Lesson Note on Cultural and Creative Arts JSS 3 Second Term

JSS 3 Second Term Cultural and Creative Arts Lesson Notes – Edudelight Enote

SCHEME OF WORK CULTURAL AND CREATIVE ARTS J S S 3 SECOND TERM

WEEK                                                                        TOPICS

1.	MOTIFS
2.	BASIC HARMONY IN MUSIC COMPOSITION
3.	CHOREOGRAPHY
4.	KNITTING
5.	SINGING IN PARTS & CADENCIES IDENTIFICATION
6.	LETTERING (Theory)
7.	SINGING MINOR SCALES
8.	LETTERING (practical)
9.	MUSIC FORMS
10.	REVISION
11.	EXAMINATION

Edudelight Enote

SECOND TERM E Note

SUBJECT;CULTURAL AND CREATIVE ARTS

  CLASS; JSS3  WEEK 1  

TOPIC: MOTIFS

A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other works, or may form the main subject, as the Master of Animals motif in ancient art typically does. The related motif of confronted animals is often seen alone, but may also be repeated, for example in Byzantine silk and other ancient textiles. Where the main subject of an artistic work such as a painting is a specific person, group, or moment in a narrative, that should be referred to as the “subject” of the work, not a motif, though the same thing may be a “motif” when part of another subject, or part of a work of decorative art such as a painting on a vase.

Ornamental or decorative art can usually be analysed into a number of different elements, which can be called motifs. These may often, as in textile art, be repeated many times in a pattern. Important examples in Western art include acanthus, egg and dart,  and various types of scrollwork.

Elibelinde kilim motifs, symbolising fertility

Many designs in Islamic culture are motifs, including those of the sun, moon, animals such as horses and lions, flowers, and landscapes. Motifs can have emotional effects and be used for propaganda. In kilim flatwoven carpets, motifs such as the hands-on-hips elibelinde are woven in to the design to express the hopes and concerns of the weavers: the elibelinde symbolises the female principle and fertility, including the desire for children.

The idea of a motif has become used more broadly in discussing literature and other narrative arts for an element in the story that represents a theme.

      

CLASS;JSS3 

WEEK  2      

TOPIC; BASIC HARMONY IN MUSIC COMPOSITION

In music , harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches, ( tones or notes) or chords.  The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progression and the principle of connection that govern them. Harmony is the vertical aspect of music as distinguished from melodic line, or the horizontal aspect.

 Harmony considers the process by which the composition of individual sounds, or superposition of sounds, is analyzed by hearing. Usually, this means simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches (tones, notes), or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the “vertical” aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic line, or the “horizontal” aspect.  Counterpoint, which refers to the relationship between melodic lines, and polyphony, which refers to the simultaneous sounding of separate independent voices, are thus sometimes distinguished from harmony.

In popular and jazz harmony, chords are named by their root plus various terms and characters indicating their qualities. In many types of music, notably baroque, romantic, modern, and jazz, chords are often augmented with “tensions”. A tension is an additional chord member that creates a relatively dissonant interval in relation to the bass. Typically, in the classical common practice period a dissonant chord (chord with tension) “resolves” to a consonant chord. Harmonization usually sounds pleasant to the ear when there is a balance between the consonant and dissonant sounds. In simple words, that occurs when there is a balance between “tense” and “relaxed” moments.

TYPES OF HARMONY

Carl Dahlhaus (1990) distinguishes between coordinate and subordinate harmony. Subordinate harmony is the hierarchical tonality or tonal harmony well known today. Coordinate harmony is the older Medieval and Renaissance tonalité ancienne, “The term is meant to signify that sonorities are linked one after the other without giving rise to the impression of a goal-directed development. A first chord forms a ‘progression’ with a second chord, and a second with a third. But the former chord progression is independent of the later one and vice versa.” Coordinate harmony follows direct (adjacent) relationships rather than indirect as in subordinate. Interval cycles create symmetrical harmonies, which have been extensively used by the composers Alban Berg, George Perle, Arnold Schoenberg, Béla Bartók, and Edgard Varèse‘s Density 21.5.

Close harmony and open harmony use close position and open position chords, respectively. See: voicing (music) and close and open harmony.

Other types of harmony are based upon the intervals of the chords used in that harmony. Most chords in western music are based on “tertian” harmony, or chords built with the interval of thirds. In the chord C Major7, C-E is a major third; E-G is a minor third; and G to B is a major third. Other types of harmony consist of quartal and quintal harmony.

A unison is considered a harmonic interval, just like a fifth or a third, but is unique in that it is two identical notes produced together. Many people say^{[weasel words]} harmony must involve intervals like thirds, fifths, and sevenths—but unison counts as harmony and is important, especially in orchestration. In Pop music, unison singing is usually called doubling, a technique The Beatles used in many of their earlier recordings. As a type of harmony, singing in unison or playing the same notes, often using different musical instruments, at the same time is commonly called monophonic harmonization.

Intervals

An interval is the relationship between two separate musical pitches. For example, in the melody Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the first two notes (the first “twinkle”) and the second two notes (the second “twinkle”) are at the interval of one fifth. What this means is that if the first two notes were the pitch C, the second two notes would be the pitch “G”—four scale notes, or seven chromatic notes (a perfect fifth), above it.

The following are common intervals:

Root	Major third	Minor third	Fifth
C	E	E♭	G
D♭	F	F♭	A♭
D	F♯	F	A
E♭	G	G♭	B♭
E	G♯	G	B
F	A	A♭	C
F♯	A♯	A	C♯
G	B	B♭	D
A♭	C	C♭	E♭
A	C♯	C	E
B♭	D	D♭	F
B	D♯	D	F♯

Therefore, the combination of notes with their specific intervals —a chord— creates harmony. For example, in a C chord, there are three notes: C, E, and G. The note C is the root. The notes E and G provide harmony, and in a G7 (G dominant 7th) chord, the root G with each subsequent note (in this case B, D and F) provide the harmony.

