0. read first - aa teacher's guide & contents.pdf

8/20/2019 0. READ FIRST - AA TEACHER'S GUIDE & CONTENTS.pdf

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Alligator Alley

by Michael Daugherty TABLE OF CONTENTS

TE CHER’S GUIDE

(CONTINUES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES)

Introduction & Overview ............................................................................................................ pg 3

Alligator Alley Musical Element Analysis ..................................................................................... pg 4

Background Information ............................................................................................................. pg 9

Composer Biography

Program Notes

Music Map

Glossary ..................................................................................................................................... pg 14

Summative Assessment Worksheets ........................................................................................ pg 22

Well Rounded Vocabulary

Alligator Alley Composer & Background Assessment

FOLDER 1: LESSON PLANS FOR REHEARSING

1.

Recognize, Define & Locate Musical Elements in Alligator Alley

2.

Introduction to Alligator Alley Warm-Ups

3.

Alligator Alley Warm-Ups

Rhythms & Accents

Main Themes

FOLDER 2: LESSON PLANS FOR LISTENING RESPONDING

1.

Listen & Respond to Alligator Alley

2.

A Musical Menagerie

FOLDER 3: LESSON PLANS FOR CREATING MUSIC

1.

A Musical Menagerie Composition

2.

Composing for a Specific Performer



2

FOLDER 4: LESSON PLANS WITH INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS

1.

Endangered & Threatened Animals

Daugherty’s Alligator Alley (Mini-Lesson)

Alligator Facts (Mini-Lesson)

Animal Research Project

2.

Who Created Alligator Alley (Mini-Lesson)

3.

There Really is An Alligator Alley (Mini-Lesson)

4.

Write Your Own Program Notes

STUDENT MATERIALS

Featured readings and

worksheets designed to be

printed and shared with

students can be found

throughout this curriculum.

They are easily identifiable–

each page has a border and

contains an image of Rondo,

the BandQuest® mascot!



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Teacher’s Guide

INTRODUCTION OVERVIEW

BandQuest ® was conceived and launched by the American Composers Forum to create

new music for middle level bands. In addition to commissioning works by some of

today’s leading composers, BandQuest also provides rich curricula with multiple

resources for ensembles and music classrooms. The two goals of the BandQuest

curricula are:

To provide music educators with the tools to create ensemble lessons that teach students how to

perform the piece.

To presents resources that support interdisciplinary teaching and learning.

We believe that when band students make connections between the music they play and other disciplines and

understand the music they perform through multiple entry points, they are also developing critical thinking skill.

The materials were developed using a curriculum planning strategy called the Facets Model (Barrett, McCoy, &

Veblen, 1997). The Facets Model is a comprehensive approach for studying musical works in depth, and helping

students relate music to other disciplines in meaningful ways. The model has been used to create curriculum in

many settings, but especially in designing the content of the BandQuest curricula. For in-depth information on

the facets model, visit the BandQuest website at www.BandQuest.org.

The materials for each BandQuest curriculum can be downloaded. The curriculum for each work includes:

Teacher’s Guide Introduction to the Composer

Program Notes

Guided Listening resources

Rhythm Practice and Warm-ups

Lessons for Creating Music

Interdisciplinary Lessons and Resources

Readings Pages prepared especially for students

Assessment Strategies

Links to other web based resources

LLIG TOR LLEY

was composed in 2003 by American composer Michael Daugherty.

Daugherty worked in residence with band director Gene Bartley and students at Slausen Middle School

in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to create a work tailored to young musicians’ interests and abilities. On the

surface, the music tells a vigorous and humorous story. Daugherty also created Alligator Alley to bring

attention to the plight of threatened and endangered animals all over the world.

http://www.bandquest.org/






4

LLIG TOR LLEY MUSICAL ELEMENT ANALYSIS

An analysis of the musical elements contained in Alligator Alley is provided on the following pages, along with a

definition and an indication of measures that contain each element. If measure numbers for an element are not

cited for an instrument, then the element does not occur in that instrument’s part.

