MUSIC 15 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Boombox, Erlking, Missa Papae Marcelli
● Midterm 02/13 in class, bring no. 2 pencil
○ 40 mc questions
○ Concert attendance
Music+Math
● Scales have 7 degrees, resembles modular arithmetic
○ Scale Notes (C Major): C D E F G A B
○ Scale Degrees 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
○ Modular Arithmetic 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
● Can be added/subtracted
○ Tonic (C)=0; Dominant (G)=4
■ Difference between C and G = 4
■ These are called intervals
● What if we keep adding 4 to a mod 7 arithmetic
● 0(C), 0+4=4(G), 4+4=8=1(D) 1+4=5(A), 5+4=9=2(E) 2+4=6(B) 6+4=10=3(F) 3+4=0(C)
○ Note order: C G D A E B F C (going up fifths); going away from home
○ Going backwards: C F B E A D G C (going down fifths) going towards home
■ Why do we eventually approach 7 again? Because 7 is a prime number
■ This chord progression can be seen in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons
● This order of scale degrees is known as the circle of fifths!
● Roman numerals correspond to scale degrees
● I ii iii IV V vi vii
○ Capital (major) lowercase (minor)
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”
● Poetry compared to Chopin’s Prelude no. 28 in A Major
○ Rhyme scheme of poem match musical phrases of prelude (four couplets)
○ Rhyme highlights q&a pair of phrases
■ “Sank to grief” at same place chord is based on F#, the climax of the song
■ Last two phrases both work towards resolution
Music with words
● Played out in Renaissance period (1340-1600) in music for Catholic mass
○ Mass ordinary-Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
○ Medieval period=plainchant; very clear, distinguishable words (monophonic)
■ Renaissance=polyphonic settings of mass
■ E.g. Josquin de Prez- credo in Missa L’homme Arme
● Imitative polyphony, lacks clarity
● Use of melismas, obfuscate words, secular tune (“man of arms”)
○ Council of Trent
■ Discussion of use of music in mass; considered banning polyphony in
church music, banning secular music from mass settings
● Palestrina saved polyphony
○ Wrote Pope Marcellus mass in response to Council’s
decree
○ Included 6 voices (soprano, alto, 2 tenors and 2 basses)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