In the musical scale, there are twelve pitches. Each pitch is referred to as a “degree” of the scale. The names A, B, C, D, E, F, and G are insignificant. The intervals, however, are not. Here is an example:

1°	2°	3°	4°	5°	6°	7°	8°
C	D	E	F	G	A	B	C
D	E	F♯	G	A	B	C♯	D

As can be seen, no note always corresponds to a certain degree of the scale. The tonic, or 1st-degree note, can be any of the 12 notes (pitch classes) of the chromatic scale. All the other notes fall into place. For example, when C is the tonic, the fourth degree or subdominant is F. When D is the tonic, the fourth degree is G. While the note names remain constant, they may refer to different scale degrees, implying different intervals with respect to the tonic. The great power of this fact is that any musical work can be played or sung in any key. It is the same piece of music, as long as the intervals are the same—thus transposing the melody into the corresponding key. When the intervals surpass the perfect Octave (12 semitones), these intervals are called compound intervals, which include particularly the 9th, 11th, and 13th Intervals—widely used in jazz and blues Music.

Perception of harmony

Harmony is based on consonance, a concept whose definition has changed various times during the history of Western music. In a psychological approach, consonance is a continuous variable. Consonance can vary across a wide range. A chord may sound consonant for various reasons.

One is lack of perceptual roughness. Roughness happens when partials (frequency components) lie within a critical bandwidth, which is a measure of the ear’s ability to separate different frequencies. Critical bandwidth lies between 2 and 3 semitones at high frequencies and becomes larger at lower frequencies. The roughness of two simultaneous harmonic complex tones depends on the amplitudes of the harmonics and the interval between the tones. The roughest interval in the chromatic scale is the minor second and its inversion the major seventh. For typical spectral envelopes in the central range, the second roughest interval is the major second and minor seven

th, followed by the tritone, the minor third (major sixth), the major third (minor sixth) and the perfect fourth (fifth).

The second reason is perceptual fusion. A chord fuses in perception if its overall spectrum is similar to a harmonic series. According to this definition a major triad fuses better than a minor triad and a major-minor seventh chord fuses better than a major-major seventh or minor-minor seventh. These differences may not be readily apparent in tempered contexts but can explain why major triads are generally more prevalent than minor triads and major-minor sevenths generally more prevalent than other sevenths (in spite of the dissonance of the tritone interval) in mainstream tonal music. Of course these comparisons depend on style.

The third reason is familiarity. Chords that have often been heard in musical contexts tend to sound more consonant. This principle explains the gradual historical increase in harmonic complexity of Western music. For example, around 1600 unprepared seventh chords gradually became familiar and were therefore gradually perceived as more consonant.

Western music is based on major and minor triads. The reason why these chords are so central is that they are consonant in terms of both fusion and lack of roughness. They fuse because they include the perfect fourth/fifth interval. They lack roughness because they lack major and minor second intervals. No other combination of three tones in the chromatic scale satisfies these criteria.

Consonance and dissonance in balance

Post-nineteenth century music has evolved in the way that tension may be less often prepared and less formally structured than in Baroque or Classical periods, thus producing new styles such as post-romantic harmony, impressionism, pantonality, Jazz and Blues, where dissonance may not be prepared in the way seen in ‘common practice’ harmony. In a jazz or blues song, the tonic chord may be a dominant seventh chord.

CLASS;JSS3

WEEK  3  

TOPIC; CHOREOGRAPHY

Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who creates choreographies by practicing the art of choreography, a process known as choreographing. Choreography is used in a variety of fields, including musical theater, cheerleading, cinematography, gymnastics, fashion shows, ice skating, marching band, show choir, theatre, synchronized swimming, cardistry, video game production and animated art. In the performing arts, choreography applies to human movement and form. In dance, choreography is also known as dance choreography or dance composition.

The word choreography literally means “dance-writing” from the Greek words “χορεία” (circular dance, see choreia) and “γραφή” (writing). It first appeared in the American English dictionary in the 1950s, and “choreographer” was first used as a credit for George Balanchine in the Broadway show On Your Toes in 1936. Before this, stage credits and movie credits used phrases such as “ensembles staged by”, “dances staged by”,^[4] or simply “dances by” to denote the choreographer.

Contemporary Dance: art whose working material is the movement of humans. It doesn´t have fixed or established movement patterns but it’s rather in a continuous search for new forms and dynamics. Therefore its dancers make use of varied modern and classical dance techniques to train. It produces performances or shows in conventional and non-conventional stages (such as theaters or public and private places), having a frequent dialogue with other aesthetic languages such as audiovisual technologies, visual or fine arts, lightning, architecture, music, circus and others.

Choreographer: artist who creates with the movement of humans as material. In dance terms though, a contemporary dance choreographer is usually considered as a general director of scenic art pieces that include several aesthetic languages (music, visual fine arts, architecture…), all under his creative judgment.

Abstraction: when applied to dance, this word refers to choreography that does not have a narrative character. In other words, an abstract dance does not tell a story, nor is related to symbolic contents or any kind of associations with feelings, ideas or other elements than movement itself. A dance can be considered as abstract if it is seen through the frame of pure movement and/or its components (like space, time, body and so forth).

Accumulation: this is a word introduced by the American choreographer Trisha Brown in the 1970s. It was used by her to name a piece and it described a graduated and repetitive way in which the gestures of the choreography were built-up. As Trisha Brown’s works are so widely known, this word has spread among the dance community and it is used nowadays to talk about her way of creating choreography as a compositional method.

Alignment: placement of bones in such a way that increases physiological effectiveness and health. Depending on the dance genre, the alignment can vary according to its specific aesthetic goals. Read the definitions for ‘Correct alignment’, ‘Body placement’ or ‘Stance’ below to expand.

Arch: position in which the whole or upper body is extended, creating the form of an arch.

Beat: the beat is the basic unity used to measure time in both the choreographic and musical language. It is the pulse that occurs repeatedly with a certain frequency. When dancing, beats are what we count… like five, six, seven, eight! (bet you know this…). Five, six, seven, eight are the last four beats of a choreographic phrase of eight beats. Visit our page for contemporary dance music to listen to some examples and expand your understanding.