MELODY/TONALITY

Interval - Major 2nd

:

Used as motivic material for main “Alligator” theme

Flute/Oboe/Clarinet/Bass

Clarinet

mm. 16-22

Bassoon

mm. 6-13

Alto/Tenor/Baritone

Saxophone

mm. 78-84

Trumpet/French Horn

mm. 79-84

Percussion

mm. 25-31 (Vib.)

mm. 26-31 (Mar.)

Chromatic Scale Fragments:

A small portion of a chromatic scale (a scale made up exclusively of all half-steps) is used for thematic material—in thiscase, 4 notes

Flute

mm. 44-51

Oboe

mm. 44-51

Clarinet

mm. 44-51

Melodic Sequence Pattern:

A portion of a melody is repeated, each time a step higher or a step lower

Flute/Oboe

mm. 110-112

Clarinet

mm. 109-111

Bass Clarinet

mm. 116-118

Bassoon

mm. 108-110

Alto/Tenor Saxophone

mm. 57-59

Baritone Saxophone

mm. 116-118

Trumpet/French Horn

mm. 57-59

Percussion

mm. 57-59 (Vib/Mar.)

Glissando*:

Moving the slide to include all pitches between the starting and ending note.

In trombone parts in mm. 119-138.

*The glissando that occurs in the second trombone part in measures 119-138 is challenging to perform and is only possible

on a trombone with an F attachment. The performer should start in 2nd position with the trigger depressed (B natural)and

quickly move to 4th position and release the trigger (G natural) so that the pitch is secure and in tune.



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RHYTHM/METER

Changing Meter:

Changes in time signatures change the number of beats in each measure The first occurrence of meter change takes place in m. 6 in all parts.

Syncopation:

Placing additional stress, weight, or emphasis on a weak beat or a weaker part of the beat

Flute/Oboe

mm. 16-22

Clarinet/Bass

Clarinet

mm. 16-22

Bassoon

mm. 6-15

Alto/Tenor

Saxophone

mm. 54

Baritone

Saxophone

mm. 78-84

Percussion

mm. 25-35 (Mar.

Vib)

3+3+2+2 Divisions of Beat:

Instead of 5 beats equal quarter notes divided into 2 eighth notes each,

the measure is organized as

Flute/Oboe/Clarinet

mm. 145-147

Bass Clarinet/Bassoon

m. 147

Alto/Tenor Saxophone

mm. 146-147

Baritone Saxophone

m. 147

2+2+2+2 followed by 3+3 Divisions of Beats:

4/4 meter with 2 eighth notes dividing each beat followed by a measure in 6/8 meter with three eighth notes grouped

together

In all parts in mm. 148-149

Rhythmic Ostinato:

A repeated rhythmic pattern in an accompaniment

Bassoon

mm. 88-99

Bass Clarinet

mm. 52-60

Alto/Tenor/Baritone

Saxophone

mm. 35-44

Trumpet/French Horn

mm. 35-44

Trombone/Baritone/Tuba

mm. 52-60

String Bass

mm. 35-44

Percussion

mm. 16-24 (Wdblk.), mm. 35-44 (Perc. 2, 3, 4); mm. 52-60 (Bongos, Bs. Dr.); mm. 82-

88 (Perc. 1); mm. 78-88 (Perc. 1, 2, 3, 4, Timp.)



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TIMBRE/TEXTURE/ORCHESTRATION

Outline of Instrumentation/Timbre/Texture:

For each measure cited, the relative density of the music will be graphically represented, from thin to dense:

to

m. 1Individual solo percussion

sounds.

m. 6Solo bassoon.

m. 10Solo bassoon with addition

of clarinet accompanying

chords and solo percussion

sounds.

m. 16Main melody doubled in

all upper woodwinds.

Saxophone section and

String bass take over

accompanying chords.

Additional percussion

added.

m. 25Flute, oboe, and

vibraphone start melody

followed by contrapuntal

imitation of melody in

bassoons and marimba

one measure later.

m. 29Triangles and accompanying

chords in clarinets added.

m. 32Imitation ends and parts

are homophonic.

m. 35Imitation of melody is

repeated between bassoons,

bs. clarinet, and marimba vs.

flute, oboe, clarinets and

vibraphone. Accompanying

chords in Saxophones,

muted trumpets, and string

bass. More rhythmically

active percussion parts

added.

m. 44Chromatic scale

fragments of varying

speeds in flute, oboe,

and solo clarinet parts

accompany a more

lyrical bassoon melody.

m. 52After the first measure,

upper woodwinds stop.

