LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

1Q-MUSIC 10
MUSIC OF THE 20TH CENTURY
I. INTRODUCTORY CONCEPT:

Vocabulary Bank:
Elements of Music:
• dynamics – the softness or loudness of a musical sound.
• harmony – a pleasing combination of musical sounds;
the relationship between two or more notes sung or played simultaneously.
• melody – a succession of notes of different pitch so arranged in relation to each other
to be a recognizable piece.
• meter – the division of beats or pulses.
• pitch – the highness or lowness of tone.
• rhythm – the pattern produced by the relative duration and stress of notes.
• tempo – the speed at which a piece of music is played or is meant to be played.

Chamber music – instrumental music played by a small ensemble, with one player to a part, the most
important form being the string quartet which developed in the 18th century.

chord – a simultaneous combination of notes.

chromatic scale – (12-tone scale) is a musical scale with 12 pitches, each a semitone above or below its
adjacent pitches. As a result, in 12-tone equal temperament, the chromatic scale covers all 12 of the available
pitches. Thus, there is only one chromatic scale.

classic – receive into the accepted cannons of excellence; conforming to Greek and Roman canons of taste;

concerto/concerti- a concerto (from Italian: concerto, plural concerti or, often, the anglicized form concertos)
is a musical composition in three parts or movements, in which (usually) one solo instrument (for instance, a
piano, violin, cello, or flute) is accompanied by an orchestra or concert band.

conservatory – institution for education in musical performance and composition. The term and institution
derive from the Italian conservatorio, which in the Renaissance period and earlier denoted a type of
orphanage often attached to a hospital (hence the term ospedale also applied to such institutions).

convention–a polite practice observed by many.

conventional – lacking originality, merely traditional

depict –describe ; represent

dissonances – discord; disagreement ; inconsistency between words and actions, or words and beliefs, or
between beliefs (in music, clashing of tones.)

drench– to wet thoroughly, soak.

emotionalism – the tendency to delight in, ruled by emotion rather than reason.
extensive – covering a wide area; great in scope.

globalization –involving the whole world; comprehensive; total.

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hazy – a cloudy, misty appearance

imagery – a mental picture or concept

innovative - making changes; introducing new practices.

luminaries – persons of outstanding intellectual, spiritual or moral quality.

movement – a series of acts and events planned towards a definite end by a body of people.
(as in French movement)

opera – an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical
score, usually in a theatrical setting. It incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting,
scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance.

overlap – to cover partly or extend beyond

pentatonic scales– a musical scale consisting of five tones.

program music – music that contained visual imagery.

progression –moving forward or onward; increasing in severity, intensity, etc.

proponents – persons who advocate or support a proposal or idea or a will.

scale – an organized sequence of notes.

sentimental – characterized by excessive emotional show; influenced by feeling rather than

reason; feeling, or characterized by tenderness.

sublime – arousing the sensation of awe, especially by reason of perfection, nobility, with
respect to moral, spiritual or intellectual qualities.

subtle – hard to grasp, difficult to define or distinguish

ternary –music with three independent parts.

translucent – of a medium through which light passes, but in such a way that a
clear image cannot be formed of the object viewed through it.

vague – dark, doubtful, formless, mysterious, questionable, unsure, indefinite

virtuoso – (from Italian virtuoso [vir’two:zo], Latin virtus, “virtue”, excellence or skill) is an individual who
possesses outstanding technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, music, singing, playing a
musical instrument, or composition.

whole tone – in music, a whole-tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from its neighbors by
the interval of a whole tone.

Electronic Music - is music that uses electronic musical elements, digital instruments or circuitry-
based music technology. The capacity of electronic machines such as synthesizers, amplifiers, tape
recorders, and loudspeakers to create different sounds.

Chance Music – is music where some element of the music is left to chance. This might be using cards,
dice, computer generator, mathematical formulas, the I-Ching, or other methods to make musical decisions.
In fact, the word "aleatory" comes from the Latin word alea meaning "dice." Musical dice games have been
known for centuries, including a famous example attributed to no other but Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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Concrete Music -Music that uses the tape recorder is called musique concrete.

Chance Music - refers to a style wherein the piece always sounds different at every performance because
of the random techniques of production, including the use of ring modulators or natural elements that become
a part of the music. Most of the sounds emanate from the surroundings, both natural and man-made, such
as honking cars, rustling leaves, blowing wind, dripping water, or a ringing phone.

Mixed Media - Combination of variety of media or materials in a single artwork.

Futurism – is an art for past-paced, machine -propelled age. They admired the motion, force, speed, and
strength of mechanical forms.

