Module 6 - Dimensional Thinking

Video:

(Please note that I designed this video and the write-up to be looked at together.)

The cognitive tool of modeling is when you are able to take something, and represent it on a different scale or dimension. The dimension I will be examining is that of time. To this end, I will be looking at rhythms, phrases, forms, as well as music history, starting with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major. My video begins with a single phrase in this piece. This phrase is one which I identify as a main theme of the piece; it comes back a total of four times throughout the movement. Then, we back up to look at the entire section this phrase occurs in, the introduction. The introduction of a piece is when a composer introduces their main ideas, a lot like an introduction in an essay. This phrase also occurs in the recapitulation, which restates the main theme again, bringing the piece full circle. Also a lot like writing an essay (this would be the conclusion), the recapitulation often has more development than the introduction. Next, we back up to look at the entire piece. Following the introduction is the development, when the composer takes their initial main ideas and turns them on end, twists them around, inside out, transposes them to new keys, and overall makes them much more complex. The development would be the main body of an essay.

Next, my video backs up to look at the entire concerto. A concerto typically has three movements, a fast movement, a slow movement, and then another fast movement. The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is no exception. The phrase we initially began with lies in the second, slow movement. This concerto is in D Major, but the second movement is actually in d minor with two flats instead of two sharps. Changing keys like this is relatively common in classical music.

Next, we back up to take a look at Tchaikovsky's life. He composed his violin concerto at age 38, after marrying and leaving his wife after only two and a half months in 1877 (just 6 months before he wrote the concerto), and receiving an allowance from a wealthy widow who insisted they never meet. Tchaikovsky had traveled abroad extensively, and actually wrote this concerto while in Switzerland with a friend.

Stepping back to take a look at the rest of the world in 1878, we can see that Russia was in the process of concluding a war with the Ottoman empire in Turkey, with Russia very much coming out on top. As a nationalist composer, we can use this knowledge to color our interpretation of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Stepping further back, and looking at more of musical history, we see that Tchaikovsky was a romantic composer, born just a few years after Brahms and Bizet, fellow romantic composers. However, Tchaikovsky was heavily influenced by Mozart (classical), Rossini (classical), Bellini (borderline classical/romantic), and Donizetti (romantic). With the exception of Mozart who was German, they were all Italian. It wasn't until later in his twenties that he had a lot of contact with other Russian composers, including Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The major periods of music are Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20^th Century, and 21^st Century. Medieval music is characterized by Gregorian chants – simple melodies with harmonies moving with the melodies, in perfect fifths. Renaissance music developed greater complexity with polyphony (multiple voices moving at different times, as opposed to the Gregorian chants of the medieval period). Baroque music is notable for its extreme ornateness; Bach is a great example. Classical music is actually simplified, with Mozart being an excellent example. Mozart's music, while difficult, is often simple and transparent, and follows all the rules of composition. Romantic music has composers adding more complexity again, and far more lyricism. Modern music (20^th and 21^st centuries) is often characterized by serialized music, minimalist music, 12-tone music, and other attempts to “do something different” with music.

Finally, we fast-forward, zooming in farther and farther, until we are back at our original phrase. Here, we slow back down, and zoom in farther to a particular measure. This measure is the same each time the violin solo has it, however, the accompaniment part in the orchestra is always different. The first time it comes around, the cornet, violins, and violas all have a half note in the last two beats of the measure. Rhythmically, Tchaikovsky keeps this first exposure very simple. The second time we hear this measure, the first violins and violas have four eighth notes and a quarter note. This makes the rhythm much more complex. The third time we hear this measure is the most complex. Clarinets start with a sixteenth rest, three sixteenth notes, an eighth note, quarter, and one more eighth note. Violins and viola have a quarter rest followed by two quarter notes, while the cello and bass have a quarter note, quarter rest, and another quarter note. Even without the solo added, this is quite complex rhythmically. The last time we get this measure, violins and violas have a half note followed by a quarter note, cello and bass have another quarter note, quarter rest, and quarter note, while the clarinets have a sixteenth rest followed by 7 sixteenth notes and a quarter rest. The clarinet definitely adds more complexity in this section, by rhythmically it is simpler than the previous measure. The reason is because syncopation (when the clarinet had an eighth note, quarter note, and eighth note, putting the beat halfway through the quarter note) is far more difficult than sixteenth notes. Sixteenth notes are all equal, and the beat falls on the first one of the group of four notes. Syncopation puts the beat in the middle of a note, so adds more difficulty.

I wanted to examine the dimension of time, because there is a lot that musicians need to know when they study an advanced piece like the Tchaikovsky. They need to get the big picture of the form of the piece, the even larger picture of the times and what else is going on in the world and a composer's life, as well as the nitty-gritty of particular rhythmic encounters. It is very easy to keep the focus small, and spend all your time on each rhythm. Rhythm is important, but so are the bigger pictures. I need to remember to teach the bigger picture to my students, too. There's so much detail in how different rhythms interact that it's easy to get lost in it. If we remember to take a step back occasionally, we can add some much-needed perspective to the situation. Learning that Tchaikovsky wrote this piece shortly after a failed marriage and when he was supported by a wealthy widow, adds a lot to the piece I never thought about before. I also have a student who is working on the second movement of this concerto, and I will be having her look into Tchaikovsky's life, too.