Title: HUMOR AND ICONICITY IN MUSIC by Don L. F. Nilsen and Alleen Pace Nilsen
1HUMOR AND ICONICITY IN MUSICby Don L. F.
Nilsenand Alleen Pace Nilsen
2Music and Dance are Everywhere
3AUTO-TUNE THE NEWSBrian Williams Rapson Jimmy
Fallons Tonight Show
- https//www.youtube.com/watch?v-YCeIgt7hMsfeatur
eyoutube_gdata_player
4BALLET TROCADERO
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vaIQyZo1PeFA
5Contemporary Musicals
6Contemporary Joke BandsTenacious D and Flight
of The Conchords
7Country Music
- Dueling Banjos Roy Clark and Buck Trent
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?v4gw0fxuIvBM
8Some Fun Musical Links
- Fit as a Fiddle and Ready for Love
- https//www.youtube.com/watch?v-Badf0ctYQo
- Make Em Laugh from Singing in the Rain
- https//www.youtube.com/watch?vSND3v0i9uhE
9Contemporary ParodyWeird Al Yankovic
10- Weird Al Yankovic Eat it
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vZcJjMnHoIBI
- Weird Al Yankovic Fat
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vt2mU6USTBRE
- Weird Al Yankovic White and Nerdy
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vN9qYF9DZPdw
11Musical Point of View!
12Flash Mob at the University of Minnesota
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?featureplayer_embedd
edvuH8FvERQHtM
13(No Transcript)
14Music and Magic
- Cognate with chant are such words as Encanto,
enchanted, and a Jewish Cantor. - This is why there is an Encanto Park in Phoenix.
- It is enchanted.
15A FEW HISTORICAL NOTES
- In the 1600s, the Italians developed their Opera
Buffa, leading the way to comic opera, which in
France became the Comedie Française and in
Germany the Komische Oper. - Karl Haas says that in England it led to John
Gays The Beggars Opera, (1728), and in the
1850s and 1860s to Offenbachs satirical
masterpieces.
16HUMOR IN CLASSICAL MUSIC
- Humor in classical music has a long tradition as
shown by such playful vocabulary items as the
French gavotte, which like the Irish and English
gigue or jig is music for a fast-moving dance. - A scherzo is a musical joke while a cappricio is
a composition that is irregular in form and
usually lively and whimsical. - A divertimento is a light and entertaining
instrumental composition. - And a rondo is a composition whose principal
theme is repeated three or more times in the same
key, interspersed with subordinate themes.
17Musical Satires and Parodies
- CHEAP FLIGHTS
- http//www.youtube.com/embed/HPyl2tOaKxM
- PIANO JUGGLER 1
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?v07brW206D84
- MECHANICAL GUITARS
- http//www.youtube.com/embed/XlyCLbt3Thk?rel0
- IGOODESMAN AND JOO
- http//cartoonando.blogspot.com/2008/04/1000-posts
.html
18IRONY IN MUSIC
- In Mozarts The Abduction from the Seraglio,
Rossinis The Barber of Seville, and
Offenbachs Orpheus in the Underworld, dramatic
irony comes into play as characters become
victims of Tricksters and suffer from
misidentifications and misunderstood events. - An extra irony in relation to Offenbachs
Orpheus is that one of its musical sequences
was so lively that it became famous throughout
Paris and the world as The Can Can.
19Leroy Anderson
- TYPEWRITER BY LEROY ANDERSON
- http//www.metacafe.com/watch/803796/the_typewrite
r_song/
20JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
- In his Pulitzer-Prize-winning Godel, Escher,
Bach An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas Hofstadter
compares Johann Sebastian Bachs fascination with
acoustic loops to artist M. C. Eschers
fascination with visual loops in which a
waterfall appears to become its own source. - In his Endlessly Rising Canon, Bach seems to be
drawing to a conclusion but instead slips out of
the key of C-minor and into D-minor. This false
ending ties smoothly into a new beginning where
Bach repeats the process and returns in the key
of E, only to start over again.
21Hofstadter on Bach (continued)
- Hofstadter says that these successive
modulations lead the ear to increasingly remote
provinces on tonality, so that after several of
them, one would expect to be hopelessly far away
from the starting key. - And yet, magically, after exactly six such
modulations, the original key of C-minor has been
restored?
22Johann Sebastian Bach
23P. D. Q. Bach, A Musical Satirist
- P. D. Q. is purported to be the last of Johann
Sebastian Bachs 20-odd children. - He was discovered by Peter Schickele, the first
person to occupy the General Electric Chair at
the University of Southern North Dakota at
Huppel. - Peter Schickele keeps unearthing various P. D. Q.
