Goal: The goal of this discussion is to demonstrate understanding of Early Music using musical terminology to express your ideas.
Course Objective(s):
CO-1: Identify Western music by style and era.
CO-2: Apply musical terminology, concepts and critical listening skills to a given major composer and style of music.
CO-3: Analyze the social, political, and cultural influences on Western and non-Western music.
Description:
Choose one of the Week 2 listening examples, which are embedded in Chapter 2 “Early Western Art Music” of the course e-text and in the Week 2 Lesson. (Music from the Middle Ages or Renaissance only, no Dylan, Baez, or Cash, etc.) Be sure to include the title of the listening example in your answer. After listening, address these 6 questions:
After listening, address the following 6 questions:
How did the music make you feel? Why?
What was the mood of the music? Why do you say that?
How would you move your body to the music? Why did you choose that movement?
Wha
Early Western Art Music
Music of the Renaissance and Early Modernism
Names of Students
Institution
Course
Date
Music of the Renaissance and Early Modernism
Early music is defined as music created between 1750 and 1820, with a focus on the period between 1750 and 1820. For the beginning of Western art music, it is a musical epoch that encompasses a wide range of genres. It generally includes music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and occasionally the Baroque period. It includes music from both secular and religious genres. The staff notation system used in early western art music distinguishes it from other popular and non-European early music forms of the same period. Since the 11th century, staff notation has been in use to represent musical notes. Tourdion, composed by Zoltan Arany, is an example of Renaissance music that I enjoyed listening to. As a result, the song is perfect because it causes its listeners to experience a variety of feelings and emotions. It is possible that the music will cause its listeners to move their bodies in a particular way as well.
While listening to the music of Tourdion, I was filled with happiness. The song’s musical rhythm contributed to the development of a happy feeling. The consistency of the melody and the harmonic rhythm of the music elicited a happy feeling in the listener. This was made possible by the instrumental tempo, which alternated between low and high, which heightened the rhythm of the music, which in turn influenced the feeling. As with the contrasting tempi of the vocalists, it was a unique experience that helped to strengthen the bond that existed between the performers and the audience (Schubert, 2013). Even if a foreign listener does not understand the language of the song, the contrasting vocalist tempos create an intense emotional response in him or her. Closing one’s eyes and smiling while listening to music conveys the emotion of happiness to others. Because the instruments used in Tourdion music were smooth and rapid in their execution, they captured the listener’s full attention, thereby increasing his or her pleasure.
Apart from that, the music produced feelings of amusement and contentment. The contented emotion was triggered by the smooth rhythm and beat of Tourdion’s music. I was pleased with the music’s melody as well as its harmony, and I enjoyed listening to it. The instrumental melody of the song is flawless and completely original. The melodic pitches were moving up and down slowly as they were being played. When the line reached a certain point, it would abruptly rise in pitch, allowing the instrumentalist to jump to a higher note (Schubert, 2013). Throughout Tourdion’s music, the shape and contours of the melodic lines were perfect, ensuring the satisfaction of its listeners. Furthermore, the contrasting vocals were harmonious, enhancing feelings of happiness and entertainment while listening.
Furthermore, while listening to Tourdion’s music, I found myself tapping my feet and bobbing my head in time. My entire body was twitching and swaying at the same time. When a person is satisfied with and enjoys music, their body organs will begin to move in sync with the beat and rhythm of the music being played. The way I move my body in various ways to keep up with the rhythmic pulse of Tourdion’s music includes nodding my head, tapping my feet, and nodding my head again. To keep up with the music’s pace and clarity, I found myself moving around the room (Burger, Thompson, Luck, Saarikallio, & Toiviainen, 2013). I made the decision to move my body in order to keep up with the rhythm, beat, and tempo of the musical composition. My body was moving in sync with the speed at which the beat was being played over and over. The use of body movement improved the sense of time and connection with the music.
In a nutshell, listening to Renaissance music can elicit a variety of different feelings, emotions, and physical movements. This style is distinguished by the vocalists’ contracting tempi and the consistency of the harmonic and melodic rhythms in their performances. The overall rhythm of the music elicited a happy feeling, which was portrayed by the performers by repeating the lines of the music, closing their eyes, and dancing. In addition, the music elicited feelings of contentment and amusement. The music also induced movements of body organs such as head nodding, tapping of the feed, and spontaneous movement of the body.
References
Schubert, E. (2013). Emotion felt by the listener and expressed by the music: literature review and theoretical perspectives. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 837.
Burger, B., Thompson, M. R., Luck, G., Saarikallio, S., & Toiviainen, P. (2013). Influences of rhythm-and timbre-related musical features on characteristics of music-induced movement. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 183.
