Lecture 03 Rhythm - Fundamentals

【简直迷上了Ravel 的 Bolero。】

这节课两件事:

  • Advantages and Disadvantages of Musical Notation

    乐谱的优缺点。

    Advantages:

    • it allows the composer to specify rather precisely what he or she wants, to sort of write things out in the form of musical details. 【便于作曲家创作,也便于有才华的作曲家被认可,不致埋没】
    • It allows us to preserve the work of art.【we can bring it back to life】

    【想起《触不可及》里面,菲利普一脸严肃地说艺术是人作为生命的过客能在世上留下的唯一痕迹。】

​ 这里播放了一段伊斯兰教Islamic的Adhan 片段 和 Chuck Mangione 与乐队即兴发挥的sax solo。

​ 【Adhan 部分,呃,建议白天听,晚上听可能需要点胆子,Youtube上有完整版】

  • Beats and Meters

    介绍音乐的脉搏,节拍 和 节奏。

    the idea of pulse in music and the beat in the music and rhythms in music.

    whole note = 4 * quarter notes

    this whole note obviously can be subdivided into two half notes and each of the half notes into two quarter notes, each of these quarter notes into two eighth notes, and so on.

    Rests: 休止符,represent the absence of sound。

    Pulse: music theorists have said that the pulse in music is basically at the same tempo as the human pulse. 【音乐的脉搏同人类的脉搏?72拍/分钟】

    In this course, only play with two types of meter, duple and triple.

    Two things focus on:

    • differentiate between duple and triple meter
    • recognize some very basic rhythmic patterns
  • Exercises Distinguishing Duple and Triple Meters

    Duple: strong, weak, strong, weak, strong, weak…….

    Triple: strong, weak, weak, strong, weak, weak, strong, weak, weak…….

    Exercises:

    • Duple: Yale fight song: Bulldog [written by Cole Porter]
    • Triple: plays piano
  • Conducting Basic Meter Patterns: Exercises with REM, Chopin, and Ravel

    Downbeat: The first part of the bar.【真的是很懵逼……】

    在downbeat 之前有一小段音乐,叫做 pick-up,类似跳水运动员跳水前的准备动作。

    all music has a downbeat, not all music starts with a downbeat. Sometimes when listening to music you have to wait. 【好了,连 downbeat 是啥都不清楚,怎么找?】

    there are four principal ways that composers signal to us the where abouts of the downbeat.

    • That has to do with duration.【short, long, long 拖的比较长】
    • through accent【Mozart’s Fortieth Symphony in G Minor, 第一乐章 2/2, 高pitch前的那段?】
    • through patterns of accompaniment【 waltz by Johann Strauss,懵逼ing…..】
    • by means of chord change 【一段 REM的 pop music, 彻底懵逼,不知道change的点在哪里……】

    rhythm practice: Chopin‘ piece

    【change key后面那段,41:49 ~ 42:16,lovely, 感觉像是Nocturne in E Flat Major Op. 9 No. 2,先Mark下】

    这里教授调侃了下自己,哈哈.

    最后的练习曲目:Maurice Ravel’s Bolero.【真的是很特别,小白都被迷住了】

    Maurice Ravel was a French composer writing in the early twentieth century. It’s a unique piece because what he does is take some very basic patterns and simply repeats them over and over and over again for about fourteen and a half minutes depending upon the tempo that the conductor is taking the music.

    【感觉全程最苦的是鼓手:P】