Smart Skool | Lesson 2

sound- elements - notation - form - pentatonic

Scales are the groups of notes used in a song or piece of music.
Played from lowest to highest (ascending) then back down again (descending).
They are like ladders of notes.

Now play the scale on the interactive flute from the smart sounds lesson

Monophonic
	Monophonic texture has only one layer of sound. Examples: Monks singing a medieval chant in unison (all at the same pitch). An unaccompanied piece of music for flute (a flute can only play one note at a time!).
Homophonic
	Homophonic texture has many parts but they all change notes at the same time with the same rhythm. Example: Hymns where high and low voices sing the same rhythm but different notes of the chord or harmony - the melody is normally the highest part and all the other parts sing the same rhythm underneath.
Polyphonic
	Polyphonic texture has 2 or more parts that could be separate tunes on their own. Composers can make them work together in some very clever ways. Also know as counterpoint. Examples: Fugues by J S Bach are very clever polyphonic pieces involving imitation or follow the leader. Bach also wrote some 2-Part Inventions that make good use of combining tunes. A simple example is a round (like Frere Jaques is often sung). The tunes are all the same but they start at different times and overlap.

Composers in the past have fitted their musical ideas, melodies, rhythms, etc. into overall patterns called forms. All forms are to do with repeating ideas and contrasting them with different ones. A is used to show the first idea or tune. B will show a different tune and C a different one again. A repeat of a letter shows the return of that tune.
Examples are Binary Form AABB used by Baroque composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, and Sonata Form used by most of the famous composers from about 1750 and popular until the beginning of the 1900s.
Here are two more popular forms that have been around a long time and are still useful today.

Find out more about Rondo form in the lesson on Form

When you are ready test yourself with the

pdf	interactive	word	BONUS

for printing	on screen	right click & save target as	LISTENING QUIZ