Bach schleptetas and pervertimentos.
24P. D. Q.An Antidote to Our National Inferiority
Complex
- P.D.Q. Bach (Peter Schickeley) has a wider appeal
than standard classical musicians because of his
musical parodies. - Notice the bassoon is in two parts.
25- PETER SCHICKELE (PDQ BACH)
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vmY0CFaracVE
26- Carrot Clarinet
- http//www.youtube.com/embed/BISrGwN-yH4
27There are many classical composers famous for
their humor
- Ludwig Van Beethoven satirized local musicians in
his Pastoral Symphony where he portrayed a
sleepy village in which the musicians doze off,
wake up, play a few notes, and then doze off
again. - BEETHOVENS PASTORAL SYMPHONY
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?va9HWo4THnHA
28Ludwig Van Beethoven
- 3-YEAR-OLD CONDUCTING BEETHOVENS 5th SYMPHONY
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?v0REJ-lCGiKU
- 7-YEAR-OLD PLAYING BEETHOVENS RAGE OVER A LOST
PENNY - http//www.youtube.com/watch?v0CED7cijODg
29Victor BorgeOur Greatest Musical Clown
- Early in Borges career when he was doing a piano
concerto, the conductor lost his place in the
musical score. Borge, a talented and serious
player, stood up from his piano bench, walked
over to the conductors stand, pointed to the
right place in the score, and then returned to
his piano bench to finish the concerto. The
strength of the applause was a turning point in
Borges career. - One of Borges most popular gags was to look
befuddled as he examined a musical score and
tried to play it. After some false starts and
pondering, he would realize it was upside down,
so he would turn it over and play the piece
masterfully. -
30Victor Borge and Muppets
31More on Victor Borge
- Borge would shift slyly from a piece of classical
into a piece of popular music. - He also played pop culture pieces, e.g. Happy
Birthday to You as if it had been composed by
Bach or Brahms. - Wordplay was a favorite as when he said that a
particular piece he was playing by Rachmaninoff
was written in four flatsbecause the composer
had been so poor he had to keep moving while he
was working on it. - He announced another piece as being composed by
Bach, but he couldnt remember whether it was
Johann Sebastian, or Jacques Offen.
32- VICTOR BORGE
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vBcV19rylSZc
33- Frederic Chopins Raindrop Prelude
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?v6OFHXmiZP38
34- Dizzy Fingers by Zez Confrey
- https//www.youtube.com/watch?vMGKcXv0FeCE
35Phyllis Diller, who died at age 95 in August of
2012, was a pioneer for women stand-up comedians.
She used her long cigarette holder much like
conductors use batons, only she was managing the
audience rather than the orchestra.
36George Gershwins An American in Paris (Note
the Paris Taxi Horns in the Percussion Sections)
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vRos66y1aZ-E
37In the 1870s through the 1890s, this led to the
Gilbert and Sullivan operas
- The Gondoliers,
- H.M.S. Pinafore,
- Iolanthe,
- The Mikado,
- Patience,
- The Pirates of Penzance,
- Prince Ida,
- Ruddigore,
- The Sorcerer,
- Trial by Jury,
- and The Yeoman of the Guard.
W. S. Gilbert
Sir Arthur Sullivan
38- THREE LITTLE MAIDS FROM SCHOOL (GILBERT
SULLIVAN) - http//www.youtube.com/watch?vmXWkIZUPmDY
39Antonin Dvorak
- The expressively cross-sensory sounds of the
Painted Desert in Antonin Dvoraks New World
Symphony. - http//www.youtube.com/watch?v2q8eq66Krv0
40Ferde Grofé
- Ferde Grofés bump de bump de dadada of his On
the Trail from the Grand Canyon Suite. - http//www.youtube.com/watch?vbVKVB0MImOg
41Georges Friedrich Handel
- SILENT MONKS SINGING HALLELUIA CHORUS
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vZCFCeJTEzNUfeature
related
42FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN
- Franz Joseph Haydn was distressed by the number
of people who fell asleep while listening to his
chamber pieces. - So he wrote Symphony Number 94 (The Surprise
Symphony) in the key of C using a slow tempo and
soft and repetitive sequences. - At the end of each stanza, he modulated the music
to the key of G and ended with a resounding
fortissimo chord guaranteed to wake up anyone who
might be dozing. - HAYDNS SURPRISE SYMPHONY
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vlLjwkamp3lI
43Franz Joseph Haydn
44Haydns Farewell Symphony is another example
of Haydns humor.
