Musical Phrases

                                                                                                       African Drumming Concert Report I attended a concert performed by the African Drumming and Dance Ensemble by Baruch Whitehead. It took place on October 24, 2013 at 8:15 pm in Ford Hall. It was a really unique, culturally enriching experience that showcased a different style of music to Ithaca College. Drumming was the basis of this music, but it also encompassed chanting and dance. The artists performing were students who are learning the art of African drumming. The songs played were “Calabash”, “Gyil”, “Kundun”,“Sinta”, “Gahu”, “Jare”, and “Adjogbo”, all originating from different regions and people of Af...

                                                                 Romanticism in Art  Romanticism was a time period at the end of the 19 th Century that accepted reason but valued emotions as well. Although it came about in a time when industrialization was a powerhouse, Romanticism embraced the awe of nature and the achievements of the individual. Unlike Enlightenment, which focused on the collective society as a whole, Romanticism focused on the dreamer and the individual. Romanticism valued exploration of dreams, imagination, and the ideas of the dreamer. Individuals, especially artists, were highly valued at this period in time for they were considered geniuses. Artists were unique, had endless potential, and had self-realizations through art. An extremely unique artist in...

When I listened to a YouTube video of Mozart’s Sonata in A major, K.331, I was immediately able to recognize musical phrases. In this blog, I focus only on the first 8 measures of this sonata, which make up two phrases. The first phrase encompasses measures 1 through 4 and the second phrase encompasses measures 5 through 8. The goal of this blog is to analyze the sonata’s texture, rhythm, melody, and phrase structure. The texture of the sonata is uncomplicated and homophonic. It has a simple dominate melody that is accompanied by chords. The chords move with the same rhythm as the melody.  The rhythm is 6 beats per measure and the tempo of the song is andante grazioso. It is moderately slow, but has a graceful quality. The melody is simple and gentle, but is flowing. The first 8 measures reminded me of a lullaby, but it seemed more elegant.   The phrase structure in this sonata is parallel interrupted period.  In order to deduce this I listened to the...