Impressionism

Impressionist music is usually based on atmospheric effects or descriptive ideas.
Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel

Impressionist music tends to make more use of dissonance and more uncommon
scales such as the whole tone scale
Impressionist composers favored short forms such as the nocturne, arabesque, and
prelude
The impressionist movement in music is a movement in European classical
music, mainly in France, that had its beginnings in the early nineteenth century
and continued into the middle of the twentieth century
He used new chord combinations, whole-tone chords, chromaticism, and exotic
rhythms and scales. In place of the usual harmonic progression, he developed a
style in which chords are valued for their individual sonorities rather than for their
relations to one another, and dissonances are unprepared and unresolved.
In addition to introducing a new freedom of interplay within the piano trio, Evans
began (in performances such as "My Foolish Heart" from the Vanguard sessions)
to explore extremely slow ballad tempos and quiet volume levels which had
previously been virtually unknown in jazz. His chordal voicings became more
impressionistic, reminiscent of classical composers such as Debussy, Ravel,
Scriabin, and Satie, as well as moving away from the thick block chords he often
utilized when playing with Davis. His sparse left-hand voicings supported his
lyrical right-hand lines, as much a product of the influence of jazz pianist Bud
Powell as any classical composer.
Cultural Understanding 1.2a
Impressionism loose association with Paris based artists

Mainly France (Europe)
Early 19th Century
Artists, Writers & Composers of 19th century
Important to composers who were trying to move away from Romanticism and
composing in a new way looking for new sounds
Cultural Understanding 1.2b

Atmospheric effect or descriptive ideas
Musical Impressionism occurred as a reaction to the excesses of the Romantic era.
Music was influenced by the impressionist style of painting
Characteristics of Impressionist painting include visible brushstrokes, open
composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the
effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, the inclusion of movement
as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual
angles.
Impressionism was an important musical style that emerged during the early 20th
century. The whole idea started with French painters. Their paintings were blurry
and fuzzy. There are no clean, hard outlines or edges or shapes. The same is true
with music of this period. The sounds were "painted" using richly colored
harmonies.
Critical Understanding 1.3a
A move away from using major and minor scales to less conventional scales
such as whole tone and pentatonic
Impressionist music tends to make more use of dissonance and more uncommon
scales such as the whole tone scale
Debussy wanted people to respond intuitively to these pieces and so he placed the
titles at the end of each one in the hope that listeners would not make stereotype
images as they listened.
(Claire de Lune) In this work he utilized the Phrygian mode as well as less
standard scales, such as the whole-tone, which creates a sense of floating,
ethereal harmony. Debussy was beginning to employ a single, continuous
theme and break away from the traditional A-B-A form, with its restatements
and amplifications, which had been a mainstay of classical music since Haydn
Critical Understanding 1.3b
Guided learning
Related to other styles jazz (Bill Evans), Javanese gamelan, Film Music
Creativity 1.4a
Understanding how atmospheric effects are useful with composing for film
Communication 1.5a
Creating an internal image through interpreting musical sounds
Musical Element
SCALE - A move away from using major and minor scales to less conventional
scales such as whole tone and pentatonic
Skill
COMPOSITION to compose a piece that is atmospheric
Making Learning come alive
Performing in Assembly
Link with Art
Music technology
Expected Understanding
Students will show their understanding of Impressionism by relating it to how

musical sounds can be organised to create an internal image and how this relates
to artistic effects used by Impressionist artists.
They begin to understand how atmospheric effects can be used within other
musical genres such as film and jazz.
All students will start to develop this understanding, some will be secure and a
few will be starting to move beyond this understanding.
Expected Outcome of Knowledge and Skills
Elements
All students will know how to use a whole tone or pentatonic scale to create
atmospheric music.
Some will create a clear melodic motif using a whole tone or pentatonic scale
which reflects their atmospheric music.
Few will be able to develop textured harmonies using a whole tone or pentatonic
scale which clearly reflects their atmospheric music.
Skills
All will be able to create a piece of atmospheric music
Some will create a form that uses a single motif
Few will be able to create a formal structure using a continuously developing
theme
Sequence of Learning
1. Show and listen to impressionistic art and music

2. Explore whole tone and pentatonic scales play and discuss/describe the
sound of them (using adjectives). Create motifs immediate image and
related to feedback on adjectives. Experiment/explore with sounds/voices,
tempo, rhythm. Play batman theme and explore
3. Listening film and jazz regarding creating imagery and/or use of scale or
influenced by impressionist techniques
o My Foolish Heart (jazz)
o Batman (film)
Playing these ideas to focus on how to develop harmonies and a continuous theme.
4. Creating a short piece to depict an internal image, or following a brief for a

scene from a film, or jazz using impressionist techniques
5. Developing structure and harmony
6. Performing and Assessing
Tasks
Planning sheet SR
Pictures Monet sunrise (1872) BC and other related pictures
Recording Clare de lune BC or other Debussy recording
Photos or Debussy and Monet and other impressionist artists and composers BC
Get another DVD of Batman BC
Create worksheet for composing Scales- wholetone/pentatonic conventional
(major) and unconventional (chromatic) BC
Worksheet for Batman theme playing BC
Bill Evans Jazz SR
Done
Recording of Debussy La Mer & Prelude a lapres-midi d-un faune

Pictures of Composers, artists and artists works
Batman playing sheet
Composition sheet

Impressionism

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Impressionist music is usually based on atmospheric effects or descriptive ideas.

Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel

Cultural Understanding 1.2a

Impressionism loose association with Paris based artists

Cultural Understanding 1.2b

Critical Understanding 1.3a

Critical Understanding 1.3b

Creating an internal image through interpreting musical sounds

Students will show their understanding of Impressionism by relating it to how

Expected Outcome of Knowledge and Skills

1. Show and listen to impressionistic art and music

4. Creating a short piece to depict an internal image, or following a brief for a

Recording of Debussy La Mer & Prelude a lapres-midi d-un faune

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