Ostinato

March some momentum, Williams turned to a different work about outer space, Gustav Holst’s "The Planets," specifically "Mars, the Bringer of War."” (Nowacki, Shobe) These two works have evident parallels in their rhythms; for example, both use an ostinato pattern for an underlying bass line that is sometimes used as a counter-melody. The rhythm for Mars is , while the rhythm for the main title theme of Star Wars is . These rhythms are very similar in the way of using triplets and they both use…

unrefined nature of the tribal setting. The bassoon plays a modal Lithuanian melody with an irregular meter, evoking the idea of a simpler less organized people. The solo melody soon transitions into a rhythmic dance, grounded in an eighth note ostinato on the static, bitonal chord “E-flat minor over F-flat.” This strikingly dissonant harmony creates a foreboding ambience, further compounded by the irregular use of accents, which only heighten the anticipation. In addition to the unsettling…

The time signature of this piece is C+2/4 – a bar of 4 followed by a bar 2. The bass ostinato then plays on this, being a 3 crotchet repeated pattern. These 3 beat patterns under duple time signatures are seen in a number of songs in West Side Story. The piece consists of 118 bars and 6 verses. From bar 37 we see a change beating to a…

Introduction Jazz music is regarded as a genre whose roots are traced from the communities of African-American ascent in the New Orleans. The development of jazz is associated with ragtime, blues and band music from the European military in the 19th and 20th centuries. Also, it is composed of blue notes, polyrhythms, improvisation, and response vocals. Different cultures such as the Latin culture in the USA have been added in the jazz music genre leading to the development of variations…

Samuel Shuhan MuHL-570 11 December 2015 Professor Bruce Brown A Closer Look at Rachmaninoff’s Late Composition Style Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances”, written in in 1940, are unique because of their orchestration, titles, and melodic and harmonic content. The piece differs from other compositions of Rachmaninoff’s because it implements a nationalist composition style, yet also bears influence from contemporary composers. Charles Fisk differs, stating that “In America and Western Europe, a…

characteristics of each occasion." In the prepared piano genre, the right hand for the most part plays longer note values (quarter notes, half notes, and whole notes), while the left hand has mostly eighth note designs. Prepared pianos consolidate ostinato rhythms and are utilized throughout a large selection of pieces. Gamelan Music and Prepared Piano are connected in an assortment of ways, for the most part being the timbre of instrumentation and sound delivered. Both styles, paying little…

Michael Sweeney’s Earth and Sky, commissioned for the 2013 Nebraska All-State Eighth Grade Band, celebrates the Omaha tribe’s belief that the sky and earth are interconnected. Prior to the 1800s, the animistic union between sky and earth permeated all aspects of Omaha culture. In fact, the tribe even developed a social structure based on the belief. During this time, the Omaha tribe was divided into two half-tribes: the Sky People (know as the Insta’shunda) and the Earth People (known as the…

alternates between the different “episodes” of spring (Pg. 178). The second movement evokes the poetic image of the goatherd who sleeps in a meadow with his faithful dog by his side. The tempo is largo and is played in a ¾ meter. The violas give off an ostinato rhythm, which portrays the dog’s bark. A solo violin chimes in giving the song a melancholy melody. In the finale, an allegro movement titled “Rustic…

kicked in with the piano. All the players used a 4/4 time with a temporary interjection by the bassist who resorted to chords one and three using the right hand. The music was unquestionably a combination of soul and blues. It had strong beats and ostinato that made most of the audience starts to nod their heads and tap their feet. Towards the conclusion of the song, the piano started to get more dominant by focusing on the right hand chords solely. The piano player injected freestyle notes…

No matter where you live or where you are from, people of the earth believe music to be extraordinary and an evocative fixation. People of all walks appreciate hearing and listening to their favorite tunes. Music can generate feelings within a listener whether it has a singular meaning or one of extraordinary sensation. How do songs achieve this? Music is more intricate than most can comprehend. There are numerous characteristics such as melody, texture, tempo, rhythm and dynamics, to be…