Melody in alto/tenor

saxophones, trumpets,

French horns, vibraphone,

and marimba

accompanied by chords in

baritone saxophone, low

brass, and sting bass.

Active bongo part.

m. 60Addition of flute doubling the

melody adds emphasis.

m. 64Solo bongo.

m. 66Same as m. 60-64.

m. 68Homophonic.

Main melody is

harmonized in parallel

moving chords in upper

woodwinds. Saxophone

section plays

accompanying chords

while upper woodwinds

sustain half note in m.71.

m. 78Addition of saxophones

and vibraphone to

harmonized melody and

accompanying chords

added in low brass, string

bass, and timpani. More

active tambourine and

woodblock part added.



7

m. 79With addition of trumpets,

French horn, and vibraphone to

melody, this is the first time in

the piece the entire band is

playing.

m. 88Contrast in density –

Melody in flute and

oboe, accompanied by

ostinato in bassoon, with

occasional accented

chords in the

saxophones and brass

emphasizing

downbeats.

m. 95Clarinets and alto/tenor

saxophones added in parallel

harmony to melody. Bass

clarinet added to ostinato.

m. 98Frequency of accented

chords in brass and

percussion increases

along with dramatic

dynamic changes and

acceleration.

m. 101Heavy, full downbeat

chord in entire band

followed by solo

percussion section

ostinato.

m. 103Return of contrapuntal imitation

of main theme, starting in

bassoons, followed by clarinets

(m. 104), fl. & ob. (m. 105), bs.

Clar. & bari sax (m. 111).

m. 119Tpt., Fr. Hn and keyboard

percussion added to

counterpoint. And

accompanying chords in

low brass, including

glissando in tbn. part.

More active bongo & bs.

dr. parts. Big build up to

m. 141.

m. 141Sudden change in texture as

all instruments abruptly stop,

except for cymbals. Then

upper woodwinds and high

brass play homophonic

chord progression until all

other instruments are added

on final chord with fermata.

m. 145Homophonic chords in

upper woodwinds.

Texture becomes more

dense as additional

instruments are added

until all wind

instruments are playing

(m. 148).

m. 155Homophonic. Block chords

in entire band with a Rit.

leading to a loud, full

chord with a fermata.

m. 160Solo percussion sounds.

m. 161Upper woodwinds state

first main bassoon

melody one last time.

Texture suddenly

changes as all

instruments play

homophonic chords in

last two measures.

Use of Straight Mutes:

Changes tone color of instrument and dampens the volume

In trumpet part in mm. 35-44



8

FORM

For an overview of the form, please refer to the Music Map.

EXPRESSIVE MARKINGS

Metronomic marking:

The number of beats per minute

The speed is 138 beats per minute starting in m. 1.

Accelerates up to 148 beats per minute in m. 101.

Subito piano:

Suddenly soft

In m. 85 in all parts.

Accelerando poco a poco (accel. poco a poco):

Increase speed little by little


Molto Ritardando (Molto rit.):

Slow down a lot


Tutti:

Everyone play, many times following a solo part.

In m. 52 in clarinet parts.

Lunga:

Hold note longer than the music would otherwise indicate




9

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

COMPOSER BIOGRAPHY: MICHAEL DAUGHERTY

Michael Daugherty is one of the most commissioned, performed, and

recorded composers on the American concert music scene today. His

music is rich with cultural allusions and bears the stamp of classicmodernism, with colliding tonalities and blocks of sound; at the same

time, his melodies can be eloquent and stirring. Daugherty has been

hailed by The Times (London) as “a master icon maker” with a

“maverick imagination, fearless structural sense and meticulous ear.”

Daugherty first came to international attention when the Baltimore

Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman, performed his

Metropolis Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 1994. Since that time,

Daugherty’s music has entered the orchestral, band and chamber

music repertory and made him, according to the League of American

Orchestras, one of the ten most performed living American composers.