Body placement: this is an expression that we use in dance to talk about the way in which we carry our body (our selves), including the positioning and alignment of big bones (like the pelvis or spine), limbs and head as well as the micro organizations of muscles that are responsible for their positioning. Usually, every dance genre or style has its own body placement, which facilitates its technical execution and makes up the particular style.

Canon: dancers use this word with the same meaning as musicians. It defines a compositional structure in which one same choreographic fragment is executed by several dancers who space it out in time (usually with regular intervals). Rudolph Laban identified four main types of canon used in dance: the regular canon (dancers start and end one after another), the starting canon (only the beginning of the fragment is stepped), the ending canon (only the end of the fragment is stepped), the simultaneous canon (dancers start at the same time but each one starts the fragment at a different point).

Clarity of line: the word ‘line’ is most commonly used among ballet dancers. It refers to an ideal shape that is created with the body while dancing, especially in certain positions like arabesques or between legs and arms. The clarity or quality of the line would be the degree of accuracy with which the shape achieved by a dancer gets close to that ideal.

Some tips to keep in mind:

1. This is a glossary about contemporary dance terminology. I will only include words that have a specific meaning among dancers or for the field of knowledge of contemporary dance. If you ask for a word or expression that you can also find in a common dictionary, I will not post its definition below. I will avoid terms from other genres of dance as well and the same thing applies if you make typos and I can not understand what you mean to ask. Consider including your e-mail address when filling the form, if you wish to allow me to contact you for any clarification.

2. If you ask for a definition through our form, you might need to refresh your browser’s window when you come back to look for it. Some browsers need this action to show the updated contents of the pages they have visited previously.

CLASS;JSS3

WEEK  4    

TOPIC; KNITTING

    

Multi-colored knitwork made in stockinette stitch.

Knitting is a method by which yarn is manipulated to create a textile or fabric.

Knitting creates multiple loops of yarn, called stitches, in a line or tube. Knitting has multiple active stitches on the needle at one time. Knitted fabric consists of a number of consecutive rows of interlocking loops. As each row progresses, a newly created loop is pulled through one or more loops from the prior row, placed on the gaining needle, and the loops from the prior row are then pulled off the other needle.

Knitting may be done by hand or by using a machine.

Different types of yarns (fibre type, texture, and twist), needle sizes, and stitch types may be used to achieve knitted fabrics with different properties (colour, texture, weight, heat retention, look, water resistance, and/or integrity)

Courses and wales

Structure of stockinette, a common knitted fabric. The meandering red path defines one course, the path of the yarn through the fabric. The uppermost white loops are unsecured and “active”, but they secure the red loops suspended from them. In turn, the red loops secure the white loops just below them, which in turn secure the loops below them, and so on.

Alternating wales of red and yellow knit stitches. Each stitch in a wale is suspended from the one above it.

Like weaving, knitting is a technique for producing a two-dimensional fabric made from a one-dimensional yarn or thread. In weaving, threads are always straight, running parallel either lengthwise (warp threads) or crosswise (weft threads). By contrast, the yarn in knitted fabrics follows a meandering path (a course), forming symmetric loops (also called bights) symmetrically above and below the mean path of the yarn. These meandering loops can be easily stretched in different directions giving knit fabrics much more elasticity than woven fabrics. Depending on the yarn and knitting pattern, knitted garments can stretch as much as 500%. For this reason, knitting was initially developed for garments that must be elastic or stretch in response to the wearer’s motions, such as socks and hosiery. For comparison, woven garments stretch mainly along one or other of a related pair of directions that lie roughly diagonally between the warp and the weft, while contracting in the other direction of the pair (stretching and contracting with the bias), and are not very elastic, unless they are woven from stretchable material such as spandex. Knitted garments are often more form-fitting than woven garments, since their elasticity allows them to contour to the body’s outline more closely; by contrast, curvature is introduced into most woven garments only with sewn darts, flares, gussets and gores, the seams of which lower the elasticity of the woven fabric still further. Extra curvature can be introduced into knitted garments without seams, as in the heel of a sock; the effect of darts, flares, etc. can be obtained with short rows or by increasing or decreasing the number of stitches. Thread used in weaving is usually much finer than the yarn used in knitting, which can give the knitted fabric more bulk and less drape than a woven fabric.

If they are not secured, the loops of a knitted course will come undone when their yarn is pulled; this is known as ripping out, unravelling knitting, or humorously, frogging (because you ‘rip it’, this sounds like a frog croaking: ‘rib-bit’). To secure a stitch, at least one new loop is passed through it. Although the new stitch is itself unsecured (“active” or “live”), it secures the stitch(es) suspended from it. A sequence of stitches in which each stitch is suspended from the next is called a wale. To secure the initial stitches of a knitted fabric, a method for casting on is used; to secure the final stitches in a wale, one uses a method of binding/casting off. During knitting, the active stitches are secured mechanically, either from individual hooks (in knitting machines) or from a knitting needle or frame in hand-knitting.

Basic pattern of warp knitting. Parallel yarns zigzag lengthwise along the fabric, each loop securing a loop of an adjacent strand from the previous row.

Weft and warp knitting

There are two major varieties of knitting: weft knitting and warp knitting.  In the more common weft knitting, the wales are perpendicular to the course of the yarn. In warp knitting, the wales and courses run roughly parallel. In weft knitting, the entire fabric may be produced from a single yarn, by adding stitches to each wale in turn, moving across the fabric as in a raster scan. By contrast, in warp knitting, one yarn is required for every wale. Since a typical piece of knitted fabric may have hundreds of wales, warp knitting is typically done by machine, whereas weft knitting is done by both hand and machine.^[4] Warp-knitted fabrics such as tricot and milanese are resistant to runs, and are commonly used in lingerie.

A modern knitting machine in the process of weft knitting

Weft-knit fabrics may also be knit with multiple yarns, usually to produce interesting color patterns. The two most common approaches are intarsia and stranded colorwork. In intarsia, the yarns are used in well-segregated regions, e.g., a red apple on a field of green; in that case, the yarns are kept on separate spools and only one is knitted at any time. In the more complex stranded approach, two or more yarns alternate repeatedly within one row and all the yarns must be carried along the row, as seen in Fair Isle sweaters. Double knitting can produce two separate knitted fabrics simultaneously (e.g., two socks). However, the two fabrics are usually integrated into one, giving it great warmth and excellent drape.

