Means of Musical Expression: How to Analyze a Musical Work. Tempos in music: slow, moderate and fast Tempos names of tempo registers dynamics texture

3. Without which there can be no melody

Melody is one of the main means of musical expression. Perhaps the most important thing. Truth, Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov believed that the most important means of expression is rhythm. You can disagree with him, but it is very easy to prove him right. There is no melody without rhythm. And rhythm can exist without a melody. How? Remember how we tapped rhythmic figures on the table?

We will now see that a melody cannot exist without rhythm (and not only without rhythm).

What it is?

It looks like a fragment of a scale. And this?

Something familiar ... It looks like a march ... On a Schumann march!

Now add the notes of the first passage to the rhythm of the second. And a fragment of the scale will also turn out to be a fragment of the melody of Schumann's march. But you cannot understand this by sounds without rhythm. And you can guess by the rhythm even without the sounds of the required pitch.

There should be order in thoughts, including musical ones. Rhythm brings this order into the music, arranges and coordinates sounds in time, that is, according to their duration.

Try to select only vowels or only consonants from some words. Who is ya? And what is "and" or "a"? And if I say: “Shmn npsl mrsh. In mrsh chk rtm ". Something is clear. Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev skipped vowels in drafts for speed. And his signature looks like this:.

In musical language, pitch is similar to vowels, and duration is similar to consonants. But in any language, both vowels and consonants are equally needed. Therefore, it cannot be said which is more important - the melody or the rhythm.

... we continue to fill in the plate ...

Let's try to take any set of sounds. For example, something like this:

Why not try to organize, coordinate these sounds in some kind of rhythm? What if this is enough to make a melody? Let's take a rhythm from some already written, well-known melody. Perhaps the first sentence of the play may suit us for this. Edward Grieg"Death to Oze". It also has fourteen sounds:

Now let's write out the rhythmic pattern of this piece of music:

Now let's try to "cross" our abracadabra with this rhythm:

Play what happened. Something strange. True, not quite gibberish anymore. There is even some exotic beauty in the first two bars. But the further we go, the more our musical thought gets lost and confused.

Remember the two main hallmarks of any sound. Do you remember? Right, duration and height... What have we done with the durations? Agreed them with rhythm. Did we try to match the pitch of the sounds? That's the same. Remember the fable Ivan Andreevich Krylov about the Swan, Pike and Cancer? “When there is no agreement among the comrades, harmony their business will not work. "

We have already encountered the word "fret" at the very beginning, when we mentioned two basic modes - major and minor. We know that major and minor can convey certain moods. But music is, first of all, the art of conveying moods. If there is a mood in music, it means that there are thoughts in it, and these thoughts are in order, in agreement.

Now it's easy to figure out what a harmony is. Its definition differs from the definition of rhythm in only one word. Guess what?

Probably, with the help of the fret it is possible to "correct" our melody as well? Well, let's try. It starts with before... Let's try C major... So all the flats need to be removed. In some places, you will need to change the notes. For example, at the beginning of the second measure, it is better to take before instead of si so that the first, strong beat gets the stable, first degree of the fret. You can also "smooth out" some inconvenient horse racing- moves at wide intervals that are difficult to sing. For example, like this:

And what? It turned out to be quite literate, "combed" melody, but ... inexpressive. Even the previous one, "clumsy" was more interesting. Her intonational "thorns" created a wild, mysterious image.

Image! That's the secret. There is no image in this smooth melody of ours. She's about nothing. Just going through the sounds of the fret in a certain rhythm. Talking about means musical expressiveness, we must not forget about goals... And the goal is itself musical expressiveness... Without this goal, no composer will take up music paper.

In our "experiment" the mode became only an organizer of sounds in pitch. But in real music it is not only an organizer, but also a powerful means of expression. In the famous Twenty-third Piano Sonata Ludwig van Beethoven, known as "Appassionata", which means "passionate", the two main themes (main and secondary) are similar to each other with an energetic, volitional rhythm, the movement of the melody along the steps of the triad. But in the main theme it is a minor triad, and in a secondary one it is a major one. Therefore, the main theme sounds harsh and dramatic, and the side theme sounds bright, resolute, solemn:

In a piano piece by the great French composer Claude Debussy The "Girl with Flaxen Hair" melody moves through sounds, exciting both major and parallel minor triads. It is impossible to determine the mode here: major and minor “flicker” all the time. From this, the melody becomes light, airy, as if transparent, its outlines seem to be "blurred" (the original is half a tone lower):

Sometimes composers use unusual modes that enhance the expressiveness of the music. Grieg has many such examples. Here is the beginning of one of his waltzes:

Play one right hand: what's the key? A major... Maybe, E major Play a melody with accompaniment and you will hear it's melodic La Minor, only when moving down (second and third measures) the steps remain raised, although "according to the rules" should be salt-bekar and fa-bekar... This "irregularity" gives the music a more graceful, playful character. Such peculiar modes are characteristic of Norwegian folk music, which Grieg knew and loved very well.

