Analysis Series: Character, Mood & Word Lists
Comments Off on Analysis Series: Character, Mood & Word ListsAs a language, music can speak to us on many levels. For example, emotionally, a piece of music may make us feel uplifted and joyous, and physically, this same piece of music may leave us feeling energised and motivated. We may recognise and understand a composer’s use of form, or be able to hear and appreciate a chord progression.
The practice of being able to decode the sounds we hear is called analysis. The tools of analysis enable us to study or examine music in detail, in order to understand, explain and interpret it.
Essentially, we’re listening to music for what sets it apart, identifying aspects, elements and approaches we can use to elevate our own performances and become better musicians.
So, let’s make a start together.
Feeling & Describing
At the heart of music performance analysis is being able to describe the character or mood of the piece you’re listening to. What expressive outcome does the piece seem to have? How do you feel when you listen to it?
If you had to find some words to describe the character, mood or feeling it creates — what would they be? There’s stacks of word lists for just this sort of thing in Decoding Sound, but best of all, there’s no right or wrong answer because feeling in music is subjective.
Speaking of word lists, its a good idea to start gathering a bunch as a go-to. Angry words, sad words, exciting words and everything in between. Its best if these words are comfortable for you to use because even if what you feel can’t be wrong, you still have to be able to describe and justify it in your answers.
Cataloguing Character
Work: ‘Apollo’
Composers/Creators: Hugo Gruzman & James Lyell
Performers: Flight Facilities, Katie Noonan & the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Album: Live With the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Future Classic, 2015)
Listen to this excerpt and describe the character or mood of this performance. Does the same character stay throughout the excerpt, or does it change? Remember, there’s no wrong answer, just have a go describing the character with two or three words.
Lots of Listening
Listening to music for analysis is different to blocking out the world with your favourite jams. It can be tempting to pop on your go-to tunes all the time, and while these might not be a bad place to start your journey, we encourage you to play around with your playlists.
Sure, you mightn’t particularly enjoy every piece you listen to, but remember, your opinion about whether it’s good or not isn’t actually the point. Broaden your musical horizons!
There’s plenty of ready-made analysis activities setup in the Music Teacher’s Digital Library, so why not use those to start building your word lists?
Happy analysing, everyone! – Deb
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