In 2011, the Nashville Symphony’s Naxos recording of Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony and Deus ex Machina

was honored with three GRAMMY® Awards, including Best Classical Contemporary Composition. Also in 2011,

Naxos released a new CD of Daugherty's orchestral music to great acclaim entitled Route 66 with Marin Alsop

conducting the Bournemouth Symphony.

Born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Daugherty is the son of a dance-band drummer and the oldest of five

brothers, all professional musicians. He studied music composition at the University of North Texas (1972-76),

the Manhattan School of Music (1976-78), and computer music at Pierre Boulez’s IRCAM in Paris (1979-80).

Daugherty received his doctorate from Yale University in 1986 where his teachers included Jacob Druckman,

Earle Brown, Roger Reynolds, and Bernard Rands. During this time, he also collaborated with jazz arranger Gil

Evans in New York, and pursued further studies with composer György Ligeti in Hamburg, Germany (1982-84).

After teaching music composition from 1986-90 at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Daugherty joined theSchool of Music at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) in 1991, where he is Professor of Composition and a

mentor to many of today’s most talented young composers.

Daugherty has been Composer-in-Residence with the Louisville Symphony Orchestra (2000), Detroit Symphony

Orchestra (1999- 2003), Colorado Symphony Orchestra (2001-02), Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

(2001-04, 2006-08, 2011), Westshore Symphony Orchestra (2005-06), Eugene Symphony (2006), the Henry

Mancini Summer Institute (2006), the Music from Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival (2006), and the Pacific

Symphony (2010).

Daugherty has received numerous awards, distinctions, and fellowships for his music, including: a Fulbright

Fellowship (1977), the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award (1989), the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters (1991), fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1992) and

the Guggenheim Foundation (1996), and the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

(2000). In 2005, Daugherty received the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra Composer’s Award, and in 2007, the

Delaware Symphony Orchestra selected Daugherty as the winner of the A.I. DuPont Award. Also in 2007, he

received the American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Award for his composition Raise the Roof for Timpani

and Symphonic Band. Daugherty has been named “Outstanding Classical Composer” at the Detroit Music



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Awards in 2007, 2009 and 2010. His GRAMMY® award winning recordings can be heard on Albany, Argo, Delos,

Equilibrium, Klavier, Naxos and Nonesuch labels.

D UGHERTY’S MUSIC

To say that a composer's style is unique merely states what should be true of

every composer, and yet when confronted with Michael Daugherty's music

one feels compelled to make this claim. Enzo Restagno, Artistic Director of

Settembre Musica in Torino, Italy has written:

To observe The American landscape in Michael Daugherty's company

is an unforgettable experience which I had during a long nocturnal

walk through the streets of New York. Naturally we talked about

music, but our talk was interrupted every minute because he kept

stopping ecstatically outside a show window or some public building.

He wanted to call my attention to some gadget or individual

abounding in symbolic value. Clothing, menus, items for everyday use, gestures, posters, billboards,

photographs, and architecture, all inspired lengthy observations endowed with great insight, but, at thesame time, an affectionate irony. Like the energy that radiates from the icons housed in our European

museums and art galleries, Michael Daugherty's music successfully releases the poetic power of

American icons.

It is in part this fascination with the vernacular that sets Daugherty's music apart. By using sophisticated

compositional techniques to develop his melodic motives combined with complex polyrhythmic layers, he has

created a style that is bursting with energy and truly unique.

Daugherty's connection to the pop world infuses his work at every level. The inspiration for much of his music

comes from icons of the American pop culture. He acknowledges his debt to pop culture, saying:

"For me icons serve as a way to have an emotional reason to compose a new work. I get ideas for my

compositions by browsing through second book stores, antique shops, and small towns that I find driving

on the back roads of America. The icon can be an old postcard, magazine, photograph, knick-knack,

matchbook, piece of furniture or roadmap. Like Ives and Mahler, I use icons in my music to provide the

listener and performer with a layer of reference. However, one does not need the reference of the icon to

appreciate my music. It is merely one level among many in the musical, contrapuntal fabric of my

compositions."

The Metropolis Symphony and Bizarro are based on the Superman story; Desi is inspired by the television

character Ricky Ricardo. One hears urban Detroit in the industrial sounding Motown Metal and the courage of

an Afro-American civil rights icon in the emotional charged Rosa Parks Boulevard . UFO is inspired by the

unidentified flying objects that have been an obsession in American popular culture since 1947.

