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- Creative performance SME Y2 TG File Uploaded 2/11/21, 15:54
UNIT 1:THE DEVELOPMENT OF ART THROUGH DIFFERENT ERAS
Key unit competence: To be able to describe the key points in the evolution of Art through ages and carryout an appreciation of techniques and works of renowned Artists in the world
Introductory Activity
Observe the above image and say where you think it was made from, the artist who made it, its name, in which material is it made.
1.1 Modern and abstract Art (Renaissance to present day)
Activity 1.1
Discuss about modern art and abstract art, some artists and their artworks
There is no precise definition of the term “Modern Art” but it means works produced during the approximate period 1870-1970. Modern art is a result of industrial revolution (c.1760-1860). The date commonly cited as marking the birth of modern art is 1863, the year that Edouard Manet exhibited his shocking and irreverent painting; “le dejeuner sur l’herbe” in the salon des refuses in Paris. This work was considered to be one of the most scandalous pictures of the period.
Modern art didn’t just stop, it was gradually overtaken by events during the late 1960s, replaced by contemporary art. Modern art is characterized by new types of art like collage, use of new materials and new techniques.
Modern art artists and their works
Claude Monet Before becoming a painter, he was a popular caricaturist.
By the age of 15, Monet had made something of a name for himself with his charcoal caricatures.
Paul Cézanne, in his paintings, often rejected realistic portrayals of space in favor of more creative compositions. This is particularly evident in in his still-life depictions, which frequently feature fruit, bottles, and other everyday objects balanced on tilted, topsy-turvy tabletops
Edgar Degas is best known as a painter and chronicler of the ballet, yet his work as a printmaker reveals the true extent of his restless experimentation. He expanded the possibilities of drawing, created surfaces with a heightened sense of tactility, and invented new means for new subjects, from dancers in motion to the radiance of electric light, from women in intimate settings to meteorological effects in nature.
Jules Chéret was a renowned French artist, by 1858, Chéret had begun his career by illustrating opera posters, book jackets, and perfume packaging. Chéret died on September 23, 1933 in Nice, France. “The picnic” is one of his artworks.
Marc Chagall, often joked that he was “born dead,” as he was unresponsive after birth, and his family needed to poke him with needles and dunk him in a trough of cold water before he finally cried out. Although primarily known as a painter, he was highly skilled at producing stained glass windows and undertook window commissions in New York, Jerusalem, and across France – all of which can still be seen today. “I and the village” is one his works.
Abstract art use a visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Abstract art does not depict a person, place or thing in the natural world.
The term ‘abstract art’ also called “non-objective art”, “non-figurative”, “non-representational”, “geometric abstraction”, or “concrete art” is a rather vague umbrella term for any painting or sculpture which does not portray recognizable objects or scenes. The idea behind abstract art is that a picture may contain a very bad drawing of a man, but if its colours are very beautiful, it may nevertheless strike us as being a beautiful picture. This shows how a formal quality (colour) can override a representational one (drawing).Abstraction indicates a departure from reality in depiction of imagery in art.
The Abstract Art movement is called Abstract Expressionism because, although the art has no subject, it is still trying to convey some kind of emotion. The Abstract Expressionism movement began in the 1940s in New York City after World War II. However, the first real Abstract Art was painted earlier by some Expressionists, especially Kandinsky in the early 1900s.
The main characteristic of abstract art is that it has no recognizable subject. Some Abstract Artists had theories on the emotions that were caused by certain colors and shapes.
Famous Abstract Artists
Willem de Kooning was a Dutch artist who became a part of the New York City Abstract Expressionist movement. His most famous painting is Woman III which sold for over $137 million.
Franz Kline: was an American painter mostly known for his black and white paintings. He was considered an Action Painter. One of his artworks is Untitled (series N0. II), 1947 it was ink on paper.
Wassily Kandinsky: is considered the father of abstract painting. In an effort to capture sound and emotion in art, he painted some of the first major abstract works. One of his works is Improvisation (Garden of love II), 1912.
Piet Mondrian - Mondrian developed an Abstract painting style that involved straight lines and colored rectangles. He called this type of painting “The Style”. Some of his artworks is Composition, 1916.
Figure 1.9 Composition, 1916
Jackson Pollock: created his paintings without using brush strokes in what would later be called Action Painting. He became famous for his large paintings made with dribbles and splashes of paint. Splatter painting
Georgia O’Keeffe: American Modernism was an artistic and cultural movement which peaked between the two World Wars. It was marked by a deliberate departure from tradition and use of innovative forms of expression. Her abstract Masterpiece: Forgotten sister(1926)
Figure 1.11 Forgotten sister (1926)
Some abstract sculptures
Application Activity 1.1
1. Match the art with its main characteristics
• Modern art -use of visual language of shape to create a composition
• Abstract art -New types of art like collage
• Modern art - Straight lines and colored rectangles
• Abstract art -New techniques
• Modern art -The use of new materials
1.2. World-renowned Artists
Activity 1.2
Discuss about some renowned artists that you know.
Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Raphael, Picasso and O’Keeffe
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni,(6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known best as simply Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance born in the Republic of Florence, who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.
Considered by many the greatest artist of his lifetime, and by some the greatest artist of all time, his artistic versatility was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival, the fellow Florentine and client of the Medici, Leonardo da Vinci.
He sculpted two of his best-known works, “the Pietà” and “David”, before the age of thirty. Despite holding a low opinion of painting, he also created two of the most influential frescoes in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, and “The Last Judgment” on its altar wall.
Michelangelo was the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 145 – 2 May 1519), more commonly known as Leonardo da was an Italian polymath of the Renaissance whose areas of interest included invention, drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, paleontology, and cartography. He is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time, despite perhaps only 15 of his paintings having survived.
“The Mona Lisa” is the most famous of his works and the most popular portrait ever made. “The Last Supper” is the most reproduced religious painting of all time and his Vitruvian Man drawing is regarded as a cultural icon as well.
Leonardo’s paintings and preparatory drawings together with his notebooks, which contain sketches, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting compose a contribution to later generations of artists rivalled only by that of his contemporary Michelangelo.
Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch postimpressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which date from the last two years of his life. They include landscapes, still lives, portraits and selfportraits, and are characterized by bold colours and dramatic, impulsive and expressive brushwork that contributed to the foundations of modern art. He was not commercially successful, and his suicide at 37 came after years of mental illness and poverty.
Van Ghogh
Born into an upper-middle-class family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet and thoughtful. As a young man he worked as an art dealer, often travelling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He drifted in ill health and solitude before taking up painting in 1881, having moved back home with his parents. His younger brother Theo supported him financially, and the two kept up a long correspondence by letter.
Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the public imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius, the artist “where discourses on madness and creativity converge”. “Sunflowers,1889” and “Wheatfield with crows,1890” are some of his artworks.
