General Knowledge for Laura B.:

List A Piece: Charles Dancla "Cantabile"
-- Time signature is 4/4: simple quadruple time, because there are 4 (as in quadruple) simple beat notes (crotchet notes) in a bar. Sometimes this is also represented by a C and referred to as common time as it is most widely used.
-- The term cantabile means "in a singing manner". When performing, play as if it was sung through (try humming it to yourself?)
-- Tempo marking andante means "at an easy walking pace".
-- The piece is written in the key of G major (look at key signature: F#; look at last note of the piece: G, which is the tonic note for G major; tonic note is the first step/degree of a scale)
-- p is for piano, which means "softly"
-- riten. in bar 23 is for ritenuto, which means to "slow down"
-- a tempo in bar 25 means "return to original speed/tempo"
-- cresc. in bars 11 and 30 is for crescendo and means "gradually becoming louder". Sometimes the direction is represented as an extended < sign.
-- in bar 37 is for diminuendo and means "gradually becoming softer". Another term for this is decrescendo. Sometimes the direction is represented as an extended > sign, like in bars 8 and 23-24.
-- f is for forte and means "loud".
-- ritard. in bar 39 is for ritardando and means to "gradually slow down".
-- Charles Dancla was a French composer and violinist of the Romantic Period in music. Romantic Period in music was during 1820-1910 and Dancla lived 1817-1907. Dancla is best known for his educational pieces, for example studies.

List B Piece: Jacques Offenbach "Barcarolle" from the opera "The Tales of Hoffmann"
-- A barcarolle is the French name for Italian barcarole and it is a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers (the "drivers" of boats in Venetia, Italy). When you feel the 6/8 beat, which is two beats to a bar, you can imagine the strokes of the gondolier's paddle. Other famous composers who wrote barcarolles are: Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky and Chopin.
-- Time signature is 6/8: compound duple time, because there are 2 (as in duple) compounded beat notes (made of crotchet + a dot) in a bar.
-- Tempo marking allegretto moderato means "moderately fast"; allegretto is less than allegro meaning "fast and lively", and moderato means "moderately/medium".
-- mf is for mezzo forte and means "moderately loud"
-- f is for forte and means "loud".
-- mp is for mezzo piano and means "moderately soft" - not as soft as piano
-- p is for piano, which means "softly"
-- pp is for pianissimo, which means "very softly"
-- ppp is for piano pianissimo, which means "extremely softly"
-- The piece is in the key of -- The piece is written in the key of G major (look at key signature: F#; look at last note of the piece: G, which is the tonic note for G major; tonic note is the first step/degree of a scale)
-- lines over notes, like in bars 25 and 40 mean to not shorten the notes and play them with wide bow
-- Jacques Offenbach was a German-born French composer and cellist of the Romantic Period in music. Romantic Period in music was during 1820-1910 and Offenbach lived 1819-1880. He was one of the originators of the operetta, which is a light opera.

List C Piece: Stephen Chin "Ghost Ship"
-- Time signature is 3/4: simple triple time, because there are 3 (as in triple) simple beat notes (crotchet notes) in a bar.
-- The piece is written in the key of E minor, which is a "relative" to G major - they share the key signature of F#, but the tonic note for E minor is E.
-- Tempo marking moderato means "at a moderate pace"
-- sul pont. is for sul ponticello and means to play near the bridge, which creates mysterious kind of sound.
-- ordinario instructs to play with bow in the usual position, as in "no more sul pont.
-- pizz. is for pizziccato and means to pluck the string with your finger
-- arco means to play using the bow
-- a small + over a note indicates a left hand pizziccato
-- restez like in bar 45 means to "remain" - in this case "remain in position"
-- a small "o" over a note indicates a harmonic, which you play just touching the string with your 4th finger (the finger extends from 3rd position hand placement)
-- Stephen Chin is an Australian composer and music teacher. He was born in 1959 and is currently Principal String Teacher at Brisbane Grammar School. He wrote many educational music pieces as well as pieces for student string orchestras.

GOOD LUCK!!! I know you'll do just fine. :)







































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