Listening
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik (serenade)
Performed by the Gewandhaus Quartet [Listen on YouTube]
Ludwig van Beethoven, String Quartet in Bb major, op. 18, no. 6 (string quartet)
III. Scherzo
String quartet - Chamber music ensemble comprised of 2 violins, 1 viola, and 1 cello. Also, the genre of music composed for this ensemble, which usually has 4 movements.
Scherzo - A fast movement, most often in triple meter. Composers sometimes replace a minuet in symphonies and string quartets with a scherzo.
From 14:26–17:29: Recording by the Alban Berg Quartett. [Listen on YouTube]
Remember that musical elements include the following:
- Melody (pitch)
- Rhythm/beat/meter
- Timbre / tone color (Instrumentation, including the human voice)
- Texture (monophonic, polyphonic)
- Harmony (more than one sonority sounding simultaneously. Here you can think about whether the simultaneous sonorities sound consonant or dissonant to your ear.)
- Form
- Articulation (how the performers are playing a line, such as sound short and separated (staccato) or long and connected (legato))
Wider Context
OPTIONAL: For a wider context, see Oxford Reference for timelines of world history by century.
