Create a Listening Outline for the song Weber: Scherzo
SUGGESTIONS FOR HOW YOU SHOULD PROCEED:
1. Listen to the piece many times. Get to know it. Get the melodies in your head, so that when they return, you recognize them: "Oh, there's that melody again!" Or, "This is something I haven't heard before!"
2. On a sheet of paper, start to jot down the timings of each unique melody that you hear. Soon, a shape will emerge and you will be able to identify the form of the piece. As you do, label each major contrasting section with capital letters. Identify smaller parts that occur within the major sections with lowercase letters.
3. After you've established a form, go back to listen to each section. There are very concrete musical reasons why you were able to hear the differences in the sections! Begin to add detailed descriptions of each section in your outline. (Use the list below to help you listen for specific elements.) Go back numerous times to be sure that you've covered everything.
4. Eliminate any ambiguities and "clean it up". Be sure your timings are precise. Clarity and accuracy are very important, because if I can't follow your summary, it will be difficult for me to tell if you comprehend the elements and concepts it is meant to illustrate. (In other words, your grade will be lower!)
5. When you are finished, go to the top of your page and add a heading that includes:
- the title and composer
- meter
- a listing of the instruments you heard in the piece
REQUIRED ELEMENTS:
You must include references to all of the following elements, where appropriate, in this outline:
- Instruments/instrument families you hear
- Melody instruments vs. harmony instruments
- Important solos
- Tonality and tonality changes (major/minor only; I don't need letter names)
- Style: legato, staccato, accents, etc.
- Imitation
- Dynamics
- Cadence
- Tempos
- High or low register
- Mood
EXAMPLE LISTENING SUMMARY:
Here is an example from an imaginary piece of music (the form shown here has no bearing on the Weber). This should give you an idea of the level of detail I'd like you to use for each section:
SECTION A:
Theme a:
0:00-0:28 - Andante tempo, forte dynamics, minor tonality. Broad melody played by the brass instruments, very legato. Texture is homophonic. Melody is mostly stepwise, giving it a somber feel.
0:29-0:48 - A solo trumpet now emerges briefly, with harmony played by the lower brass family. Then, after an brief cadence, the main melody returns in the full brass.
Theme b:
0:49-1:30 - New theme enters played by strings with high-pitched woodwinds in the background. Tonality in this section is major and the melody has a gradual crescendo throughout. The melody is staccato, using arpeggios, very accented. The woodwinds echo the strings' melody using imitation. Near the end of the section it becomes more agitated.
1:30-1:42 - A brief section of polyphonic texture, with winds and strings playing contrasting melodies. Gradual decrescendo with a slight ritardando.
Theme a1:
1:41-2:06 a repeats as heard previously
SECTION B:
Theme a:
2:07-3:00 legato melody using only flutes, piano dynamics, slightly slower
etc.etc.etc........
Here is the name to the song:
Weber: Symphony No.1 in C, Op.19 - 3. Scherzo (Presto)