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  • How is the use of unpitched and/or variable-pitch sounds typical or unusual for this type of piece? (For example, if the piece includes bird calls but no unpitched drums, is that typical of this type of piece?)
  • Are there any tones in the piece? (If the answer is no, skip the rest of the questions in the Pitch section.)

Which pitches are used as tones?

  • What is the tuning system that dictates which specific pitches are allowed to be used as tones in this piece.
  • What is the key , mode , raga , tone row, or other music-theory construct that creates preferences for certain tones, defines their relationship to each other, and dictates how they should be used within the piece?

How are the tones used?

  • Is each tone held steadily from beginning to end? If not, what types of ornaments and pitch variations are used?
  • Do some tones occur one after the other quickly enough that they are heard as a distinct line in the music (for example, a melody line, harmony line, or bass line)?
  • If you can hear a distinct line in the music, how would you describe its pitch motion? (For example, does it move from one pitch to another quickly or slowly? Does it leap between distant pitches, move by steps up and down the scale, or stay within a small range?)
  • If more than one tone sounds at a time, does the result tend to be triadic or quartal chords? Dissonances? "Open" intervals (such as octaves or fifths)?
  • Are some of the tones held for long periods of time, functioning as drone notes?
  • Regardless of whether you hear multiple tones at a time, are some of the tones used to create or imply functional harmony? If there is functional harmony, choose a short, interesting section of the piece: What are the chords used in that section, and how do they function in the harmony?
  • Are the answers to any of these questions different for different sections of the piece, or for different instruments? Do any of them indicate an unusual use of pitch for this kind of piece?

Overview of how the sounds are organized in time

Overall form

The form of the music is its overall organization from beginning to end.

  • Name the major sections of the piece, in the order that they occur (for example: intro, first verse, refrain, second verse, bridge, refrain).
  • What is a piece with these sections typically called? If you know the style of the piece, your answer may include style words, such as "Baroque" or "samba" or "jazz." This is useful, because, for example, a "samba song" may typically have different sections than a "jazz song." So naming the style can help name the form of the piece. However, simply naming the style is not enough. Is it a samba song or a dance? Is it a Baroque fugue or a toccata?
  • What elements play an important part in dictating or creating the overall form of the music? The sung words? The rules for sonata development? The number of beats required for the dance steps? The raga and tala? The need to make each part of a round fit with the other parts?
  • What elements make the form most audible? The entrances of the fugue subject? The cadences in the functional harmony? The difference in texture between the verses and the refrain? Sudden changes in tempo or meter?
  • What is the audience expected to do with this music (dance, march, sing along, listen passively)? How, where, and why is it typically heard? Do these expectations affect the form of the piece?

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Source:  OpenStax, Music inquiry. OpenStax CNX. Mar 18, 2013 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11455/1.4
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