Republic of the Philippines

DR. EMILIO B. ESPINOSA, SR. MEMORIAL STATE COLLEGE

OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
(Masbate State College)
www.debesmscat.edu.ph
Mandaon, Masbate
COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

GE 6 – ARTS APPRECIATION
MODULE 5

APPRECIATING THE ART OF MUSIC AND DANCE

I. Module Overview

This module serves as a guide in appreciating music and dance as works of art.

II. Desired Learning Outcomes

At the end of this topic, the students should be able to:
 Identify different mediums of music
 Identify the different types of dances
 Discuss the importance of music and dance in the culture of a society

III. Content Focus

Music as a Form of Art

Like dance, music in the ancient period has something to do with spirits. People sang to
appease the spirits, to ask favor or to give thanks. Music then was made vocally without
accompaniment. It was only composed of human voice. Slowly, some musical instruments came.
How they came, humankind could only speculate. As people’s lifestyle progresses, so do the
musical instruments. However, its effect to the listeners from the past to the present does not
change.

Musical Sounds

Sound is the most basic medium of music. It is produced either through a voice of
instrument, or a combination of both. This is about mediums of music, which are all discussed in the
following pages. Right here, let us discuss the properties of musical sound. There are four
properties of sound namely; pitch, duration, volume, and color (timbre) (C.A. Sanchez et al 1982)

1. Pitch. This refers to the place of tone in the musical scale. This also refers to the highness or
lowness of tone.

2. Duration. Sound is a result of vibrations. Duration as a property of sound refers to the length of
time over which vibration is maintained.

3. Volume. Refers to the softness or loudness of a sound.

4. Timbre tone color. This has something to do with the quality of sound. The quality of tone or
color. Quality of sound depends on the size, shape and form of instrument. The place where a
musical performance is done is also a contributing factor to the quality of sound. An instrument
built for acoustic purposes can produce a sound with a high fidelity to the purpose of the
musicians than in any ordinary places.
The Mediums of Music
There are two mediums of music namely, vocal medium and the instrumental medium.

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1. Vocal medium – human voice, the oldest and the most popular. Human voice differs
considerably in register or range in timbre or quality.

Vocal Register
a. Soprano – high register female voice
b. Mezzo – soprano medium register, female voice
c. Alto or contralto – medium register, female voice
d. Tenor – high register, male voice
e. Baritone – medium register, male voice
f. Bass – low register, male voice
Voice Qualities
a. Coloratura Soprano – an ornamented vocal music. It is labeled as the highest and
lightest of all human voices.
b. Lyric Soprano – voice that is less high and less ornamented. This quality of voice is
best suited to melodies.
c. Dramatic Soprano – heavier voice that can convey intense emotion in a dramatic
situation
d. Mezzo-Soprano – a woman’s voice, mezzo means between. Mezzo-soprano means
between soprano and contralto
e. Contralto – lowest of all female voices, it is low but rich in quality
f. Tenor – the highest natural adult male voice
g. Lyric Tenor – similar description of lyric soprano. It is best suited in a melody.
h. Dramatic Tenor – it is also like dramatic soprano, a voice that is less heavy in
characteristics and can convey emotion in dramatic situation
i. Baritone – a male voice between tenor and bass
j. Bass – a deep male voice or sound

2. The Instrumental Medium

There are three main types of musical instruments namely bowed, blown and struck. The
instruments that are considered bowed are string instruments. Those that are blown are
brasses because there are made of brass while percussion instruments are struck.

Below are samples of musical instruments classified according to the groupings as briefly
explained above.

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Woodwind and Brass Instruments

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Other type of instrument: Keyboard

Ensemble
This is a combination of different musical instruments mentioned above or two or more
performers engaged in playing the instruments or singing a piece of music. Some kinds of
ensembles are listed below.
1. Orchestra – this is the most elaborate kind of ensemble production. Several instruments of the
same kind are usually given a part. Typically, 34 violins and a number of instruments belonging
to brass or woodwind instruments are ensemble.

2. Symphony Orchestra – this a kind of opera wherein there are four sections according to the
instrumental groupings. Each of the section has instruments for the four basic ranges namely:
soprano, alto, tenor and bass.

3. Concerto – a written piece for one or more solo instrument or performer accompanied by an
orchestra or other ensemble

4. Band – like the orchestra, it is large but mainly consists of wind and percussion which are handy
for outdoor events. Bands are usually for musical renditions like parade although it is also used
for concert ensembles.

