Listening Perspectives

Now that you are familiar with how different listeners approach a piece of music, let’s exercise your analytic skills by putting yourself in the shoes of a perceptive listener. To do this, you will listen to “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” from the Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 by the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

Peer Gynt is the incidental music to Henrik Ibsen‘s 1867 play of the same name, loosely based on a Norwegian fairy tale that tells the story of Peer Gynt, a Norwegian peasant anti-hero, who is constantly drunk, getting in and out of trouble, and experiencing real and imaginary adventures, including the one that is portrayed in this piece.

You will have probably noticed that there is only one music idea (theme) in the piece. Here it is played by the violins using a technique called pizzicato. Now, listen to the entire piece as many times as necessary to become thoroughly familiar with it.

In this assignment, you will be asked to describe this piece from the point of view of different types of listeners—casual, referential, critical, and perceptive. Hint: You may want to review the characteristics of the different types of listeners before starting this assignment.

How This Assignment Works

1. Click ‘Add submission’ at the bottom of the page (you may need to scroll down to reveal that button). The page will reload. You may need to scroll down once more to view the Comment Box (labeled with ‘Post a comment’) to the right of the audio frame.
2. Click Play and listen for the beginning and the end of each entry of the main idea (theme). Remember that the theme is repeated several times in the piece.
3. Click Pause each time you hear the end of the theme.

Use the Comment Box to describe the music from a different listener’s perspective each time the theme is played. Address the following questions in your descriptions:

1. How does Grieg use dynamics, timbre, pitch, and tempo to achieve unity and variety in the piece?
   • Dynamics: Are dynamic (volume) changes gradual or abrupt in this piece? Are there any specific places where abrupt changes happen? What effect do you think Grieg is trying to achieve?
   • Timbre: Identify the points where one instrument or instruments takes over from another. At what points do these changes happen?
   • Pitch: At what points is the theme played at a different register, i.e., higher or lower than the previous time it happened? At what points does it stay at the same pitch level?
   • Tempo: At what point does the tempo start getting faster (accelerando)? Does the piece get slower again?
2. List the specific connotation(s) that this piece might have for a perceptive listener.

Below are two sample answers to serve as a general guideline for the completion of this assignment:

• A referential listener could describe the first entry of the theme in the following way: “The low pitch and slower tempo of this reminds me to the “Inspector Gadget” cartoon I used to watch. It has a mysterious aspect to it.”
• A critical listener may describe another entry of the theme in the following way: “The lack of variety in this piece makes it boring and predictable. The composer is trying to add variety through the tempo changes, pitch, and timbre of the instruments but the lack of the musical ideas in this piece make it impossible to keep me interested.”

Submission Instructions

1. Click ‘Save changes’ when you have finished typing your comments in the Comment Box. To continue working on your assignment after saving your work, click ‘Edit submission.’
2. When you are satisfied with your answers and ready to submit your assignment click ‘Submit assignment.’ You may need to scroll down to reveal this button.
3. The system will ask you if you are really ready to submit your work. If you are, click ‘Continue’ at the prompt “Are you sure you want to submit your work for grading? You will not be able to make any more changes.“

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