Listening by Category: THRMFTing

Analysing what we hear by category can be a very useful method for breaking down the process of listening
to music, in order to discuss it in a consistent way. The following categories have been proposed by Jan
LaRue in Guidelines for Style Analysis1:

Texture
Harmony
Rhythm
Melody
Form
Timbre

These are by no means the only categories, or parameters in which intelligent observations about music
can be made, but going through these will allow you to be pretty comprehensive. You will also note that
there is some overlap between some of these categories. You are also asked to write a Conclusion in which
you tie all these threads together.
The questions below are an excellent starting point for making observations through these categories, but
only that: you are encouraged to make observations that go beyond the scope of these questions. And not
all of these questions give meaningful answers for all music, so you may need to decide which questions to
ask.
Advice for THRMFTing:

Take notes when listening, and then organise your observations into points in between listenings.
Use bullet points, and write short concise sentences.
Avoid at all costs verbal diarrhoea! You dont get any extra credit for excess verbiage, and often the
more words you use the harder it is to see the points you are tying to make.
Sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words. If you can represent what you want to say better
through a diagram or a musical example then do so. This can be particularly useful for showing the
form of an extract.
You may reorder the categories to give a more logical progression if you wish, although you dont
have to. But you must explain in your conclusion the relationship between categories (see bottom
of this document for more details)

Texture
A distinction needs to be made between texture and timbre: texture results from the combination of all
timbre at a given moment.

Is it a simple texture or a complex texture?

Is the texture monophonic, homophonic, heterophonic or polyphonic?
How many layers are there to the sound? How do they relate to each other? Do different layers
complement one another or contrast? Does one layer colour another layer?
What is the most important aspect of the texture?

Jan LaRue Guidelines for Style Analysis, W. W. Norton & Company, 1971

What is the dynamic? What is the register, or registral disposition?

Is a lot of contrast employed or not? How so?
Is the texture consistent or does it change? If there are different textures, are they juxtaposed,
overlapped or does the texture evolve over time (NB this observation also relates to form).
If words are present (sung or spoken), what is the relationship between texture and words? Is there
word-painting? How does texture set the scene?

Harmony
Harmony is defined as the vertical aspect of music in terms of simultaneous or implied simultaneous
combinations of pitch. In order to deal with how this unfolds over time the terms tonality and pitch
hierarchy are more precise, depending on the context. Although usually associated with tonal music, you
may need to be prepared to apply these questions term to non-tonal contexts.

How is harmony expressed? Through chords, arpeggio based patterns (e.g. alberti bass). Or is it
implied through melody? Or is no harmony discernable at all?
Is the harmony simple or complex? Is it consistent in this respect, or is contrast employed?
Is there a sense of pitch hierarchy? If so, is one pitch-class is prioritised (as in tonal music), whether
it changes (as in modulations), whether other notes have relative importance (e.g. the dominant)?
Are several pitches are equally prioritised (as in some modal music)? Or are none (as in most 12note music).
If the music is tonal, is it diatonic or chromatic? Major or minor? Do any modulations take place?
If the music is modal, can you identify the mode? For example is it based on church modes,
pentatonic, whole-tone, octatonic, etc.? Is it an irregular mode (for example Messiaens modes of
limited transposition)?
If the music is atonal, are any pitches or interval particularly important? Or are reference points
avoided entirely, as in twelve-tone music for example?
Or is the music some combination, or somewhere in between the above?
Do cadences fall in expected places? Do phrases resolve (thus clearly delineating structure), or is
resolution avoided (thus giving the music greater continuity)? Are there any surprises?
What is the harmonic rhythm? Is it fast or slow? Does it accelerate? Does it change?
Are there any chords which stand out? What kinds of chords are most frequently used?
Are pedal notes used at any point?
What is the relationship between consonance and dissonance? Is this relationship consistent
throughout the extract?

Rhythm
Rhythm can be defined as how musical events are organised in time, and it is important to remember the
distinction between rhythm (the timings of notes themselves) and metre (the organisation of rhythm in
relation to pulse).

Is rhythmic organisation simple or complex? Structured or free?

Is there a clear sense of metre? If not is it because of frequent changes of metre? Or because of
tempo rubato, or the presence of pauses? Or speech rhythms?
If metre is clear, what is it? Is it duple or triple (or more complex)? Is it simple or compound?