Rembrandt was a 17th-century painter and etcher whose work came to dominate what has since been named the Dutch Golden Age. One of the most revered artists of all time, Rembrandt’s greatest creative triumphs are seen in his portraits of his contemporaries, illustrations of biblical scenes and self-portraits as well as his innovative etchings and use of shadow and light. “A girl with a broom,1651” is among his artworks.
Known for his self-portraits and biblical scenes, Dutch artist Rembrandt is considered to be one of the greatest painters in European history
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (March 28 or April 6, 1483 – April 6, 1520), known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal ofhuman grandeur. Together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period.
Raphael was enormously productive, running an unusually large workshop and, despite his early death at 37, leaving a large body of work. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, and the largest, work of his career. The best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his death, the influence of his great rival Michelangelo was more widespread until the 18th and 19th centuries, when Raphael’s more serene and harmonious qualities were again regarded as the highest models. “Madonna and child with saint John Baptist” is one of his artworks.
Pablo Picasso is probably the most important figure of 20th century, in terms of art, and art movements that occurred over this period. Before the age of 50, the Spanish born artist had become the most well-known name in modern art, with the most distinct style and eye for artistic creation. There had been no other artists, prior to Picasso, who had such an impact on the art world, or had a mass following of fans and critics alike, as he did.
Pablo Picasso was born in Spain in 1881, and was raised there before going on to spend most of his adult life working as an artist in France. Throughout the long course of his career, he created more than 20,000 paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics and other items such as costumes and theater sets. He is universally renowned as one of the most influential and celebrated artists of the twentieth century.
Guernica is a large 1937 oil painting on canvas by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. One of Picasso’s best known works, Guernica is regarded by many art critics as one of the most moving and powerful anti-war paintings in history. It is exhibited in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.
Guernica is the gray, black, and white painting, which is 3.49 meters (11 ft 5 inch) tall and 7.76 meters (25 ft 6 inch). Picasso painted Guernica at his home in Paris.
After his death in 1973 his value as an artist and inspiration to other artists has only grown. He is without a doubt destined to permanently etch himself into the fabric of humanity as one of the greatest artists of all time.
Picasso is also credited with inventing constructed sculpture and co-inventing the collage art style.
Georgia Totto O’Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American artist. She was best known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O’Keeffe has been recognized as the “Mother of American modernism”.
In 1905, O’Keeffe began her serious formal art training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and then the Art Students League of New York, but she felt constrained by her lessons that focused on recreating or copying what was in nature. She studied art during the summers between 1912 and 1914 and was introduced to the principles and philosophies of Arthur Wesley Dow, who created works of art based upon personal style, design, and interpretation of subjects, rather than trying to copy or represent them. This caused a major change in the way she felt about and approached art, as seen in the beginning stages of her watercolors from her studies at the University of Virginia and more dramatically in the charcoal drawings that she produced in 1915 that led to total abstraction. She taught and continued her studies at the Teachers College, Columbia University in 1914 and 1915.
Application Activity 1.2
1. Match the artist with his artwork name
• Michelangelo a girl with a broom
• Raphael forgotten sister
• Van Ghogh Last supper
• Picasso sunflowers
• Leonardo Da Vinci guernica
• O’Keeffe Madonna and child with saint John the Baptist
• Rambrandt Last judgement
1.3 Major Art sites in the world
Activity 1.3
Discuss about Art sites in the world.
The Cave of Altamira is located near the historic town of Santillana del Mar in Cantabria, Spain
It is renowned for prehistoric parietal cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna and human hands. The earliest paintings were applied during the Upper Paleolithic, around 36,000 years ago. The site was only discovered in 1868 by Modesto Cubillas.
Altamira is located in the Franco-Cantabrian region and declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as a key location of the Cave of Altamira and Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain.
Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave paintings.
Close to 600 paintings mostly of animals - dot the interior walls of the cave in impressive compositions. Horses are the most numerous, but deer, aurochs, ibex, bison, and even some felines can also be found. Besides these paintings, which represent most of the major images, there are also around 1400 engravings of a similar order.
The discovery
On 12 September 1940 CE four boys examined the fox hole down which their dog had fallen on the hill of Lascaux. After widening the entrance, Marcel Ravidat was the first one to slide all the way to the bottom, his three friends following after him. After constructing a makeshift lamp to light their way, they found a wider variety of animals than expected; in the Axial Gallery they first encountered the depictions on the walls. The following day they returned, better prepared this time, and explored deeper parts of the cave. The boys, in awe of what they had found, told their teacher, after which the process towards excavating the cave was set in motion. By 1948 CE the cave was ready to be opened to the public.
The Olduvai Gorge Museum is located in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Northern Tanzania on the edge of the Olduvai Gorge.
The museum was founded by Mary Leakey and is now under the jurisdiction of the Tanzanian government’s Department of Cultural Antiquities. It is a museum dedicated to the appreciation and understanding of the Olduvai Gorge and Laetoli fossil sites.
Application Activity 1.3
1. Answer the following statements by true or false Lascaux site is an artwork made by wood.
2. What can be the role of art sites for a country or for a society?
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. Who is the mother of modern art?
2. Do we have an art site in East Africa? Which one?
3. Discuss about your favorite artist in the world history of art.
UNIT 2:DRAWING AND PAINTING STILL LIFE AND NATURE
Key unit competence: To be able to make a painting of still life and nature studies by applying different techniques, media and tools.
Introductory Activity
2.1. Different types of colour application
Activity 2.1
Discuss about the following concepts: Painting, different types of colour application
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the “matrix” or “support”). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. The final work is also called a painting.
The support for paintings includes such surfaces as walls, paper, canvas, wood, glass, pottery, leaf, copper, and concrete, and the painting may incorporate multiple other materials including sand, clay, paper, plaster, gold leaf, as well as other objects.
Dry medium
Dry painting are either carbon-based or chalk-based. Dry medium painting is a painting done without using water or oil in mixing. Here one can use colored chalks, pastels, colored powder,…
The primary advantage of dry drawing materials is that in case of mistake you can erase and change the color. It can be easily erased, while the primary disadvantage of dry drawing materials is that it is difficult to store and protect the final painting.
Wet medium
Wet painting is liquid based medium. It is when there is a use of water or oil to dilute the paint. Here one can use water when it is water based paint, petrol, thinner or linseed oil if it is oil based paint.
Application Activity 2.1
Draw and paint a composition of different fruits using any one of the types of colour application.
2.2. Types of Painting
Activity 2.2
Discuss about the types of paintings
The types of painting depend on painting terms or considerations. In terms of painting as material there are two major types of paints; water and oil paints. Considering painting as an artwork, it is classified into two major types such as realism and abstract painting.
Abstract painting is the type of painting that uses visual language of shapes, forms, colors and lines to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Abstract painting is when the image or idea of the painter is hidden, when the image doesn’t appear as in real life.
Realism painting sometimes called naturalism. It attempts to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality, exotic, and supernatural elements. When you see realism painting you feel the existence of the person or object on painting.
