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Listen to the Webern quartet and write down your first impressions ± think
about texture, timbre, structure, melody, harmony, tonality, rhythm etc.
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Now look at the score. What do you notice about the way that the music
looks? Jot down your first impressions.

What evidence is there that this work was written in the 20 th C?

]ow do we know from looking at the score and listening to the piece that it
was intended for performance by professional musicians?

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Listen to the information given about the context of the piece and write notes
on what you remember about what is said.
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Comment on the timbres that Webern has used here. Why do you think he
has chosen these instruments?

What aspects of the piece might make it technically difficult to play for the
performers? Are there any special performance techniques? What cou ld you
say about the pitch and dynamics and articulation used?

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What is unusual about the texture?

What do you understand by the term  ?

What do you understand by the term M 



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an example of this technique?

What do you understand by the term 


c? Where is there an
example in this piece?

Write a summary of the texture of this piece in the box below

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What is the structure of this piece? Outline it below with precise bar numbers.

]ow does Webern¶s use of this structure differ radically from Classical
composers¶ use of the same type of structure?

What do you understand by the term Neo-Classical? Why does this apply to
Webern¶s use of this structure?
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Comment on the tonality of this piece.

What is meant by serial music? Why is this an example of serial music?

What is a retrograde order? Can you find an example from this piece?

What is a prime order? Can you find an example from this piece?

What is an inversion? Can you find an example from this piece ?

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Why is it difficult to try to analyse the harmony of this piece?

What features of tonal harmony are missing in this atonal piece?

What interval does the first µchord¶ at bar 2 produce?

What do you notice about the µchord¶ at bar 20 when 3 notes sound at once?


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What was Webern¶s favourite interval?

Find 4 examples of this interval and write them below. They can be horizontal
(melodic and in the same part ± adjacent notes) or vertical ± notes sounded at
the same time between parts.

What is meant by the term µoctave displacement¶? Find an example.

What is meant by the term µtritone¶? Find at least one example.

Summarise the style of melodic writing in this piece:

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What do you notice about the time signatures used in this music?

What is meant by rhythmic motif? ]ow are rhythmic motifs used in this
music?
 Comment on the use of tempo markings in the piece

Where does the rhythmic style get more continuous and less fragmentary?
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