Minds On
Today’s vocabulary
Let’s get started!
Examine the following musical excerpts.
What do you notice, think, and wonder about each excerpt? Do you notice any similarities between the excerpts? Do you notice any differences between the excerpts?
Record your ideas using a method of your choice.
The first excerpt is the sheet music for the piece “I Dreamed a Dream,” from the musical Les Misérables. The music was by Claude-Michel Schönberg with lyrics by Alain Boubil, Jean-Marc Natel and Herbert Kretzmer.
Sheet music for the piece “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Misérables. This sheet music is used as a set of instructions to help musicians play the song. The sheet has lines with different musical notes on them. There are quarter notes, rests, and whole notes. There is also some written direction about how to play the music, such as direction to play the piece “Moderately slow.” There are also song lyrics that appear below the lines.
This second excerpt is sheet music for the piece “Stripsody” by Cathy Berberian. Illustrations are by Roberto Zamarin.
A graphic score with two rows of three straight horizontal lines. There are no musical notes on this score. There are images of characters and sounds instead of notes. On the first set of three lines, on the top left of the first line is an image of a character roaring “Ahhhahhhhh.” On the second line the first image from the left is the word “achoo” as a sneeze sound. Next is the word “BLEAGH!” in capital letters. The final image on this line is the words “bum blam”. On the third line is the word “ARRGRR”. Next to it is an image of a cartoon character. The final image is the word “bum” possibly demonstrating a drum sound. On the second set of three lines, on the second line beginning at the left is one small circle on the line. Next to that is a series of small circles joined in a curved line from the top of the second line to the bottom of the third. Next to that is a group of letters in a shape of a wave. These letters spell “brrrrrrrrbrrrrrr”. The third image are the letters “Boinnnggg” shaped as a curve going upwards.
Explore the following video clip where Cathy Berberian performs the piece “Stripsody”.
Action
Get ready, get set…
Musical notation
Musical notation is a series of signs and symbols that tell musicians how to perform a composition. It can take several forms including standard notation on five-line musical staves and graphic notation.
Standard notation is a traditional system or language that uses symbols to represent the sounds of a composition. It is the written form of music. Standard notation includes the 5-line staff, notes, key signatures, time signatures, and indications of tempo, dynamics, and articulation. Standard notation is a very detailed form of notation that uses a graph to notate, or mark what sounds or notes to play. It also tells musicians how long to play, as well as the instrumentation and volume.
“I Dreamed a Dream”
Let’s explore standard notation in more detail. We will return to the excerpt we explored in the Minds On section, “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Misérables.
“I Dreamed a Dream” is written in standard notation. It is written in the treble clef, there are 3 flats at the beginning of the piece (B, E, and A), and it is to be played “moderately slow.”
You may also notice dynamic markings “mp” and “mf.” The “mp” stands for “mezzo piano” and means this part will be played moderately soft, and the “mf” stands for “mezzo forte” and means that part will be played moderately loud.
Sheet music for the piece “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Misérables. This sheet music is used as a set of instructions to help musicians play the song. The sheet has lines with different musical notes on them. There are quarter notes, rests, and whole notes. There is also some written direction about how to play the music, such as direction to play the piece “Moderately slow.” There are also song lyrics that appear below the lines. The start of the piece has three flat notes. The first line is marked with the letters “mp” and later in the song is marked with the letters “mf.”
Graphic notation
Graphic notation works in the same ways as traditional musical notation, but uses abstract signs, symbols, and text to communicate information to the performer.
A good example of graphic notation is from Cathy Berberian’s “Stripsody,” which we explored in the Minds On section.
A graphic score with two rows of three straight horizontal lines. There are no musical notes on this score. There are images of characters and sounds instead of notes. On the first set of three lines, on the top left of the first line is an image of a character roaring “Ahhhahhhhh.” On the second line the first image from the left is the word “achoo” as a sneeze sound. Next is the word “BLEAGH!” in capital letters. The final image on this line is the words “bum blam”. On the third line is the word “ARRGRR”. Next to it is an image of a cartoon character. The final image is the word “bum” possibly demonstrating a drum sound. On the second set of three lines, on the second line beginning at the left is one small circle on the line. Next to that is a series of small circles joined in a curved line from the top of the second line to the bottom of the third. Next to that is a group of letters in a shape of a wave. These letters spell “brrrrrrrrbrrrrrr”. The third image are the letters “Boinnnggg” shaped as a curve going upwards.
