Texture in music

Hello, and welcome to today's lesson entitled "Texture in music." My name is Mr. Norris, and I'm going to take you through as we explore what texture is and we use that knowledge in a musical performance. Our outcome is that I can discuss texture and timbre in a piece of music and can perform a song in different textures. Some keywords. First is texture. And this means the layers of sound and how they fit together in a piece of music. Timbre, which is how an instrument sounds. Unison. This is the name given to music where everyone sings the same thing at the same time. And then vocal onset. And this is the way that we initiate a sound when we are singing. Good vocal onset uses breath to initiate a sound by pushing air from the belly. So the first part of today's lesson is looking at other elements of music. The elements of music help us to understand the music that we are listening to. Texture and timbre are two of the elements. Texture refers to the different layers in the music and how they work together. Timbre refers to the sound of the instrument that's performing. We can use the terms thick and thin to describe texture in music. This refers to the number of layers of sound, which is not necessarily the same as the number of performers. Texture is also not related to how loud or soft the music is. It's a completely separate thing to dynamics. For example, if one person sings "Happy Birthday" on their own, or if everyone in the room sings "Happy Birthday" at the same time and at the same pitch, it will have the same texture because there's still only one layer of music, even though lots of people are doing it together. So the number of performers is separate to the number of layers, and texture describes the number of layers. Let's listen to these two examples of a thin texture and a thick texture. Here's the thin one. (thin texture music) And now a thick texture. (thick texture music) So you can hear in that second version there, there are many more layers of music playing at the same time. So that's a much thicker texture. The texture can also change within a piece of music. How would you describe the texture of this short excerpt? And remember to listen to the different layers you can hear in the music, trying to use the words thick or thin to describe the texture. Pause my video while you have a listen. So we might have said that the texture is thin to start with, with one layer of music. Two other layers, which is the singers, join in, making the texture thicker. The singers sing one after another, like a question and an answer, then they sing together towards the end. Let's listen to this different excerpt. How is the texture different here? And what impact does that have on the music? Pause my video. Have a listen. So you might have said here that the texture is thick throughout, as there are lots of different layers in the music. Even when the dynamics change, the texture is still thick. And the thick texture helps to heighten the drama and energy and excitement of the music as well. Often, thick textures are paired with loud dynamics, but it's not always necessarily the case and it's important not to get them mixed up. You can have a thick texture with quiet dynamics or a thin texture with loud dynamics. So remember that dynamics and texture are very separate to each other. Now, timbre refers to the unique sound that each instrument has. I want to see if you can recognize the following instrument timbres. Here's the first one. Do you recognize this timbre? (gentle music) So the timbre was a piano. Hopefully you recognized that one. What about this next one? (energetic music) So it was a different timbre. That was an electric guitar in that case. What about this third one? (soaring music) So it was violins. Let's try the fourth one. (woodland music) Well done if you recognized that was a flute. And then finally, the fifth one. (dramatic music) And you'd have been correct if you recognized that as a trumpet. So all these different sounds, all these different instruments have different timbres. They have different unique sounds. I'd like you to listen again to this second texture excerpt. How does the timbre also help the music to sound dramatic? So we're focusing in on the choice of sounds and instrument sounds that the composer has chosen to use. Pause my video and have another listen. So you might have identified here that there's a full choir, including some high female singers, and an orchestra performing, with prominent brass and percussion sounds. And this choice and combination of timbres sounds very dramatic and energetic. If different timbres had been chosen, it would have had a different mood overall. So it's a really important choice as a composer what instruments and what timbres you choose to use. Let's check your understanding. What does texture refer to? Is it the different instruments in the music, the different layers in the music, or the number of people performing? I'll give you a few seconds. And the correct answer is, is the different layers in the music. Remember, the number of people performing is not necessarily describing the texture because you could have a thin texture or you could have a thick texture, with the same number of people performing. So it's the different layers and the amount of musical layers that are playing at the same time. True or false? If the texture is thick, then the dynamics will be loud. I'll give you a few seconds. The answer here is false. I'd like you to have a think about why. I'll give you a few seconds to work this out. And the answer here is that dynamics and texture are independent of each other. They are not necessarily linked. The texture can be thick with loud or soft dynamics, and it can also be thin with loud or soft dynamics. So the dynamics and the texture are completely separate from each other. True or false? Timbre refers to the sound of the instrument. I'll give you a few seconds. And the correct answer is it's true. I'd like you to have a think about why that is true. I'll give you a few seconds to work this one out. And the answer here is that it's true because each instrument has its own unique sound. And when describing the instruments we can hear, we are describing the timbre. Well done if you got that one correct. For Task A, listen to this clip and answer the questions. Firstly, what instrument is playing the tune at the start? Then describe the texture at the beginning. How many instruments are playing in the second