Up the down staff; 2; More Intervals - The Stimulators of Music

The following program is produced at WG U.S. in cooperation with the national educational radio network. The down staff. Conversations on music with composer Scott Houston and Carolyn watts of the University of Cincinnati. What are you doing. When I you know we're talking about intervals in our first top pair on this and the R and radio series we introduce the fact that intervals exist in music that there is a variety of intervals that an interval is the difference in pitch between two tones and that intervals may be expressed harmonically. That is simultaneous or vertical. Or melodic play that is played in succession that is

horizontal You can hear go from one to the other horizontally up or down. Those are intervals and we're going to establish today perhaps we did the first talk that triads may be made from two or more intervals triads 3. In other words write three different tone that you can make them of seconds thirds force fifths whatever of the common variety is made from third. So you take a major third and on top a minor third. Play them both harmonically you know it's bad to try one more thing there and that first one you played was made to the second one was mine and what is the difference between the two. Well let's wait for just a second because I want to review what we did in about a play version the first talk and I will get to it today I promise you Madame stop in our first talk we began by illustrating the half step of everything Berlin's White Christmas now this is a half step. It's a

perfect example because it's made of half steps. I don't I won't go I will sing. And then he goes diatonic and there there's a. Those are all hatched. And dreaming. Is right. After. We also showed in a classical work the Mozart 7 about 40 and we might as well explain here that our intervals in all our examples and all this series will be chosen from all kinds of music ancient music from classical romantic baroque modern popular Ivonne garde whatever Here is a half step from the Mozart cinema 4d. Made account of that one time just for curiosity's sake not because of the years. There are one hundred forty one of those half steps in the whole first movement

occurring in all different kinds of keys in all different kinds of spectrums. But I don't want to then you never are tired of it all was loud. You know that is a little bit reminiscent there today remember the old tune. Goodnight sweet. Music has a lot of Hatshepsut we could pick a thousand and one examples. We're trying to be careful about that half that appears in the opera by Wagner Trieste on Izola like this and the most dramatic spot in the orchestra part of the beginning of the opera. There's an other introduction part and then comes this. Step. Sounds. Like the past. Today we can find the half step in the very popular and very beautiful song I think

the Age of Aquarius. Comes down like this. And I think that's a gorgeous song and very well planned out it is what gives that to get to the minute I hear that I know it's the age of Aquarius and that's right because it's not related to the first chord. Explain that later. Live. The perfect pour. Was illustrated in the hymn adust day to day as a Come All Ye Faithful. And appears both downward and upward melodically. It also appears harmony.

We found the perfect force in the Brahms Third Symphony in the most unusual chord progression. It's perfect for us. For before. There's an interesting point there that perfect for it sounded different the second time that it was played in that particular phrase it's a very usual chord progression. Russian musicians often find themselves dumbfounded by this because the first chord is F major and the second part is that my Nanami reading once that that particular opening that down downward movement of the fourth was a favorite of the city. Yes some phrase fry I'm laughing at but I have a problem. That's it. Try out the thrill and the years that I've in some out of the conversations. I don't want to get a long involved philosophical or musicological discussion

I think it is highly exaggerated however this but that is if voters don't think that way. Music concerts do. On a car the Brahmas third symphony it exists also in the popular song called Born Free a very simple song with very beautiful words and the first interval is a perfect for barn 3. Music is full of examples of this kind of interval because it's contained in what is given to us by whatever divinity you call. Could I make one point there. She will but in the end for the symphony uses it and that was later put into blossom time. We could spend the next four hours Carolyn's on that one interval that made the point I think to a point. We just hope that somebody will recognize the next time they hear the whole step. Interval. We're talking about have to provide for the holes did you

notice I'm not taking these in order to give us into question is it about a little later concluded wrap it up the whole step we found in the Brahms Second Piano Concerto would sound in the French horn. At the very beginning. It goes on. And you can tell that's made of animals have another home going back the half step and the most wholesome backup and not a minor third leader. Of the French farm Silent Night as a whole step. Nobody knows that. So we try have to up there. I shutter. So wrong that I just wonder sometimes these are some of the devices but they didn't composes you is to take a phrase I might change it I don't want to sound like that and a