Even more unusual modes, not similar to either major or minor, are often used to create fabulous, fantastic images. Here are some examples:

Example 25
N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, arioso of the Tsar of the Sea from the opera "Sadko" (the original is half a tone higher)

Example 26
E. Grieg, Dance of Anitra from the music to the play by G. Ibsen "Peer Gynt"

Example 27
MP Mussorgsky, "Gnome" from the piano cycle "Pictures at an Exhibition" (original half a tone below)

In all these examples, there are many random signs - sharps, flats and bekars. They do not "fit" into the tonality shown by the key signs. From these “wrong” sounds, the melody becomes angular, bizarre, unlike “ordinary” melodies. Such "strangeness" of the melody evokes unreal, fairy-tale images in our imagination.

All the melodies that I gave in the examples were written in the 19th century. In the twentieth century, composers became even bolder to "break the rules" in the use of mode and tonality. And not only in fabulous music. In the melody from the second part Of the Ninth Symphony Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich lowered, "alien" steps at the end of each phrase give the music an even more thoughtful and a little gloomy character:

But another melody is energetic, active and a little playful. This is the beginning Fourth Piano Sonata contemporary St. Petersburg composer Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko... The humor here is that the melody "cannot" find its tonic - it tries now one sound, then another. Amusing and interesting modal "deviations" are obtained. But then a tense and by no means comic sound drama will unfold from this cheerful melody.

Music presentation on the topic: Pace. Rhythm. Melody.

Municipal state educational institution

"Borodino secondary school"

administration of the municipal formation Kireevsky district

Prepared by: music teacher

MKOU "Borodinskaya secondary school"

Dering Yulia Evgenievna

What is the tempo of music and where did this concept come from? .

• The word "Temp" comes from the Italian word Tempo, which in turn comes from the Latin word "Tempns" - time.
• The tempo in music is the speed of the musical process; speed of movement (change) of metric units. Tempo determines the absolute speed at which a piece of music is played.

• The main musical tempos (in ascending order) are:

• largo (very slow and wide);
• adagio (slowly, calmly);
• andante (at the pace of a calm step);
• moderato (moderately, restrained);
• allegretto (quite lively);
• allegro (fast);
• vivache (fast, lively);
• presto (very quickly).

• Rhythm in music is an alternation of musical events that occurs in a specific sequence. The ratio of the durations of sounds in their movement, as well as the ratio of strong and weak beats. The duration of a musical sound (usually simultaneously with its pitch) is recorded using notes, rhythmic notation.

• A melody is a sequence of musical tones with a specific tempo and rhythm. The listener should perceive the melody not as a set of sounds, but as a whole.

• Dynamics in music, a set of phenomena associated with the use of various degrees of sound power, loudness. The main gradations of sound strength: piano (abbreviated in notes p) ≈ quiet, weak and forte (f) ≈ loud, strong.

The classic definition is that tempo in music is the speed of movement. But what is meant by this? The point is that music has its own unit of measurement of time. These are not seconds, as in physics, and not hours and minutes, to which we are accustomed in life.

Musical time most of all resembles the beating of a human heart, measured beats of the pulse. These blows measure the time. And just on what they are - fast or slow, the pace depends, that is, the overall speed of movement.

When we listen to music, we do not hear this pulsation, unless, of course, it is specifically shown by percussion instruments. But every musician is hidden, inside himself necessarily feels these beats of the pulse, it is they who help to play or sing rhythmically, without deviating from the main tempo.

Here's an example. Everyone knows the melody of the New Year's song "A Christmas tree was born in the forest." In this melody, the movement is mainly in eighth notes (sometimes there are others). At the same time, the pulse beats, you just can't hear it, but we will specially sound it with the help of a percussion instrument. Listen to this example, and you will start to feel your heartbeat in this song:

What are the tempos in music?

All the tempos that are only in music can be divided into three main groups: slow, moderate (that is, medium) and fast. In musical notation, tempo is usually denoted by special terms, most of which are words of Italian origin.

So, Largo and Lento, as well as Adagio and Grave, belong to the slow pace.

Andante and Andantino, a derivative from it, are ranked as moderate tempos, in addition - Moderato, Sostenuto and Allegretto.

Finally, let's list the fast paces: the fun Allegro, the "live" Vivo and Vivace, as well as the fast Presto and the fastest Prestissimo.

How do I set the exact pace?

Is it possible to measure the musical tempo in seconds? It turns out you can. For this, a special device is used - a metronome. The inventor of the mechanical metronome is the German mechanical physicist and musician Johann Melzel. Nowadays, musicians in their daily rehearsals use both mechanical metronomes and electronic counterparts - as a separate device or an application on the phone.

How does a metronome work? This device, after special settings (move the weight along the scale), beats the pulse at a certain speed (for example, 80 beats per minute or 120 beats per minute, etc.).