In the knit stitch on the left, the next (red) loop passes through the previous (yellow) loop from below, whereas in the purl stitch (right), the next stitch enters from above. Thus, a knit stitch on one side of the fabric appears as a purl stitch on the other, and vice versa.

Knit and purl stitches

Two courses of red yarn illustrating two basic fabric types. The lower red course is knit into the white row below it and is itself knit on the next row; this produces stockinette stitch. The upper red course is purled into the row below and then is knit, consistent with garter stitch.

A dropped stitch, or missed stitch, is a common error that creates an extra loop to be fixed.

In securing the previous stitch in a wale, the next stitch can pass through the previous loop from either below or above. If the former, the stitch is denoted as a knit stitch or a plain stitch; if the latter, as a purl stitch. The two stitches are related in that a knit stitch seen from one side of the fabric appears as a purl stitch on the other side.

The two types of stitches have a different visual effect; the knit stitches look like “V”‘s stacked vertically, whereas the purl stitches look like a wavy horizontal line across the fabric. Patterns and pictures can be created in knitted fabrics by using knit and purl stitches as “pixels“; however, such pixels are usually rectangular, rather than square, depending on the gauge/tension of the knitting. Individual stitches, or rows of stitches, may be made taller by drawing more yarn into the new loop (an elongated stitch), which is the basis for uneven knitting: a row of tall stitches may alternate with one or more rows of short stitches for an interesting visual effect. Short and tall stitches may also alternate within a row, forming a fish-like oval pattern.

In the simplest knitted fabrics, all the stitches are knit or purl; this is known as a garter stitch. Alternating rows of knit stitches and purl stitches produce what is known as a stockinette pattern/stocking stitch. Vertical stripes (ribbing) are possible by having alternating wales of knit and purl stitches. For example, a common choice is 2×2 ribbing, in which two wales of knit stitches are followed by two wales of purl stitches, etc. Horizontal striping (welting) is also possible, by alternating rows of knit and purl stitches. Checkerboard patterns (basket weave) are also possible, the smallest of which is known as seed/moss stitch: the stitches alternate between knit and purl in every wale and along every row.

Fabrics in which the number of knit and purl stitches are not the same, such as stockinet/stocking stitch, have a tendency to curl; by contrast, those in which knit and purl stitches are arranged symmetrically (such as ribbing, garter stitch or seed/moss stitch) tend to lie flat and drape well. Wales of purl stitches have a tendency to recede, whereas those of knit stitches tend to come forward. Thus, the purl wales in ribbing tend to be invisible, since the neighboring knit wales come forward. Conversely, rows of purl stitches tend to form an embossed ridge relative to a row of knit stitches. This is the basis of shadow knitting, in which the appearance of a knitted fabric changes when viewed from different directions.

Typically, a new stitch is passed through a single unsecured (“active”) loop, thus lengthening that wale by one stitch. However, this need not be so; the new loop may be passed through an already secured stitch lower down on the fabric, or even between secured stitches (a dip stitch). Depending on the distance between where the loop is drawn through the fabric and where it is knitted, dip stitches can produce a subtle stippling or long lines across the surface of the fabric, e.g., the lower leaves of a flower. The new loop may also be passed between two stitches in the present row, thus clustering the intervening stitches; this approach is often used to produce a smocking effect in the fabric. The new loop may also be passed through two or more previous stitches, producing a decrease and merging wales together. The merged stitches need not be from the same row; for example, a tuck can be formed by knitting stitches together from two different rows, producing a raised horizontal welt on the fabric.

Not every stitch in a row need be knitted; some may be left “as is” and knitted on a subsequent row. This is known as slip-stitch knitting. The slipped stitches are naturally longer than the knitted ones. For example, a stitch slipped for one row before knitting would be roughly twice as tall as its knitted counterparts. This can produce interesting visual effects, although the resulting fabric is more rigid because the slipped stitch “pulls” on its neighbours and is less deformable. Mosaic knitting is a form of slip-stitch knitting that knits alternate colored rows and uses slip stitches to form patterns; mosaic-knit fabrics tend to be stiffer than patterned fabrics produced by other methods such as Fair-Isle knitting.

In some cases, a stitch may be deliberately left unsecured by a new stitch and its wale allowed to disassemble. This is known as drop-stitch knitting, and produces a vertical ladder of see-through holes in the fabric, corresponding to where the wale had been.

Right- and left-plaited stitches

The stitches on the right are right-plaited, whereas the stitches on the left are left-plaited.

Within limits, an arbitrary number of twists may be added to new stitches, whether they be knit or purl. Here, a single twist is illustrated, with left-plaited and right-plaited stitches on the left and right, respectively.

Both knit and purl stitches may be twisted: usually once if at all, but sometimes twice and (very rarely) thrice. When seen from above, the twist can be clockwise (right yarn over left) or counterclockwise (left yarn over right); these are denoted as right- and left-plaited stitches, respectively. Hand-knitters generally produce right-plaited stitches by knitting or purling through the back loops, i.e., passing the needle through the initial stitch in an unusual way, but wrapping the yarn as usual. By contrast, the left-plaited stitch is generally formed by hand-knitters by wrapping the yarn in the opposite way, rather than by any change in the needle. Although they are mirror images in form, right- and left-plaited stitches are functionally equivalent. Both types of plaited stitches give a subtle but interesting visual texture, and tend to draw the fabric inwards, making it stiffer. Plaited stitches are a common method for knitting jewelry from fine metal wire.

Knitting Materials

To start knitting, you only need two things: a pair of needles and a ball of yarn. If you want to finish a project, though, you’ll need a few more items. So what does an experienced knitter keep in a knitting kit?

A tapestry needle – The most basic tool in any knitter’s kit, a tapestry needle is a large sewing needle, with an eye big enough to accommodate bulky yarn. You’ll use the needle to weave in the tails of yarn left after you bind off your project.

Stitch markers – These small rings slip on your needles to mark particular points in your pattern. Some markers can be clipped directly onto a stitch if you need to mark a spot on the project itself to come back to later in the pattern.

