Musical Concepts: Theme and Variation
One very important musical concept which must be understood as a young music student is theme and variation. The definition of theme and variation is quite simple, really. Let’s say that our theme for the day is pizza. Now write down all of the different types of pizza you know, or can imagine:
All of the different types of pizza you thought of are variations on the theme, pizza. Music works the same way. You can take a simple theme, such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and play it in several different ways, or variations. Listen to the different ways Mr. Berry plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star below and see if you can come up with your own ways that you would like this played. A. B. C. D. E. Somber, in a minor key Music-box like In the style of 50s rockabilly Frightening In the style of J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
One composer that actually did write variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). What do think of the way the variations sound that he wrote? Now our next look at theme and variations involves an American composer. His name is Aaron Copland (1900-1990). He wrote variations on a popular Shaker tune entitled “Simple Gifts” in his larger ballet called Appalachian Spring. This was not a ballet as we would think of it, but a dance representing the Western frontier of the United States. As you sing Simple Gifts, become familiar with the tune. Following this, listen to Variations on a Shaker Hymn and describe each variation as you hear it. A. Theme B. Variation C. Variation D. Variation E. Variation F. Variation -