Instruments and Listening
A natural harmonic begins with a light touch on a string
Natural harmonics reveal a string’s vibrating patterns. Compare a light touch at the twelfth fret with a normally fretted note.
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Instruments and Listening
Scordatura changes an instrument’s tuning before the first note
Scordatura deliberately changes normal string tuning. Hear how it contributes to musical character, and distinguish the tuning instruction from the key signature.
Music Listening
A Picardy third lets a minor-key piece end with a major chord
Hear how a minor-key piece can close with a major tonic chord. A simple keyboard comparison makes the Picardy third easier to recognise.
Music Listening
A pedal point holds its note while the harmony moves around it
A pedal point keeps a pitch in place through changing harmony. Try a short keyboard example and listen for how a stable bass can create changing tension.
Listening Details
Hearing a hemiola: six steady pulses, a different musical stride
Hear a simple hemiola by keeping six pulses steady and changing their grouping. Try an accent exercise before following the effect in a performance.
Listening More Closely
Rubato reshapes a phrase without losing the music’s larger pulse
Rubato allows expressive flexibility in musical time. Try a focused listening exercise that separates a shaped phrase from a simple permanent change of tempo.