5. Rondalla – the most popular music group in the Philippines. It is mainly composed of stringed
instruments

Types of Music
1. Classical - famous composers like Mozart wrote classical music. Classical music is often
performed by an orchestra (large group of musicians), a choir (a group of singers) or a soloist
(just one person). People usually say a ‘piece’ of classical music rather than a ‘tune’ or ‘song’.

2. Jazz and blues - both originally from the USA. Jazz has a strong rhythm and notes are often
syncopated (come between beats). The melody can be improvised (invented while it is played)
and uses a wide range of different scales. Charlie Parker and Miles Davis are famous jazz
artists. Blues is a style of music famous for being sad. The lyrics often share stories from the
tough lives of the people who write blues songs.

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3. Folk - is the traditional music of a particular group of people. In record stores, it’s common to
see folk music from the UK and the USA. Country music is probably the most famous kind of
folk music and is popular in many parts of the world.

4. Pop - Every country in the world has its own pop stars. ‘Pop’ is short for ‘popular’ music and it
means just that. It is the most popular or common form of music in most countries.

5. Rock - is famous for being loud! Rock groups use electric guitars, bass and drums to create
music with a strong beat and lots of energy. There are lots of sub-genres (styles) of rock such
as metal, punk and prog-rock. With so many different styles of rock to choose from, no wonder
it is so popular!

6. Dance - is the kind of music you usually hear in clubs and bars. It has a strong beat, is often
repetitive, and is perfect for dancing to. Like rock, there are many different styles of dance
music. Some are slow, some are fast, but they will all get you feet moving!

7. Rap - is different to most music genres in that it is usually spoken, not sung. The words rhyme,
like a poem, and fit to the strong beat of the backing music.

8. Alternative - If the music you like doesn’t fit one of these categories, it is probably ‘alternative’.
Music might be called ‘alternative’ because only a small group of people like it or because it
doesn’t fit well into another category. The alternative section of a record store is often where
you will find the most unusual, interesting music.

Like all kinds of arts, music has a communicative aspect. The musician has something to
say which he/she wants humanity to understand. As they say, music is the universal language.
Considerations in Appreciating Music
1. Purity and Harmony – this refers to the quality of voice, the mellifluous of voice that reduces
vagueness. The clear, soft or mellifluous voice are qualities faithful to the art of music. They are
the core part in the enjoyment of music. With the absence of these qualities, the aesthetic side
of music is dead.

2. Relaxing Sound – Sound gives effects to the listeners, but not the same sound produces the
same effect. Pleasure of one may be discomfort to the others. “Relaxing effect is that music is
continuous and rhythmical…discontinuous sound demands more attention.” (Nordic Journal of
Music)

3. Message – When someone makes or creates a sound, that person expects humanity to derive
meaning from it. The sound of music has a message. Music, like visual art, has a
communicative aspect. Our role as listeners is to find out the message behind it.

Dance as a Form of Art

Right after harvest, the Subanun of Sindangan Zamboanga del Norte holds a seven-day
festivity, a thanksgiving to the gods. This feast is called buklug which is a kind of program of
activities centered on dancing on a wooden flat form called buklugan.
Dance throughout the ages is connected with the supernatural being. Ancient people danced
to show their gratitude to the gods, or to ask favor from the gods. In modern word, people dance
because they like to. Children on the street dance as a natural response to the beating of sounds
played nearby, or old people tap their feet in harmony with the music around while they peer down
over their cup of coffee.
Dance can be both an art and a form of recreation. As art, dance may interpret a story, a
history or an expression of mood. Dancing is beautiful and glorifying to see if there is a perfect

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 harmony in movement. If one member of the group of dancers make a mistake in movement, the
whole presentation is instinctively ruined. In dancing, going against unity is a grievous act because it
brings the whole art to a total downfall.
Other elements of dance such as design, music, costume, and properties should always
cling to each other in accordance with the theme of the dance.
Most Famous Types of Dances
Harlequin Floors 1. Ballet –
form of art
in which
the dance
is

choreographed with classical music. Ballet productions vary between using elaborate
costumes and staging and using minimal costuming and bare staging. Ballet is now a
widespread, highly technical form of dance with many subgenres including classic,
Harlequin Floors
romantic, neoclassical and contemporary.

2. Ballroom - a type of partner dance originating at the end of the sixteenth century in
France. Commonly used as shorthand for any partner dance, ballroom has today evolved
into two main subgenres – standard/smooth and Latin/rhythm.

Dances within these categories include the waltz, tango and foxtrot, and pasodoble, bolero
and samba.