Application Activity 2.2
Observe the following paintings and describe their types in terms of painting as an artwork
2.3. Painting techniques
Activity 2.3
Discuss about the different techniques of painting that you know
A technique is a method of doing some task or performing something. Is also main materials used to make a work of painting. If one uses oil painting to make an artwork the technique will be oil painting technique…
Other techniques of painting
• Texture paintings: we all love to see the brush strokes on a painting. it gives a dramatic final effect. Texture paintings are mostly used with oil paints, since while working with acrylic paints, they effects are lost when the acrylics dry up. But oil paints tend to be expensive, so as a substitute one can use acrylic impasto which works amazing on textures. Apart from regular paint brushes, flat knifes, spoons, folks, toothbrushes, blunt objects are used to create texture paintings. There are two types of texture; smooth and rough texture.
• Tempera paintings: Long Lasting Paintings are known as egg tempera art. They are fast drying and the paint longs laster than others. Egg yolks are used as a binding medium with paints and since it’s highly glutenous, they tend to dry faster. This is one of the oldest known painting techniques. Instead of eggs, sometimes, gum, glycerin, casein are used as a binding agent to the mixture of water and colors.
• Digital painting is the art of creating artwork on a computer, which makes it resemble a watercolor painting, oil painting or even an acrylic painting. A digitally prepared oil painting and manually done oil painting will have plenty of differences, since you have access to plenty of other textures and instruments which are easily available on the system. Yes, you don’t have to worry about paint spills a standing for long hours. You can do the same art in a relaxed manner, at the comfort of your homes.
• Spray Painting: Paint is usually administered from a spray bottle to achieve the desired results. Mostly spray paints are used on streets (street art), graffiti, canvas, wood, metal, glass, ceramic and more. If a large are of canvas requires the same pigment, spray painting technique is used to cover the areas for a faster turnout.
• Fresco paintings or wall painting technique are paintings usually created on a freshly created lime plaster. The color pigments are mixed water solution and directly applied on the lime plaster, thus creating a permanent painting. Fresco paintings have been around since the renaissance period, one can view these paintings in the Vatican walls and ceilings.
Some authors add other techniques depends on materials used,
• Oil painting: Oil paint is usually mixed with linseed oil, or other solvents to make the paint thinner, faster or slower-drying.
• Watercolor painting: is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-based solution. • Pastel painting: is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The color effect of pastels is closer to the natural dry pigments than that of any other process.
• Acrylic painting: are water based paintings but the final result shines as if it was oil colors another thing on acrylic is that it is a fast-drying paint.
Application Activity 2.3
Draw and paint a still life using the technique of your choice
2.4. Landscapes or scenes
Activity 2.4
Parts of a landscape:
Landscape paintings are divided into 3 main parts: foreground, middle ground and background. Land in the background appears more blue and pale than land towards the front. Artists make things look further away by painting them a pale colour. They make things look closer by painting them using high intensity colours.
Application Activity 2.4
1. Draw and paint a scene of a surrounding landscape.
2. Draw and paint a local activity of your choice that is done in your community.
2.5. Human figure painting
Activity 2.5
Discuss about human body proportions
In a standing position, seven figure drawing proportions to keep in mind are:
1. The figure is approximately 7.5 heads tall.
2. About two heads down from the top of the figure is the line of the nipples.
3. About three heads down from the top of the figure is the navel, or belly button.
4. About four heads down from the top of the figure is the pubic bone, which is at the top of the genitals.
5. The pubic bone is approximately the half-way point on the body.
6. The wrists line up with the greater trochanters of the femurs (upper leg bone).
7. The elbows line up with the navel (belly button).
Proportions of the face
1. The eyes are on the middle level of the head.
2. The edges of the nostrils line up with the tear ducts of the eyes.
3. The space between the eyes is approximately the width of an eye.
4. The head is about five eyes wide. This one can be tricky because the shape of the head is often obscured by hair. Visualizing a “headband” similar to the one drawn in the above image can be helpful in finding the shape of the head.
5. The corners of the mouth line up with the pupils of the eyes.
Using color when paint human figure
Colour may be used objectively to represent forms as they appear in nature. E.g. green trees, yellow sun, blue sky, these are objective colours.
Colours may be used subjectively as the artists chooses to express himself/ herself. E.g. purple water, red grasses, green people, these are not real they are subjective colours.
When someone is doing painting artwork, he should think about social meaning of colours because colours create different emotional reactions as indicated below;
RED: warm, fire, danger, blood, love, youth, attention drawer
YELLOW: warm, sunlight, ripe, fruity, happy
GREEN: cool, vegetation, raw, fresh, fertile, promising
BLUE: cool, sky, water, calm, mysterious
INDIGO: cool, calm, romantic, darkness, intrigue
VIOLET: cool, grapes, sad, rich, royal, egocentric
ORANGE: warm, fire, fruity, happy, comfort
WHITE: cold, snow, pure, untouched, holy, wisdom, peace
BLACK: cold, charcoal, night, dark, African, neutral, mysterious, death
GREY: cool, ash, dull, sad, neutral, aging
BROWN: warm, dirt, earth.
Application Activity 2.5
Draw and paint a human figure.
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
c. Using stenciling technique
Stenciling technique produces an image or pattern by applying paint to a surface over an intermediate object with designed gaps in it which create the pattern or image by only allowing the pigment to reach some parts of the surface. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to repeatedly and rapidly produce the same letters or design. With some designs, this is done by connecting stencil islands (sections of material that are inside cut-out “holes” in the stencil) to other parts of the stencil with bridges (narrow sections of material that are not cut out).
Some letters and numbers like I, J, K, L, M, N, S, T, U, V, 1, 2, 3, 5,… don’t need bridges when cutting them, but letters like A,B, D, O, P, R,4, 6, 8, 9, 0,… need bridge to support or protect the island.
d. Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. There are many ways of making screen printing depends on used materials.
Following steps can be used in general for screen printing techniques
Method 1: using film of two layers
Step 1: Prepare your screen
Step 2: Make a design, using freehand or computer
Step 3: transfer the design on film,
Step 4: cut the film, remove the design
Step 5: burn the cut out of the design on the screen using thinner and brush or sponge, you can dilute the thinner with water because thinner is too strong, it can damage the design
Step 6: coat the rest of the screen with masking tape, let only where ink will pass.
Step 7: start printing. And after wash and dry your screen. You can also iron your t-shirt or fabric to fix well the design on the fabric.
Method 2: using photo emulsion
Step 1: Prepare your screen
Step2: make a design using computer, or free hands (better to use a marker or ink pen)
Step 3: print with a printer your design on film (a translucent paper)
Step 4: coat your screen with emulsion and let it dry in dark place Because light destroys the emulsion, for 24hours but to save time you can use hair dryer to be quick.
Step 5: stick the film on top of the screen and burn it using light bubble or add few petrol on the screen and stick the film and expose it to the sun when you don’t have the appropriate light bubble.
