Question 1

At 5:12, why does the bassoon change from reading the base clef to that other thing.

Accepted Answer

What other thing, the tenor clef? 
Maybe because its range can go really low as the bassoon is a big instrument

Question 2

What's the difference between melody and harmony and how do you know which is which when you are reading sheet music?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes you'll hear people refer to melody as the "horizontal" aspect of music, and that harmony is the "vertical" aspect. Harmony is the groups of pitches which form chords underneath, supporting a melody. A melody is the "tune." Think of a simple song like something you would sing around a campfire. The melody would be the words; "Old Macdonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o" and the harmony is what you would strum on the guitar as you sang.

Question 3

is it enough to know G-clef/treble; Base clef/F; and /c-clef/Alto?  Is now the time to learn them all (5-6?) and are the ones I mentioned right? Are these more instrument and voice related? I'd like to take up piano at some point but would like to be able to read music as well.

Accepted Answer

To play the piano, you need only read bass and treble clefs fluently.  Alto and tenor are used by specific instruments whose ranges straddle awkwardly in between bass and treble (viola, different types of trombones, bassoon, cello).  There are also some really rare clefs used by old pre-baroque instruments and singers (like baritone and soprano clef), but those are practically obsolete.  Just be glad you don't have to transpose too! ;)

In addition to pitch clefs, percussion also uses neutral clef, and the double bass uses an octave clef (meaning that the pitch produced from the clef is actually an octave lower than written, making the instrument transposing in a weird sort of way), which is a bass clef plus a little eight symbol underneath.

Question 4

Why are there more than one of each instrument in an orchestra? And are the numbers of instruments the same in every orchestra?

Accepted Answer

You could compare an orchestra with a choir. There you also have more than one soprano, alto etc.
Very often a group of the same instruments play something else. This creates a more complex sound, with more harmony.
Not every orchestra has the same amount of instruments. Sometimes an orchestra simply can't find more players, but with bigger orchestra's the conductor decides how many instruments he needs for the pieces he wants to play.

Question 5

At 5:58, aren't the last two notes in the clarinet melody tied? I heard two notes, but I thought tied notes were supposed to be played as one note.

Accepted Answer

You hear two notes because the eighth note before the two notes that are tied is the same note, G.

Question 6

At about the 1 minute mark, he refers to pizzicatos. I think that means plucking the violin strings rather than bowing them - is that right? How can you tell that that is what is supposed to be done from the sheet music?

Accepted Answer

That is right, pizzicato is when you pluck it rather than bow and it is used on all string instruments, not just violin. Whenever you are supposed to start playing pizzicato, you will see "pizz" above the line. That is how you tell it is going to be played that way.

Check it out on this piece of sheet music:

https://www.google.com/search?q=pizzicato+sheet+music&safe=strict&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=643&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjiyp7X-7HMAhVQ6mMKHTeEDmQQ_AUIBigB#safe=strict&tbm=isch&q=sheet+music+play+in+pizzicato&imgrc=ZA4BmjHblFPBHM%3A

Question 7

Did Pyotr Tchaikovsky write Finale?
How old was he when he wrote symphony No.4?

Accepted Answer

In answering your 1st question, I don't know for certain If he wrote Finale but I do know that he was 37 years old when he did Symphony No. 4

Question 8

how do the orchestra not have a tuba.

Accepted Answer

If Tchaikovsky didn't write a part for a tuba, the orchestra would not have one for that particular piece. If there was an intermission after the symphony ended, the next piece played after the intermission might have a part for tuba, and the tuba player would join the orchestra at that point. Other instruments which frequently might be there, or not, are a piano or a harp. I'm no expert, but I don't believe that a professional orchestra would ever have a musician sitting with his instrument doing nothing for a concert.

Question 9

Would someone watch this for reasons other than training (or being fanatical)?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely! Hearing the play-by-play/commentary and following along with the conductor's score gives you a pretty good idea of how the music is arranged and how certain effects are achieved. Listen the same way to some pop music and notice how, while far simpler, it has its different instruments and effects layered the same way. Learning more about music helps you appreciate all music just a bit better. =D

Course: Music > Unit 3

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Symphony No.4, analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 2)

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