Is metre regular or irregular? Or perhaps irregular but consistent (for example 5/4 time, or 7/8
time)?
Are characteristic rhythms (for example those associated with specific types of dance) present?
Does the music (perhaps the melody?) emphasize the metre, or work against it (for example by
avoiding downbeats)?
Is layering present? Polyrhythm or polymetre? Any metric modulations?
Is the music fast or slow? Is this consistent throughout the extract?
Is rhythmic contrast employed? If so, how?

Melody
Melody is not a parameter at all, as it results from the combination of many parameters. It can be defined
as the horizontal motion of a sequence of pitches through time. Like harmony, it is a term loaded with
baggage, and it may be more appropriate to talk in terms of motif, or perhaps shape or gesture.

Is melody present at all? If so is it prominent? Is it present all the time?

What is the shape of the melody? Does it move by conjunct (step-wise) or disjunct (leaping)
motion? Does the melody move in any particular direction, or does it articulate an arch / a dip, etc.
Can you draw the shape? Does the melody have a defined high-point or low-point?
Is the melody built out of recognisable motifs? If so can you describe (or write down in musical
notation) the motif? What defines the motif?
If melody is not present in the traditional sense of the word, perhaps it is still motivic? Or gestural?
Is some kind of shape articulated?
What is the relationship between the melody and the harmony? Is it diatonic, modal or chromatic?
Is it a consonant relationship, or are techniques such as suspension, unprepared dissonance (etc.)
employed?
What is the relationship between melody and texture? Is the melody the highest line, or is it in a
middle part, or bass part? Does melody occur in more than one voice (polyphony)? Is the texture
motivic?
What is the relationship between melody and rhythm / metre? Is the melody defined by motivic
rhythm in some way?
Is the melody memorable? If so what makes it memorable?

Form
This covers all aspects of how the music unfolds over time, from phrase structure (if applicable), to the
overall form of the entire piece, or extract.

Is the music organised in phrases? Does the structure of the phrases adhere to Caplins definitions?
[This will be covered in Musc 10511 Tonality, Form and Function.] How are the phrases organised?
Is repetition or variation employed? Are the ideas developed?
According to what principles does the music unfold? Is there a sense of evolution? Or revelation?
Or development? Or trajectory in a specific direction? Or maybe even an avoidance of familiarity?
Is the form one you recognise? If so what is it, and how does the music adhere to your
expectations, dictated by this formal paradigm?
Is the music organised in blocks, or as a trajectory? Is it static or dynamic? Or does this change in
different parts of the music?

Are there transitions? How do they work?

Is there a moment of maximum intensity? A climax? Or does the music avoid this?
Are there any surprises? If so how are expectations built up, and how is this expectation subverted?
Does contrast occur? What role does it play?
How are various parameters employed to articulate form?

Timbre
Timbre may be defined as the sound at any one moment, and all elements that contribute to that sound.

What is the instrumentation? Which instruments are playing at any time? Is contrast employed
here? Are subsets of instruments used at certain times? Are there any doublings worth mentioning,
or particularly interesting sounds?
What is the relationship between the instruments? Are some subservient to others? Is any one
instrument more important than the others? Does this change?
In what register are the instruments being played? To what effect is register used?
What is the articulation? Are particular types of articulation employed for certain reasons, for
example to dramatise gestures, or to mark certain important moments?
Does anything happen to the sound after the articulation, for example vibrato, or crescendo?
What is the dynamic? Are all the parts playing at the same dynamic?
What instrumental techniques are used? Are there any special effects employed? Any extended
techniques?
Are particular colours exploited to characterise the sound of the music?

Conclusion
This is where you tie together all your observations, in order to draw larger conclusions about the way the
music works.
This is the place to comment on the relationship between parameters, for example what is the relationship
between melody and harmony?, how does melody influence harmony?, how does the choice of timbres
enable the composer to build distinctive textures?, what is the relationship between texture and form?,
etc.
It may be that there is very little to say about certain parameters (for example a piece for untuned
percussion is unlikely to have much in the way of melody or harmony), and much more to say about other
parameters. You may think the composers treatment of a specific parameter is absolutely crucial to the
way the form works, in which case explain why you think this.
When youve done this, make some general observations about the style, and suggest a period / date of
composition / genre / possible composer. If you can, remark on what stylistic traits distinguish this piece
from other pieces you know in a similar style.

RW

16 Sep 13