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Name: ______

Music 6______

6th Grade : String

Instructions: Read the information below (this came from the website https://www.liveabout.com/string-quartet-101-723913).

Prompt #1: Answer these questions using complete sentences.

1. Use your own words to describe what a string is.

2. are usually made up of four movements (sections). Which of the four movements are usually fast? Circle all that apply

a. First movement

b. Second movement

c. Third movement

d. Fourth movement.

Prompt #2: Under “Notable ” below, choose one YouTube video to listen to. You do not need to listen to the entire video. Answer the following questions as you watch and listen:

1. Write the name of the you chose.

2. Is the beginning slow (Adagio) or fast (Allegro)?

3. The are seated in a certain order. How do their instruments relate to that order?

Information was found on this website: https://www.liveabout.com/string-quartet-101-723913

4. How do the musicians respond to each other while playing?

Prompt #3: Under Modern String Quartet Music, find the Love Story quartet by Taylor Swift. Listen to it as you answer using complete sentences.

1. Which instrument is plucking at the beginning of the piece? (If you forgot, are the smallest instrument, are a little bigger, are bigger and lean on the floor).

2. Reflect on how this version of Love Story is different from Taylor Swift’s original . How would you describe the differences? What does this version communicate?

Information was found on this website: https://www.liveabout.com/string-quartet-101-723913 String Quartet 101

All You Need to Know About the String Quartet

The , a string quartet made of members (from left) Alexander Pavlovsky, Sergei Bresler, Kyril Zlontnikov and Ori Kam, perform Brahms’s String Quartet in A minor at the 92nd Street Y on Saturday night, 25, 2014. Photo by Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images

By Aaron Green Updated March 17, 2017

Although any combination of four stringed instruments can be called a string quartet, the term usually denotes a that consists of two violins, one , and one .

Information was found on this website: https://www.liveabout.com/string-quartet-101-723913 String Quartet Variations

Add a and call it a Piano Listen to Dvorak’s in A Major on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG2BbRV5438 (optional)

Add an extra , viola, cello, or and call it a Listen to Schubert’s String Quintet in on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0GOv95iDf0 (optional)

Take away one violin and call it a Listen to Beethoven’s String Trio in C minor, Op. 9., No. 3 on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtK6bZh1C_U (optional)

History of the String Quartet

Franz Joseph is known as the father of the string quartet. Before him, string quartets were little more than coincidence; because the genre didn’t really exist, music wasn’t written for it. Haydn began composing for string quartets largely because of the circumstances he encountered when he was invited to Baron Carl von Joseph Edler von Fürnberg’s castle. When asked to perform , the only people he could gather to perform were two violins, a viola, and a cello. From Haydn’s first quartet to his last, a glorious progression of the composer’s development of the form is remarkably apparent. The model of composition of his Opus 9 quartets became the standard string quartet form. Listen to Hadyn’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 9, No. 1 on YouTube.

Generally, the music composed for a string quartet reflects the four movement form of an : a fast first movement followed by a slow second movement, a dance-like third movement, and a fast forth movement. Due to extreme limitation to only four parts, the flourished in the classical period - a time where musical conservatism and the perfection of form abounded. It’s said that a composer’s true musical ability can be judged by how well he or she can write music for a string quartet. After Haydn, there were a handful of classical and romantic period composers that excelled in writing string quartet music. Notable String Quartet Composers

Though there are many notable string quartet composers, the composers listed below are considered by most musicologists to be the most influential.

1. Listen to Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in A minor, Op. 13, No. 2 on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oncGEuT3zNo 2. Franz Listen to Haydn’s String Quartet, Op. 76, No. 3 “Emperor” on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHJolteDIzc 3. Listen to Schubert’s String Quartet in , No. 14 “Death and the Maiden” on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otdayisyIiM

Information was found on this website: https://www.liveabout.com/string-quartet-101-723913 4. Listen to Beethoven’s String Quartet in E Flat Major, Op. 127, No. 12 on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVVdMzv02s8 5. Listen to Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor, No. 15, K. 421 on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydlRd_nzX5Y

Modern String Quartet Music

Today, string quartet music isn’t limited to the pages of Haydn’s great works. Many performers and ensembles are finding ways to attract audiences by covering by popular artists. As much as I love a Haydn quartet, to someone with an untrained ear, a cover of Taylor Swift's “Love Story” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmB6cC6uWBU) is more likely going to capture their attention and spark their interest. I know it’s not a string quartet, but look how much fun these young musicians in the Berklee Pop String Ensemble are having performing Pharrell Williams hit song “Happy” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmPVOFWMFNc). If any of these covers attracts a student to learn and develop a talent for performing on a stringed instrument, that student may well become the next great composer to write for and revolutionize the string quartet.

Adam Neiman, a and composer I recently discovered, wrote his first string quartet in 2011, and premiered it on July 16, 2012, at the Chamber Music Festival. With five movements, it’s quite different than the classical period quartets. I find it to be an exciting piece of music and I hope it’s the first of many string quartets. Listen to a performance of Neiman’s String Quartet on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oySN7B2OdOk Popular Uses of the String Quartet

Apart from halls and small theaters, string quartets are extremely popular at weddings (view my recommended wedding ) and other special events. Why? Their small instrumentation is quiet enough for conversation, they are able to play indoors and outdoors, and their music is sophisticated and elegant enough for any formal event. String quartets for hire can easily be found by searching the yellow pages, Internet, or bulletin boards at music stores, churches, and public/private event halls.

Information was found on this website: https://www.liveabout.com/string-quartet-101-723913