1 Tone Colour and 'Sahara'

1 TONE COLOUR AND ‘SAHARA’

TONE COLOUR

As ‘colour’ is a visual word, an analogy with art is useful in understanding the words associated with this concept.

ART MUSIC An artist draws a picture. A musician composes a piece of music (e.g. a melody with chords, bass-line and rhythms). The artist selects the medium to colour in the drawing. The composer selects the performance medium Choices may include: coloured pencils, crayons, water to orchestrate the music. Types of ensembles may colours, oil paints, fl uorescent pens and so on. include: orchestra, steel drum band, rock band, choir and so on. From the chosen medium, the artist selects particular From the chosen ensemble, the composer selects colours for the various parts of the picture. particular instruments (sound colours or tone colours) to play the melody, chords, bass-line and rhythms. The artist decides on the specifi c shade of each colour The composer decides on the specifi c sound for a nice blend. quality to be produced by each instrument (timbre) so that the sounds complement each other nicely.

The timbre of an instrument changes according to how it is played:

▲ string instruments such as violins, can be bowed to create a luscious timbre, or plucked to create short, percussive sounds ▲ brass instruments like the trumpet might be played with a mute to create a thin, brittle sound quality ▲ percussion instruments like the snare drum may be played with drum sticks to create a dry, buzzing effect, or with brushes to produce a swishy timbre ▲ woodwind instruments such as the ﬂ ute can be played using a technique called ﬂ utter tonguing which adds a breathy, purring quality to the sound ▲ electric instruments like the electric guitar might be played using a distortion pedal to produce a harsh, abrasive sound quality.

Tone Colour (note that both words have initial capitals) is the concept which refers to the orchestration of the music. TONE COLOUR AND ‘SAHARA’

CONCEPT QUIZ 1 Tone Colour

Q1 What part of the music does the concept Tone Colour refer to? ......

Q2 What is an ensemble? ......

Q3 Name 5 different types of ensembles......

Q4 What is a composer doing when choosing a tone colour to play a particular part of the music? ......

Q5 Name 10 different musical instruments......

Q6 What are timbres? ......

Q7 How may an instrument’s timbre change? ...... TONE COLOUR AND ‘SAHARA’

Q8 How does the choice of performance medium, tone colours and timbres affect the music? ......

1. ‘SAHARA’ TONE COLOUR In this piece a ‘live’ musician performs to a backing track of previously recorded music.

Q1 The live music is performed on ......

Q2 What kind of ensemble is created when the drummer plays with the instruments in the backing track? a) brass band b) rock group c) bush band d) wind ensemble Answer: ......

Q3 The ensemble in the backing track consists of: a) trumpets, trombones French horn and tuba b) electric bass, electric guitars and synthesizers c) banjo, acoustic guitar and wash-board d) ﬂ utes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons Answer: ......

Q4 At the beginning of this piece the drummer changes the timbre by: a) using different kinds of sticks b) using electronic sound effects c) juggling the sticks d) playing quickly Answer: ......

Q5 By playing on a relatively large drum kit, the drummer is able to: a) play much faster b) play much louder c) play for longer amounts of time TONE COLOUR AND ‘SAHARA’ d) have access to a greater number of sounds Answer: ......

Drum kit A drum kit is an array of drums and cymbals of various types and sizes, which can create an assortment of timbres. It is usually thought of as one ‘instrument’ because it is played by one person. A standard drum kit includes a bass drum (sometimes called a kick drum), snare drum, small tom (short for tom tom), medium tom, a ﬂ oor tom, a set of hi hat cymbals, two crash cymbals and a ride cymbal. Label the parts of the drum kit in the following diagram:

The following diagram shows an aerial view of the drum kit used in Gene Peterson Live. The vast array of cymbals and drums gives the drummer a much greater choice of percussive sounds. TONE COLOUR AND ‘SAHARA’

There are 2 bass drums, 3 snare drums, 6 tom toms, 2 hi hats and an array of cymbals.