A. IMPRESSIONISM:
One of the earlier but concrete forms declaring the entry of 20th century music was known as
Impressionism. It is a French movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. The sentimental melodies
and dramatic emotionalism of the preceding Romantic Period (their themes and melody are easy to recognize
and enjoy) were being replaced in favor of moods and impressions. There is an extensive use of colors and
effects, vague melodies, and innovative chords and progressions leading to mild dissonances.

Sublime moods and melodic suggestions replaced highly expressive and program music, or music
that contained visual imagery. With this trend came new combinations of extended chords, harmonies, whole
tone, chromatic scales, and pentatonic scales. Impressionism was an attempt not to depict reality, but merely
to suggest it. It was meant to create an emotional mood rather than a specific picture. In terms of imagery,
impressionistic forms were translucent and hazy, as if trying to see through a rain-drenched window.

In impressionism, the sounds of different chords overlapped lightly with each other to produce new
subtle musical colors. Chords did not have a definite order and a sense of clear resolution. Most of the
impressionist works centered on nature and its beauty, lightness, and brilliance. A number of outstanding
impressionists created works on this subject.

The impressionistic movement in music had its proponents in the French composers Claude Debussy
and Maurice Ravel. Both had developed a particular style of composing adopted by many 20th century
composers. Among the most famous luminaries in other countries were Ottorino Respighi (Italy), Manuel de
Falla and Isaac Albeniz (Spain), and Ralph Vaughan Williams (England).

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918)

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 One of the most important and influential of the 20th century composers was Claude Debussy. He
was the primary exponent of the impressionist movement and the focal point for other impressionist
composers. He changed the course of musical development by dissolving traditional rules and conventions
into a new language of possibilities in harmony, rhythm, form, texture, and color.
Debussy was born in St. Germain-en-Layein France on August 22, 1862. His early musical talents
were channeled into piano lessons. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1873. He gained a reputation as
an erratic pianist and a rebel in theory and harmony. He added other systems of musical composition because
of his musical training. In 1884, he won the top prize at the Prix de Rome competition with his composition L’
Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Son). This enabled him to study for two years in Rome, where he got exposed
to the music of Richard Wagner, specifically his opera Tristan und Isolde, although he did not share the
latter’s grandiose style.

Debussy’s mature creative period was represented by the following works:

AriettesOubliees
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
String Quartet
Pelleas et Melisande (1895)—his famous operatic work that drew mixed extreme
Reactions for its innovative harmonies and textural treatments.
La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative and atmospheric symphonic work for orchestra
About the sea
Images, Suite Bergamasque, and Estampes—his most popular piano compositions; a set
of lightly textured pieces containing his signature work Claire de Lune (Moonlight).

His musical compositions total more or less 227 which include orchestral music, chamber music,
piano music, operas, ballets, songs, and other vocal music.

The creative style of Debussy was characterized by his unique approach to the various musical
elements. Debussy’s compositions deviated from the Romantic Period and is clearly seen by the way he
avoided metric pulses and preferred free form and developed his themes. Debussy’s western influences
came from composers Franz Liszt and Giuseppe Verdi. From the East, he was fascinated by the Javanese
gamelan that he had heard at the 1889 Paris Exposition. The gamelan is an ensemble with bells, gongs,
xylophone, and occasional vocal parts which he later used in his works to achieve a new sound.

From the visual arts, Debussy was influenced by Monet, Pissarro, Manet, Degas, and Renoir; and
from the literary arts, by Mallarme,Verlaine, and Rimbaud. Most of his close friends were painters and poets
who significantly influenced his compositions. His role as the “Father of the Modern School of Composition”
made its mark in the styles of the later 20th century composers like Igor Stravinsky, Edgar Varese, and Olivier
Messiaen. Debussy spent the remaining years of his life as a critic, composer, and performer. He died in
Paris on March 25, 1918 of cancer at the height of the First World War.

LISTENING ACTIVITY

Using the music recording that was given to you, listen very intently and find out how the music flows. An
excerpt of his composition is provided below.

CLAIRE DE LUNE
(MOONLIGHT)
Suite Bergamasque (Excerpt)
Claude Debussy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY

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Next Please meet …

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)

Joseph Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, France to a Basque mother and a Swiss father. He
entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 14 where he studied with the eminent French composer Gabriel
Faure. During his stint with the school where he stayed until his early 20’s, he had composed a number of
masterpieces.

The compositional style of Ravel is mainly characterized by its uniquely innovative but not atonal
style of harmonic treatment. It is defined with intricate and sometimes modal melodies and extended chordal
components. It demands considerable technical virtuosity from the performer which is the character, ability,
or skill of a virtuoso—a person who excels in musical technique or execution.