Step 6: wash and dry your screen, to remain with the design which will be open so that ink can pass through.
Step 7: start printing. And after wash and dry your screen. You can also iron your t-shirt or fabric to fix well the design on the fabric.
Materials to be used:
Fabric, Canvas stretcher, woven mesh, Staples or nails to mount the woven mesh on the screen, Staple gun or a small hummer, Thick printer paper, printer (optional), pencil, utility knife, masking tape, screen printing fabric ink, squeegee (D-cut or square-edged), Water, Sponge.
A. Ink
B. Squeegee
C. Image or design
D. Photo-emulsion or film
E. Screen
F. Printed image.
Application Activity 3.2
Make a design of the word “ART” and apply it on any available surface using possible printing techniques of your choice.
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. Give a known example on each type of printing that you know.
2. Design a short text with patterns or message and print it on a surface using the technique of your choice.
UNIT 3:MOTIFS, PATTERN AND DESIGN PROCESS
Key Unit competence: To be able to apply motifs and patterns on surface using different techniques
Introductory Activity
1. What do the above images remind you of in terms of design?
2. Identify the activity that is taking place in images 4.
3.1. Types of printing/ print making
Activity 3.1
To print is to reproduce a text, an image or an object by using a master plate or a master form. Master plate or master form is something that will help to make a reproduction, like a stencil, a design on computer, a form when making different objects.
Main types of printing can be divided into 3, based on the result of a printed work.
1. Surface printing
Surface printing when the text or the image lies on the background. Example is: texts in newspapers, magazines, on walls, on some clothes…
2. Relief printing
Relief printing is when the text or the image is raised on the background, here the text or image is felt, and you touch and feel it. Example is: texts and images on coins, the word UMOJA on some slippers, the word BIC on some pens, words on TVs or radios…
Note that there are 2types of relief printing; relief and intaglio (incision). Intaglio is when the text or the design is incised (curved) in the background of the surface. Like the way some texts or images are incised on cleaning soaps, on some padlocks, on rulers, on pencils’ marks,
3. 3D printing
Three dimension printing is when a text, image or object has the length, width and height. Here the object is printed so that you can see the front, the back, the right, the left, the bottom and the top of it. Examples are many: school materials (erasers, pens, pencils,…), some foods are printed using master form like cakes, candies, sweets, biscuits, gums,… letters can be printed in 3D and make a text on the top of a building as a signpost of the building.
Application Activity 3.1
Create a motif and reproduce it using any one type of printing from the main types of printing.
3.2 Applying motifs and patterns on surfaces
Activity 3.2
Techniques of Printing a.
Using impression technique
There are times you can transfer a pattern from one source to another by impression. Patterns from hard surface as biscuits, rocks, stones, tree bark, coin, shoe sole, prepared clay with different patterns etch are needed to use this method.
b. Using stamping technique
Stamping is a craft in which some type of ink is applied to an image or pattern that has been carved. The ink coated rubber stamp is pressed onto any type of medium such that the colored image is transferred to the surface or other medium.
One can make a stamp using a sharpen razor and waste of gumboots made in rubber. You draw the design in reverse, remove the background, put the piece of gumboot on the support and put the design in the ink pad, then stamp on the surface.
UNIT 4:AINTED WITH TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES Creative Performance SME for TTC Year 2 LETTER STYLES AND ILLUSTRATION DESIGN
Key Unit competence: To be able to create various designs with images and different letters styles.
Introductory Activity
4.1. The Elements of Graphic Design
Activity 4.1
1. Make a study of the above design and describe the elements of design and the qualities used to compose it.
1. Lines
Lines are used as roadmaps to direct the viewer’s eye movements. They can exist on their own or be employed to create texture and movement to connect information, to demarcate space or even to create a desired mood. Lines can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal, circular, patterned, free form or solid/bold.
2. Shape
Shapes can be geometric, abstract, stylized or as they occur in nature. They give volume to the forms in a design. You can make use of texture, lines, colors and alterations in value to discern shapes.
3. Texture
Texture is a powerful graphic design tool used to enhance design with details necessary for creating visual impact. It delivers a sense of feel, especially with two-dimensional images. In graphic design, texture can take the form of layers or gradation of text, lines or shapes
4. Space
In design expression; white space is called negative space. It can be used to connect, separate or maximize the relationship between the elements making up the design. Negative space creates groupings, enhances expressions and emphasizes hierarchies. Space can also be used to give the illusion of depth or multi-dimension.
5. Size
The functionality of a graphic design layout hinges heavily on size. Use size to draw attention to the most important element in the design; typically, a larger size invites the most attention. Different sizes within the same graphic design or layout creates a hierarchy of dominance. Use variations in size to guide the viewer’s eye through the path you want it to take.
6. Value
This refers to how dark or light (in terms of color) something is. In a monochromatic image, value is used to define the shape and texture of a design element. Value comes in handy when you want to convey the illusion of movement or bring one element into sharp focus while another recedes into the background.
7. Color
People process color subconsciously. To establish mood, create appeal, generate interest and get a message across, color is the most potent tool in your graphic design arsenal.
Aspects/qualities of design
• Layout in graphic design deals with the arrangement of visual elements so as to achieve specific communication objectives. When designing, the graphic designers should rely on the required information to present the layout properly, such as rotating and resizing the images, which requires time and efforts. In order to be able to design quickly, it is necessary to plan the layout in advance to save time and create a consistent look for your design.
• Legibility: the artist should choose the kind of lettering that will be easy to read at a glance. It should not be too congested or condensed. The words should have proper spacing, a good background color and illustrations should be seen clearly.
• Placement: don’t overlap your images over your font, but make sure they are next to any wording that helps explain them. You shouldn’t be using these just to fill a giant empty space.
All of your images should have purpose.
• Illustration: are those images or pictures that accompany the text to explain it, illustrations help the viewer to understand well and quickly the message. On a poster it is better when the illustration takes a big place at least 60% of the whole place.
Application Activity 4.1
1. By using illustrations show how elements of design contribute to having an attractive artwork.
4.2: Letter styles
Activity 4.2.
Generally letter styles are classified into two main font styles which are serif and san serif letter styles. Around 19th century the author categorized letters into the following types of letter styles.
Sans serif, Serif, Cursive / Script, Vintage, Gothic – Black letter calligraphy, Graffiti, Creative lettering and Other sub-lettering styles
• Sans serif letters
Sans serif letters are letters that doesn’t have tailor hock at the bottom and at the top. When creating sans serif lettering you need to pay close attention to the letter forms where nature of line that are made letters are valued while tracing letters
• Serifs
1. The serifs – small decorative strokes added at the end of the letterforms 2. The different thickness in the strokes – not every stroke has the same thickness.
• Cursive
Cursive lettering also known as script, cursive is about hand lettering
• Vintage
It is letter style which is recognizable on a few different aspects Decorations (flourishes/embellishments) Serifs, Textures and Colors
• Gothic / black letter calligraphy
Black letter calligraphy is one of many scripts created using a flat nib
• Graffiti
• Creative lettering
Creative lettering it the type of lettering that incorporates some different elements besides just the letters.
