Tag Archives: melody

Lenten Hymn and Devotion, Week 3

Posted by MaryO on

Brian Stevenson, Pender UMC Director of Music, presents a series of hymn-based devotions at noon on Wednesdays during Lent.

The Third is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

1. When I survey the wondrous cross

on which the Prince of Glory died;

my richest gain I count but loss,

and pour contempt on all my pride.

2. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

save in the death of Christ, my God;

all the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to his blood.

3. See, from his head, his hands, his feet,

sorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

or thorns compose so rich a crown.

4. Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were an offering far too small;

love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all.

The United Methodist Hymnal Number 298

Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

Music: Lowell Mason, 1792-1872

Tune: HAMBURG, Meter: LM

and

The United Methodist Hymnal Number 299

Text: Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

Music: Anonymous; arr. by Edward Miller

Tune: ROCKINGHAM, Meter: LM

Celebrate Pi Day!

Posted by MaryO on

pi-day

Pi Symphony: The Ruse Performance Movement I.

Pi Symphony orchestral performance in Ruse, Bulgaria, Nov. 19th, 2010

The melodies and rhythms are based on the numbers of π (3.14159…etc), which describes the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

To read more about how this came to be written, see http://www.pisymphony.com/gpage.html

There is also another work based on π called What pi sounds like

Today is pi day, and to celebrate, we bring you a musical representation of π, to 31 decimal places, at 157 beats per minute (which, incidentally, is 314 divided by two).

For more information about this work, please see A musical interpretation of pi

Finally, 18 Wheels on a Big Rig, includes a  verse in which they divide the wheels by π.

 

 

Enjoy your Pi Day! pi-day-pie

Leonard Bernstein: What Does Music Mean?

Posted by MaryO on

On January 18, 1958 Leonard Bernstein began presenting his television series What does music mean?  The series ran for 53 programs.  Some of the episodes can be found below:

Part 1 What is Classical Music?

Plot: Bernstein conducts Handel’s Water Music and cites it as an indisputable example of classical music. “Exact” is the word that best defines classical music, Bernstein says and he demonstrates with musical illustrations from Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, Mozart’s Concerto No. 21 in C Major and The Marriage of Figaro, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 102.

The decline of classical music at the end of the eighteenth century is tied to Beethoven’s innovations and the Romantic movement, and Bernstein conducts Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

Part 2 What is Melody?

Plot: Bernstein discusses the different forms melody can take, including tune, theme, motive, melodic line and musical phrase. He illustrates by conducting the orchestra in excerpts from Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Hindemith, and Brahms.

Part 3 What is a Mode?

Plot: Bernstein discusses scales, intervals, and tones, and analyzes several pieces, including Debussy’s Fêtes, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and music from the Kinks and the Beatles, to illustrate different modes.

An excerpt from Bernstein’s ballet Fancy Free is also performed.

 

Halloween Themes Changed to a Major Key

Posted by MaryO on

Classic horror themes are ominous and generally dread-inspiring for a reason: They are written in minor keys. Find a nifty melody, go minor, and watch the goosebumps pile up. For composers, sometimes it’s almost too easy.

To prove that it’s the minor key and not the melody that is eerily accenting the work of cinema’s most murderous villains, musician/writer/filmmaker Ian Gordon re-recorded five iconic themes in major keys. What comes next will definitely not frighten you.

A quick rundown:

The X-Files theme sounds like the beginning of an inspirational journey across side-scrolling Nintendo worlds. (One where you’re searching for a magic flute.)

Halloween sounds like the side A, track one of an indie-pop outfit’s meadow-frolicking breakout record.

Saw recalls the music that scores when the football game is getting out of hand and only the underdog protagonist can bring you back.

The Exorcist sounds like a Styx breakdown.

Nightmare on Elm Street sounds like you’re at Sea World, and Shamu is doing a night show. (The ones with lasers.)

via Horror themes re-recorded in a major key will make you feel all warm and fuzzy.

Happy Pi Day!

Posted by MaryO on

pi-day

Pi Symphony: The Ruse Performance Movement I.

Pi Symphony orchestral performance in Ruse, Bulgaria, Nov. 19th, 2010

The melodies and rhythms are based on the numbers of π (3.14159…etc), which describes the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

To read more about how this came to be written, see http://www.pisymphony.com/gpage.html

There is also another work based on π called What pi sounds like

Today is pi day, and to celebrate, we bring you a musical representation of π, to 31 decimal places, at 157 beats per minute (which, incidentally, is 314 divided by two).

For more information about this work, please see A musical interpretation of pi

Finally, 18 Wheels on a Big Rig, includes a  verse in which they divide the wheels by π.

 

 

Enjoy your Pi Day! pi-day-pie

What Does Music Mean? ~ Leonard Bernstein

Posted by MaryO on

On January 18, 1958 Leonard Bernstein began presenting his television series What does music mean?  The series ran for 53 programs.  Some of the episodes can be found below:

Part 1 What is Classical Music?

