High School Guitar Workshops
Individuality and Creativity:
- Listening Challenge
After performing a familiar tune which has been disguised rhythmically, harmonically and stylistically maybe even beyond recognition; the students are asked to “name the tune.”
Learning point: Musicians strive to say something creative and individual – even when they are playing a familiar tune.
When new become old and old becomes new:
- Harmonious sounds of much of the music today is based on thirds, such as C-(d)-E and D-(e)-F
Students are then shown how the two thirds C-E and D-f look and sound differently
Music of the Middle Ages favored the sound of 4ths and 5ths, such as C-(d, e)-F and C-(d,e,f)-G
Students are then shown how the two thirds C – E and D – F look and sound differently.
Most modern listeners prefer the sounds of parallel thirds to sound of parallel 4ths and 5ths. Guitar performance contrasts the sounds of the Middle Ages to contemporary music. Students are surprised how much in common the music of the Middle Ages has to music of today, the music they listen to.
Learning point: The differences between styles and periods of music may be less than we think. Context is the defining principle.