tool of this kind o perfect as it is almost brings full blown to the composer's head. It's short you see it's dropping it has a second verse to say music is not a complex tune so it probably appeared to him in a blinding flash or even home wrote it down as I was to it there were very little changes necessary whereas a more complex symphony requires much more thought much more organization and that tunes become beloved in the hundred nations. But as a whole step. They met ID that was written about fifteen hundred. It is one of the great Lutheran chorale tunes begins with the whole step. And goes another host depth another whole step. Of course the reason I chose it. Is that he was starting to scale to something like something going wrong but listen the harmonization.

That is a scary one you know Bach harmonized this Saturday night after settling 20 you know. And you're confused a little bit I can see it in your face because this is the thing. I listened to back get out of it. And your discord still has someplace to go. Now finally it's back to the. Ends there. And I thought I was not in the discussion that's like your number. Oh that's marvelous that's a very good question. Now we can add for the whole step. Raindrops are falling on my head. The Prince of modern music Bacharach.

Raindrops or foam on that one. The minor section is the interval that begins Wagner's opera Trieste Donnie's older. Miners. I don't think the major I think there are two kinds of the miners or more of the miners. Just to have them argue that is the major things that have to lug my. It's a minor sixth. It also begins the old meter to people over 35 by a near-miss Dushanbe by you by me by means of thank you very much. My new year here or six. It's an integral part of Mozart something or want to remember we began with a half step. The second interval

is a minor section. Of the key. That is very carefully Mozart uses root third in the group. And only enters. How does that begin with us. I don't know hearts and flowers. No that's a matter settled and you just have to wait for the I O for an example of the perfect octave. We chose out of thousands of possibilities the well-known chorus from Handel's Messiah God omnipotent. It's a very common interval and very much discussed in or among composers as to whether it has any validity

or not is there because it's the same thing. I mean higher up call it by the same letter name. However it's a very expressive. Not only has an interval but as a color. For instance here's a plain Here's an octave higher on the keyboard. It's also a celeb Faget it's singing and people are singing in harmony but suddenly sing in unison they're singing an octave that's covered with Tommy much is what has an advantage for cover as an interval it really is not important. We're talking about perfect octaves. There's a perfect octave in the last movement Beethoven's Seventh Symphony the great dense symphony. Right there. You go. But it has terrific character because he's you know it's different how many you know the rhythm to very good and the tone poem for orchestra Strauss

The Hero's Life. Beautiful out there especially when the high register the print horns and all former planks going up instead of going down it gives it to a different character doesn't write this like your mother did period long period is gushing you see but you go this way or this way. Now let's add at this time the first two chords of the Brahms Third Symphony which we've already quoted in the interval of probably fourth and the first chord is probably even octave. Then comes a full octave just about an hour before. We spoke about in our first talk the perfect fifth interval which begins the Lutheran chorale melody out of the depths is the

very exact. Tune. The most natural I never heard a lecture yesterday by Mr G and Joshi on the music of India and there is a drone lasting as long as 45 minutes while the performer improvise on a basic scale and the drone was. Bagpipes and your own by play character I added the company myself. So that the probably fit the probably fifth again is found in the heightened number of hundred for. The last moment.

Now I find that Rodgers and Hammerstein people just listen that's full of it. Listen. Now look out. Let's come a bit later because I got that right. There's a pretty fair from the humor done finished. If you take the time anyway we recognize about the harmony and it's become something different all the way from the front we've got the realist here the. Melodically. Together. Change the course. People are rarely thanks my I'm going to use a perfect fifth here. He said he'd write a

tune finds out later it's a perfect fit and may change it for other purposes to a tri tone or something and I ask you something here. We keep speaking of the perfect faith and I've heard it so often I don't quite have it suddenly I question what why is it perfect. Well we had a person writing to us as says and I forgot all that he was a sheep. What makes you think I said what makes the fifth perfect when other animals are called Major or minor we've said made your whole step you know one half step. Major third minor third major six miners it's wise to call perfect. Let's add to that question now if we can by taking just a half a whole steps and putting them together in a certain logical way and forming a series of seven different times you'll hear pretty play. Will you please play is almost too long wasn't it. Almost. And I'm home and I tried somewhere else. All of the people.

