ESO Musica I -Ingles- Ud01

7/27/2019 ESO Musica I -Ingles- Ud01

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Pitch

Duration

Intensity

Timbre

it is produced by

vibrations

It propagates through

physical mediums

It is perceived by

the ear

High

Low

Long

Short

Loud

Soft

Voice

Instrument

Sound1qualities of sound

Music is made by sound. But, what is sound made of? What is it?

When we hit an object, when we pluck a tight string, when we blow through a tube, when we speak and

sing; we make sounds.

In order to turn sound into music, there must be an expressive intention.

The first step will be to work on the different qualities of sound, which have their own graphic representationson the staff: conventional notation symbols, as well as the so called alternative graphic notation.

Sound


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8 UNIT 1

1.1. How it is produced

Sound is produced when an object vibrates and that

movement travels through sound waves until it reachesour ears.

1.2. How it propagates

Sound propagates at high speeds. The waves travel

through the air at 340 meters per second, and they are

transmitted the same way waves spread on water when

we throw a stone.

Usually, sound travels through air, but it can also travel

through other mediums like water or solid objects. In

fact, sound travels faster through water (1.435 m/s) and

even faster through materials like wood (3.900 m/s) or

iron (5.000 m/s).

1.3. How we hear

Sounds are picked up by a very thin membrane in our

ear, the eardrum, which connects the outer and middle

ear. When sound waves hit the eardrum, the information

produced by its vibration is transmitted to the brain.

Reverb and echo

Reverb is produced when sound waves find

obstacles on their way. They are reflected or

bounced back in the opposite direction of the

sound source.

Echo is a kind of reverb that creates the repeti-

tion of sound. When the time-lapse between

the emitted and the reflected sounds is wide

enough, we perceive them both separately.

The echo and the reverb of sound are very

useful phenomena of nature. For example,

they allow bats find their way while flying;

and make it possible for sailors to measurethe depth of the sea or let them know where

a school of fish is.

aThe vibration of an object travels through sound waves.

1 Sound

1. If you put your ear to the table and hit the wood

gently with your ngers, youll notice how well

sounds propagate through solid objects. Try to make

it louder and softer putting your ear away from the

table. Write your conclusions in your notebook.

2. Investigate your surroundings and give examples

which prove the different speeds of sounddepending on the physical mediums.

ACTIVITIES

The eardrums vibrations are turned

into nerve impulses. They transmit

the information to the brain.


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9Sound. Qualities of sound

2.1. Silence in music: rest*

Silence is the absence of sound, the lack of hearing sensation.

Actually, there isnt such thing as absolute silence. Even if we couldisolate ourselves completely from outer sounds, we would still hear

our own bodys inner sounds.

When we talk about silence in music, we understand it, therefore, as

something relative; as the blank space of music.

Functions of rests in music:

Silence is an element as important as sound in music.

It is the indispensible previous condition to enjoy music: we begin

with silence when hearing and performing a composition.

It serves as a break, to catch ones breath.

It is a resource of great expressive energy: a rest at the right time can

have more meaning than the best of sounds.

It makes it possible to organize ideas and give structure to the whole

composition.

Rest is the term used in musicalnotation to indicate a period of

silence on the score.

2 Silence

1.J. S. Bach.Toccata and fugue in D minor

& b c .U # R U .U # R

U

& b .U

# r U # #

# (etc...)

r#

a. What instrument performs it?

b. This music sure sounds familiar to you, where did you hear it?

c. This fragment consists of several short musical phrases, how many?

d. Can you point out the phrases on the staff?

e. Can you recognise rest notes on the score?

f. What correspondance can you nd between rest notes in this piece and punctuation marks in written

languages?

g. What do these rests make you feel?

h. If you were a movie director, in what scene would you play this background music? Write a short

text describing the situation.

ACTIVITIES

11

Mosquitoes make their wings vibrate

around 510 times per second. That is

why their sound is more noticeable.


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10 UNIT 1

Sound has four qualities or parameters which allow us to identify it:

pitch, duration, intensity and timbre.

If we try to describe a sound with words, we have to point out:

If the sound is high or low, that is, the pitch.

If the sound is long or short; we point out the duration.

If the sound is loud or soft, that is, the intensity.

If the sound comes from a voice or an instrument; we point out the

timbre.

As we saw before, sound is produced by vibrating bodies. Therefore,

the different qualities of sound are due to the different shapes and

characteristics that those vibrations may have.