Plot: Bernstein conducts Handel’s Water Music and cites it as an indisputable example of classical music. “Exact” is the word that best defines classical music, Bernstein says and he demonstrates with musical illustrations from Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, Mozart’s Concerto No. 21 in C Major and The Marriage of Figaro, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 102.

The decline of classical music at the end of the eighteenth century is tied to Beethoven’s innovations and the Romantic movement, and Bernstein conducts Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

Part 2 What is Melody?

Plot: Bernstein discusses the different forms melody can take, including tune, theme, motive, melodic line and musical phrase. He illustrates by conducting the orchestra in excerpts from Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Hindemith, and Brahms.

Part 3 What is a Mode?

Plot: Bernstein discusses scales, intervals, and tones, and analyzes several pieces, including Debussy’s Fêtes, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and music from the Kinks and the Beatles, to illustrate different modes.

An excerpt from Bernstein’s ballet Fancy Free is also performed.

 

Halloween Themes Changed to a Major Key

Posted by MaryO on

Classic horror themes are ominous and generally dread-inspiring for a reason: They are written in minor keys. Find a nifty melody, go minor, and watch the goosebumps pile up. For composers, sometimes it’s almost too easy.

To prove that it’s the minor key and not the melody that is eerily accenting the work of cinema’s most murderous villains, musician/writer/filmmaker Ian Gordon re-recorded five iconic themes in major keys. What comes next will definitely not frighten you.

A quick rundown:

The X-Files theme sounds like the beginning of an inspirational journey across side-scrolling Nintendo worlds. (One where you’re searching for a magic flute.)

Halloween sounds like the side A, track one of an indie-pop outfit’s meadow-frolicking breakout record.

Saw recalls the music that scores when the football game is getting out of hand and only the underdog protagonist can bring you back.

The Exorcist sounds like a Styx breakdown.

Nightmare on Elm Street sounds like you’re at Sea World, and Shamu is doing a night show. (The ones with lasers.)

via Horror themes re-recorded in a major key will make you feel all warm and fuzzy.

It’s Pi Day!

Posted by MaryO on

pi-day

Pi Symphony: The Ruse Performance Movement I.

Pi Symphony orchestral performance in Ruse, Bulgaria, Nov. 19th, 2010

The melodies and rhythms are based on the numbers of π (3.14159…etc), which describes the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

To read more about how this came to be written, see http://www.pisymphony.com/gpage.html

There is also another work based on π called What pi sounds like

Today is pi day, and to celebrate, we bring you a musical representation of π, to 31 decimal places, at 157 beats per minute (which, incidentally, is 314 divided by two).

For more information about this work, please see A musical interpretation of pi

Finally, 18 Wheels on a Big Rig, includes a  verse in which they divide the wheels by π.

 

 

Enjoy your Pi Day! pi-day-pie

What Does Music Mean? ~ Bernstein

Posted by MaryO on

On January 18, 1958 Leonard Bernstein began presenting his television series What does music mean?  The series ran for 53 programs.  Some of the episodes can be found below:

Part 1 What is Classical Music?

Plot: Bernstein conducts Handel’s Water Music and cites it as an indisputable example of classical music. “Exact” is the word that best defines classical music, Bernstein says and he demonstrates with musical illustrations from Bach’s Fourth Brandenburg Concerto, Mozart’s Concerto No. 21 in C Major and The Marriage of Figaro, and Haydn’s Symphony No. 102.

The decline of classical music at the end of the eighteenth century is tied to Beethoven’s innovations and the Romantic movement, and Bernstein conducts Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

Part 2 What is Melody?

Plot: Bernstein discusses the different forms melody can take, including tune, theme, motive, melodic line and musical phrase. He illustrates by conducting the orchestra in excerpts from Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Hindemith, and Brahms.

Part 3 What is a Mode?

Plot: Bernstein discusses scales, intervals, and tones, and analyzes several pieces, including Debussy’s Fêtes, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and music from the Kinks and the Beatles, to illustrate different modes.

An excerpt from Bernstein’s ballet Fancy Free is also performed.

 

Halloween Themes in a Major Key

Posted by MaryO on

Classic horror themes are ominous and generally dread-inspiring for a reason: They are written in minor keys. Find a nifty melody, go minor, and watch the goosebumps pile up. For composers, sometimes it’s almost too easy.

To prove that it’s the minor key and not the melody that is eerily accenting the work of cinema’s most murderous villains, musician/writer/filmmaker Ian Gordon re-recorded five iconic themes in major keys. What comes next will definitely not frighten you.

A quick rundown:

The X-Files theme sounds like the beginning of an inspirational journey across side-scrolling Nintendo worlds. (One where you’re searching for a magic flute.)

Halloween sounds like the side A, track one of an indie-pop outfit’s meadow-frolicking breakout record.

Saw recalls the music that scores when the football game is getting out of hand and only the underdog protagonist can bring you back.

The Exorcist sounds like a Styx breakdown.

Nightmare on Elm Street sounds like you’re at Sea World, and Shamu is doing a night show. (The ones with lasers.)

via Horror themes re-recorded in a major key will make you feel all warm and fuzzy.