• Starts off mf
• Decrescendo in bar 8
• Mf in bar 9
• Bar 12, starts p with a crescendo and ends on forte in bar 13
• Bar 17, mf
• Bar 18, crescendo to ff (bar 19)
• Bar 20, mf
• Bar 34, starts p and there is a crescendo that last until bar 37 (with ff)
• Bar 38 – mf with a crescendo to 39 (ff)
• Bar 40, mf
• Bar 50, mp
• Bar 60, f
• Bar 82, mf
• Bar 86, f
• Bar 89, ff
• Bar 90, f
• Bar 117 – f
• Bar 129 – mf with crescendo
• Bar 130 – forte with crescendo to fff
• Bar 132 – f
• 136 – mf
• 148 – f
• 150 – ff
• 151 until 153 - decrescendo to mp
• Bar 155 – ff
• Bar 156 – mf
• In trumpet solo - He has changes in dynamic levels – decrescendo on bars 14 and 40 and crescendo at 36.
• Dynamic levels go from pp to ff in trumpet solo
OTHER SCORE MARKINGS AND SYMBOLS
• Bends, squeezes and grace notes have been used in the trumpet solo
• Trumpet solo - Melodic features: ornamentation = use of acciaccaturas.
• Bar 10 – repetition marking
ARTICULATION
• Slurs e.g. bar 30 slur on last two notes before staccato to create a sense of contrast (sharp and smooth)
• In trumpet solo - staccatos, slurs and accents (tenuto and normal accents)
• Articulation marking in bar 1
• Bar 6 – tenuto
• Bar 9 – accent
• He creates interest through the mixture of tenutos and accents in bar 12 and 13
• Bar 16 – accents on irregular beats and then finishes the bar with a sharp/strong accent
• Bar 82 to 90, accents are used to emphasis syncopation
• Alternates between the accent and the tenuto to enhance motif 2 (bar 125 and 126 and bars 129-130)
• Bar 58, SFZ
• Pizzicato in the double bass
• Bar 34-37, the articulation of tenuto, staccato and accents enhances the crescendo
JAZZ-SPECIFIC TECHNIQUES
• Improvised solos
• “Out” improvisation in the trumpet solo
• Bends and squeezes
• Riff/Ostinato in the Double Bass
• 109 – melodic ostinato
• 125 – original ostinato returns
Tone Colour: Emma
Use of unusual brass ensemble:
Instruments= trumpet, trumpet, horn, trombone, bass trombone, double bass and drums. Some of the instrumentation is to typical of jazz like trumpet, trombone, bass and drums however Knight also adds unusual instruments like the horn and doesn’t use a piano or any other chordal instrument. Instead, the ensemble rather than a chordal instrument does comping. The double bass and drums act as the rhythm section. The double bass mostly plays a syncopated drone on D throughout the piece. The brass creates an overall forceful, bright and sharp sound. Extended techniques like blowing, tapping and the use of only 5 bass instruments enables these sounds to be audible. Slides, blue notes and growls are used in the solos and during the improvisation at the end between the bass trombone and trumpet techniques such as breathing through trumpet, flutter tongue and singing in instruments can be heard.
Texture: Emma
Mostly a homophonic texture is use throughout the piece and there are sudden contrasts of texture from lush to sparse. The texture is tied to the structure (thick-thin-thick). Irregular melody and harmony by the brass is accompanied by regular accompaniment by the rhythm section. Interaction between melody and rhythm section is used and the comping done by brass instead of a chordal instrument. Bar 66 there is any example of call and response between the bass trombone and comping by the brass. The rhythm section supplies harmonic and rhythmic framework for melodies and solos of which they interact with. Most of the piece consists of the double bass playing a D drone and there is constant chordal accompaniment. Imitation, overlapping motifs, and call and response are regularly used (eg bars 132-147).
Structure: Annabelle
Overall form
micro-structure: phrase lengths, use of motifs
Aspects providing unity
Aspects providing contrast
9. Find and listen to the following (one each) and list as many links as you can with the musical features of Vault.
Bartok String Quartet no 5
“Sacrificial dance” from Stravinsky Rite of Spring
Oliver Nelson Blues and the Abstract Truth and Stolen Moments
Gil Evans la Nevada
Peter Knight’s Fish Boast of Fishing
http://youtu.be/MOv04mWmJQo
10. Composition activity:
As a class, choose one of the following short chapters from Calvino's "Invisible Cities" as inspiration
Structure: Annabelle
Overall form
micro-structure: phrase lengths, use of motifs
Aspects providing unity
Aspects providing contrast
9. Find and listen to the following (one each) and list as many links as you can with the musical features of Vault.
Bartok String Quartet no 5
“Sacrificial dance” from Stravinsky Rite of Spring
Oliver Nelson Blues and the Abstract Truth and Stolen Moments
Gil Evans la Nevada
Hariprasad Chaurasia, Rag Madhuvanti
Peter Knight’s Fish Boast of Fishing
http://youtu.be/MOv04mWmJQo
10. Composition activity:
As a class, choose one of the following short chapters from Calvino's "Invisible Cities" as inspiration
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/00/pwillen1/lit/citysum.htm
and compose a piece to depict your city. Write a short and angular jazz head, using syncopation, and combinations of narrow and wide intervals. Harmonise it with quartal harmony and other harmonies and arrange it for the class to play. Improvise over it and give it a structure, adding variety of texture in the solo sections and indicating a few different scales for soloists to use. Perform it.
11. Extended response question: (500 words) How does Peter Knight create tension in Vault? Discuss at least two ways, giving examples. due Monday 11/11
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