How will select works from the Classic Period develop your guitar reading skills and interpretation of the music?

The Baroque orchestra consisted mainly of strings with a number of woodwind instruments plus stringed keyboard instruments. The Classical Period saw the orchestra divided in four major groups: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. The two major composers of the period were Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).

Some important characteristics of Classical style are:

1. Melodies were frequently based on the structure of chords, the simplest chord being a 3-note chord called a triad, For example, CEG, DF0A, GBD, etc.

2. Rhythm Classical composers generally used simple and constant rhythm patterns. The tempo of a movement or section was almost always constant from beginning to end.

3. Harmony was simple; rarely did the majority of composers use anything more complicated than primary chords and sevenths. The most commonly used cadence (a harmonic ending to a phrase or movement ) was the chord progression IV-V7-I.

With the above as background, let's examine Alleluia, a representative work from the Classic Period by the English composer, William Boyce (1710-1779). Some have said that Mozart greatly admired Boyce's music, This selection comes from the Miller Ensemble Series, Music of the Masters (98303). This is a great piece to use at the beginning of the year with your guitar class.

As a warm-up exercise, divide the class in three sections and play a C major scale, striking each note twice as described in my second Guitar Sessions article last September. Then, play the scale as a three-part round or canon, having each section begin at a different time so you end up hearing the notes within a triad of intervals of a third.

Next, have everyone play the opening statement above (measures 11 through 18). Note that the melody is stated in octaves and is based on the C Major scale used in the warm-up. Assign different sections to play either the upper or lower melody, then switch parts so all sections have a crack at the more difficult to read notes involving ledger lines.

In measures 19 through 42, all sections of the ensemble should play the second guitar part. By doing so, everyone will have played the canon in its entirety.

Note: This piece is written in canonic imitation. That is, all parts use the same melodic material, but each part begins at a different time.

Now look at measures 27 through 34 of the conductor's score.

Notice in the example above, everyone has played each of these parts but now the parts are harmonized and each line is quite independent. Rounds and canons are some of the best music to play to develop reading skills.

For the teachers among you, if you wish to introduce your class to beginning music theory, have them study the first 10 measures of the introduction in the conductor's score of Allelulia.

The class will discover that in the above example, the majority of the chords consist of the IV (F Major), V7 (G7) and I (C Major) chords in the key of C Major.

In conclusion, this piece has several characteristics assooiated with the Classical Period:

1. A Melody that sometimes outlines chords.

2. Rhythm that is simple, steady and consistent.

3. Harmony that is based on primary chords and sevenths.

Another work you might consider from the Miller Ensemble Series, Music of the Masters is Come, Join This Round With Me by Giovanni "Padre" Martini (1706-1784). Martini was a celebrated theorist, teacher and composer who lived in Bologna, Italy. Mozart traveled in Italy between 1770 and 1773 and studied counterpoint with Padre Martini.

Our next session will feature composers from the Romantic Period. We'll discuss examples that illustrate how harmony had become more complex. Composers of this era tended to use more chromaticism in the melodic style, a characteristic that affects the interpretation and performance.

Until next time, Don Miller

Until next time,
Don Miller