Music Activity – Wednesday

Today, we are going to look at a piece of classical music. So far this year, we have not studied classical music so it is important to know what classical music is.

Classical music

The term 'Classical music' has come to be known as a term for music that spans the course of hundreds of years, including all Western music from Medieval Church music, to Stravinsky, to the current day.

It is music that has been composed by musicians who are trained in notating their compositions so that other musicians can play them.

Many people are unaware that Classical music is still being composed today, although it is very different from what was created several hundred years ago.

Classical music differs from Pop music because it is not made just to be popular for a short time or just to be a commercial success. It is different from Folk music, which belongs to the people who want to perform it and passed to future generations by listening and copying.

Task 1:

Listen to La Quinta Estampie Real. Stand or sit to find the pulse or just listen to the music. Use this opportunity to familiarise and build on musical vocabulary. Discuss the music and what you can hear in it. (There are some fast facts about this piece of music at the end of the document for adults if you wish)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyrggAG8aMY

 What can you hear?  How does the music make you feel?  How old do you think this music is?  Does the music tell a story?  Do you like the music?

In your home learning book, write the answers to these questions. Remember, your answers might be different to someone else. This piece of music might make you feel happy but it might make someone else feel angry!

Task 2:

Comparison of music is important even when you are looking at different genres. You now need to compare this piece of music to one of the early pieces we learnt at the beginning of Year 4: Mamma Mia by Abba.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BogW-2X_X6k

Listen to the piece of music again and whilst you are listening to it, answer the following questions:  Are there any similarities with the pieces of music?  What are the differences?  How can you tell they are different genres of music?  Can you hear any similar instruments?  Which one do you prefer? Why?

Fast Facts

The Composer

● Medieval music means music from the Middle Ages. The time we call the Middle Ages is a long period from about 400 AD to 1400 AD. We do not know a great deal about music of this time because it was such a long time ago and music was not often written down therefore we don’t know who the composer was. Music was used for entertainment.

The Music

● The estampie is a medieval dance and musical form which was a popular instrumental and vocal form in the 13th and 14th centuries.

● Estampie is an old European dance in three-time (123,123 etc). The drums, often of Arabic origin, would play an ostinato (a repeated pattern).

The Story

● In Europe, there were people who went around the countryside making a living by singing and playing musical instruments. They often went to big houses where rich people lived and entertained them with their music. These travelling musicians were called minstrels in England, and troubadours or trouvères in many other countries.

Interesting Extras

● There are not many musical manuscripts which have survived from the Middle Ages. Most of them are Religious music. They were often written using a system called neumes. The pitch of the music is shown by the neumes, but the rhythms were not very clear. Gradually the system of writing music we know today was evolving. Philippe de Vitry was an important composer and music theorist. He developed ways of writing rhythms.

Some popular instruments used in medieval times:

● Instruments could be divided into quiet ones which were used indoors, and loud ones which were used outside. The recorder was a very popular indoor instrument. There was also the psaltery and the harp (which looked like a small Welsh harp of today).

● The bagpipes were loud instruments for outside. They were used for dancing. They were not as loud as modern Scottish bagpipes. They were more like Northumbrian pipes or the French musettes. There was also the hurdy-gurdy which was played by turning a handle. Pipe and tabor were used for Morris dancing.

● Many medieval plucked string instruments were similar to the modern guitar, such as the lute and mandolin. The dulcimer and zither had strings which were hit with sticks. These are still popular in East Europe today. There were also fiddles (vielle) and trombones (called sackbut).

● It was believed that if you were entertained with music while you are eating, it would help you digest your food and help keep your heart healthy. People believed that you will not get fat even if you scoffed down a load of food. Also, eating food while having people dancing for you was believed to have made you fit.