Stitch holders – A stitch holder is like a large safety pin. When a pattern calls for you to set some stitches aside to come back to later, you will slip those stitches onto a holder.

Row counters – Many patterns require you to keep track of how many rows you have knit. Some counters slip onto your needle and have a number dial you change after each row. Some have a simple button you click. And, yes, there are smart phone apps for that.

A measuring tape – A lot of patterns call for a number of inches, rather than a number of rows. A flexible measuring tape will be indispensable, especially when making pairs of things, like mittens or sleeves. You don’t want to guess that your sleeves are the same length.

Needle caps – When you’re taking a knitting break, you can place them on the end of your needles to ensure no stitches slip off while your project is in your knitting bag. They can also be used to turn a double-point needle into a straight needle.

As for knitting needles, there are three types: the classic straight pair, double-point needles (sold in sets of 4 or 5), and circular needles. Keep knitting and you will eventually use each kind of needle. Some projects require the use of more than one kind.
Straight needles are used for most of your rectangular projects, like scarves and washcloths.

Circular needles are two needle heads connected to a cord. They are necessary for larger projects, like blankets. They are also used for projects that are worked in the round, like hats or the body of a seamless sweater. These needles vary by needle size and by cord length, from 9 inches to 60 inches. Frequent knitters might want to invest in a circular needle kit, which offers greater flexibility. Rather than buying a needle for each project, a kit allows you to customize the cord length and the needle size. Plus, if your project calls for changing needle size partway through, all you have to do is scrunch your stitches onto the cord and switch out the needle heads.

Double-point needles are used for smaller projects joined in the round, like mittens or the crown of a hat. Often, you will start a project on circular needles, then switch to double points as you get close to binding off.

CLASS; J S S 3       

WEEK 5                

TOPIC; SINGING IN PARTS AND CADENCE IDENTIFICATION

Singing “in parts” means that each voice (such as soprano, tenor, alto, and bass) has its own independent line to follow. The contents of that line will be written out, and will depend on the composer or arranger and the harmonic structure of the piece. These parts may form consonances or dissonances with one another, and they may move in parallel motion (going in the same direction), contrary motion (going in opposite directions) or oblique motion (one stays on a note while the other is moving).

Singing “in unison” means that all the voices are singing the “same” line. I put “same” in quotes because, as you note in your last paragraph, they may be in different octaves. With voices, this almost always means the men are singing the line one octave below the women.

Choir

A choir  (also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the Medieval era to the present, and/or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm and face gestures.

A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus. The former term is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the choir) and the second to groups that perform in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is far from rigid. Choirs may sing without instrumental accompaniment, with the accompaniment of a piano or pipe organ, with a small ensemble (e.g., harpsichord, cello and double bass for a Baroque era piece), or with a full orchestra of 70 to 100 musicians.

The term “Choir” has the secondary definition of a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the “woodwind choir” of an orchestra, or different “choirs” of voices and/or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th- to 21st-century oratorios and masses, chorus or choir is usually understood to imply more than one singer per part, in contrast to the quartet of soloists also featured in these works.

Classical and Romantic music

Composers of the late 18th century became fascinated with the new possibilities of the symphony and other instrumental music, and generally neglected choral music. Mozart‘s choral works, though not as numerous as his works for other media, stand out as some of his greatest (such as the “Great” Mass in C minor and Requiem in D minor, the latter of which is often considered the greatest Requiem Mass of all time). Haydn became more interested in choral music near the end of his life following his visits to England in the 1790s, when he heard various Handel oratorios performed by large forces; he wrote a series of masses beginning in 1797 and his two great oratorios The Creation and The Seasons. Beethoven wrote only two masses, both intended for liturgical use, although his Missa solemnis is probably suitable only for the grandest ceremonies due to its length, difficulty and large-scale scoring. He also pioneered the use of chorus as part of symphonic texture with his Ninth Symphony and Choral Fantasia.

In the 19th century, sacred music escaped from the church and leaped onto the concert stage, with large sacred works unsuitable for church use, such as Berlioz‘s Te Deum and Requiem, and Brahms‘s Ein deutsches Requiem.Rossini‘s Stabat mater, Schubert‘s masses, and Verdi‘s Requiem also exploited the grandeur offered by instrumental accompaniment.

Oratorios also continued to be written, clearly influenced by Handel’s models. Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ andMendelssohn’s Elijah and St Paul are in the category. Schubert, Mendelssohn, and Brahms also wrote secular cantatas, the best known of which are Brahms’s Schicksalslied and Nänie.

A few composers developed a cappella music, especially Bruckner, whose masses and motets startlingly juxtapose Renaissance counterpoint with chromatic harmony. Mendelssohn and Brahms also wrote significant a cappella motets.

The amateur chorus (beginning chiefly as a social outlet) began to receive serious consideration as a compositional venue for the part-songs of Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and others. These ‘singing clubs’ were often for women or men separately, and the music was typically in four-part (hence the name “part-song“) and either a cappella or with simple instrumentation. At the same time, the Cecilian movement attempted a restoration of the pure Renaissance style in Catholic churches.

The early modernist composers, such as Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Max Reger contributed to the genre. Ralph Vaughan Williams‘s Mass in G minor harks back to the Renaissance style while exhibiting the vibrancy of new harmonic languages. Vaughan Williams also arranged English and Scottish folk songs. Arnold Schoenberg‘sFriede auf Erden is a tonal kaleidoscope, whose tonal centers are constantly shifting (his harmonically innovative Verklärte Nacht for strings dates from the same period). Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych also explored new ways of harmonizing and arranging Ukrainian folk songs, producing masterpieces such as Dudaryk and Shchedryk, the latter of which featured a four-note ostinato theme and became a popular Christmas carol known as Carol of the Bells after it was translated by Peter J. Wilhousky.

