20th Century Music

Question 1

Minimalism

Answer 1

Minimalism contains a feature called metamorphosis which is when the music slowly and very discreetly changes so that the audience can not notice the change in music.

Steve Reich- Terry Riley- Philip Glass and John Adams are prominent minimalist composers.

Minimalist pieces can use a range of instruments, such as vibraphones, violins and even your body, by clapping your hands.

Minimalism is a style of music where a motif is played repeatedly and over time it changes as more people join in at different times. Eventually the piece sounds different even though it is the same motif being played.

Layering is the process of combining multiple individual sounds to create a cohesive sound that is more complex and interesting. This can be done for sound design purposes, like layering multiple synth sounds to create a richer tone.

Question 2

Expressionism (Serialism)

Answer 2

It presents the composer’s mind, expressing negative emotions such as anxiety, rage and alienation. This is done by using dissonance as it creates a strong sense of discomfort. It can also be viewed as the opposite of impressionism, as it sounds nightmarish compared to the dream-like sound of impressionism.

Expressionism was made to connect with your emotions and make you feel repressed emotions. Also, expressionism is related to warped and distorted art just like this:
Some expressionist composers include Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern.
These pieces of music often features a high level of dissonance, extreme contrasts of dynamics, constant changing of textures, “distorted” melodies and harmonies, and angular melodies with wide leaps.

Question 3

Impressionism

Answer 3

Impressionism is a form of art and music, which is encapsulated in almost broken parts put together and serene, dreamlike emotions. It was often linked with art, and was similar to the Romantic era. The two main composers were Debussy and Ravel, and a main artist was Monet. They don’t really contain a lot of dissonance. Rubato is also a staple.

Question 4

Neo-classicism

Answer 4

Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella” uses elements such as a lot of ornaments, but makes it modern by including a lot of dissonance, which was uncommon during the classical era, and a lot of switches and pairings with different instruments. He also uses a lot of glissandos in the instruments.
Stravinsky uses the orchestra in a different way to Classical composers by, certain instrumental groups would have a solo or duet, chords in the orchestra would be a lot more dissonant. The rhythms were more syncopated and there was more glissando in instruments.

Question 5

Modernism

Answer 5

Schoenberg was a prominent composer. It’s also quite creepy, but has singing along with instruments.

Question 6

Jazz

Answer 6

Self explanatory