Did You Know
Fun fact!
Why graphic notation? One important feature of 20th century music was the exploration of new musical resources. This included new instruments, sounds, and even new ideas about what music is. This prompted composers to explore other ways to express themselves. Many began to use graphic notation to write their music. Some composers will even use a combination of musical notation and graphic notation to get their ideas across!
Before standard notation was developed (the way it appears today) a basic element of notation called a neume was used. This form of notation was useful if you already knew the melody of a song because the neumes moved in the direction that the pitch went.
An old book of music. It uses small symbols called “neumes” as musical notation.
Stripsody
Let’s use the elements of music to examine the excerpt from Cathy Berberian’s “Stripsody.” The excerpt captures approximately the first 20 seconds of the composition.
A graphic score with two rows of three straight horizontal lines. There are no musical notes on this score. There are images of characters and sounds instead of notes. On the first set of three lines, on the top left of the first line is an image of a character roaring “Ahhhahhhhh.” On the second line the first image from the left is the word “achoo” as a sneeze sound. Next is the word “BLEAGH!” in capital letters. The final image on this line is the words “bum blam”. On the third line is the word “ARRGRR”. Next to it is an image of a cartoon character. The final image is the word “bum” possibly demonstrating a drum sound. On the second set of three lines, on the second line beginning at the left is one small circle on the line. Next to that is a series of small circles joined in a curved line from the top of the second line to the bottom of the third. Next to that is a group of letters in a shape of a wave. These letters spell “brrrrrrrrbrrrrrr”. The third image are the letters “Boinnnggg” shaped as a curve going upwards.
The score includes the following instructions:
“The score should be performed as if by a radio sound man, without any props, who must provide all the sound effects with his voice. The three lines represent the different pitch levels: low, medium and high.
The lines enclosed by bars are to be performed as ‘scenes’…
Whenever possible, gestures and body movements should be simultaneous with the vocal gestures…
Basically, the spacing of the ‘sound words’ indicates the timing.”
Dunsby, Jonathan. Making Words Sing: Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Song. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
These instructions provide us with the understanding that there are various elements of music indicated within the score.
Let’s explore some of the elements of music and how they are represented in “Stripsody.”
Press the tabs to learn about each element of music.
The ‘spacing’ of the sound words provides the performer with a sense of timing. In the “Stripsody” excerpt, the duration of each particular sound is represented by using the width of the picture. For example, there is a long “BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR” in the middle of “Stripsody” that takes up more space than the “BLOMP BLOMP” that comes before it.
There are lines in the “Stripsody” score just like a traditional musical staff. The three lines represent the different pitch levels: low, medium, and high. These indicate an approximate pitch for the singer.
Cathy Berberian’s “Stripsody” leaves many decisions (specific pitches, style, and noises) to the performer. For example, not all the sound words are accompanied by a picture. However, they do all have some indication for how they might be performed (the style and/or size of the font give us some direction).
For example, think about the font size and shape of the “aaahat-ciu” in “Stripsody.” The size of the font is larger at the tail end of the sound, which could suggest an increase in loudness or volume. As for pitch, the sound starts at a medium-pitch level and ends at a high-pitch level.
It is kind of like someone sneezing. They start low and quieter (“aaah”) and end with the louder, higher pitch sneeze (“ciu!”)
“Stripsody” includes a collection of sounds. It uses onomatopoeia, or words that imitate their sound. For example, the piece , imitates the ‘zzzzzzz’ of a buzzing insect.
There are also sections that pretend to be a radio, call out like Tarzan, and a part that asks a kite to come down from a tree! This requires the one singer-performer to use their voice in different ways. This is similar to composers using different combinations of instruments to represent different moods or characters.
This piece is for solo voice without accompaniment. The singer-performer uses graphic notation which includes performance notes to guide their performance.
This piece is monophonic so there is not any texture or harmony to represent. You may notice that there are words and graphics placed over top of one another indicating a sound and what is making that sound.
This score is read from left to right, so the performer knows the sequence of events in the performance.
There are bars in the score to indicate “scenes” or sections of music.
The piece has an irregular form, which makes it seem improvised.
Go!
Explore another excerpt from Cathy Berberian’s “Stripsody.”
This section depicts a barnyard scene. Berberian uses pictures of animals and animal noises in her graphic notation.
