Listening exercises

Part 2 - Timbre

Listen to the start Track 9 (Variation VIII, W.N.)
(20" is enough to answer the questions)
1. Which instrument plays the melody in the opening bar?
2. How many of them are playing?
3. In the second bar which other instruments double the melody line?
4. In the third bar the melody moves where?
Listen to Track 11 (Variation X, Dorabella)
(1'30" is enough to answer the questions)
1. After 20" a solo instrument starts to play a melody. What is it?
2. A moment later there is an additional solo in the accompaniment. Which instrument is this?
3. Before this melody stops, the rest of the section join-in. At which point?
4. At 1'11" there is a softly sustained new line is added. Which instrument plays it? How many are there?
Listen to Track 13 (Variation XII, B.G.N.)
1. There is a two bar introduction featuring a solo instrument. What is this instrument?
2. Can you tell which instruments accompany the solo?
3. Which section starts to play immediately after the end of this brief solo and before the next melody starts (i.e. at 16")?
4. A four bar tune follows which is repeated (at 39") with additional colour. The violas doubling the melody are virtually indistinguishable but some other instruments have joined-in to cover the harmonies the violas were playing before. Which ones?
Listen to Track 14 (Variation XIII, ***)
1. After 24" there is a very soft passage with solo clarinet. Underneath this, two distinct timbres should be audible. What are they?
2. At 1'38" the clarinet melody is played by different instruments. What are they?
3. Which other timbres can you detect at this point in the music?
Listen to Track 4 (Variation III, R.B.T.)
1. Which instrument or instruments play the first note?
2. A solo instrument plays a melody from the second bar. What is it?
3. Another line of musical material is played by some other instruments. Can you identify them?

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