Sound Reasoning
Table of Contents
Part I: Sound Reasoning
1. Sound Reasoning: A New Way of Listening
2. How Music Makes Sense
3. Listening Gallery: How Music Makes Sense
4. Musical Emphasis
5. Listening Gallery: Musical Emphasis
6. Musical Form
7. Listening Gallery: Musical Form
8. Expository and Developmental
9. Listening Gallery: Expository and Developmental
10. Overall Destiny
11. Listening Gallery: Overall Destiny
12. Time’s Effect on the Material
13. Listening Gallery: Time’s Effect
14. Summary: A Quick Guide for Listening
15. Making Music Modern
16. Listening Gallery: Making Music Modern
17. Conclusion: What is Music Trying to Express?
7. Listening Gallery: Musical Form
For each exercise, make a note when you hear a change of section. Then decide which form the composition uses. After you have listened to the example, “ANSWERS” to check your analysis.
CHOICES
A-B-A form
A-B-C form
ANSWERS
This is an A-B-A form. The A-section is in the minor mode. It opens with a brief introduction, establishing the piano accompaniment’s undulating rhythm; the voice then enters. The A-section concludes with a long stopping point–the first interruption of the steady rhythm.
The B-section is in the contrasting Major mode. It introduces a new melody and accompanying rhythm. Just as the A-section, the B-section ends with a long stopping point.
The A-section then returns, beginning immediately at the entrance of the voice. The original vocal line is reprised with minor changes.
CHOICES
A-B-A form
A-B-C form
ANSWERS
This is an A-form: The rhythm and texture remain constant throughout the composition.
CHOICES
A-B-A form
A-B-C form
ANSWERS
This is an A-form: As in the Chopin Prelude, the rhythm and texture remain constant throughout the composition. (In this case, the texture is the oscillation between two timpani notes.) The dynamic (loud/soft) is varied, but these fluctuations are too brief to create a strong contrast.
CHOICES
A-B-A form
A-B-C form
A-B-C-D-A form
ANSWERS
There are two plausible ways of reading the form of this jazz composition. The first is an A-B-A: The A-section is the song’s main material, presented by all three instruments as an ensemble. The B-section consists of improvisatory solos. Then the A-section returns in its entirety.
A-B-C-D-A is another possible reading of the form. This reading takes into account that there are three improvisations: first, the piano solo; second, the trumpet solo, accompanied by the piano; third, the drum solo, periodically punctuated by the other two instruments.
Throughout the solos, the rhythmic drive is steady. The link between solos are carefully blurred: The piano keeps playing when the trumpet enters; both trumpet and piano play repeatedly during the drum solo. As a result, a large A-B-A, in which the B-section is divided into three sub-sections, would be my preferred reading.
CHOICES
A-B-A form
A-B-C form
ANSWERS
The sections in this movement are strongly contrasting and well-differentiated from each other. The A-section is energetic and bold, with repeated upward scalar figures traded among the instruments. The B-section is lyrical and softer. The C-section is aggressive and turbulent, ratcheting up the tension to its highest peak.
The order of sections is A-B-A-C-A (+extension). The A-section is played three times. The final time, it is extended to create a closing section or coda.