Not surprisingly, Niagara Falls draws its inspiration not only from the falls themselves, but most importantly

from the pop culture that surrounds this natural wonder.

"My parents went on their honeymoon and I've visited there many times as I have in-laws in Syracuse so

we stop at Niagara Falls on the way. Niagara Falls is a destination for honeymooners and it’s also one of

the biggest capitals of tourist traps in North America. I think that to even write a piece inspired by this



11

sort of concept is still uncommon in concert music. Yet when I am writing the music I am extremely

serious about putting the notes, the dynamics and the articulations, the timbre, the structure and the

counterpoint. When I compose, I think in a very structural logical way as Webern and Bach did."

Daugherty's melodic material--usually short motives that are repeated in sequences or canons--frequently

comes straight from jazz or Latin musical idioms with strong syncopation. Often the accompanying figures are

rooted in big band jazz, whether the closely harmonized scale fragments typical of a saxophone section or the

explosive interjections by the brass. All of this occurs over rhythmic ostinati or grooves in the bass and

percussion sections--the classic rhythm section of pop and jazz.

-- Timothy Salzman (2001), from the composer’s website, www.michaeldaugherty.net/Bio.cf

Other Biographical Information at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Daugherty with an extensive biography and links to audio and

video interviews

http://www.michaeldaugherty.net/Bio.cf







http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Daugherty






12


PROGRAM NOTES FOR

LLIG TOR LLEY

Alligator Alley is the nickname for the east-west stretch of Interstate 75 between Naples and Ft.

Lauderdale that crosses through the Florida Everglades National Park. It is home of the American

alligator “king of the Everglades.” Indigenous to the US south-east coastal regions, the American

alligator has changed little from its original form some 180 million years ago. Male alligators can grow

up to 16 feet in length and female alligators can grow up to 10 feet, and can reach weights of over 800

pounds. Removed from the US Fish and Wildlife list of endangered species in 1987, the American

alligator is still on constant watch by the national parks services, as its habitat is threatened by illegal

poachers, industrial contaminants and housing and commercial developments.

Composer Michael Daugherty celebrates Alligator Alley, bringing our attention to this unique animal

and the American highway traveled by many observing the alligator in its natural environment. There

are two main musical themes in Alligator Alley . The first theme, called the “alligator theme” is playedat the beginning of the composition by the bassoons. In 5/4 time, the “alligator theme” evokes the four

legs and tail of the alligator as it slithers through the Everglades. The second theme is called the

“hunter’s theme.” Performed by the brass, it reminds us of the hunters and poachers who trap and kill

the alligator for profit. To evoke the sound of the alligator, Daugherty has included a whip in the

percussion section. When the two pieces of wood of the whip are struck together, it is meant to evoke

the sound of an alligator snapping its large and very strong jaws.

A note from the composer:

My hope is that Alligator Alley will snap us to attention that the alligator deserves to live in peace. The

continued survival of the American alligator in the Everglades now depends on careful management

programs carried out by the National Park Service.



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LLIG TOR LLEY

MUSIC MAP

Introduction Cymbals, drum, & whip play a short pattern 3 times. Music moves immediately into the Theme 1.

SECTION A

m 6

mm 16 to 24

m 25

m 35

m 42

Theme 1: Woodwinds Take the Lead

Bassoons play the ‘alligator’ theme (0:10). It is a swinging, syncopated descending tune in 5/4. (Daugherty

imagines alligators in 5/4 meter with 4 legs + 1 long tail.)

Theme repeats; clarinets accompany (0:19). An extension or bridge leads to the next section. Flutes & clarinets play alligator theme with the bassoon. (0:28) As the musical texture gets thicker, clarinets,

saxophones & percussion add accents. Woodblock plays a steady eighth note ostinato. They repeat the tune,

then add a short extension. (mm 23-24)

Alligator’s theme repeats, but with a variation. It begins in flutes & oboes (0:46), and one measure later the

bassoon echo or imitates this melody. In the percussion, the triangles add color and the marimbas and

vibraphone also play the theme. An extension runs from mm 32 through 34

Bassoon takes back the alligator melody (1:05). A measure later, flutes, oboes, and clarinets imitate or echo it.

