Music Appreciation, Tuesday, period 2
Probably surprising nobody, the teachers were standing at the front of the room once again with a decent speaker setup. Jono was, as usual, leaning back against the desk with his arms crossed. It was comfortable there.
Hannibal nodded to the students, his own body language a bit more welcoming, Jono, and started. "Much of the music we've played so far has been a collaboration of various instruments. We could go into far too much depth about woodwinds, strings, percussion, and all the various types of instruments. However, the first instrument was the human voice."
Look, this topic just struck a chord with Jono, okay?
//Generally, it's always been the most convenient one, too. Can't find two rocks to beat together for a rhythm, and you've still got the ability to hum, or sing, or chant,// he added. //There isn't a race in human history that hasn't had some sort of music, and singing has played no small part in so, so many of them. It brings a more human touch to something. No matter how skilled somebody is with an instrument, it's difficult to put as much emotion into a song you play as one might put into a song they sing.//
And Hannibal was just going to very kindly not mention Jono's relationship to this topic. "There are many types of vocal music, from one person singing a simple melody to entire choruses involving intricate harmonies. And again, there is quite a bit related to religion. Gregorian chanting is a traditional form of a cappella - that is, without instrumentation - music. One line of melody, fairly simple." He pushed play on an example.
//Of course, a cappella doesn't only exist in older music,// Jono noted, once the chanting had finished. //Even today, people are still captivated by an impressive display of effective harmonies. Groups from all walks of music have dabbled in adapting their musical styles into purely vocal pieces, and modern choirs often take music they enjoy and arrange it to be performed without instruments as well. In fact, there are entire groups making a name for themselves doing just that. Groups like this one, Pentatonix, have good taste and talent backing themselves up.//
He was reaching for the computer today, hitting play on a YouTube video. Yeah, those were all mouth-noises.
"Nor does older music consist entirely of one-part melodies," Hannibal added, grinning. "There have been pieces written for as many as forty-eight separate voices, where a voice means the part sung - there are generally several people to each. Here is one which is a motet - sung music from the Renaissance period, generally - for forty."
//Another variation of purely vocal music that comes from more modern sources is beatboxing, that is, a means of creating vocal percussion, emulating the sounds of drums and the like using only one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It's mostly associated, these days, with hip-hop music, though vocal percussion is an art form that dates back to prehistory. Paul McCartney used vocal percussion in That Would Be Something, and Michael Jackson in Billie Jean.// Jono shrugged. //Modern vocal percussion involves a fair bit of vocal acrobatics. And quite a bit of spit. Even if you don't like the sound of it, it's not difficult to imagine how much work went into being able to create a rhythm and perform one's own accompaniment, all with the same mouth.//
He hit play on yet another YouTube video. Apparently today was YouTube day, on Jono's end.
Shut up, he wasn't jealous.
"Speaking of things which may not be to everyone's taste," Hannibal said with a chuckle, "not all choral music is harmonious, either. There is a fairly rich modern tradition of dissonant or atonal music, the sort of thing meant to elicit a reaction. This next piece is from Igor Stravinsky, a composer from around a hundred years ago. While to my knowledge it never inspired a riot as his Sacre du Printemps did, it is certainly somewhat different from what choral listeners at the time had come to expect." And he played The Dove Descending.
//Today, your class assignment is simple,// Jono said, leaning back against the desk again, crossing his arms over his chest all over again. //Sing. You've heard a good deal of music since we started this summer term, and you've heard a few examples of creating music without instrumental accompaniment here today.//
"It doesn't matter what it is," Hannibal said. "Something you know from childhood, or heard on the radio, or make up in the moment. It doesn't have to be incredibly intricate, and we don't expect you all to be opera singers. We only want you to try."
//So, give it a try. Open your mouths and make noises with them.//
Do it because he couldn't.
Hannibal nodded to the students, his own body language a bit more welcoming, Jono, and started. "Much of the music we've played so far has been a collaboration of various instruments. We could go into far too much depth about woodwinds, strings, percussion, and all the various types of instruments. However, the first instrument was the human voice."
Look, this topic just struck a chord with Jono, okay?
//Generally, it's always been the most convenient one, too. Can't find two rocks to beat together for a rhythm, and you've still got the ability to hum, or sing, or chant,// he added. //There isn't a race in human history that hasn't had some sort of music, and singing has played no small part in so, so many of them. It brings a more human touch to something. No matter how skilled somebody is with an instrument, it's difficult to put as much emotion into a song you play as one might put into a song they sing.//
And Hannibal was just going to very kindly not mention Jono's relationship to this topic. "There are many types of vocal music, from one person singing a simple melody to entire choruses involving intricate harmonies. And again, there is quite a bit related to religion. Gregorian chanting is a traditional form of a cappella - that is, without instrumentation - music. One line of melody, fairly simple." He pushed play on an example.
//Of course, a cappella doesn't only exist in older music,// Jono noted, once the chanting had finished. //Even today, people are still captivated by an impressive display of effective harmonies. Groups from all walks of music have dabbled in adapting their musical styles into purely vocal pieces, and modern choirs often take music they enjoy and arrange it to be performed without instruments as well. In fact, there are entire groups making a name for themselves doing just that. Groups like this one, Pentatonix, have good taste and talent backing themselves up.//
He was reaching for the computer today, hitting play on a YouTube video. Yeah, those were all mouth-noises.
"Nor does older music consist entirely of one-part melodies," Hannibal added, grinning. "There have been pieces written for as many as forty-eight separate voices, where a voice means the part sung - there are generally several people to each. Here is one which is a motet - sung music from the Renaissance period, generally - for forty."
//Another variation of purely vocal music that comes from more modern sources is beatboxing, that is, a means of creating vocal percussion, emulating the sounds of drums and the like using only one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It's mostly associated, these days, with hip-hop music, though vocal percussion is an art form that dates back to prehistory. Paul McCartney used vocal percussion in That Would Be Something, and Michael Jackson in Billie Jean.// Jono shrugged. //Modern vocal percussion involves a fair bit of vocal acrobatics. And quite a bit of spit. Even if you don't like the sound of it, it's not difficult to imagine how much work went into being able to create a rhythm and perform one's own accompaniment, all with the same mouth.//
He hit play on yet another YouTube video. Apparently today was YouTube day, on Jono's end.
Shut up, he wasn't jealous.
"Speaking of things which may not be to everyone's taste," Hannibal said with a chuckle, "not all choral music is harmonious, either. There is a fairly rich modern tradition of dissonant or atonal music, the sort of thing meant to elicit a reaction. This next piece is from Igor Stravinsky, a composer from around a hundred years ago. While to my knowledge it never inspired a riot as his Sacre du Printemps did, it is certainly somewhat different from what choral listeners at the time had come to expect." And he played The Dove Descending.
//Today, your class assignment is simple,// Jono said, leaning back against the desk again, crossing his arms over his chest all over again. //Sing. You've heard a good deal of music since we started this summer term, and you've heard a few examples of creating music without instrumental accompaniment here today.//
"It doesn't matter what it is," Hannibal said. "Something you know from childhood, or heard on the radio, or make up in the moment. It doesn't have to be incredibly intricate, and we don't expect you all to be opera singers. We only want you to try."
//So, give it a try. Open your mouths and make noises with them.//
Do it because he couldn't.