Q.5 General Listening
Question 5 is called Chosen songs and Works but the majority of questions here involve un-prepared listening, i.e. answering
questions about a piece of music heard for the first time in the exam, and it calls on all the listening experiences gained in the previous 3 years. Familiarity with the following is needed. Below is a list of features or characteristics of music. These are the "ingredients" of music. Often a student needs to find similarities and differences between 2 pieces of music. To do this. listen for the features below.
Instruments Naming instruments that you hear playing is the most frequently asked question. Know the instruments of
the orchestra. Woodwind (Flute, Oboe Clarinet, and Bassoon), Brass (Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, and Tuba) Strings (Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass)
A percussion instrument is any instrument that is struck. i.e. Timpani, Cymbal, Snare drum, Triangle, Tambourine etc.
Pop/Rock instruments include Drums, Guitar, Bass and Keyboards. Remember, the smaller the instrument, the higher the sound.Voices include Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
There are many examples of instruments elsewhere on this site, especially on 1st and 2nd year pages. It is very important to listen to them as recognising the sound of instruments is the most common question.
Performing medium means the type of group that is playing or singing.
Orchestra
Chamber orchestra (small orchestra)
Choir (S,.A.,T.B.) Soprano (high, female sometimes called a treble) Alto (low female), Tenor (high male) Bass (Low male). Occasionally a boy soprano needs to be recognised although unlikely for J.C.
Marching band (Military band or Brass Band) features Brass and Percussion.
Rock band
Trad group
Pitch High or low? Rising or falling? Step movement or leap? Scale passage or broken chord? A Sequence is a very common melodic device. It is a pattern of notes repeated at a different pitch as heard in Waters of Babylon, One Day More (below), the verses of Ripples in the rockpools and throughout Bizet's Intermezzo.
Articulation means legato (smooth or joined) or staccato (detached).
Metre How many beats are in each bar, usually 2,3 or 4.
Style
In "Classical" music, the 4 main periods or eras are Baroque (like Vivaldi's "Spring"), Classical, Romantic (like L'Arlessienne) and Contemporary? Use your knowledge of the set and choice works to determine the style of an un prepared exam piece.
Jazz? Pop/Rock? Traditional? Fusion? Electronic?
Cadence.
A cadence comes at the end of a phrase (sentence). It is musical punctuation, like a full stop or comma. A cadence is made up of 2 chords. The following are the 2 most common cadences.
3. Other cadences include the interupted cadence, (chords 5-6,) while the plagal cadence uses chords 4 and 1
Ostinato.
An Ostinato is a repeated musical idea. It might be rhythm or a melodic pattern or a chord progression etc. Examples include
bass lines in several Michael Jackson songs like "Billy Jean", and many modern songs which use the same chord progression over and over. E.G. "Pricetag". The following are good examples of Ostinati.
questions about a piece of music heard for the first time in the exam, and it calls on all the listening experiences gained in the previous 3 years. Familiarity with the following is needed. Below is a list of features or characteristics of music. These are the "ingredients" of music. Often a student needs to find similarities and differences between 2 pieces of music. To do this. listen for the features below.
Instruments Naming instruments that you hear playing is the most frequently asked question. Know the instruments of
the orchestra. Woodwind (Flute, Oboe Clarinet, and Bassoon), Brass (Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, and Tuba) Strings (Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass)
A percussion instrument is any instrument that is struck. i.e. Timpani, Cymbal, Snare drum, Triangle, Tambourine etc.
Pop/Rock instruments include Drums, Guitar, Bass and Keyboards. Remember, the smaller the instrument, the higher the sound.Voices include Soprano Alto Tenor Bass
There are many examples of instruments elsewhere on this site, especially on 1st and 2nd year pages. It is very important to listen to them as recognising the sound of instruments is the most common question.
Performing medium means the type of group that is playing or singing.
Orchestra
Chamber orchestra (small orchestra)
Choir (S,.A.,T.B.) Soprano (high, female sometimes called a treble) Alto (low female), Tenor (high male) Bass (Low male). Occasionally a boy soprano needs to be recognised although unlikely for J.C.
Marching band (Military band or Brass Band) features Brass and Percussion.
Rock band
Trad group
Pitch High or low? Rising or falling? Step movement or leap? Scale passage or broken chord? A Sequence is a very common melodic device. It is a pattern of notes repeated at a different pitch as heard in Waters of Babylon, One Day More (below), the verses of Ripples in the rockpools and throughout Bizet's Intermezzo.
Articulation means legato (smooth or joined) or staccato (detached).
Metre How many beats are in each bar, usually 2,3 or 4.
Style
In "Classical" music, the 4 main periods or eras are Baroque (like Vivaldi's "Spring"), Classical, Romantic (like L'Arlessienne) and Contemporary? Use your knowledge of the set and choice works to determine the style of an un prepared exam piece.
Jazz? Pop/Rock? Traditional? Fusion? Electronic?
Cadence.
A cadence comes at the end of a phrase (sentence). It is musical punctuation, like a full stop or comma. A cadence is made up of 2 chords. The following are the 2 most common cadences.
- Chord 5 followed by chord 1 is a "perfect cadence". It sounds finished like a
full stop.
3. Other cadences include the interupted cadence, (chords 5-6,) while the plagal cadence uses chords 4 and 1
Ostinato.