The advent of atonality and other non-traditional harmonic systems and techniques in the 20th century also affected choral music. Serial music is represented by choral works by Arnold Schoenberg, including the anthem Dreimal Tausend Jahre, while the composer’s signature use of sprechstimme is evident in his setting of Psalm 130 De Profundis. Paul Hindemith‘s distinctive modal language is represented by both his a cappella Mass and his Six Chansons (to texts by Rilke), while a more contrapuntally dissonant style comes through in his secular requiem,When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d. Olivier Messiaen also demonstrates dissonant counterpoint in his Cinq Rechants, which tell the Tristan and Isolde story. Charles Ives‘ psalm settings exemplify the composer’s incomparably radical harmonic language. Tone clusters and aleatory elements play a prominent role in the choral music of Krzysztof Penderecki, who wrote the St. Luke Passio, and György Ligeti, who wrote both a Requiem and a separate Lux Aeterna. Milton Babbitt incorporated integral serialism into works for children’s chorus, while Daniel Pinkham wrote for choir and electronic tape. Meredith Monk‘s Panda Chant and Astronaut Anthem explore overtones in an unconventional text setting. Though difficult and rarely performed by amateurs, pieces that demonstrate such unfamiliar idioms have found their way into the repertories of the finest semi-professional and professional choirs around the world.

More accessible styles of choral music include that by Benjamin Britten, including his War Requiem, Five Flower Songs, and Rejoice in the Lamb. Francis Poulenc‘s Motets pour le temps de noël, Gloria, and Mass in G are often performed. A primitivist approach is exemplified by Carl Orff‘s widely performed Carmina Burana. In the United States, Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Randall Thompson wrote signature American pieces. In Eastern Europe, Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály wrote a small amount of music for choirs. Frank Martin‘s Mass for double choir combines modality and allusion to Medieval and Renaissance forms with a distinctly modern harmonic language and has become the composer’s most performed work.

CADENCE

a cadence (Latin cadentia, “a falling”) is “a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution [finality or pause].” A harmonic cadence is a progression of (at least) two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music. A rhythmic cadence is a characteristic rhythmic pattern that indicates the end of a phrase.

 A cadence is labeled more or less “weak” or “strong” depending on its sense of finality. While cadences are usually classified by specific chord or melodic progressions, the use of such progressions does not necessarily constitute a cadence—there must be a sense of closure, as at the end of a phrase. Harmonic rhythm plays an important part in determining where a cadence occurs.

Classification of cadences in common practice

Cadences are strong indicators of the tonic or central pitch of a passage or piece.^[1] Edward Lowinsky proposed that the cadence was the “cradle of tonality.”^[4]

In music of the common practice period, cadences are divided into four types according to their harmonic progression: authentic, plagal, half, and deceptive. Typically, phrases end on authentic or half cadences, and the terms plagal and deceptive refer to motion that avoids or follows a phrase-ending cadence. Each cadence can be described using the Roman numeral system of naming chords:

Authentic cadence

Authentic (also closed, standard or perfect) cadence: V to I (or V–I). A seventh above the root is often added to create V. The The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians says, “This cadence is a microcosm of the tonal system, and is the most direct means of establishing a pitch as tonic. It is virtually obligatory as the final structural cadence of a tonal work.”The phrase perfect cadence is sometimes used as a synonym for authentic cadence, but can also have a more precise meaning depending on the chord voicing:

Perfect authentic cadence: The chords are in root position; that is, the roots of both chords are in the bass, and the tonic (the same pitch as root of the final chord) is in the highest voice of the final chord. A perfect cadence is a progression from V to I in major keys, and V to i in minor keys. This is generally the strongest type of cadence and often found at structurally defining moments.

This strong cadence achieves complete harmonic and melodic closure.” It has to be noted that Beethoven in particular gets so much mileage out of this cadence as for it to become one of his most characteristic and recognizable musical thumbprints. The Diabelli Variations and the C major climax of the slow movement of the Opus 132 String Quartet – even though it is described as being in Lydian mode on F – are two powerful examples.

Second Term E Note

SUBJECT;CULTURAL AND CREATIVE ARTS

CLASS ; J S S 3  

WEEK  6   

TOPIC; LETTERING .  

Lettering refers to the creation of hand-drawn letters to apply to an object or surface.

Lettering includes calligraphy and lettering for purposes such as blueprints and comic books, as well as decorative lettering such as sign painting and creating custom lettering graphics, for instance on posters, for a letterhead or business wordmark, lettering in stone or graffiti.  lettering may be drawn or applied using stencils.

In the past, almost all decorative lettering other than that on paper was created as custom or hand-painted lettering; the use of fonts in place of lettering has increased due to new printing methods and phototypesetting and digital typesetting, which allow fonts to be printed at any desired size.

Letter cutting is a form of inscriptional architectural lettering closely related to monumental masonry and stone carving, often practiced by artists, sculptors, and typeface designers. Rather than traditional stone carving, where images and symbols are the dominant features, in letter cutting it is the beauty of the stone carver’s calligraphy that is the focus.

 Calligraphy

Quran verses on Pictorial carpet

Calligraphy (from Ancient Greek: κάλλος kallos“beauty” + γραφή graphẽ “writing”) is a type ofvisual art related to writing. It is the design andexecution of lettering with a broad tip instrument orbrush in one stroke (as opposed to built up lettering,in which the letters are drawn.) (Mediavilla 1996: 17).A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is”the art of giving form to signs in an expressive,harmonious and skillful manner” (Mediavilla 1996: 18).The story of writing is one of aesthetic evolutionframed within the technical skills, transmissionspeed(s) and material limitations of a person, timeand place (Diringer 1968: 441). A style of writing isdescribed as a script, hand or alphabet (Fraser andKwiatkowski 2006; Johnston 1909: Plate 6).

Modern calligraphy ranges from functional hand-lettered inscriptions and designs to fine-art pieceswhere the abstract expression of the handwrittenmark may or may not compromise the legibility of theletters (Mediavilla 1996). Classical calligraphy differsfrom typography and non-classical hand-lettering,though a calligrapher may create all of these;characters are historically disciplined yet fluid andspontaneous, at the moment of writing (Pott 2006 and2005; Zapf 2007 and 2006).