An excerpt from Cathy Berberian’s “Stripsody.” This excerpt depicts a barnyard and a number of onomatopoeias that imitate animal sounds. The animal sounds are arranged on three lines and represent the different pitch levels: low, medium, and high. Five out of the six onomatopoeias appear as if behind a picket fence. At the start of the excerpt (left), the onomatopoeia “Honk Honk Honk” is presented in a small and thin font on/around the medium line. Next to this, there are two onomatopoeias that appear one after the other: “oink oink,” and “buk buk buk cawr.” Both the “oink oink,” and “buk buk buk cawr” appear in a large thick square font. The “oink oink” appears on the medium line and “buk buk buk cawr,” appears just above the medium line, moves up above the high line, and the “cawr” drops down to the medium line. The next onomatopoeia is a “zzz” that starts on the low line in thick black font. The size of the letters increases from left to right. The letters also curve up from the low line to the medium line as if to show the path of the buzzing insect before it lands on the cow. The final onomatopoeia behind the fence is a “moo” that appears in a thick, but small font and sits below the low line. Similar to the “zzz,” the size of the letters increases from left to right. Finally, the “Hum um Hum um” appears in a round and small font on the medium line and just outside of the fence post.
Use the following fillable and printable Elements of Music graphic organizer or any other method of your choice to analyse the excerpt.
Take note of the following elements of music both in the score and in the performance: duration, pitch, dynamics and other expressive controls, timbre, texture/harmony, and form.
| Element of Music | In the Score |
|---|---|
| Duration | |
| Pitch | |
| Dynamics and other expressive controls | |
| Timbre | |
| Texture/ Harmony | |
| Form |
Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Elements of Music.
When you’re ready, press the ‘Answers’ button to reveal some possible answers to the Elements of Music graphic organizer. Compare these sample answers to your own!
| Element of Music | In the Score |
|---|---|
|
Duration |
The duration is represented using the width of each graphic and it’s corresponding wording. |
|
Pitch |
The pitches are represented based on how high or low they are on the 3-lined staff. The first sound represented is a duck making a honking sound and is performed in a medium pitch range. The second pitch is slightly lower and the third is higher than the first. The next sound represented is a pig making an “oink” sound and it is also in the medium pitch range. Following the pig, the next sound represented is a chicken making a “buk” sound (clucking) in a higher pitch range (each pitch is slightly higher than the previous pitch) followed by the “cawr” which is back to a medium pitch range. Next, there is a fly represented making a “zzzz” sound in a lower pitch range with a cow going “muuu” in a slightly higher pitch range. This sound is cut off and followed by the hum of a lullaby. |
|
Dynamics and other expressive controls |
The thickness of the words represents the volume of the sound created. The thicker the words, the louder the sound. In this excerpt, the “HONK”, “ZZZZ” and “HUM” sections are all performed at a similar volume. This could be performed at a “mp” (mezzo piano – moderately soft) range. The “OINK,” “CAWR,” and “MUUU” sections would be the loudest section and could be performed using a “forte” (loud) range. “BUK” could be performed using a “mf” (mezzo forte – moderately loud) range as the lettering is not as prominent as the “OINK”, “CAWR” and “MOO” sections are. |
|
Timbre |
In this excerpt the timbres (in order) would be a duck making a “HONK” sound, followed by a pig making an “OINK,” followed by a chicken making a “BUK BUK CAWR” sound. Then, there is a fly making a “ZZZ” sound and a cow making a “MUUU” sound in an annoyed way. The excerpt concludes with the humming of a lullaby melody. |
|
Texture/Harmony |
In this excerpt, there is no harmony and there are no overlaps in sounds. |
|
Form |
This excerpt is free form because there are no sections that repeat or are a variation of a previous section. |
Consolidation
Putting it all together
Review your learning
In this learning activity we have explored musical notation. We examined standard notation and graphic notation through Cathy Berberian’s “Stripsody.”
Use the following questions to reflect on what you have learned about musical notation. You can record your ideas using a method of your choice.
- What are the steps that you might follow to read and interpret a graphic notation?
- What are the similarities and differences between standard notation and graphic notation?
- What are the benefits of using a graphic score over standard notation?
Would you prefer to notate a piece using standard notation or graphic notation? Explain your thinking.
Reflection
As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
I feel…
Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.