This could be illustrations, textures, play on words, perspective etc.
Application Activity 4.2
1. By choosing one theme from the following themes: best wishes, animals, vegetation, unity, peace, family planning and love
a. Make a design with illustrations and three dimensional letters
b. Explain the main idea from your composition
4.3. Poster making
Activity 4.3
1. Discuss the aspects of poster design that were used to design the above poster
A poster is a large notice or picture that you stick on a wall or board, often in order to advertise something. Synonyms: notice, bill, announcement and advertisement
Steps for designing a professional poster
1. Determine you poster format
2. Brainstorm the content
3. Pick a suitable template
4. Use colours to grab attention
5. Choose graphics and typography
6. Clean up any clutter
Example of a design of a poster
Application Activity 4.3
Suppose that you are going to start a school or do a new business, compose a poster advertising your school/business.
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. List the elements of graphic design 2. Given a paper of 30cm height and 40cm width, choose your own theme and design a relevant poster.
UNIT 5:ACQUAINTED WITH TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Key Unit competence: To be able to manipulate different tools and materials to build clay figures, forms and masks and apply various decoration patterns on the surfaces of various objects
Introductory Activity
5.1. Methods of building clay figures
Activity 5.1
Discuss about the techniques of building clay figures.
After kneading and wedging clay, you can use different technique to make items. Techniques used are followed:
• Slab
• Pinch
• Coil
a. Slab method
Slab of clay are prepared and then pressed together to make different objects. A slab is a flat piece of clay, rolled out using a rolling pin or bottle by pressing between hands (as it is done when making chapatti). Slabs are cut to required shapes. To join them, scratches are made and slip applied. Slabs are then pressed to fix.
Figure 5.1. Steps of using slabs
b. Pinching method
A lump of clay is molded into a ball in the hands. A groove is created in the middle using the thumb. Punching is then done to form the wall. The article is shaped as the ball is pressed in pinching motion. It is also called thumb method.
Figure: 5.2 Steps of making object with pinching
c. Coiling method
Strips of clay are rolled out on a slab. They are then used to shape a container. They are called coils. They are attached by scratching and pressing together subsequent coils then smoothening.
Steps for modeling clay figure
• Sketch your sculpture
• Create a base
• Build armature
• Fill in the base form
• Add in details
• Add in texture
• Cure your sculpture
Steps for making a mask
• Create a 4 diameter structure of the shape
• Take some air dry clay
• Add a texture to the clay mask
• Cut out the mask shape
• Cut out eyeholes and mouth
• Use a straw to punch holes at either side of the mask
• Decorate as desired
• Let a mask dry
Application Activity 5.1
1. Follow the steps of using coiling method and make animal cell.
5.2 Techniques of decorating clay surfaces
Activity 5.2
Decorating clay figures is one of the most rewarding aspects of working in clay. It is the time when you can add colour and life to a bare clay surface that can show your creative talents. Decorations can be made before or after firing the clay figure. Firing can be done by putting the clay figure in a kiln and fired so as to harden it.
There are different techniques you can use to decorate clay figures like; incision, impression, marking, grazing and varnishing.
i. Incision
Incising is decorating technique where you use sharp tools or trimming tools to create designs by piercing the surface of lather hard ceramic ware.
ii. Impression
Impressing is a type of decoration produced by pressing something on the surface of the clay when it is still soft or stamped decoration.
iii.Marking
It is known as cord marking is the decorative technique in which cord or string wrapped around a paddle and pressed against an unfired clay vessel, leaving the twisted mark of the chord.
iv. Grazing
This is applying chemical on fired clay to create shining or various colours after the firing.
1. Firing
2. Pour white slip
3. Paint coloured slips in the surface
4. Use dull needle tool to incise a drawing
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. Why is it necessary to wedge clay before modelling?
2. Mention at least four tools used in shaping clay and state what they are used for
3. How can one prevent clay products from cracking during firing?
4. a) Use prepared clay and coiling technique to make a jug from clay
b. Decorate the clay made object with decorating technique of your choice.
REFERENCES
• Gravett, P. Graphic Novels: Everything you need to know HarperCollins Design (2005)
• Kingman, E L. The Illustrator’s Notebook The Horn Book Incorporated (1978)
• Muller, W. (2001) Order and Meaning in Design, Utrecht: Lemma Bruens, G. (2007) Form/Color Anatomy, Utrecht: Lemma • Alley, Thomas R. (Feb 1983). “Growth-Produced Changes in Body Shape and Size as Determinants of Perceived Age and Adult Caregiving”. Child Development. 54 (1): 241–248. doi:10.2307/1129882.
• Pittenger, John B. (1990). “Body proportions as information for age and cuteness: Animals in illustrated children’s books”. Perception & Psychophysics. 48 (2): 124–30. doi:10.3758/BF03207078. PMID 2385485.
• Pallett, PM; Link, S; Lee, K (2010). “New “Golden”Ratios for Facial Beauty”. Vision Research. 50 (2): 149–54. doi:10.1016/j.visres.2009.11.003.
PART TWO: MUSIC: UNIT 1:COMPOUND TIME SIGNATURE
Key unit competence: Be able to sight sing respecting compound time signature
Introductory Activity
1.1. Dotted notes and Dotted rests
Activity 1.1
1. Discuss dotted notes and dotted rests in Music
In music, a dotted note or dotted rest has a small dot written after it. The dot lengthens the value (duration) of the note or rest by adding a half of its original value.
Application Activity 1.1
1.2 Compound time signatures
Activity 1.2
1. sol-fa and perform beating time in a moderate speed then in quick speed
Activity 1.3 1.
Differentiate compound time signatures from simple time signatures.
In compound time signature the top number is divided by 3 to determine how many beats are in each measure.
Common Compound Time Signatures The chart below shows some frequently used compound time signatures.
Notice: when the bottom number is 8, notes in compound meter are grouped in three quavers (eighth notes) which are equal to a dotted crotchet (quarter note).
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. Compare simple time signatures and compound time signatures
2. What do you understand by:
a. Dotted notes and dotted rests?
b. Duple, triple and quadruple?
3. Sol-fa the notes on the staves below and perform:
UNIT 2:INTERVALS
Key Unit Competence: Be able to sol-fa respecting different intervals.
Introductory Activity
1. Describe the order of white keys.
2. Consider both the white and black keys on the piano keyboard and then discuss their order.
2.1 Meaning of intervals
An interval is the distance between two notes. Intervals are always counted from the lower note to the higher one, with the lower note being counted as one. Simple intervals are not bigger than an octave. So when they are bigger than an octave they are referred to as compound intervals.
Note that, at this stage, key signature, clef, and accidentals do not matter. Each interval will have a number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. These numbers are the distance between two notes, based upon counting the lines and spaces on the staff. When determining the interval between two notes, you need to count every line and space starting from the bottom note going to the top note.