Calligraphy continues to flourish in the forms of wedding and event invitations, fontdesign/typography, original hand-lettered logo design, religious art, announcements/graphic design/commissioned calligraphic art, cut stone inscriptions and memorial documents. It is alsoused for props and moving images for film and television, testimonials, birth and death certificates,maps, and other works involving writing (see for example Letter Arts Review; Propfe 2005; Geddesand Dion 2004). Some of the finest works of modern calligraphy are charters and letters patentissued by monarchs and officers of state in various countries.

Western calligraphy

Latin alphabet

Modern Western calligraphy

Tools and techniques

Tools

A calligraphic pen head, with parts names.

The principal tools for a calligrapher are the pen,which may be flat-balled or round-nibbed, and thebrush (Reaves and Schulte 2006; Child 1985; Lamb1956). For some decorative purposes, multi-nibbedpens—steel brushes—can be used. However, workshave also been made with felt-tip and ballpoint pens,although these works do not employ angled lines. Inkfor writing is usually water-based and much lessviscous than the oil-based inks used in printing. Highquality paper, which has good consistency ofporosity, will enable cleaner lines,^{[citation needed]}although parchment or vellum is often used, as a knifecan be used to erase work on them and a light box isnot needed to allow lines to pass through it. Inaddition, light boxes and templates are used toachieve straight lines without pencil markingsdetracting from the work. Ruled paper, either for alight box or direct use, is most often ruled everyquarter or half inch, although inch spaces areoccasionally used, such as with litterea unciales(hence the name), and college ruled paper acts as aguideline often as well.

CLASS: J S S 3    

WEEK  7       

TOPIC: Minor Scale

MINOR SCALE

In music theory, minor scale may refer to a heptatonic scale whose first, third, and fifth scale degrees form a minor triad, that is, a seven-note scale in which the third note is a minor third (three semitones) above the first, and the fifth note is a perfect fifth (seven semitones) above the first. This includes (among others) the natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales. A minor scale differs from a major scale in that the third degree in a major scale is a major third (four semitones) above the first degree. In other words, the third degree in a major scale is one semitone higher than in a minor scale.

the natural minor scale, also known as Aeolian scale, taken by itself. When a major scale and a natural minor scale have the same key signature, they are relative keys. A natural minor scale has the same notes as its relative major scale, but is built starting from the sixth note of the relative major scale.

the functional fusion of natural minor, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales, as is used in Western classical music (see major and minor). A harmonic minor scale differs from a natural minor scale in that the seventh note is raised one semitone both ascending and descending. Melodic minor scales raise both the sixth and seventh notes one semitone when ascending, and descends like the natural minor scale.

Natural minor scale

The A natural minor scale.

This pattern of whole and half steps characterizes the natural minor scales.

The natural minor scale follows the sequence of steps:

• W, H, W, W, H, W, W
• W = Whole step
• H = Half step

In semitones, this is

• two, one, two, two, one, two, two (2 1 2 2 1 2 2) (or T S T T S T T)

If the white keys on the piano are played beginning on the sixth step of the C-major scale, which is A, to the A an octave above, then a natural minor scale is produced. In this case the minor scale is called A-minor, and this minor scale has no accidentals (sharps or flats). A-minor is called the relative minor of C. Every major key has a relative minor, which starts on the sixth scale degree or step. For instance, the sixth degree of F major is D, and thus its relative minor is D minor. The relative natural minor of a major key always shares the same notes: for example, F major consists of F, G, A, B♭, C, D, and E, while D natural minor consists of D, E, F, G, A, B♭, and C.

The natural minor scale can also be represented by the notation:

• 1 2 ♭3 4 5 ♭6 ♭7 8

Each degree of the scale, starting with the tonic (the first, lowest note of the scale), is represented by a number. Their difference from the major scale is shown. Thus a number without a sharp or flat represents a major (or perfect) interval. A number with a flat represents a minor interval, and a number with a sharp (though there are none in this example) represents an augmented interval. In this example, the numbers mean: 1=unison, 2=major second, ♭3=minor third, 4=perfect fourth, 5=perfect fifth, ♭6=minor sixth, ♭7=minor seventh, 8=octave. So, the natural minor scale consists of: 1, the tonic, followed by 2, a note a major second above the tonic, ♭3, a n

The A harmonic minor scale. Its seventh note is raised by a semitone.

The notes of the harmonic minor scale are the same as the natural minor except that the seventh degree is raised by one semitone, making an augmented second between the sixth and seventh degrees. The seventh degree, in a similar way to major scales, becomes a leading tone to the tonic because it is now only a semitone lower than the tonic, in contrast to the seventh degree in natural minor scales, which are a whole tone lower than the tonic (subtonic). It is also called the Aeolian ♯7. The harmonic minor scale follows the sequence of steps:

• W, H, W, W, H, WH, H
• W = Whole step
• H = Half step
• WH = Whole-and-a-half step

CLASS: JSS3

WEEK8  

  TOPIC:LETTERING  (practical)

Pens may be obtained from various stationery sources – from the traditional “nib” pens dipped in ink,to calligraphy pens that have cartridges built-in, avoiding the need to have to continually dip them intoinkwells.

Styles & techniques

Sacred Western calligraphy has some special features, such as the illumination of the first letter ofeach book or chapter in medieval times. A decorative “carpet page” may precede the literature, filledwith ornate, geometrical depictions of bold-hued animals. The Lindisfarne Gospels (715-720 AD) arean early example (Brown 2004).

As with Chinese or Arabian calligraphies, Western calligraphic script had strict rules and shapes.Quality writing had a rhythm and regularity to the letters, with a “geometrical” order of the lines on thepage. Each character had, and often still has, a precise stroke order.

Unlike a typeface, irregularity in the characters’ size, style and colors adds meaning to the Greektranslation “beautiful writing”. The content may be completely illegible, but no less meaningful to aviewer with some empathy for the work on view. Many of the themes and variations of today’scontemporary Western calligraphy are found in the pages of The Saint John’s Bible. A particularlymodern example is The Holy Bible, Timothy Botts Illustrated edition (Tyndale House Publishers2000), with 360 calligraphic images as well as a calligraphy typeface.

Historical developments

Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 ondisplay in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire,England. This bible was hand written inBelgium, by Gerard Brils, for reading aloud ina monastery.

