Basic Music Theory Presented by Ethan Winer
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Syncopation [Syncopation No.png] As we’ve seen, a normal beat in 4/4 time has a strong accent on 1 and 3, and a lesser accent on 2 and 4: ONE and Two and THREE and Four and. Syncopation puts the emphasis between the beats: one AND two AND three AND four AND. Most people easily feel syncopation naturally, though it’s fairly complex. This is a boring bass line, reminiscent of an organ you’d hear at a ball park [play first part of Syncopation Yes-No.wav]. The pitch of the bass is one octave higher than written here, to be sure the notes are heard on laptop speakers. [Syncopation Yes.png] This bass line is similar, but is made much more exciting by syncopation. The first note in each bar is on the 1 beat, but all the others notes are on the Ands between the beats. Both of these bars sound the same, but the second is technically more correct because the main beats are visible in the tied eighth notes. Good musicians can read and play either version just as easily [play second part of Syncopation Yes-No.wav].  [Anticipation.png] A similar concept is anticipation, where a note—usually a downbeat that begins a new measure—is played early. Here, the final note starts early for added emphasis [play on piano].  [You’re All I Need.png] Anticipation is used in You’re All I Need to Get By shown earlier in the example for pedal tones, where the bass plays the same note as the chords change. Here, both the singer and bass player anticipate each measure by an eighth note. These bass notes [point to the tied note pairs] sound like quarter notes that sustain for a full beat, because two eighth notes are tied across the measure boundary [play You’re All I Need.mp3]. [Don Ciccone.jpg] In the song Who Loves You by The Four Seasons, bass player Don Ciccone [pronounce chik-cōn-ee] plays entire sections ahead of the beat, which really helps propel the song [play Who Loves You.wav starting at 0:42]. Conductors [Orchestra & Conductor.jpg] The main purpose of a conductor or band leader is to set the tempo and guide the players to keep them together in time. Entire books have been written about conducting an orchestra, and I can cover only the basics here. O  rchestra players on an auditorium stage can be 50 feet apart or more between the percussion on the left and the cellos and basses on the right. Sound travels at about one foot per millisecond, and 50 milliseconds is a noticeable time delay. The conductor is centered in front of the players, so they follow his gestures rather than rely entirely on hearing the other musicians. [Conductor.gif] An orchestra conductor also interprets the music by deciding the tempos for each section, as well as dictating both the overall volume and the volume of each section. A conductor is not unlike a movie director who uses his own personal vision to guide the performance. Both follow a fixed script, but there’s still a lot of room for interpretation.  [Conductor.jpg] Some conductors use only their hands, but most hold a baton in their right hand so players in the rear of the orchestra can see more easily. The left hand is also used, mainly for expression, and to tell players if they’re too loud or soft, or to otherwise control the flow of the music. An orchestra conductor or musical director doesn’t have to be good at public speaking, or have a pleasing voice, but it’s important to communicate effectively. You can’t be self-conscious when telling others what to do, especially with student groups where the conductor may have to sing parts out loud to guide beginners. [Conductor 2.jpg] Another important skill is speaking timings. Everyone knows how to count ONE two three four, and ONE two three ONE two three. But you also have to count subdivisions. For eighth notes we say “ONE and TWO and THREE and FOUR and.” Sixteenth notes are counted as “ONE ee and uh TWO ee and uh,” while triplets can be said as ONE and TWO and Trip-Ah-Let, FOUR and. Being able to count subdivisions is also important for performers to understand music with complex timing, though they don’t need to count out loud. [Richard Brooks 1.jpg, then Richard Brooks 2.jpg] I’ve played in many orchestras, and worked with many conductors. My favorite conductor is maestro Richard Brooks, who will explain more about the skills required to lead an orchestra. [Video of Richard Brooks discussing conducting.] END SEGMENT 4 (Resume with Narration 63-67.wav) Download 1.02 Mb. Share with your friends:
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