Short Ride in a Fast Machine

Question 1

What is <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> also known as?

Answer 1

<i>Fanfare for Great Woods</i>

Question 2

Who commissioned <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 2

Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra for its Great Woods Festival in 1986

Question 3

What genre is <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 3

fanfare for orchestra

Question 4

When was <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> composed?

Answer 4

1986

Question 5

What is the structure of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 5

one movement (loosely divided into 4 sections)

Question 6

What are the performing forces of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 6

large symphony orchestra and two synthesizers

Question 7

Which instrument dominates <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 7

wood block

Question 8

What large section does <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> require?

Answer 8

large percussion section

Question 9

What is the rhythm in <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> like?

Answer 9

There’s a constantly marked beat,

but complex cross-rhythms play our against it

Question 10

What is the meter in <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> like?

Answer 10

constantly changing meter (time signature),

constant perception of simple and compound time,

complex polyrhythms,

“rhythmic dissonance”

Question 11

What is the articulation in <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> like?

Answer 11

crisp staccato articulation

Question 12

Which percussion instruments are added in <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> to produce a shimmering sonority?

Answer 12

glockenspiel,
xylophone,
antique cymbals,
triangle,
tambourine

Question 13

What is the dynamics in <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i> like?

Answer 13

extreme dynamic ranges (sffff),

sudden shift of volume and density

Question 14

What signature minimalist style is in <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 14

<i>ostinato</i>-like repetition of short figures

Question 15

Does Adams rely on dissonance or consonance?

Answer 15

consonance (like most of Adam’s output)

Question 16

What is the tempo marking in <b>Section 1</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 16

<i>Delirando</i> (deliriously)

Question 17

What is the wood block like in <b>Section 1</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 17

high wood block,

strict metronomic beat

Question 18

What is the wood block like in <b>Section 2</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 18

low wood block,

incessant (unpleasant)

Question 19

What happens to the color in <b>Section 2</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 19

sudden color shift,

winds and strings take over brass

Question 20

What does the timpani do in <b>Section 2</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 20

timpani roll underscores a growling crescendo

Question 21

What is the wood block like in <b>Section 3</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 21

high wood block, then changes to middle wood block,

marks the driving beat

Question 22

what is the dynamic marking in <b>Section 3</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 22

mf,

music soften and stabilizes

Question 23

What is the tempo marking in <b>Section 4</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 23

Slightly Slower

Question 24

What is the wood block like in <b>Section 4</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 24

eliminated entirely

Question 25

which instrument dominates <b>Section 4</b> of <i>Short Ride in a Fast Machine</i>?

Answer 25

trumpets,

reinforce fanfare style