Music - MYP 4 and 5 - Samuel Wright - Hodder 2020

What is a bass line?
FINGERPRINTS OF ROCK:
THE
BASS
THE COMPOSER:
MEET
VIVALDI
ANTONIO
4 Is rock plagiarised? 91
Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741) is known for his string and
choral compositions, but did you know he wrote for lute
mandolin as well? Vivaldi wrote many , concertos
and
movements
with several
normally in a fast–slow–fast
pattern; then inside a movement, sections would
alternate between everyone playing together (known
as
and solo passages. This internal structure
tutti ),
became known as
ritornello form
with supporting
string players called the
ripieno
(stufng) and
basso
continuo (the bass line and chords). If you listen to
his
you will get an
Lute Concerto in D major RV 93, Figure 4.3 Bass line ‘Roundabout’ by Yes in Guitar
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7 format showing repeated patterns
Pro
impression of how this tutti–solo arrangement worked
just like a rock band. You can view a live performance
on YouTube by mandolinist Avi Avital with the Venice
Baroque Orchestra here: https://youtu.be/5ROFFTddbi8
What do pop artists Selena Gomez and Clean Bandit have
According to accounts, Vivaldi would write the bass part
rst (the
with small numbers underneath called
basso), in common with Antonio Vivaldi? You would be right if you
said it’s ‘all in the bass!’
gured bass that the harpsichordist would turn into
chords (called the
All the other parts, from the
continuo ).
During the time of the Baroque era (17th to mid18th
strings to the soloist, would be built upon this bass line.
Centuries), it was common to hear a certain chord
progression led by the bass line known as the circle of 5ths
or 4ths. We looked at this circle back in Chapter 1, where
we discovered it uses the intervals of 5ths or 4ths to go
around the entire circle of these interval shapes. This circular
bass movement gave rise to a chord progression that is
very recognisable.
For example, the bass line from Vivaldi’s tutti section in
Concerto No. 4 in Fa minore Op. 8. ‘L’Inverno’ (‘Winter’)
Figure 4.4 Here a bass note with a number describes
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a chord is to be played in root position, or
whether
an inversion.
moves in leaps of 4ths from F to B to E A D G and then
finally C and F, completing the circle. This bass line appears
in the works of J.S. Bach, Handel and, of course, rock and
In your portfolio, draw a structural diagram of the rst
movement of the Lute Concerto in D Major RV 93
pop musicians. Why? As we will discover, what audiences
showing tutti and solo changes. Try to identify and
responded to in the 17th–18th Centuries is still popular today.
describe the bass patterns you hear in each of these
sections.
‘Winter’
Figure 4.5 Vivaldi’s bass line from
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The Four Seasons’