An Ostinato is a repeated musical idea. It might be rhythm or a melodic pattern or a chord progression etc. Examples include
bass lines in several Michael Jackson songs like "Billy Jean", and many modern songs which use the same chord progression over and over. E.G. "Pricetag". The following are good examples of Ostinati.
Tremolo This is when one note is repeated over very quickly, a sort of quivering effect. It's typically heard on strings or as a drum roll although a drum roll is often written as a trill.
A trill is two notes repeated very quickly and can be heard on any melodic instrument.
A trill is two notes repeated very quickly and can be heard on any melodic instrument.
Texture (always asked on J.C. paper) is concerned with the thickness of the music.
Monophonic means one line of music without accompaniment.
Homophonic means melody with accompaniment. Sometimes you can hear lots going on but still there is only one MELODY. This is homophonic.
Polyphonic means more than one melody at the same time. Imitation means copying like “Row your boat”. There needs to be an overlap of the 2 melodies to be considered as imitation. Otherwise it’s just a repeat. Imitation is polyphonic. Excellent examples of polyphony are found in the solo violins in Spring, Bizat's Farandole and from the middle of One Day More
Monophonic means one line of music without accompaniment.
Homophonic means melody with accompaniment. Sometimes you can hear lots going on but still there is only one MELODY. This is homophonic.
Polyphonic means more than one melody at the same time. Imitation means copying like “Row your boat”. There needs to be an overlap of the 2 melodies to be considered as imitation. Otherwise it’s just a repeat. Imitation is polyphonic. Excellent examples of polyphony are found in the solo violins in Spring, Bizat's Farandole and from the middle of One Day More
Rhythm The following are useful descriptions of rhythm. "Even" where there is a smooth rhythm with most notes the same. If you're confident here you could also name the notes, i.e. "mostly crotchets with some quavers". A "Dotted" rhythm is long-short-long etc like in a hornpipe. Triplets are 3 notes in one beat. You could also write out the rhythm that you feel is a feature.
Syncopation is a more complicated off-beat rhythm. Most of our drum beats, all popular music and all Jazz feature syncopation
Syncopation is a more complicated off-beat rhythm. Most of our drum beats, all popular music and all Jazz feature syncopation
Tonality Major, (bright) Minor (dark) or Modal (all Irish music.....)
Tempo means speed. Is the music fast, moderate, or slow? If it changes, does it get faster or slower? Musical terms include Allegro (fast), Andante (Walking pace) adagio (slow). Ritardando means gradually slower. Accelerando means gradually faster.
Mood is easy as you can make up your own answer. Choose from Exciting, Happy, Calm, Peaceful, Angry, Sad and others
Dynamics is the term used for loud and soft. Forte (f) means loud. Piano (p) means soft. Mezzo (m) means medium. ff, f. mf, mp, p, pp. Crescendo means gradually louder. Diminuendo means gradually softer
The following are the most typical questions in Q. 5 from Junior Cert' past papers.
The singer is a bass an alto a treble a tenor??
The texture of the music is polyphonic monophonic homophonic??
The instrument in the introduction is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It plays tremolo notes broken chords rising scales trills??
There is word-painting in (words given...Never walk alone)??
Identify two musical features that add dramatic effect to line 14.??
The opening instrumental section contains: long held notes, ascending scales, descending scales, repeated notes??
The choir consists of: male voices only, female voices only, male and female voices??
Name the brass instruments heard for the first time as the choir starts singing??.
Name the percussion instruments…??
Compare the two extracts under three of the following: mood, speed, time signature and rhythm.
Circle two instruments that play the melody. The mood is angry mysterious excited dramatic??
List three musical features used to create this mood.
Explain the following signs; accent, trill, staccato, pizzicato
The accompaniment is played on a guitar a harpsichord a piano an organ??
In line 1, the melody features; triplets, a descending scale, changing time signature, an ascending scale??
In lines 2, 3 and 4, the melody in the accompaniment plays with the voice in unison, harmony, octaves, imitation??
Outline any one point of interest in the accompaniment from line 7 to the end. The first and second phrases are sung as a sequence. Explain
Identify two similarities and two differences between excerpt one and excerpt two.?
The singer is a bass an alto a treble a tenor??
The texture of the music is polyphonic monophonic homophonic??
The instrument in the introduction is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
It plays tremolo notes broken chords rising scales trills??
There is word-painting in (words given...Never walk alone)??
Identify two musical features that add dramatic effect to line 14.??
The opening instrumental section contains: long held notes, ascending scales, descending scales, repeated notes??
The choir consists of: male voices only, female voices only, male and female voices??
Name the brass instruments heard for the first time as the choir starts singing??.
Name the percussion instruments…??
Compare the two extracts under three of the following: mood, speed, time signature and rhythm.
Circle two instruments that play the melody. The mood is angry mysterious excited dramatic??
List three musical features used to create this mood.
Explain the following signs; accent, trill, staccato, pizzicato
The accompaniment is played on a guitar a harpsichord a piano an organ??
In line 1, the melody features; triplets, a descending scale, changing time signature, an ascending scale??
In lines 2, 3 and 4, the melody in the accompaniment plays with the voice in unison, harmony, octaves, imitation??
Outline any one point of interest in the accompaniment from line 7 to the end. The first and second phrases are sung as a sequence. Explain
Identify two similarities and two differences between excerpt one and excerpt two.?