The Georgian calligraphy is centuries-oldtradition of an artistic writing of theGeorgian language with its three alphabets.

Western calligraphy is recognizable by the use of theLatin script. The Latin alphabet appeared about 600BC, in Rome, and by the first century developed intoRoman imperial capitals carved on stones, Rustic capitals painted on walls, and Roman cursive fordaily use. In the second and third centuries the unciallettering style developed. As writing withdrew tomonasteries, uncial script was found more suitable forcopying the Bible and other religious texts. It was themonasteries which preserved calligraphic traditionsduring the fourth and fifth centuries, when the RomanEmpire fell and Europe entered the Dark Ages.

At the height of the Roman Empire its power reached.

Edudelight Enote

CLASS; JSS3

WEEK  9     

TOPIC; MUSIC FORMS

The term musical form (or musical architecture) refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections.  In the tenth edition of The Oxford Companion to Music, Percy Scholes defines musical form as “a series of strategies designed to find a successful mean between the opposite extremes of unrelieved repetition and unrelieved alteration.

According to Richard Middleton, musical form is “the shape or structure of the work.” He describes it through difference: the distance moved from a repeat; the latter being the smallest difference. Difference is quantitative and qualitative: how far, and of what type, different. In many cases, form depends on statement and restatement, unity and variety, and contrast and connection.

Levels of organization

The founding level of musical form can be divided into two parts:

• The arrangement of the pulse into unaccented and accented beats, the cells of a measure that, when harmonized, may give rise to a motif or figure.
• The further organization of such a measure, by repetition and variation, into a true musical phrase having a definite rhythm and duration that may be implied in melody and harmony, defined, for example, by a long final note and a breathing space. This “phrase” may be regarded as the fundamental unit of musical form: it may be broken down into measures of two or three beats, but its distinctive nature will then be lost. Even at this level, the importance of the principles of repetition and contrast, weak and strong, climax and repose, can be seen.

Passage

The smallest level of construction concerns the way musical phrases are organized into musical sentences and “paragraphs” such as the verse of a song. This may be compared to, and is often decided by, the verse form or meter of the words or the steps of a dance.

For example, the twelve bar blues is a specific verse form, while common meter is found in many hymns and ballads and, again, the Elizabethan galliard, like many dances, requires a certain rhythm, pace and length of melody to fit its repeating pattern of steps. Simpler styles of music may be more or less wholly defined at this level of form, which therefore does not differ greatly from the loose sense first mentioned and which may carry with it rhythmic, harmonic, timbre, occasional and melodic conventions.

Notation

In the analysis of musical form, any components that can be defined on the time axis (such as sections and units) are conventionally designated by letters. Upper-case letters are used for the most fundamental, while lower-case letters are used for sub-divisions. If one such section returns in a varied or modified form, a numerical digit or an appropriate number of prime symbols appears after the letter. Even at this simplest level, there are patterns that may be re-used on larger timescales. For example, consider the analogy with rhyme schemes;

The following verse is composed of two differently-rhymed couplets (AABB), and thus its organization is binary or “twofold”.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high,

like a diamond in the sky.

Contrast with the following verse, were the rhyme is repeated in the second line, followed by a variant in the third line – two half-lines sharing a new rhyme – and a return to the first arrangement in the last line (AABA), and thus its organization is song form. Ternary form or “threefold” is (ABA).

There once was a fellow from Leeds

Who swallowed a packet of seeds.

In less than an hour he burst into flower

And he died trying to pull up the weeds.

Pieces

The next level concerns the entire structure of any single self-contained musical piece. If the hymn, ballad, blues or dance alluded to above simply repeats the same musical material indefinitely then the piece is said to be in strophic form overall. If it repeats with distinct, sustained changes each time, for instance in setting, ornamentation or instrumentation, then the piece is a theme and variations. If two distinctly different themes are alternated indefinitely, as in a song alternating verse and chorus or in the alternating slow and fast sections of the Hungarian czardas, then this gives rise to a simple binary form. If the theme is played (perhaps twice), then a new theme is introduced, the piece then closing with a return to the first theme, we have a simple ternary form.

Great arguments and misunderstanding can be generated by such terms as ‘ternary’ and ‘binary’, as a complex piece may have elements of both at different organizational levels. A minuet, like any Baroque dance, generally had simple binary structure (AABB), however, this was frequently extended by the introduction of another minuet arranged for solo instruments (called the trio), after which the first was repeated again and the piece ended—this is a ternary form—ABA: the piece is binary on the lower compositional level but ternary on the higher. Organizational levels are not clearly and universally defined in western musicology, while words like “section” and “passage” are used at different levels by different scholars whose definitions, as Shankar  points out, cannot keep pace with the myriad innovations and variations devised by musicians.

Cycle

The grandest level of organization may be referred to as “cyclical form”  It concerns the arrangement of several self-contained pieces into a large-scale composition. For example, a set of songs with a related theme may be presented as a song-cycle, whereas a set of Baroque dances were presented as a suite. The opera and ballet may organize song and dance into even larger forms. This level of musical form, though it again applies and gives rise to different genres, takes more account of the methods of musical organization used. For example: a symphony, a concerto and a sonata differ in scale and aim, yet generally resemble one another in the manner of their organization. The individual pieces which make up the larger form may be called movements.

Single forms

Scholes suggested that European classical music had only six stand-alone forms: simple binary, simple ternary, compound binary, rondo, air with variations, and fugue (although musicologist Alfred Mann emphasized that the fugue is primarily a method of composition that has sometimes taken on certain structural conventions.

Where a piece cannot readily be broken down into sectional units (though it might borrow some form from a poem, story or programme), it is said to be through-composed. Such is often the case with a fantasia, prelude, rhapsody, etude (or study), symphonic poem, bagatelle, impromptu, etc.  Charles Keil classified forms and formal detail as “sectional, developmental, or variational.

Sectional form

This form is built from a sequence of clear-cut units that may be referred to by letters but also often have generic names such as introduction and coda, exposition, development and recapitulation, verse, chorus or refrain, and bridge. Introductions and codas, when they are no more than that, are frequently excluded from formal analysis. All such units may typically be eight measures long.

Edudelight Enote