If we count lines and spaces, starting from C and ending on E we count C,D,E=1,2,3 thus, the interval from C to E is a third (3rd); starting from C and ending on G, we count: C, D, E, F, G = 1,2,3,4,5, therefore, the interval from C to G is a fifth (5th). An interval containing eight pitch positions (from C to C above) is called an octave.
If an interval notes are at the same pitch (for example same Cs) it is called unison.
KINDS OF INTERVALS
2.2 Tone and semi tone
A semitone or half step is the smallest distance between any two adjacent notes. On the keyboard there is a semitone on adjacent keys whether it is black and white or white and white. The white keys of the piano (from C to the upper C) consist of five tones and two semitones.
Activity 2.1 1.
By considering the white keys on the keyboard, the two semitones and two tones have been illustrated for you. Can you find the other three tones?
On the musical staff, tones and semitones are ordered as following:
2.3 List of simple intervals
Using the C Major Scale as example, we have the following list
Same pitch C (1) =Unison
From C to D (1, 2) =Second - 2nd
From C to E (1, 2, 3) =Third - 3rd
From C to F (1, 2, 3, 4) =Fourth - 4th
From C to G (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) =Fifth - 5th
From C to A (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) =Sixth - 6th
From C to B (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) = Seventh - 7th
From C, to C above (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) =Octave - 8ve
Example of intervals on the treble staff
Application Activity 2.2
2.4 Accidentals
Accidentals are signs or symbols placed to the leftside of a note to indicate that the pitch is to be altered.
Remember that the sharp sign is in front of the note.
Below is a sharpened note on a line
Once more, the sharp sign is in front of the note.
When we flatten a note, we lower it by a semitone.
Like sharps, flats may be placed in front of notes that are on lines or in spaces.
Below is a sharpened note in the space.
Below is a sharpened note in a line
The same rules apply to notes that don’t have black keys between them. Those notes are E and F, B and C. If we raise E by a semitone, or sharpen it, we arrive at F. So F is the enharmonic equivalent of E sharp. The reverse is true too. If we lower F by a semitone, or flatten it, we arrive at E, so E is the enharmonic equivalent of F flat. In the same way if we raise B by a semitone, or sharpen it, we arrive at C. So C is the enharmonic equivalent of B sharp. If we lower C by a semitone, or flatten it, we arrive at B, so B is the enharmonic equivalent of C flat.
Note that when accidentals are not used in musical staff they placed after note names. For example: C sharp (C#) or A flat (A♭).
2.5 Enharmonic notes
C sharp = D flat
E = F flat
D sharp = E flat
F = E sharp
F sharp = G flat
B = C flat
G sharp = A flat
C = B sharp
A sharp = B flat
Enharmonic notes on musical staff
Illustration of enharmonic notes on the piano
A natural sign, when placed in front of a note, cancels out the effects of a sharp sign or flat sign placed in front of a similar note before it. In other words, it restores a note to its original pitch.
If we place a sharp sign in front of an F, the note then becomes F sharp and any other F that appears in the same bar is also F# (even if the repeated Fs don’t have sharp signs in front of them). But if the composer wanted to play a natural F and not a sharpened then the natural F would have a natural sign placed in front of it, thus, restoring the note to its original pitch. The staff below summarizes this explanation.
In the staff above, the first note is F sharp (F#), and the second is also F sharp (F#) even though there is no sharp sign directly in front of it. The third note is F natural and so is the fourth.
The same if we place a flat sign in front of a B, the note then becomes B♭ and any other B that appears in the same bar is also B♭ (even if the repeated Bs don’t have flat signs in front of them). Consider the staff below.
In the staff above, the first note is B flat (B♭), and so is the second, even though there is no sharp sign directly in front of it. The third note is B natural and so is the fourth.
Application Activity 2.3
1. Write in the name of the sharpened notes and then indicate them (the notes) on the keyboard.
2. Write in the name of the flattened notes and then indicate them (the notes) on the keyboard.
3. Raise the following notes by a semitone. (Write your answer in the empty measure/bar).
4. Lower the following notes by a semitone. (Write your answer in the empty measure/bar).
5. Name the notes below
6. To return the last note to the pitch of the first note of each of the following staves, which accidental would you put just before it.
7. In the blanks below, write the enharmonic notes for the notes given to you
8. Sol-fa the following notes respecting the accidentals then, play the notes and compare sound produced by the piano and the sol-fa you have done.
2.6 Quality of intervals
Intervals are also known by their quality:
• Major (M)
• Minor (m) • Perfect (P)
• Augmented (augm)
• Diminished (dim) or (o)
Relationship of quality designations
• Major is one half-step larger than minor
• Minor is one half-step smaller than Major
• Augmented is one half-step larger than perfect and Major
• Diminished is one half-step smaller than Perfect or minor
Major (M) and Perfect (P) intervals on the musical staff
The difference between Major and minor intervals is that of size; a minor interval is a half-step smaller than a major interval.
When a size of Major or Perfect interval is expanded a half step, it becomes an Augmented interval.
When a size of minor or Perfect interval is reduced a half step, it becomes a diminished interval.
When a minor interval is raised a half step it becomes a major interval
Application Activity 2.4 1.
Name and play the following intervals on the keyboard:
2. Write the note that complete the intervals above the given notes
Notes:
• A perfect prime is often called a unison. It is two notes of the same pitch.
• A perfect octave is often simply called an octave. It is the next “note with the same name”.
• Perfect intervals - unison, fourth, fifth, and octave - are never called major or minor
• Compound intervals are intervals larger than an octave. They are functionally the same as the corresponding simple intervals (those an octave or less in size). Thus, a 9th is a compound 2nd, a 10th is a compound 3rd, an 11th is a compound 4th, a 12th is a compound 5th,13th is compound 6th,14th is compound 7th but not used in music, octave is the compound of 15th etc.
Here is a chart of the compound intervals that might be encountered (remember that the issue of quality does not change in a compound situation: a compound major 3rd is a major 10th):
Examples of compound intervals
2.7 Inversion of intervals
To invert an interval is taking a lower note of an interval, and put it on the top. Any interval can be inverted.
The following table and staff illustrate the interval inversions:
The next table shows the interval quality and their inversions
Application Activity 2.5 1.
Match the intervals on the left with their inversions on the right.
2. Name the following intervals and then give their inversions on the staves
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. From C to upper C, distinguish and locate tones and semitones on music staff
2. On music keyboard, demonstrate the tones and semitones.
3. Compare and contrast the qualities of intervals
4. Sol-fa and perform
UNIT 3:MUSICAL SCALES
Introductory Activity
1. In groups of three, look at the key board from C to B and answer the following questions:
i. How many white keys are there?
ii. How many black keys are there?
2. The distance between the nearest keys is called half-step. Consider now the white keys:
i. How many half-steps are there in C scale?
ii. How many whole steps are there in C scale?
iii. Locate the steps and half steps on the key board.