The harmonic progressions and modulations are not only musically satisfying but also pleasantly
dissonant and elegantly sophisticated. His refined delicacy and color, contrasts and effects add to the
difficulty in the proper execution of the musical passages. These are extensively used in his works of a
programmatic nature, wherein visual imagery is either suggested or portrayed. Many of his works deal with
water in its flowing or stormy moods as well as with human characterizations.

Ravel’s works include the following:

Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a slow but lyrical requiem

Jeuxd’Eau or Water Fountains (1901)

String Quartet (1903)

Sonatine for Piano (c.1904)

Miroirs (Mirrors), 1905, a work for piano known for its harmonic evolution and imagination,

Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), a set of demonic-inspired pieces based on the poems of Aloysius Bertrand
which is arguably the most difficult piece in the piano repertoire.

These were followed by a number of his other significant works, including Valses Nobles et
Sentimentales (1911)

Le Tombeau de Couperin (c.1917), a commemoration of the musical advocacies of the

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 early 18thcentury French composer Francois Couperin,
RhapsodieEspagnole
Bolero

Daphnis et Chloe (1912), a ballet commissioned by master choreographer Sergei Diaghilev

that contained rhythmic diversity, evocation of nature, and choral ensemble

La Valse (1920), a waltz with a frightening undertone that had been composed for ballet
and arranged as well as for solo and duo piano.

The two piano concerti composed in 1929 as well as the violin virtuosic piece Tzigane (1922)
total the relatively meager compositional output of Ravel, approximating 60 pieces for piano, chamber
music, song cycles, ballet, and opera.

Ravel was a perfectionist and every bit a musical craftsman. He strongly adhered to the classical
form, specifically its ternary structure. A strong advocate of Russian music, he also admired the music of
Chopin, Liszt, Schubert, and Mendelssohn. He died in Paris in 1937.

LISTENING ACTIVITY:
Using the music recording that was given to you, listen to how the music flows. An excerpt of his
composition is provided below.

BOLERO
Transcriptions for Two Pianos (Excerpt)
Maurice Ravel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r30D3SW4OVw

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B. EXPRESSIONISM:

Expressionism
Expressionism reveals the composer’s mind, instead of presenting an impression of the environment.
It uses atonality and the twelve-tone scale, lacking stable and conventional harmonies. It serves as a
medium for expressing strong emotions, such as anxiety, rage, and alienation.

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG (1874–1951)

Arnold Schoenberg was born in a working-class suburb of Vienna, Austria on September 13, 1874. He
began learning the violin at the age of 9 and began composing- without formal instruction- about the same
time. He taught himself music theory, but took lessons in counterpoint. German composer Richard Wagner
influenced his work as evidenced by his symphonic poem Pelleas et Melisande, Op 5 (1903), a counterpoint
of Debussy’s opera of the same title.

Schoenberg’s style was constantly undergoing development. From the early influences of Wagner, his
tonal preference gradually turned to the dissonant and atonal, as he explored the use of chromatic harmonies.

Although full of melodic and lyrical interest, his music is also extremely complex, creating heavy
demands on the listener. His works were met with extreme reactions, either strong hostility from the general
public or enthusiastic acclaim from his supporters.

Schoenberg is credited with the establishment of the twelve-tone system. His works include the
following:

VerklarteNacht, Three Pieces for Piano, op. 11

PierrotLunaire,

Gurreleider

VerklarteNacht (Transfigured Night, 1899), one of his earliest successful pieces, blends the lyricism,
instrumentation, and melodic beauty of Brahms with the chromaticism and construction of Wagner. His
musical compositions total more or less 213 which include concerti, orchestral music, piano music, operas,
choral music, songs, and other instrumental music.

He is one of the greatest innovators of the 20th century. Schoenberg died on July 13, 1951 in Los
Angeles, California, USA where he had settled since 1934.

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C. 20th Century Electronic Music
Electronic music is a blanket term used to describe music that generally is made
using electronic instruments (such as drum machines or synthesizers) or uses electronic equipment to
make music (cuts or pitch shifting) and is typically not organic-sounding. A number of outstanding
composers, artists and medias of the 20th century each made their own distinctive mark on the contemporary
classical music styles, artworks and media were developed. In music, sampling is the reuse of a portion
(or sample) of a sound recording in another recording. Samples may comprise elements such as rhythm,
melody, speech, sounds, or entire bars of music, and may be layered, equalized, sped up or slowed down,
re pitched, looped, or otherwise manipulated.