verse? What instruments are they? Try and identify as many as you can. And finally, how does the texture change throughout the piece? Let's have a listen now. (cheerful music) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) Let's listen to it one more time. (cheerful music) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) So while you're finishing off your answers, you can pause my video. And let's go through this. So the instrument playing the tune at the start was the trumpet. The texture at the beginning was thin, consisting of one melodic line with a drum kit. There are four instruments playing in the second verse. And well done if you correctly identified those as being the trumpet, the clarinet, the piano, and the drum kit. Some of those you might have not come across before, particularly the clarinet, so really well done if you got some of those. And then how does the texture change throughout the piece? Well, we might say the piece starts with a thin texture in verse one. In the second verse, the texture is thicker, with more instruments playing individual lines. And then it finishes as it starts with a thin texture, which is solo trumpet and drum kit. So really well done if you got some of those points in that fifth question. The second part of today's lesson looks at good posture and vocal onset. Good singing posture prepares the body to sing. Let's have a look at what good singing posture means. Alongside good singing breathing, singing posture is the foundation of singing. First, look at your feet. We want our feet to be shoulder-width apart, not too close, not too far apart, but shoulder-width apart, and we want your weight to be evenly distributed between both feet. Next, your knees. Oftentimes, we stand with our knees locked because that's an easy way to stand. But for singing posture, we want them to be slightly bent. So just the opposite of locked. Not completely bent, but just the opposite of being locked. We want our arms to be by our sides. We're not going to put them in front, not in back, not in any pockets, and we're definitely not going to cross them. Arms by our sides. We're going to be lifted in our shoulders. And our head is going to be lifted but not rigid so that we're looking someone our exact same height in the eye. So we're not looking up, we're not being rigid like soldiers, but we're lifted almost like a skeleton hanging in a science classroom. Once you've gotten this posture down, you'll be really ready to sing. So remember, you need to make sure your feet are shoulder-width apart. Your knees are not locked and are slightly bent. Your arms are by your sides. And your head is lifted as if you're looking someone of the same height in the eye. Now, singing begins and ends with breath, and breath is so key to singing properly. Vocal onset is the beginning of a vocal sound and is most effective when it's really supported by your breath. Sound doesn't begin with the throat, but rather singers relax the neck and the shoulders and allow the breath to initiate the sound. Let's have a look at what good vocal onset looks like. Now, we're going to think a bit about how we start our singing. And instead of starting singing with a ah, ah, ah, ah, ah sound, which is focused on your throat, we know that our voices do live inside of our throats. We know that your larynx is here. But really, everything is about the engine that is the breath. So we want our sound to start from our breath. So instead of ah, ah, ah, we want it to be huh, huh, huh. And I can actually feel my breath, my belly, my diaphragm allowing the air to get pushed up through your body and through your vocal cords. And that's what makes the sound of healthy singing. We don't want to sing with the ah, ah, ah sound. We want to sing nice and relaxed, tension free, the huh sound. Can you just try that? Huh. Yeah, let's do that again. Huh. That's a much more beautiful way to start to sing. Let's check your understanding. Which aspects of singing posture have been demonstrated incorrectly in the picture below? Pause my video while you work it out. Here are some things you might have picked up on. One of her arms is on her hip and not down by her side. Her weight is not evenly distributed. Well, one knee is locked while the other is bent. So that's not a great singing posture. There's three things there that really, this person would want to improve about their posture to sing really well. Which two of the following are important in singing posture? Looking straight forward, having relaxed shoulders, or smiling? I'll give you a few seconds to choose two. And the two correct answers here are looking straight forward and having relaxed shoulders. Both of those are important for singing posture. Smiling is not related to singing posture at all. True or false? Vocal onset refers to the start of singing that begins in the throat. I'll give you a few seconds. And the correct answer is, it's false. Why is that false? I'll give you a few seconds to work this one out. And the reason this is false is because it's the breath that begins and ends the sound, not the throat. The breath is pushed up from the belly. So that's a common misconception about good singing technique is that it comes from the throat. For Task B, we're going to warm up our breath and voices for singing. Here's some success criteria for these tasks. Make sure you have a good singing posture, you activate your singing breath, and you practice good vocal onset by using your singing breath to initiate the sounds. Let's have a look at our first warm up. (teacher singing) (teacher continues singing) (teacher continues singing) (teacher continues singing) And now you can try that warm up with the backing track. Here we go. One, two, three, four. (piano music) Now let's have a look at our second vocal warm up. Now let's try it again. Check your posture. Have you started to add anything that's not helpful for singing? Just check it again. Check from the bottom all the way up that you're in the correct singing posture. Keep your hands on your belly to make sure that you're breathing in and out, and that your shoulders are nice and relaxed. They're not moving or doing anything unnecessary. Same exercise, but we're going to go up this time. (teacher singing) (teacher continues singing) (teacher continues singing) As we go higher in the range, I'm going to breathe in that really nice tall vowel. I'm not going to breathe in (trills) because then it forces the sound to be here and I want it to