Texture

Y10s - GCSE introduction

This is the presentation from the first lesson, in case you missed it or want to check something

Music to revise by

I have produced playlists which will help with your revision in two places:
YouTube

and Spotify. Here are some sample playlists:

 You can use this music as a sort of passive revision - to listen to while doing something else, or you can use it in a more active way - try listening to 1 minute extracts 3 times and then writing what you can about the different Areas of Study. They are: rhythm and metre, harmony and tonality, texture and melody, timbre and dynamics and structure and form. Good luck!

GCSE 2013 paper

The paper, listening examples and answers are now available at the same link - see previous post

GCSE exam materials

You can access exam papers, mark schemes and the mp3s here:



Get revising!

Composer of the month: Beethoven

 

 

It’s quite possible that Beethoven is the greatest composer ever. His symphonies, string quartets and piano sonatas are amongst the best (probably the best) examples of each genre. His music divides into three periods:

·         Early – where his music shows the influence of Classical composers like Haydn and Mozart

 

·         Middle – where, perhaps because of his sympathies with revolutionary politics, his music becomes more powerful and full of extreme emotions, signalling the beginning of the Romantic period

 

·         Late – where, perhaps as his deafness became worse, his music becomes more inward-looking and spiritual and looks forward to a world of sound many years ahead of its time

Beethoven’s music is full of rhythmic vitality and often uses short ideas (motivic development) to bind his structures and give them a logical inevitability. Many works seem to have a sense of struggle being overcome by a united humanity. His only opera, Fidelio, tells of people, unjustly imprisoned, being released into light and freedom.

Want to read something while you listen? Try these:

 

Victor Hugo: Les Misérables – this is a long book but it really captures the spirit of Beethoven in its story of struggles against poverty, revolutionaries and love

Goethe: The Sorrows of Young Werther – a coming of age novel from 1774, one which began the Romantic period

Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities – an exciting story about the French Revolution

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