Final Exam Study Ideas - Thurs update

If this page gets updated later, I'll change the title.

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Material from earlier eras will come directly from the earlier test. Yes, verbatim.

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Listening:
There are will be 2 types of listening on this test. The first type will be just as we've had before, drawn from the 20th century tracks on your CDs. (Beginning with Debussy, stopping just BEFORE the Jazz.)

The second type will test your ability to describe what you are hearing, and your ability to figure out what period a piece is from. The pieces could be anything - literally - and you will describe what you are hearing..... I suggest you bone up on all those notes you took at the beginning of the semester on how to talk about music - the parts of music.

I'll have a few questions to guide you as you write.

I'll be looking for good points that you make. You are not penalized for stating something wrong (for example, by guessing the wrong composer). You are given credit for stating something correct (for example, stating that the piece sounds too dissonant to be anything other than 20th century).

Yes, it could literally be anything. Be prepared to be surprised!

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20th century:
Focus on the characteristics that make 20th century unique, musically speaking. Which composers are assoicated with which movements (impression, expressionism, etc.)? What are the musical characteristics of each movement? Watch out for those musical terms (usually in boldface or italics).

These will be multiple guess format, just like always.

Jazz:
Get a handle on which style has which basic characteristics, and the particular order the "periods" show up. You'll have ALL FOUR pages of the handout Monday. But here's the order, anyway:

Ragtime
Blues
Chicago - piano
Swing (a.k.a. Big Band)
Bebop
Cool
Third Stream & Fusion

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Miscellaneous tips:

Get a handle on which composers hail from which era.

Focus on general musical characteristics of each era.

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Final note: (pun intended!)

I'll have a place for you to make up a "code" - one that you will know, but that no one else will be able to ID you with. Do NOT use a username / facebook name / myspace name / email address / etc.

IF you put a code on your test, I'll post your final exam grade here on the blog with your code. If you leave it blank, I'll leave it off.

I'll leave that posting up for about a week, and then delete it.

Romatic test study sheet

Apologies in advance for typos - it's well after midnight,
and the dyslexia combines with fatigue to produce interesting typing........

Listening portion will be pulled from these pieces:
A Schubert: Erlkonig (The Erl-king)
B Dvorak: Symphony #9 in E minor (New World)
C Robert Schumann Carnaval
D Clara W. Schumann Liebst du um Schonheit
E Chopin Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9, #2
F Chopin Etude in C Minor, Op. 10, # 12 (Revolutionary)
G Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, IV (March to the Scaffold)
H Smetana The Moldau
I Brahms Symphony #3 in F Major
J Puccini La Boheme, Act I: excerpt (Mimi…Rodolfo)
K Wagner Die Walkure, Act I (Love Scene, Conclusion)

Be able to ID what TYPE (genre) the piece is: Opera, art song, character piece, program symphony, tone poem, string quartet, nationalistic symphony, or something else

There will be between ONE and ELEVEN listening selections. (feel free to say "well, duh!" after reading this)



General characteristics of Romanticism

• general characteristics of the music
• new techniques like double-stopping, rubato, orchestration
  
• how the orchestra changed since the Classical era
• how composers made a living
• how the Romatics viewed the Classical era
• the effect of the middle class
• What composers were active
  

Genres

• Opera - general characteristics, including verismo and music-drama
  
• Art Song - the two forms
  
• Character pieces
  
• Chamber music (String quartets/quintets/etc)
• Concerto
• Tone Poem
• Symphony

Movements and Thoughts

• Exoticism
• Absolute vs Program music
  
• Nationalism - how would you write something Nationalistic, anyway?