Texture again expands as brass & saxophones play sharp accents. Mallet percussion shadow the woodwinds.

Bongos play an ostinato & the whip reminds us of snapping jaws.

Transition: Meter change to 4/4; bassoons hint at the new theme, flutes play repeated fragments, oboes on

even quarters, and clarinets play a swirling motif with chromatic 16th

notes.(1:22) Ends with loud accent. (1:35)

SECTION B

m 52 Theme 2 – Poachers & Hunters Appear Theme enters with trumpets, trombones & all the saxophones playing the bold, strong syncopated hunter’s

music. Mallet percussion play along. Music is loud.

Bongos play a new ostinato pattern; cymbals crash & the bass drum booms. Flutes add their high pitches to the

scene. Sounds like movie music for the advancing army.

A wild, crazy bongo solo bursts out of the ensemble (1:54), but brass instruments return & take the hunter’s

theme to the end of the section.

SECTION Aι

m 68

m 78

m 85

Theme 1 – Return of the Alligator (2:00)

Wood winds decisively play the alligator theme twice along with the cracking whip

Alligator theme repeats - the texture is very rich. In addition to flutes, oboes, and bassoons, saxophones,

trumpets & horns play. Lots of action from the tambourines, woodblock & bass drum too. Low brass play sharp

accents.

Subito piano – the volume of the music drops back to piano even though all are playing (2:33), then reverses

direction & expands through a long crescendo.

SECTION Bι

m 88

m 98

m 119

Theme 2 – Hunters Return

Upper woodwinds play their theme others add slashing accents (2:38)

More instruments are added to the melody. A crescendo & accelerando (2:53) pushes into another section of

imitation. Bassoons play the melody; one measure later clarinets play the same melody as though they are

shadowing the bassoons. Finally flutes & oboes enter, like a 3 part round. During this counterpoint section,

maracas keep a steady ostinato pattern & tambourines add color. Eventually low woodwinds double the

bassoon melody.

Counterpoint becomes more complex as trumpets & horns join in to weave through the strands of the Hunters’

theme. (3:26) Percussion includes bongos, drums, & mallet instruments.

CODA

m 141

m 145

m 155

m 161

m 162

Moving into the CODA

3 cymbal crashes (4:03) and slow, forte chords crescendo to a fortissimo long note with fermata (4:05).

5/4 meter returns in a soft section of even 8th notes that rise in pitch and expand with a crescendo (4:21).

The momentum builds through 10 measures of agitated music. The meter shifts from 5/4 to 4/4 to 6/8 to 3/4

& all the instruments jump into the piece.

A loud accent and slow chords push the music forward (4:37)

Arriving at the climax, the band pulls away from fortissimo to piano then re-ignites with a crescendo on a long

chord. Bongos play rapid 16th

notes.

Then a surprise: the cymbal-drum-whip pattern that opens the piece (4:43) gives way to four measures of the

alligator theme.

At the very end, a final Big and Loud measure!!!



14

LLIG TOR LLEY GLOSSARY

12 bar blues Music organized in 12 measures that uses a blues scale or a blues chord progression in

its melodies and harmonies.

ABA Music organized in 3 distinct sections in which the last section is a repeat of the first.

Accelerando To gradually get faster.

Accents Emphasis or stress on certain beats or parts of the beat. Indicated with the symbol >.

Agitato An expressive marking meaning “agitated.”

Aleatoric Music that is determined by chance or by the performer.

Anacrusis A note or series of notes that occur prior to the first full measure of a phrase—a pick-up

note or notes.

Arrangement A piece that is adapted to be performed by a different group of instruments or vocalists

than what was originally composed.

Articulation Separation or connection between notes and the amount of emphasis on the attack of

each note. For wind instruments this is controlled by the tongue and airstream. Some

articulation marks include the slur, phrase mark, staccato, staccatissimo, accent,

sforzando, rinforzando, and legato. Each articulation is represented by a different symbol

placed above or below the note.

Atonal Music with no specific identifiable key center (i.e. music that is not created in a

traditional key).

Beat Steady pulse that underlies most music.

Binary The form of a piece that is divided into two distinct sections (e.g. AB form).