The metronome clicks are reminiscent of the loud ticking of a clock. This or that beat frequency of these beats corresponds to one of the musical tempos. For example, for a fast paced Allegro, the frequency will be about 120-132 beats per minute, and for a slow paced Adagio, it will be about 60 beats per minute.

These are the main points regarding the musical tempo that we wanted to convey to you. If you still have questions, please write them in the comments. Until next time.

MBOU Secondary School No. 17 Kamyshin, Volgograd Region

Music lesson summaryon this topic: Tempo is a means of musical expression» developed according to the VIII type program for the 5th grade of the author V.V. Voronkova.

Lesson type: a lesson in the study and consolidation of new knowledge.

The purpose of the lesson: consolidation and generalization of students' knowledge about the fret, timbre, register, acquaintance with the concept of tempo as a means of musical expression, familiarization with the values ​​of world musical culture.

Tasks:

Educational: to acquaint with the basic tempo of music. Correctional and developmental: develop the ability to plan forthcoming activities to achieve the goal; develop the ability to recall and reproduce previously studied musical material, develop vocal and choral skills, creativity.

Educational: foster interest in classical music through listening, foster self-control skills in the process of developing the ability to evaluate their work, encourage students to have adequate self-esteem in the classroom.

During the classes:

1. Org. Moment. Musical greeting.
2. Entering the lesson
Art therapy exercise "The wind walks on the sea ..." (against the background of music).
Teacher - Close your eyes, feel yourself in the open sea, where a light warm breeze blows. Let's blow on our hands and make sure the air is warm.
Waves appear on the water (children intertwine the fingers of both hands "in a lock" and perform wave-like movements).
Teacher - And now we will imitate the sound of the waves: while standing, while inhaling, we lightly and smoothly raise our hands up, leaning slightly forward, while exhaling we lower our arms, take the starting position and pronounce the sound (w) for a long time.
Teacher: “Sit down so that you feel comfortable. Close your eyes. Imagine that you are a light feather in the sea. Water surrounds you: sometimes a weak current, and sometimes raging, destructive waves. Feel the wave flow around your motionless body. Here you turn into a multi-colored algae. Listen to the sound of the drum, let the sound "penetrate" your movements. Now open your eyes and greet each other with a handshake. "
3. Updating basic knowledge
Teacher - In music, as in any other subject, science has its own system of concepts, terms that are used only in music. They are called elements of musical speech or means of musical expression.
Teacher - What means of musical speech did we talk about in the previous lessons?
- We are familiar with the following means of musical speech: melody, mode, register, timbre.
Teacher - What is the register?
- It can be low, medium, high.

Teacher - What is the way?
- There is a major and a minor fret.

Teacher - Let's perform the poem "We are fifth graders" in different modes.

Teacher - The character of the music depends on the fret. Today we will continue our acquaintance with the means of musical expression, and find out whether the character of the music depends only on the mode.
4. The discovery of new knowledge and the primary consolidation of the acquired knowledge.

Teacher -You can learn the topic of the lesson if you find a word in the table.

Melody and tempo table

Theme: Tempo is a means of musical expression.

Teacher - One of the leading elements of musical speech is a melody.
If you have been to a concert, theater or cinema, where there was a lot of music, then, returning home, and remembering what you heard, you hum to yourself or out loud.

What you hum is the melody. And what is the pace, I hope that you yourself will determine during the lesson.

The song "Different Guys" is performed at different rates.

Teacher -The tempos are slow, moderate and fast.

Italian designations are used to determine the pace.

Each student has a table on the table

The song "Wide Steppe" at various tempos.

Teacher- Is the character changing? Pick a tempo for this song.

Listening to a fragment of the ballet "The Little Humpbacked Horse" music by Rodion Shchedrin.

Teacher - Guys, pay attention to the difference between the intro melody and the main part.

Changes in tempo during listening are recorded in a notebook.

1. Why the melody of the procession sounds solemn at first, and then becomes awkward, sounds with pauses and accents?

2. What elements of musical speech make a marching melody?

3. How does the pace change? Find the appropriate Italian tempo notation.

4. Name the instruments of the symphony orchestra that perform the introduction.

6. Generalization and systematization of the knowledge gained in the lesson.

We perform songs at different tempos and determine if the character of the music has changed.

Teacher - The nature of the piece depends on the tempo

What is pace?

Teacher - Right. This is the speed at which the music moves.

Write the definition in a notebook

Teacher - Guys, do you know what a competition is? This is a competition

Conducting Competition.

Teacher - Who remembered the pace better? Name the tempo and conduct in the character of the music.
Can we conclude that the character of the music depends not only on the mode, but also on the tempo?
6. Lesson summary.

Teacher - What means of musical expression have we met today? (pace)

What is pace?

What means have we met? Melody, scale, register, timbre, tempo
Teacher - Which of these elements is the most important?
Teacher - Each element is important in its own way: in the melody there is a mode, and register, and timbre, and tempo. In the next lesson, we will continue our acquaintance with the elements of musical speech.
6. Reflection
Teacher - Please fill in the self-assessment card. The lesson is over. Thanks for your work!