Picture: Group of singers Students (putting uniform) singing musical notes
3.1 Diatonic and chromatic scales
3.1.1 What is a diatonic scale?
A diatonic scale consists of a pattern of whole tones and halftones (semitones). The notes of the diatonic scale are referred to as scale degree. The successive scale degrees are numbered 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, 8. For instance if the first note of an octave is C, then the pattern of notes will be as follow:
Whole Tone-Whole tone-Half tone- Whole tone - Whole tone - Whole tone -Half tone
= (W-W-H-W-W-W-H)
Remember that a whole tone consists of an interval of two halftones (two half steps); for example, the intervals from C to D or from E to F# are whole tones. That is, there is one and only one other note between those two tones (notes).
A half tone consists of an interval between two directly adjacent notes; for example, the intervals from C to D♭ or from E to F are half tones. That is, there can be no notes in between two notes which are separated by a half step.
On the keyboard these tones look as follow:
A diatonic scale on the musical staff
From C to D there is a whole tone
From D to E there is a whole tone
From E to F there is a ½ tone
From F to G there a whole tone
From G to A there is a whole tone
From B to C there is a ½ tone
We can also use numbers to show diatonic scale degrees
3.1.2 What is a Chromatic Scale?
Activity 3.1
1. How many half steps are there in a series of C scale?
2. On a staff, use sharps to show all the successions of half steps in ascending order.
3. Downwards in C scale, use flats to show all the succession of half steps
A chromatic scale consists of all the 8 tones in the do-re-mi scale plus all the additional half-tones that are left out when you sing Do-Re-Mi.
In other words, the 12 tones in a chromatic scale are a half-step or semi-tone apart.
C Chromatic Scale as you go up: C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
C Chromatic Scale as you go down: C B B♭ A A♭ G G♭ F E E♭ D D♭ C
On the keyboard, every key is played consecutively; you do not jump any key.
On a keyboard, ascending chromatic scale use sharps
(C-C#-D-D#-E-F-F#-G-G#-A-A#-B-C)
On a keyboard descending chromatic scale use flats
(C-D♭-D-E♭-E-F-G♭-G-A♭-A-B♭-B-C)
Application Activity 3.1 1.
Complete the following ascending chromatic scales
3.2 Major scales and the key signatures
Picture: Children with music sheets, on cerle singing in choir, one in the middle guiding them
Activity 3.2
1. Individually write notes on a musical scale from C to C’ above.
2. Play these notes on the piano keyboard (use the white keys only).
3. Use a sharp to complete the series of tones and semitones starting from the second line of treble staff respecting the following structure:
W W H W W W H (W=Whole tone H=Half tone).
3.3 Major scale
A Major scale consists of eight notes organized in a diatonic structure. It has two half tones (half steps) and five whole tones (whole steps). So the pattern of major scale is organized as follows:
W W H W W W H
W=Whole tone
H=Half tone
3.3.1 C Major scale
The first scale degree (first note of the scale) is designated by the symbol 1 and is known as the tonic. The first note (or tonic) of C major scale is C. So scale degree names in any Major key are:
1st scale degree=Tonic
2nd scale degree =Supertonic
3rd scale degree =Mediant
4th scale degree =Subdominant
5th scale degree =Dominant
6th scale degree =Submediant
7th scale degree =Leading tone
8th scale degree =Tonic
Rule: All Major scales have the following pattern of whole tones (steps) and half (tone) steps: half tones occur always and only between 3-4 and between 7-8. All other tones are whole tones.
It is worth to know that starting a major scale on note names other than C requires accidentals.
A Sharp (#) raises a half tone (half step)
A Flat (♭) lowers a half tone (half step)
Consider the examples below:
G Major (the tonic is G)
G Major scale on the keyboard
D Major scale (the tonic is D)
D Major scale on the keyboard
F Major (The tonic is F)
F scale on the keyboard
You have noticed that to respect the same patterns of half tones and semi tones in Major scales accidentals sharp (#) and flat (♭) are used.
You can start a Major scale from any note provided that you respect the pattern above indicated.
Note that when the key signature is used, the accidentals in the middle of the staff are replaced by the key signature.
See examples below:
G Major scale with the key signature
G Major scale without the key signature
F Major scale with the key signature
3.3.2 Major scales spelling
How to construct scales starting with a flat (E♭ Major scale)?
3.4 Major scales and key signatures
3.4.1.Major scales with sharp keys
Note: To identify key signature you have to know that the name of the key is higher a step than the last sharp in the key signature. Example: G Major has a sharp which is on F. B Major the last sharp is on A.
3.4.2 Major scales with flat keys
The succession of major scales key signatures in both treble and bass staves
Note that some of the scales we have seen above are enharmonic. It means they have notes which are identical but spelt differently. Thus, C# major and D flat major are just different ways of describing the same notes. The same F# major is the same as G flat major; B major is the same as C flat Major.
Remember that scales are named after their tonics, thus the tonic of the scale of C is the note C, and the scale of G is the note G etc.
Application Activity 3.2
1. Write the major scale pattern starting from the note indicated on the staves below. Don’t use the key signature. Insert the accidentals as needed.
3.4.3 Sol-fa syllables
Sol-fa (solfege or solfegio) is a system for sight singing music that applies standard syllables to the notes. Singing with solfege syllables make it easier to hear and remember the sound of intervals. The following syllables are common. Major scale
Movable ‘do’
For Major keys in the moveable do system, Do is always the first scale step (tonic).
Application Activity 3.3
1. Sol-fa and perform
3.5 Major scales and their relative minor scales
Activity 3.3
i. Make a C scale on the musical staff then play it on the piano
ii. Start from the sixth degree of C scale and illustrate the series of tones and semitones on the staff.
iii. Play from A Upper A using the white keys only.
iv. What is the difference between both (in 1 and 3) scales according to the series of tones and semitones?
The minor scales get its notes from the Major scale. The minor scale begins on the 6th scale degree of the major scale and then follows those same notes in the same order. For instance, the sixth note of C major is A. If we start from A and end up to A an octave high we will have the notes (A B C D E F G A). This is how the A minor scale gets its entire notes from the C major scale, since the note A is the 6th note in C major scale and all the notes in C major scale (C D E F G A BC) are in minor scale (A B C D E F G) but in different arrangement. Hence, A minor is called a relative minor to C major. C major is a relative major of A minor.
As you can see on the staff above, the sixth note of the C major scale is the first note (tonic) of A minor scale. Notice the difference in the arrangement of the tones and half tones.
C major scale: W-W-H-W-W-W-H
A minor scale: W-H-W-W-H-W-W
The first scale degree (first note) of A minor scale is designated by the symbol 1 and is known as the tonic. The first note (or tonic) of A minor scale is A. So scale degree names in a natural minor are:
1st scale degree=Tonic
2nd scale degree =Supertonic
3rd scale degree =Mediant
4thscale degree =Subdominant
5th scale degree =Dominant
6th scale degree =Submediant
7th scale degree =Subtonic
8th scale degree =Tonic
Another way of recognizing a minor scale, you take the tonic of the major scale and go down three half notes (three half steps). The tonic note of the minor you get, will be the same as in the examples above.
