Professor Wright begins this lecture with a brief introduction to musical acoustics, discussing the way multiple partials combine to make up every tone. He reviews fundamental rhythmic terms, such as "beat," "tempo," and "meter," and then demonstrates in more depth some of the more complex concepts, such as "syncopation" and the "triplet." Professor Wright then moves on to discuss the basics of musical texture, giving detailed examples of three primary types: monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic. The class is then taught the basics of rhythmic dictation -- skill that entails notating the rhythm of a piece after listening to it. Each of these disparate threads is brought together in the conclusion of the lecture, in which Mozart's Requiem is shown to weave different rhythms, textures, and pitches together to depict the text effectively.

Reading assignment:

Wright, Craig. Listening to Music, pp. 422-430

Credits:

Professor Wright's course contains copyrighted material, including portions of musical works, the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. In making this content available, we have relied on fair use as provided for in section 107 of the United States Copyright Law. We make no representation that your use, reuse or remixing of this content will constitute fair use or that by using, reusing or remixing this content you will not infringe upon the rights of others. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes that exceed fair use or wish to use such material in a manner that is not authorized under the applicable copyright law, you must request permission from the copyright owner.

Special thanks to Naxos, LLC for providing recordings from the Notes - Naxos Music Library for use in connection with the Open Yale Courses publication of Craig Wright's Listening to Music course. For specific credits, see: Naxos Music Credits - Lecture 4[PDF]