Modern electronic music involves dance rhythms and experimental music production. What sets it apart
as a genre is its use of electronic instruments like synthesizers, computers, and digital sequencers rather
than mechanical and electromechanical instruments like pianos, organs, guitars, etc.

NEW MUSICAL STYLES….

Electronic Music

The capacity of electronic machines such as synthesizers, amplifiers, tape recorders, and
loudspeakers to create different sounds was given importance by 20th century composers like Edgar
Varese, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Mario Davidovsky.

Music that uses the tape recorder is called musique concrete, or concrete music. The composer
records different sounds that are heard in the environment such as the bustle of traffic, the sound of the wind,
the barking of dogs, the strumming of a guitar, or the cry of an infant. These sounds are arranged by the
composer in different ways like by playing the tape recorder in its fastest mode or in reverse. In musique
concrete, the composer is able to experiment with different sounds that cannot be produced by regular
musical instruments such as the piano or the violin.
Did you know that we have famous electronic music composers during this period?

EDGARD VARESE (1883–1965)

Edgard (also spelled Edgar) Varèse was born on December 22, 1883.
He was considered an “innovative French-born composer.” However, he
spent the greater part of his life and career in the United States, where
he pioneered and created new sounds that bordered between music and
noise.

The musical compositions of Varese are characterized by an emphasis

on timbre and rhythm. He invented the term “organized sound,” which
means that certain timbres and rhythms can be grouped together in order
to capture a whole new definition of sound. Although his complete
surviving works are scarce, he has been recognized to have influenced
several major composers of the late 20th century.

Varèse’s use of new instruments and electronic resources made him the “Father of Electronic Music”
and he was described as the “Stratospheric Colossus of Sound.” His musical compositions total around
50, with his advances in tape-based sound proving revolutionary during his time. He died on November 6,
1965

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KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN

Karlheinz Stockhausen is a central figure in the realm of

electronic music. Born in Cologne, Germany, he had the
opportunity to meet Messiaen, Schoenberg, and Webern, the
principal innovators at the time. Together with Pierre Boulez,
Stockhausen drew inspiration from these composers as he
developed his style of total serialism. Stockhausen’s music was
initially met with resistance due to its heavily atonal content with
practically no clear melodic or rhythmic sense.

Still, he continued to experiment with musique concrete. Some of his works include Gruppen (1957), a piece
for three orchestras that moved music through time and space; Kontakte (1960), a work that pushed the tape
machine to its limits; and the epic Hymnen (1965), an ambitious two-hour work of 40 juxtaposed songs and
anthems from around the world.

The climax of his compositional ambition came in 1977 when he announced the creation of Licht (Light), a
seven-part opera (one for each day of the week) for a gigantic ensemble of solo voices, solo instruments,
solo dancers, choirs, orchestras, mimes, and electronics. His recent Helicopter String Quartet, in which a
string quartet performs whilst airborne in four different helicopters, develops his long-standing fascination
with music which moves in space. It has led him to dream of concert halls in which the sound attacks the
listener from every direction. Stockhausen’s works total around 31. He presently resides in Germany.

D. Chance Music

Chance music refers to a style wherein the piece always sounds different at every performance because
of the random techniques of production, including the use of ring modulators or natural elements that become
a part of the music. Most of the sounds emanate from the surroundings, both natural and man-made, such
as honking cars, rustling leaves, blowing wind, dripping water, or a ringing phone. As such, the combination
of external sounds cannot be duplicated as each happens by chance.

An example is John Cage’s Four Minutes and Thirty-Three Seconds (4’33") where the pianist merely opens
the piano lid and keeps silent for the duration of the piece. The audience hears a variety of noises inside and
outside the concert hall amidst the seeming silence.

JOHN CAGE (1912–1992)

John Cage was known as one of the 20th century composers with the widest
array of sounds in his works. He was born in Los Angeles, California, USA on
September 5, 1912 and became one of the most original composers in the
history of western music. He challenged the very idea of music by manipulating
musical instruments in order to achieve new sounds. He experimented with
what came to be known as “chance music.” In one instance, Cage created a
“prepared” piano, where screws and pieces of wood or paper were inserted
between the piano strings to produce different percussive possibilities.

The prepared piano style found its way into Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes (1946–1948), a cycle of
pieces containing a wide range of sounds, rhythmic themes, and a hypnotic quality. His involvement with Zen
Buddhism inspired him to compose Music of Changes (1951), written for conventional piano, that employed
chance compositional processes.