Ballroom is a popular form of competitive dance, or dancesport, with competitions being

held all over the world.

Harlequin Floors
3. Contemporary - Drawing on
classical, modern and jazz dance
styles, contemporary dance has
evolved to incorporate many characteristics
of a broader range of dance forms.

Known for its emphasis on strong torso and

legwork, contract and release, fall and
recovery and floor work, it is often known for
unpredictable and disordered changes in
speed and rhythm throughout a
performance.
VIII.

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4. Hip-Hop - refers to a range Harlequin Floors
of street dances that
developed in relation to hip
hop music and culture. Hip-
hop dancing dates back to
the early 1970s in New York
and California, evolving out
of Funk and the
development of break beat.

Main styles of hip-hop

dancing include Breaking,
Locking and Popping, with
derivative styles emerging
out of these including
Memphis Jookin’, Turfing,
Jerkin’ and Krumping. These were often popularised and made mainstream after being featured
in music videos of the time.

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 5. Jazz - has its roots in
seventeenth-century African
traditions, brought to the
Americas via the Atlantic
slave trade as slaves
continued dancing traditions
in Brazil, the US and
elsewhere on the continents.
Known for its improvisational
and dramatic body
movements, the jazz
dancing grew in popularity in
early twentieth-century jazz
clubs.

6. Tap dancing - a type of

percussive dance
Harlequin Floors
characterized by the
“tap” of shoes hitting the
floor as the person
Harlequin Floors
dances. Tap dancers
often wear metal “taps”
on the heel and toe of a
shoe to accentuate the
sound. Often performed
as part of musical
theatre, tap dancing
often focuses on
choreography and
formations, with more
than one tap dancer
performing at once.

7. Folk dancing -
is celebrated worldwide with people of different cultures and religions using various
forms of folk dance to portray emotions, stories, historical events or even aspects of daily
life.

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 Some well-known types of folk dance include: Bharatanatyam (India), Samba (Brazil)
and Hula (Hawaii). Some cultures may even perform multiple variations of folk dances,
with countries like South Korea performing individual dances for key events such as
victories in war, farming, music and religion.

8. Modern Dance -
Considered as being
a broad genre of
dance, modern dance
primarily arose from
western countries
such as the USA and
Germany during the
late 1900s. While
most forms of dance Harlequin Floors

are structured and

feature set steps, the
purpose of modern
dance is to rely on
the dancer’s
interpretation of the
music and feeling to
guide movements.

9. Swing - is a variation of jazz dance which developed between the 1920s to the 1940s as a
response to the growing popularity of swing jazz in America. With the evolution of music that
occurred during the Jazz era, dance also began to change with the likes of swing music
encouraging faster, more rigorous movements.

Harlequin Floors

Read more at https://uk.harlequinfloors.com/en/news/popular-types-of-dance-list-of-top-dance-genres

Considerations in Appreciating Music

1. Theme. This is the most important component of dancing as well as of the other forms of art.
This has something to do with the message being portrayed by the dancers. It tells the audience
what the dance is all about.

2. Movement. This is the action of the dancers, the motion of the feet, the swinging of the arms,
turning of head and even facial expression and gestures to indicate feelingsHarlequin
such Floors
as anger,
happiness and others.

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 3. Technique. The mastery of the dancers in performing the movement. Mastery includes
gracefulness in doing the actions, which is always governed by the theme of the dance.

4. Music. Ordinarily, this serves as the background of the dancers to add beauty to the
presentation. But music also serves as a guide or motivation of the dancers.

5. Costumer and Properties. The visual effects usually are usually for cultural dancing. Custome
helps the audience interpret the message of the dance. This includes weapons such as spear
and shield, which signify periods and regions.

6. Choreography. This is the organization of movements to maintain harmony. A successful

dance presentation depends on how rigid its choreograph which means that it undergoes strict
practice and rehearsals.

References

 Art Appreciation: Introduction to the Humanities by Claudio V. Tabotabo et. al., c2010
 WIL. (2018). Music Genres in English: What is your Favorite? Retrieved from EF English Live:
https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/english-in-the-real-world/music-genres-english-favourite/
 Harlequin Floors. (2020, January). Retrieved from
https://uk.harlequinfloors.com/en/news/popular-types-of-dance-list-of-top-dance-genres
 https://artsandculture.google.com/usergallery/music-appreciation-in-art/YQliqmspshVGLA

Compiled and Edited by:

JAY KENNETH B. CERNAL

COS Instructor/DEBESMSCAT

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