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Blues progression A 12-measure series of chords built upon the I, IV, and V chord and used as the basis for

many pieces of jazz and pop music. The distinctive sound of the blues progression comes

from the inclusion of the lowered 3rd, 7th, and sometimes 5th step of a major scale.

Blues scale A series of notes used in a blues chord progression based upon a major scale that also

includes a lowered 3rd

, 7th

, and sometimes 5th

step of the scale.

Bridge A contrasting section of music that prepares to return to the first main theme. Can be

the third 8-measure phrase in 32-bar pop music form.

Cadences The musical phrase at the end of a piece of music or the end of a major section within a

piece of music and the harmony that accompanies it.

Chord progressions A series of chords and their relationships.

Chromatic The use of semi-tones or half steps in a melody that are not a part of the diatonic major,

minor, or modal scale.

Coda The concluding section in a piece of music.

Contour The shape and direction of a musical phrase.

Counterpoint The combination of two or more melodies that work together in a uniform harmony.

Crescendo To gradually get louder.

Diatonic Notes contained in a scale of a specific key (e.g. the notes contained in a C major scale).

Diminuendo To gradually get softer.



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Doubling To have a specific note simultaneously occur in more than one octave, or in

orchestration or arranging, to have a note performed simultaneously by more than one

instrument or voice (e.g. the C in the oboe part is doubled in the flute part).

Endangered animals/

endangered species

Listing in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of animal species that are at risk of become

extinct and who receive protection under ESA.

Everglades A region of subtropical wetlands located in South Florida.

Extended chords (7th,

9th, 11th, etc.)

Additional notes added in thirds to the root, 3rd

, and fifth of a triad.

Fermata A symbol placed over a note that indicates it should be held for longer than its normal

duration. Indicated by the symbol:

Forte Loud.

Glissando / glissandi

(pl.)

Rapidly changing pitches gliding through scale-like, consecutive tones produced by

sliding over keys or strings of a piano, harp, string instrument, or smoothly moving the

slide of a trombone.

Harmonic rhythm The rate at which chords change.

Hemiola The rhythmic relation of three equal notes in the time of two.

Homophonic Music in which a single melody is supported by other parts with a series of chords.

Imitation The repeated use of a melody or part of a melody in different voices.

Intervals The distance between two pitches described as a number (e.g. 3rd

, 4th

, 5th

, etc.).



17

Legato In a smooth, connected style.

Major A term that describes an interval, scale, or a chord. The major scale is constructed with

the following series of whole steps and half steps: whole, whole, half, whole, whole,

whole, half. A major chord is a triad constructed with a major third on the bottom of the

chord and a minor third on the top.

Marcato An expressive marking that means “marked” or “emphatic.”

Melismatic A series of pitches that are sung on one syllable.

Meter/time

signature

The rhythmic organization of accents or beats in music.

Minor (natural,

harmonic, melodic)

A term that describes an interval, scale, or a chord. The natural minor scale is

constructed with the following series of whole steps and half steps: whole, half, whole,

whole, half. whole, whole. Harmonic and melodic are labels applied to altered forms of

the natural minor scale. A minor chord is a triad constructed with a minor third on the

bottom of the chord and a major third on the top.

Minuet and trio A musical dance in 3/4 time at a moderate speed. It was typically used as a ternary (3-

part) form for a movement in a classical sonata or symphony (Minuet-Trio-Minuet).

Modes (Dorian,

Phrygian, Lydian,

Mixolydian, Aeolian,

Ionian, Locrian)

A series of notes that formed the basis of melodies and harmonies, organized in a

specific pattern of whole steps and half steps, originating from Medieval times.

Modulation Change of key or tonal center.

Molto expressivo Very expressive.

Monophonic A single line of melody.



18

Motive/motif A brief portion or fragment of a longer melody.

Mute (noun) A device that softens the volume and changes the tone of an instrument; (verb)

Insert or apply a device that softens the volume and changes the tone of an instrument.

Ornamentation Improvised or written embellishments (decorations) for a melody including grace notes,trills, turns, and mordents.

Ostinato A rhythm or short melody that is repeated over and over.

Pedal Tones A sustained bass note that persists as the harmony changes.