The pitch of sound depends on the wave frequency: the vibration

speed. It is measured in units called hertzes (Hz) which show the

number of vibrations per second.

The duration of sound depends on the wave persistence: how

long the wave lasts until fading out.

The intensity of sound depends on the wave amplitude: the

distance between the points of highest vibration and repose of

the object. It is measured in units called decibels (dB).

The timbre depends on the mixture of root and harmonicsounds, which are different in each voice or instrument.

QUALITIES DISTINCTION PRODUCED BY

low

PITCH wave frequency (Hz)

high

long

DURATION wave persistence

short

loud

INTENSITY wave amplitude (dB)

soft

voices

harmonic sounds

TIMBRE

instruments

Writing music

Musical notation consists of rep-

resenting as precisely as possible

all four qualities of sound: pitch,

duration, intensity and timbre.

The symbols we use today are

the result of a long evolution

throughout history, from the

need of preserving and being

able to perform music.

The color of sound

When we hear a sound, it is never

pure. It is a mixture of sounds with

different frequency and vibration

amplitude.

Just as the combination of differ-ent colours creates another col-

our, the combination of harmonic

sounds creates different timbres.

3 Qualities of sound

Look at this chart in which we

describe the qualities of soundby indicating the physical phe-

nomena that produce them.


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11Sound. Qualities of sound

We use musical notation to represent the different working possibilities

of sound; creating it, as well as performing and preserving it.

Currently, along with conventional notation (which we are about to

see in the following units), some alternative symbols are used too.

They are capable of meeting the needs of contemporary music and

its new sounds, in a more expressive and open way.

4.1. Pitch symbols

If we distinguish between high or low pitch, the simplest way of

representing these opposites would be:

low high

4.2. Duration symbols

If we distinguish between long and short duration of sound, we can

represent it with horizontal lines or rectangles for long sounds, and

dots or squares for short sounds.

long short

4.3. Intensity symbols

If we distinguish between loud or soft intensity sounds, we can

represent them by changing the size of the symbol or the color

intensity:

loud soft

4.4. Timbre symbols

In conventional notation, timbre does not have a specific symbol,

so it is represented by just writing the corresponding name of the

voice or instrument.

However, when using alternative symbols in graphic notation, it

is very common to represent the various timbres referring to the

material of the instrument or the way the sound is made:

Braille musical notation

Louis Braille (1809-1852), creatorof the reading system for blind

people, also invented a musical

notation based on raised dots.

It consists of grouping six dots in

two vertical columns of three, rai-

sing certain combinations so that

the reader can feel them.

For the names of the notes, he

combines the four upper dots:

For the duration, he combines the

two lower dots:

Accidentals, time signatures and

other elements are represented

using different combinations with

the whole group of six dots.

whole half quarter e ighthnote note note note

FC D E G A B

4 Alternative graphic notation

guitarra panderoflautaguitar flute tambourine


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13

4 Copy in your notebook and complete the following chart summarizing the qualities of sound:

qualities distinction producedby

5 Find out the mistakes of the following statements and write them correctly in your notebook:

Sound is produced when the vibration of waves is transmitted as a body up to our ears.

Sound propagates through air at 340 kilometers per minute.

The ear picks up sounds with the vocal chords, which connect the inner and middle ear.

The qualities of sound are: pitch, duration, intensity and loudness.

The pitch of sound depends on the wave persistence, which is the vibration speed.

The intensity of sound depends on the wave frequency.

The pitch allows us to distinguish between low and soft sounds.

The timbre depends on the mixture of just one sound.

The duration allows us to distinguish between low and short sounds.

Conventional musical notation tries to represent the size of sound.

The duration of sound depends on the vibration frequency.

The intensity of sound allows us to distinguish between loud and high sounds.

The timbre allows us to distinguish between loud and soft sounds.

Echo is a kind of reverb which makes sound louder.

Sound propagates at a higher speed through air than through iron.

Sound. Qualities of sound


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14 UNIDAD 2

Audicin 1 Copia en tu cuaderno y resuelve el crucigrama contestando a las definiciones que se indican debajo:1. CopiTake a look at the indications seen in the cards below:s que se indican debajo:

Performance 1 Take a look at the indications seen in the cards below:

a. Your teacher will individually and secretly give you one of these cards to perform it.

b. In order, one at a time, using your voice or an instrument of the class, you will perform the sound

or the group of sounds your card indicates. Think twice if you decide to use an instrument, not all

instruments have the same acoustic possibilities. You have to choose the best one.

c. Your classmates will write it down to try to guess the card you perform.

