Unit 40: Working and Developing as a Musical Ensemble

1. BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma in Music (Performing) Unit 40: Working and Developing as a Musical Ensemble Types of Musical Ensembles

2. Types of Musical Ensembles Orchestra Brass Bands Wind Bands Chamber Ensembles Rock/Pop Groups Jazz Groups Folk Bands Gamelan Steel Pan Bands Vocal Groups Early Music Groups

3. Orchestras Monteverdi • The Orchestra has been around since the 1600’s... Baroque Orchestra: 1600-1750 Classical Orchestra: 1750-1830 Romantic Orchestra: 1830-1910 • Today an Orchestra would have over 90 players • The principal roles within an Orchestra would be the Conductor and the Leader, but in reality every member of the Orchestra has a pivotal role to play Mozart Wagner

4. Orchestra Plan Percussion Trumpets Horns Tuba / Trombones Clarinets Bassoons 2nd Violins Flutes Oboes Violas Double Basses 1st Violins Cellos Harp Conductor

5. Brass Bands • Brass bands have been around since the 1830’s, and have always been linked with the workforce • Famously associated with the mining industry, the film Brassed Off shows the struggle of Grimethorpe Colliery Band’s struggle to keep their pit open • Brass bands have Cornets, a Flugelhorn, Euphoniums, Trombones, Bass Trombone, Tubas, Tenor Horns, Baritones, and Percussion • Brass Band contests take place throughout the country several times a year. The most famous are the Saddleworth Brass Band Contest, and the British National Brass Band Contest held at the Royal Albert Hall

6. Wind Bands • An orchestra without the strings! Flutes, Piccolo, Oboes, Clarinets, Bass Clarinet, Alto/Tenor/Baritone Saxophone, Bassoon, Trumpet, Cornets, Horns, Baritones, Trombones, Tubas, and Percussion • Associated with Military Bands, which have been around in some form from the 11th century Crusades • Famous composers of Wind Band music are the Australian Percy Grainger, and the English Ralph Vaughan Williams • Wind Bands also include a lot of film and television music in their repertoire

7. Chamber Ensembles • The term originally meant intimate music for a small group of players usually performed within the home, and has been around since the Middle Ages • Originally just for string instruments, but during the 18th century wind instruments were also included • The String quartet was made popular by Haydn in the 1750’s . Music for a String quartet usually shares the tune between all players, thus making an equal role for all • Chamber orchestras became popular during the two World Wars, for the simple reason that they were cheaper to hire or run

8. Rock Groups • Rock music evolved from the blues music brought to north America from the Deep South by African-Americans after World War II • Leo Fender was the first to mass-produce the electric guitar in 1948 • African-American music evolved from motown in the 1960’s to disco and rap in the 1990’s • Elvis Presley became one of the most popular rock artists of the 20th century, also becoming one of the first artists to be a teenage heartthrob

9. Pop Groups • Pop music began to evolve in the 1960’s, with groups such as The Beatles and the Rolling Stones • The Eurovision song contest originally was a place for new Pop acts to enter the profession, bringing Swedish group ABBA to the fore in 1974 • Pop and Rock are similar in their instrumentation. A group would usually consist of both electric and bass guitars, drums, keyboard, and vocalist(s) • The main difference between Pop and Rock is the terms themselves. Popular music is ever changing, while Rock is a separate genre evolving throughout the 20th century • Pop could be applied to any genre of the day. Therefore, the Pop musicians of the Baroque era would be composers such as Bach!

10. Jazz Groups • An American genre originating in cities such as New Orleans and Chicago • It evolved from Dixieland jazz and ragtime, with composers such as Scott Joplin, famous for his piano piece The Entertainer • Trumpet player Louis Armstrong was one of the first to create jazz as we recognise it, and started the tradition of improvised solos • Jazz could include many combinations of instruments including Trumpets, Saxophones, Clarinets, Double Bass, Drums and Piano • More modern jazz included artists such as Miles Davies, Benny Goodman, and Gordon Goodwin

11. Folk Groups • Folk music is any music specific to a certain place. This does not just mean music specific to each country, but also music specific to each county, village, etc. • Work songs are one form of folk music, for example, songs from the work plantations during the slave trade era in America • Ballads, songs that told a story, either fictional legends or news of the day. Sometimes these were unaccompanied, sometimes with an instrumental accompaniment • Music for dancing is still popular, used at barn dances and ceilidhs • Today, musicians such as Bob Dylan are considered to be folk artists

12. Gamelan • Gamelan music originated in South Asia • It always consists of a series of different gongs, sometimes with drums, flutes, stringed instruments, and occasionally vocalists • In 1889, Paris hosted an Exhibition of music from all over the world. Composers were suddenly exposed to new styles of music • Composers such as Debussy began to bring Gamelan into their own music, creating a whole new genre of exoticism.

13. Steel Pan Bands • Originally from Trinidad, they became popular in the 1930’s and 40’s • Steel pans, or drums were made from the top half of oil drums. The larger the half used, the deeper the sound of the drum • They were often used in carnival or Samba bands • These days, Steel Pan bands often use Western instruments such as guitars or drum kits alongside the steel drums

14. Vocal Groups • One of the earliest forms of vocal groups were the singers of Madrigals in the 15th century. Women were forbidden to sing in church, so the high parts were sung by young boys • Opera came to the fore in the 15oo’s, leading both men and women to extend their vocal range as composers experimented with new musical techniques • Choirs have existed since Medieval times, mainly for church services. The earliest Mass setting is attributed to Guillaume de Machaut, a composer of the 1300’s • Oratorios by composers such as Handel in the 18th century, sung by both men and women, led to the formation of choral societies • Today, singing has been made popular through musical theatre composers such as Lloyd-Webber and Sondheim

15. Early Music Groups • The Gregorian chant, named after Pope Gregory I, is one of the earliest known forms of music. These chants were often sung in churches and monasteries to call people to worship, or to signal certain points in the Mass • Secular music was also used, often on long journeys as a means of passing the time, or as work songs • Very few people sung the music of other people; much of what they performed were their own compositions • The time of the first peripatetic musicians! The travelling musicians of noble birth were Troubadours, while the professional entertainers of low birth were Minstrels