- He wanted to communicate that the musicians were
lonely for their wives and needed to go home for
the summer. - So as the symphony draws to its end, various
musicians put out the lights on their music
stands and departed. - Audiences were amused at the gradual diminishing
of the orchestra, but they understood his
message. - This same technique was later used in The Sound
of Music as the von Trapps left the stage and
were smuggled out of the theater past the Nazi
guards. - HAYDN FAREWELL SYMPHONY
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vK0ligH6PCW0
45JOSEPH HAYDNS MUSICAL JOKE
- Joseph Haydns String Quartet Opus 33, Number 2
is called The Joke. - This is because it has so many false endings
- PRESTO MOVEMENT FROM JOSEPH HAYDNS THE JOKE
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vLDkWBzH6dkE
46Noras CATcerto
47Scot Joplin
- SCOT JOPLINS PEACHERINE RAG ON RECYCLED BOTTLES
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vk26nt3Y4cmg
48Tom Lehrer Musical Parodies and Satires
- One of the best known satirists is Tom Lehrer,
who as a Harvard Professor in the 1960s began
getting attention for some forty musical parodies
and satires. - He has written songs about poisoning pigeons in
the park, hometown perverts, and charred bodies
in a nuclear holocaust. - His most controversial piece is The Vatican Rag
with its bow your head with great respect
andgenuflect! genuflect! genuflect!
49 Chico and Harpo Marx Shooting the Keys
- In the early and mid-1900s, when Chico Marx
played an arpeggio on the piano, he would play
all of the notes but one, and then would point to
that key with his index finger and using his
thumb as a trigger would shoot the key. - Harpo Marx would also shoot the keys, but he
was famous for playing glissandos (sliding
music), and for getting his finger stuck between
the keys. - We old-timers thought about Chico and his
shooting of the keys when we saw Mr. Bean
playing his one-note solo as part of Britains
opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics.
50WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
- Mozart was a contemporary of Haydn, and his The
Village Musicians is also known as A Musical
Joke. This is because he composed it as a grand
burlesque of the nonprofessional playing that was
done by amateur community bands of his day.
51- PAPAGANA/PAPAGENO (MOZARTS MAGIC FLUTE
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?v87UE2GC5db0
52Jacques Offenbach
- HOKUM W. JEEBS PLAYS Offenbach
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?v4q38R0MtNHYlistPL
23E8C9830E320E60
53Johann Pachelbel
- PACHELBEL RANT
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vJdxkVQy7QLM
54Sergei Prokofiev
- http//www.wnyc.org/story/256987-peter-and-the-wol
f/
55Monte Pythons Song that goes like this
- Eric Idle Song that goes like this.
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?v2ddwK8Py2pY
56Gioachini Rossini
- The flourishes and strikes in Rossinis The
Thieving Magpie. - http//www.youtube.com/watch?vUs_6fXZpt-c
57Mark Russell, a Piano-Playing Comedian
- During the 1980s and 90s, Mark Russell used his
musical abilities to become a well-known
political commentatortalking and playing the
piano, first in night club settings and then in
performance halls. - During Reagans presidency, he took the tune of
My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean and changed it
to - My ship of states practically grounded
- for want of a policy plan.
- I deny all the chargesunfounded
- since the state of my ship hit the fan.
- Bring back. Bring back. Oh bring back my
Teflon to - me, to me.
58CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS
- In his Carnival of the Animals, Saint-Saëns
parodies the can can melody from Jacques
Offenbachs Orpheus in the Underworld. - Ogden Nash added words to Saint Saenss iconic
Carnival of the Animals. - The can-can is normally performed at breakneck
tempo, but in Saint-Saens Tortoises, the parody
is played painfully slow by low-register strings. - TORTOISES
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vAHvqaRaDzQE
59Camille Saint-Saens
60Camille Saint-Saëns
- DANSE MACABRE BY CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vEcOZmtbLRP0feature
related
61Johann Strauss
- LAUGHING SONG (JOHANN STRAUSS DIE FLEDERMAUS)
- http//www.youtube.com/watch?vnpLZNoRoH2MNR1
62RICHARD WAGNER
- Even in the most serious operas, composers
include light moments for comic relief. For
example in his Ring Cycle, Richard Wagner has
the young Siegfried turn the brown bear loose on
Mime so that he and the audience can relish in
the dwarfs fright. - And one of the funniest lines in all of opera is
the dramatic irony when Siegfried slices open
Brunnhildes breastplate with his armor-piercing
sword, and exclaims, Das ist kein Mann! (This
is not a man?)
63Tempe Community Chorus
- http//www.tempecommunitychorus.org/gallery
64Four Really talented Ladies
- http//www.reshareworthy.com/amazing-quartet-blew-
audience-away/HlDc3TMGOGULZGi4.01