We put that in some sort of logical order you call those four cones. On the floor right. Then we had another head to court on top of it. Records both made theirs the next one and I never know what's between the two objects like that where I host up separately to get tickets. We now arrive at a scale of seven different homes called a major. Next Tetra chord. Whole thing. It's not anywhere on anywhere and the two of course

together and you know you've really got to top that the five year old children. All it had was two figures. Little kids your kids don't M-C. Now the next have made a whole. New matter. Separate the category I don't know what that record is. Host another host almost what's left of course I thought was intelligent and so does work. That's only to explain what a scale is not we're still talking about that perfect fifth. If we start with A. New territory we find we have arrived at the same pitch namely began. Now. If we apply the first MTF scale degrees only one by one. That kind of get this call perfect be caught. This is in the major scale of A.

Right hand also. The AI isn't the major scale. Now that would not be true of any other. And you know the meaning of the perfect form. Can we leave it there and come back to it. Let's say at once because I want to review the whole majors. Now this is a major scale show that never was. Let's move it. Perhaps. Another host. Scale question is why is this fifth called perfect. Because this is in the major scale. Of the major scale of light and the same thing is in the major scale of.

F.. I'm less about that I talk about this now. It's not only in the scale of f both f and c. Also in this Caleb state let's go perfectly. So it's common to both. That's right. I think we've established let's leave that at seven the perfect because we're going to come back to it again and again and again when we try to explain that the this particular not perfectly defined that this is not on the major scale C. OK. To continue our annual intervals outlined in our first chapter we illustrated the minor third with the familiar met only Silent Night and familiar Brahms lullaby.

The power of two of them they tell an Eighth Symphony the whole tune and the melody in the slow movement of the American composer Howard Hanson and second symphony. Let's hear another minor third interval this time a harmonic minor third in a very familiar piece almost everybody recognizes when they know anything about so-called serious or classical music. A famous piece called Clair de Lune that's a minor thing. Let's not take up the major third one of the earliest and best examples

occurs in the Third Symphony of Beethoven when the major third. No alliteration intended this way after the first few chords. Of a major and melodically major. To. Be Done. It's an important part of the piano composition of by David C call rails and the whole piece is made a major. Believe that he is your kind of a Beethoven as they do as a totally different feeling and here we are in a totally different area and century.

But it's the same. Let's go back to our Listen to this. The moment I'm going to play now is a thousand years old. They do say you know died in 1970 and the work was written about 900 So it's only 70 years old. The Beethoven is about 200 years old and here's one I found years ago. The same interval. Made your third very famous too which I can't recall the beginning of oh Black Joe. It is a curious mass a monophonic. Reading back to the Davis spine. Maybe you should explain that we have to save that for lecture number 12 or possibly even years because you've just hit an important part of style. The same interval used by harmonics Contract us in the year 2000. That's when they remind us contractors to cripple and buy a

late classic early Romantic composer named looting from Beethoven by an impressionistic composer named Daisy and our audience must be aware of one of the points we're going to make in this entire series is that music has every logical development. You can't stop it that day because you can use the major third in a different manner from Beethoven and Beethoven will use it in different manner from High and High news in different manner from Palestrina and Palestrina used in a different manner from Monna Verity and so on and so on and yet there was there was at the same time with the same the same interview. Not like to the end of our second chapter. Just give our audience a little quiz. Now Actually there's not one answer I want to answer this is for the audience right. I think you could pass it. All right audience what is this. You're right that's a hat. Now

this one. Again. If you said to yourself perfect fourth. You're exactly right. Next one. Yes it is a whole step more very quickly. My intersection is right. If you said I do I will give you 100.

And the last one. You're right the first two were my logic. Perfect fifths and the last one was a harmonic perfect fifth. You've been listening to up the down staff conversations on music with composer Scott Houston and Carolyn Watts our technical director is Bob Stevenson. This program was produced in cooperation with the national educational radio network in the studios of WG U.S. on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. This is the national educational radio network.