Pentatonic A scale consisting five notes within an octave. The most typical form can be heard byplaying the five black keys within an octave on a piano.

Phrase A musical line that states a complete idea, often a part of a much larger section of music.

Polyphonic Music in which different melody lines are played or sung together, creating harmony in a

linear fashion.

Polyrhythms The use of two or more conflicting rhythms that do not seem to come from the same

meter or sub-division of beat.

Pop song form Music organized in sections using a verse, chorus, and bridge. The most typical form is 32

measures long.

Quartel harmony Chords constructed in 4ths rather than in 3rds (ternary).

Range The lowest to the highest pitch in a series of pitches.

Repetition When pitches or rhythms occur over and over.



19

Rondo (ABACA) Music organized where the introductory section is repeated in between contracting

sections.

Sequence Repetition of a melodic pattern, each time occurring a step or the same interval higher

or lower than the previous occurrence.

skips Intervals larger than a step or half-step.

Slur To move from one note to the next in a smooth, legato style without re-tonguing.

Solo vs. tutti One player performing verses an entire section of players.

Sonata form A term used since the 1700s to describe the first movement and sometimes lastmovement of a symphony, sonata, trio, quartet, concerto, etc. in which there may be

introduction, exposition, development, recapitulation, and coda sections.

Staccato To perform in a detached, crisp manner. Indicated with a symbol that looks like a period

(∙).

Stepwise movement Moving from one note to another note that is either a whole-step of half-step away.

Strophic Music that is organized with the same melodic material repeated over and over (e.g. a

church hymn), sometimes with alterations from one occurrence to the next (e.g. a theme

and variations).

Subdivision of beat The dividing of a beat into smaller rhythmic increments.

Subito piano Suddenly soft.

Swing A style of jazz or popular music originating in the 1930s. It also describes a stylistic

approach to performing a dotted eighth/sixteenth note rhythm.



20

Syncopation/

syncopated

Placing an accent or additional emphasis on what is normally a weak beat or a weak part

of a beat.

Tempo The speed of a piece of music.

Tenuto To play a note for its full value and indicated with the symbol: –

Ternary Music constructed in 3 major parts or sections (e.g. ABA).

Tessitura The tone produced when an instrument or a voice performs in a particular part of its

range.

Texture The density of music determined by the number and range of sounds that are combined.

Theme and variations A form where musical materials recurs, each time modified or altered in some way, but

where the essence of the melodic material can still be recognized.

Threatened animals The listing in the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) for animal species that are likely to

become endangered in the near future.

Through composed Music that is continuous and that does not include the repeating of previous sections of

music.

Tonality The organization of pitches and harmonies based upon a primary starting note or ‘tonic’.

Tone quality The identifying characteristics of a sound.

Transcriptions/

transcribed

Music that is re-written for different instruments or voices than what were used in the

original.



21

Triads Three note chords built in thirds.

Watershed The area or region drained by a river, river system, or other body of water.

Whole tone scale A 7-note scale that includes no half-steps.



23

LLIG TOR LLEY

Name ___________________________________________

COMPOSER BACKGROUND

Class ____________________________________________

ASSESSMENT

DIRECTIONS:

You’ve read about composer Michael Daugherty and learned about Alligator Alley .

Now match the phrases and questions on the left with the definitions on the right.

____ extinct

____ the Everglades Parkway

____ bassoon

____ a highway in Florida

____ Cedar Rapids, Iowa

____ whip

____ 5/4 meter

____ composition at the

University of Michigan

____ alligator & hunter

____ tail

____ watershed

____ American cultural icons

A. Alligator Alley is the nickname for…

B. Alligator’s snapping jaws played by the …

C. In the music the alligator’s four legs and

tail are represented by …

D. Two main themes in Alligator Alley

E. Endangered plants or animals are at risk

of becoming…

F.

The area or region drained by a river, a

river system, or other body of water

G. Real name for the real Alligator Alley

H. Inspiration for many of Daugherty’s

compositions comes from…

I.

Half of the alligator’s length is in its’…

J. In the music, the alligator melody is first

played by the…

K.

Michael Daugherty’s home town

L. Michael Daugherty teaches…

0. read first - aa teacher's guide & contents.pdf

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