He became famous for his composition Four Minutes and 33 Seconds (4’33"), a chance musical work
that instructed the pianist to merely open the piano lid and remain silent for the length of time indicated by
the title. The work was intended to convey the impossibility of achieving total silence, since surrounding
sounds can still be heard amidst the silence of the piano performance.
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 Cage also advocated bringing real-life experiences into the concert hall. This reached its extreme
when he composed a work that required him to fry mushrooms on stage in order to derive the sounds from
the cooking process. As a result of his often irrational ideas like this, he developed a following in the 1960s.
However, he gradually returned to the more organized methods of composition in the last 20 years of his life.

More than any other modern composer, Cage influenced the development of modern music since the
1950s. He was considered more of a musical philosopher than a composer. His conception of what music
can and should be has had a profound impact upon his contemporaries. He was active as a writer presenting
his musical views with both wit and intelligence. Cage was an important force in other artistic areas especially
dance and musical theater. His musical compositions total around 229. Cage died in New York City on
August12,1992.

II. LEARNING COMPETENCIES:

At the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. describe the distinctive musical elements of given pieces in 20th century styles.
(MU10TC-Ia-h-2)
2. Relates 20th Century music to other art forms and media during the same period. (MU10TC-Ia-g-
3)
3. Performs music sample from 20th Century (MU10TC-Ib-5)
4. evaluates music and music performances using guided rubrics (no code in MELC)

III. LEARNING ACTIVITIES: Use the next page in writing your answers.
Practice Task 1
“A Deeper Feel of Impressionism”

Answer the following questions after listening to Debussy’s Claire De Lune:

1. How has Dynamics (softness or loudness of musical sound) been useful throughout the
composition?
2. What makes the meter/beat/pulse of Claire De Lune different from that of the Filipino folk
song Leron Leron Sinta?
3. Did you feel the irregular beat/pulse in his music?
What natural activity or movements in nature can you compare it to? Why?

Practice Task 2
Answer the following questions after listening to Ravel’s Bolero:
1. Did you feel the regular beat or pulse in his music?
What activity or movements in nature can you compare it to? Why?
2. What makes the meter/beat/pulse of Bolero different from Claire De Lune?
3. How was Harmony (a pleasing combination of musical sounds;
the relationship between two or more notes sung or played simultaneously)
used throughout the composition?

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Practice Task 3
Watch or listen to any available electronic music and analyze its music characteristics. Using the
template below: Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHSB9v7WmDk

Rhythmic Characteristics Melodic Characteristics

Practice Task 4

Experimentation with the Chance, Electronic Music and Musique Concrete

1. Chance Music – Put small items inside a bag. Include coins, pens, pins, small bells, and
other particles with percussive sounds. Pour the bag’s contents on a hard surface and record
the sounds that are produced with a cellphone or any available device. Put the items in a
glass jar and shake it while once again recording the sounds being produced. Note the
changes between the two sets of sounds recorded.

A. Performance Activity 1:
Ø Original Chance and Electronic Music

Rubrics for the created Chance or electronic music:

Rate scores are based on the elements of music

• Rhythm 10%
• melodic appeal 10%
• harmony and texture 10%
• tempo and dynamics 10%
• timbre 10%
• overall musical structure
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 You can rate yourself if

BEST, BETTER, GOOD, FAIR, NEEDS FOLLOW UP.

Evaluation of Performing Activities

Rate your practice or rehearsal along performance quality.

Rating scale 5 = Very Good 2 = Poor

4 = Good 1 = Needs Follow-up
3 = Fair

Answer the following question.

1. How well did I perform chance and electronic music?

2 How well can I identify the different musical genres

based on instrumentation, text, and purpose?

3. How well can I describe the characteristics of each through

listening to their melody, harmony, rhythm, text, and mass
appeal?

4. How well did I perform in the performance of the

activity?

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POST TEST:
Dearest Learner,
Let’s check your understanding using this “Paper and Pencil” Test:

1. Who is considered the foremost Impressionist? Support your answer using your own words. Any
language that you are comfortable with may be used.
2. Although of the same Impressionist music style, Claude Debussy’s Claire De Lune is different
from Maurice Ravel’s Bolero. In your own words, describe their similarities and differences.

On your answer sheet, make a table (as shown below) for your descriptions.

(Please refer to the Vocabulary Bank for the meaning of the Elements of Music that are used on the
table.)
Claire De Lune Bolero
(Claude Debussy) (Maurice Ravel)

Melody

Meter

Dynamics

Harmony

REFERENCES:
Horizons, Music and Arts Appreciation for Young Filipinos, pp.167-185
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvFH_6DNRCY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r30D3SW4OVw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHSB9v7WmDk

Prepared by:

G10-MAPEH Teachers

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