be. (teacher singing) It's much easier and much nicer to sing that way. And your vocal onset will be nice and relaxed and not that hard, throaty sound. (piano music) My turn first. (teacher singing) (teacher continues singing) And now, try that along with the backing track. One, two, three, four. (piano music) And finally, our third vocal warm up. Let's have a look. We're going to do one more thing. (piano music) This is a (sings). Just like that, yeah? Ready? And (sings). (teacher singing) And when you get to that taller note, you want to drop that jaw so that you have a nice tall vowel on top there. Ready? Breathe in. (teacher singing) Two more. (teacher singing) Drop down if you need to. (teacher singing) Sometimes as we get higher and you need to drop down and sing at an octave below, which is the lower version of that, you're welcome to get to do that as well. Hopefully now, you feel nice and warmed up and ready to sing. And now try that along with the backing track. One, two, three, four. (piano music) Now let's watch these two videos. I'd like you to identify what's the difference between the vocal onset in these videos? Let's have a look at the first one. (teacher singing) And now the second one. (teacher singing) Now pause my video just while you think of what the difference between the vocal onset is in these videos. And the correct answer is, in recording one, the singer's vocal onset is only from the throat, so the sound sounds pushed and strained. In the second recording, the singer's vocal onset comes from the breath. That's a much better technique, and the sound is more free and much more relaxed. Well done if you identified those differences. The final part of today's lesson, we're looking at different textures in performance. I'd like you to listen to the Congolese folk song, "Banaha Si Si Si." Let's have a quick listen. (performer singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) This time, I'd like you to join in, singing in unison. Unison is when we sing as one. And you might have come across that part of the word uni before. For example, a unicycle has one wheel. So singing in unison means singing as one all together. Make sure you've waited for the four-bar introduction before you start singing. You could also sing the blue repeated lyrics at a different dynamic to create some contrast. And make sure you try and sing with confidence, with engaged facial expressions. Here's the song. Wait for the four bars and then you can start. One, two, three, four. (tranquil drum music) (tranquil drum music continues) (tranquil drum music continues) (tranquil drum music continues) (tranquil drum music continues) (tranquil drum music continues) When we sing the same line of music together at the same pitch, we call this singing in unison. We can change the texture in our vocal performance by singing two or three different parts at the same time. Now, "Banaha Si Si Si" can be sung as a three-part round, where we have three different parts that sing the song at different times. You can see there with the three numbers where the three parts start. Let's listen to it and see if you can pick out the three parts singing it in a round. (performer singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performers singing in foreign language) (performers continue singing in foreign language) (performers continue singing in foreign language) (performers continue singing in foreign language) (performers continue singing in foreign language) (performers continue singing in foreign language) (performers continue singing in foreign language) (performers continue singing in foreign language) Sing the song again in unison. When the singers in the recording get to section two, (Mr. Norris singing in foreign language) start from the beginning again. And this way, you'll start to feel how the parts fit into the structure of the round. Here's the song. (performer singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) (performer continues singing in foreign language) In this task, we're going to perform the song in three groups as a three-part round. For this, all groups will start singing the first section but at different times. Group one will start singing at the start. So that's after the four-bar intro. Group two are going to start singing when group one get to (sings in foreign language). And then finally, group three are going to start when group one get to (sings in foreign language). And that way, we create our three-part round. Remember when we're doing this to keep your shoulders relaxed, sing with good vocal onset and support your singing with good singing breaths, keep to a pulse, show expression in your face and sing with confidence, and then you could also try adding dynamic contrast and singing some lines louder or quieter than others as well. Here are the three sections. There's your backing track. You can pause my video. Give this your best shot. Now it's time to reflect on your performance. Here are a few questions to help you reflect and work out how you can continue to improve your singing. Did you start at the right time in the round? Did you hold your line correctly when you were singing at the same time as a different part, and did you keep to a pulse? Did you support your voice with good breathing and posture? Did you articulate the words really clearly? Did you add any different dynamics? And did you show expression on your face? Remember, this really helps with your voice. And did you sing with confidence? So pause my video while you reflect on those questions, discuss them perhaps, and use those answers to help you think about how you could even further improve your singing. Let's summarize today's lesson. Unison is a musical texture where everyone performs the same thing at the same time. We can change the texture by adding or taking away different layers of music. Timbre refers to the sound of the instrument, and different timbres change the feeling and the mood of the music. Singing posture and good vocal onset are really important for singing well. The best posture for singing is with feet apart, knees slightly bent, arms by your sides, and head lifted. And we've performed a song in unison and in a round as well. So thank very much for taking part in today's lesson. I hope you feel like you've learnt something useful about texture and timbre and have had a chance to put that knowledge into practice in that performing task at the end. So thanks for taking part, and I'll see you in another lesson.