C Major tonic and its relative A minor tonic three half steps below
Application Activity 3.4
Give the relative minor of the major keys below and then construct the ascending scales of both major and minor.
Note that each Major scale has its relative minor scale and vice versa.
Compare:
• C major scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
• A minor scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, G#, A
• G major scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G
• E minor scale: E, F#, G, A, B, C, D#, E
Application Activity 3.5
1. Give the relative minor of the major keys below and then construct the ascending scales of both major and minor.
f. Types of Minor Scale
Although there is only one kind of major scale, there are three types of minor scale: natural, harmonic and melodic.
i. Natural minor scale
A natural minor scale is the one we have been studying above. It consists of 8 notes organized in the pattern of Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole (or WHWWHWW). All natural minor scales should follow this patter.
On the staff, if we start with A minor, this pattern is as follows:
Activity 3.4
1. Construct the scale of A minor and E minor rising the seventh degree by a half step
2. Play them on the keyboard
3. What is the difference between the scales in 1 and the others you know?
1. Harmonic minor scales
The harmonic minor scale differs from the natural minor scale by only one half step—the seventh degree is raised a half step.
1. Melodic minor scales
Another variation on the minor scale is the melodic minor scale that has a different pattern depending on whether you are going up the scale or coming down. The sixth and seventh degrees of the scale are raised a half step when ascending and are lowered a half step when descending. It’s clear that the descending scale is the same as the natural minor scale. A melodic minor ascending and descending patters are as follows:
The ascending pattern is: W-H-W-W-W-W-H
The descending pattern is the Natural Minor Scale: W-H-W-W-H-W-W
Application Activity 3.6
1. Without using a key signature write the specific type of minor scale below. Remember that the minor scale key signature comes from its relative major key signature.
3.6 Transposition
Activity 3.5
i. Sing a song of your choice
ii. Sing the same song in another tone higher than the first
iii. Now sing it in a low tone than the first
iv. Discuss the relationship between the three activities you have done above.
Transposition is changing the key of a piece of music, which affects notes or chords positions. For instance, on the piano, you play the note C in the key of C which is the key tonic note. When you transpose that note to the key of D you now play D which is the tonic note for the key of D. In this method, you count the half steps between the first key and the second, and then you move each note up or down the necessary numbers of steps.
Consider the following melody in the key of C. If we transpose it to D, we will have to move two half steps high.
You have noticed that the middle C never changes in both G and F clefs.
Why do we need to transpose?
The following are common reasons that may require you to change the key of a piece of music:
• To put in the right key for your vocalist
• Instrumentalist may find that a piece is easier to play if it is in a different key
• Instrumentalist with transposing instruments will usually need any part they play to be properly transposed before they can play it.
Application Activity 3.7
1. Transpose to the key indicated. Play and/or sol-fa the original and the transposed version (s).
i. Transpose from C to E♭. Don’t use the key signature.
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. With tangible two examples on each, describe the following musical terms:
a. Scale
b. Chromatic scale
c. Diatonic scale
d. Major scale
e. Minor scale
f. Transposition
2. Discuss the types of minor scales
3. Discuss the importance of transposition in music?
4. Transpose the following melody two tones low and sight sing
UNIT 4:ASCENDING AND DESCENDING C, G AND F SCALES ON THE PIANO
Key Unit competence: be able to play C, G ad F scales on the piano using both hands
Introductory Activity
1. Play the ascending and descending C scale
2. Explain the choice of fingers used when playing
3. compare the fingers you have used to play the note pitches
4.1 Piano keyboard and fingering
On the piano keyboard you notice that there are two sets of keys: Black keys and white keys.
The black keys are in groups of two and three keys. When you want to play piano you have to localize the middle C.
For the piano playing, our fingers are given numbers. The numbers are the same for both hands.
Thumb=finger#1
Pointer= finger#2
Middle= finger#3
Ring= finger#4
Pinky = finger#5
Remember the notes on the keyboard. The white keys on the piano follow an alphabetic pattern that goes from C to B. that is this pattern is as follows:
C-D-E-F-G-A-B.
The pattern starts on the bottom (low bass notes) of the piano keyboard, and repeat many times. As the notes go upwards, get higher in pitch (sound).
4.1.1 Playing the piano with right hand (RH)
Activity 4.1
Play the notes on the piano
When we have note on a treble staff, we play the piano using the right hand (RH). With your right hand (RH), the thumb plays middle C as reference key diving bass notes as indicated o the piano below.
Application Activity 4.1
1. Sol-fa then play on piano keyboard the following pieces of music using your right hand:
4.1.2 Playing the piano with Left hand (LH)
Activity 4.2
Play the notes on the piano
Play the note on the piano
Application Activity 4.2
With your left hand (LH) play notes on the bass staff.
4.1.3 Playing the piano with both hands
Grand staff
Activity 4.3
Play the notes on the Grand staff
When we have notes on the grand staff, we play the piano using both Right and left hands. The grand staff is formed by combining the treble staff and bass staff joined together with a brace.
Application Activity 4.3
Practice piano on the grand staff
4.1.4. Playing C and G major scales on the piano
Activity 4.4
In music the scale is made of an octave. Each scale begins and ends on a note of the same name. Since there are eight notes of the scale and we have only five fingers, we have to pass the thumb under the third finger to play the all notes of the scale. When we are playing C and G major scales the fingers move as follows:
Right hand (RH)
Left hand (LH)
Application Activity 5.4
Play the notes on the piano
END UNIT ASSESSMENT
1. Play descending and ascending C, and G scales on the piano
2. Play the following music patterns on the piano
a.
REFERENCE BOOKS
Robert Stewart: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint and Palestrina’s Musical Style (Ardsley House, Publishers, 1994),
Gustave Reese: Music in the Renaissance (W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 1954).
Burton, Anthony (2002). A Performer›s Guide to the Music of the Classical Period. London: Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-86096-1939.
Downs, Philip G. (1992). Classical Music: The Era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, 4th vol of Norton Introduction to Music History. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-95191-X (hardcover)
Bukofzer, Manfred F. (1947). Music in the Baroque Era: From Monteverdi to Bach. New York: E. W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-393-09745-5, Burrows, Donald (1991). Handel: Messiah. Cambridge, New York, and Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-37620-3.
Tim Emmons, Odd Meter Bass: Playing Odd Time Signatures Made Easy(Van Nuys: Alfred Publishing, 2008): 4. ISBN 978-0-7390-4081-2.
Stephen E. Hefling. “Dotted rhythms”. In Deane L. Root (ed.). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press
Taylor, Eric (2011). The AB Guide to Music Theory Part I. ABRSM. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-85472-446-5