1

A low sound

2

A high sound

3

A long sound

4

A short sound

5

A loud sound

6

A soft sound

7

A low and long sound

8

A high and short

sound

9

A loud and long

sound

10

A high and soft sound

11

A long and soft sound

12

A short and loud

sound

13

A low and soft sound

14

A short and soft

sound

15

A low and loud sound

16

A short and low

sound

17

A high, long and loud

sound

18

A low, short and soft

sound

19

Several short and soft

sounds

20

Several short and

loud sounds

21

Several short sounds

from soft to loud

22


from loud to soft

23


from high to low

24


from low to high

14 UNIT 1


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Creation

Sound. Qualities of sound 15

1 Pay attention to the instructions of the chart bellow and perform this piece with the whole class.

seconds 5 10 15 20

21 25 30 35 40

41 45 50 55 60

VOICEXYLOPHONECYMBALCLAVESSLIDE

WHISTLE

TAMBOURINE

with marbles

Instrument

Sound

it is rotated

swinging

the instrument

approximate

pitch

and upward

or downward

design

intensity and

number

depending

on dot

density

duration

and

intensity

depending

on symbol

groups of

four

upward/downward

sounds

approximate

pitch and

intensity

depending

on size


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Audicin 1 Copiaentucuadernoyresuelveelcrucigramacontestandoalasdefinicionesqueseindicandebajo:

16 UNIT 1

Listening 1 Listen to these four musical pieces we present you:

Holst.The Planets. Jupiter.

Brahms.Symphony No. 3. Poco Allegretto.

Beethoven.Symphony No.7. Allegretto.

RichardStrauss.Thus spoke Zarathustra.

a.Which do you think is the predominant quality of sound in seach one of these fragments?

Match each track with its most highlighted quality.

b.Which of the following pictures would you choose to represent each track?

c.Choose some of the adjectives below to describe what the tracks make you feel or the mood

they put you in.

shiny monotonous surprising simple

energetic delicate bold clear

optimistic sad disturbing calm

12

13

14

15

a)

b)

c)

d)


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17

Challenge

Sound. Qualities of sound

1 Look at the following chart in which the different speeds of sound are expressed in meters per

second. Fill the right column in your notebook, calculating the speed of sound in kilometers

per hour.

Physical MediuM sPeedM/s sPeed KM/h

Oxygen 317

Air 340

Lead 1.190

Hydrogen 1.286

Water 1.450

Copper 3.810

Wood 3.900

Aluminum 5.100

Iron 5.190

Granite 6.000

Medio

2 Write your own musical composition using alternative graphic notation:

First, think about the environment you want to represent. You can compose a soundtrack that re-

flects, for example, the sounds of the city, the country, the sea, an action scene, etc.

Choose the timbre with which you are going to represent all the elements of your soundtrack. You

can choose among the instruments of your class, voice or instruments you can make with various

objects. Create a symbol for each instrument which identifies it clearly.

Draw two axes (vertical and horizontal) in order to write your score. On the vertical line you will in-

dicate the intervention of the different instruments or voices. On the horizontal line, you will indicate

the durations on a scale expressed in seconds.

Ask your classmates for help to be able to perform your score and dare to conduct your composition.

instrument

voice

instrument

voice

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50


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18 UNIDAD 1

To sum up

18 UNIT 1

Sound is a hearing perception

produced by the vibration of an elastic

body, and is transmitted through air,liquid or solids up to our ears.

1

Silence is as important as sound in music.

It is indispensible to enjoy music. It gives

structure to the musical discourse and can

be used as a resource of great expressive

energy.

2

Sound has four qualities or

parameters which allow us to identifyit: pitch, duration, intensity and

timbre.

3

The intensity allows us to distinguish

between loud and soft sounds.

It depends on the wave amplitude.

6

Musical notation consists of graphically

representing all four qualities of sound.

Alternative graphic notation is a non-

conventional notation which allows us

to write music in a more expressive and

open way.

8

The duration allows us to distinguishbetween long and short sounds.

It depends on the wave persistence.

5

The timbre allows us to distinguishbetween voices and instruments.

It depends on the mixture of root

sounds with its harmonics.

7

The pitch allows us to distinguish

between low and high sounds.

It depends on the wave frequency.

4

ESO Musica I -Ingles- Ud01

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