A. Dance / C. Music · Music and Dance

Music: Absolute and Program Music: Listening and Responding

C2.2 C2.1 C2.3About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can explain the difference between absolute music and program music.
I can analyse how composers use form, dynamics, timbre and texture, including monophonic, homophonic and polyphonic textures.
I can recognize minuet and trio (ternary) form, using Mozart's Symphony No. 40 as an example.
I can express a detailed personal response to music in different ways, and reflect on my strengths as a listener and audience member.

Words to know

absolute music
Music that is about the music itself (its melodies, rhythms and form) and does not tell a story or describe a scene.

program music
Instrumental music that tells a story, paints a scene or expresses an idea from outside the music.

symphony
A large piece for orchestra, usually in several movements.

monophonic
One melody alone, with no harmony.

homophonic
A melody with chords supporting it.

polyphonic
Two or more independent melodies at the same time.

minuet
A stately dance in 3/4 time, often used as a movement of a symphony.

ternary form
ABA form: a section, a contrasting section, then the first section again.

Two ways music can mean something

The curriculum asks you to analyse how the elements of music are used in absolute music and program music.

Absolute music is about the music itself: themes, rhythms, keys and form. The listener follows how the ideas develop. Example: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Symphony No. 40 in G minor (1788).
Program music tells a story or paints a picture. The composer gives a title or a written "program" so listeners know what to imagine. Examples: Bedřich Smetana, The Moldau (also called Vltava), and Igor Stravinsky, The Firebird (a ballet, 1910).

Both kinds use the same elements. The difference is what the elements are for.

Texture: how many lines at once?

Texture describes how melodies and harmonies are layered:

Monophonic: one melody alone (one person singing, or a whole group singing the same notes in unison).
Homophonic: a melody with chords underneath (a singer with guitar chords; most pop songs).
Polyphonic: two or more independent melodies at once (a round, or a fugue).

Many pieces change texture to create contrast.

An empty concert hall stage set for an orchestra, with chairs, music stands, cellos and double basses lying down and timpani at the back. — An orchestra can play both absolute music and program music. Listen for how each section adds to the texture. AI-generated image

Three textures drawn as lines. Monophonic: one melody. Homophonic: a melody above blocks of chords. Polyphonic: several independent melodies, each with its own shape and rhythm.

Absolute music: Mozart's Symphony No. 40

Mozart's Symphony No. 40 is in G minor (two flats: B♭ and E♭, from Grade 7). It has four movements. The third movement is a Menuetto (minuet) with a Trio:

Minuet (A): a dance in 3/4 time, in G minor here: strong and serious rather than gentle.
Trio (B): a contrasting middle section, in G major, lighter and calmer, with fewer instruments featured.
Minuet (A) again.

This is ternary (ABA) form. Listen for the change from minor to major in the Trio, and for the return of the first music. There is no story: the drama comes from contrast and return.

Minuet and trio form, as in the third movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40: Minuet (A), Trio (B), Minuet (A). When the minuet returns, players often skip its repeats.

Program music: The Moldau

The Moldau is part of a set of pieces by the Czech composer Smetana called Má vlast ("My Homeland"). It follows the Vltava River (Moldau in German) through the Czech countryside to Prague. Smetana's program describes the scenes:

Two springs begin the river: flowing notes in two flutes, then clarinets join.
The river grows, and its broad main melody appears in the strings, in a minor key.
It passes a forest hunt (horns), a village wedding (a polka), and moonlight with dancing water nymphs (soft, shimmering strings).
St. John's Rapids: loud, crashing brass and percussion.
The river widens, the main melody returns in a major key, and it flows grandly past Vyšehrad castle.

The scenes of The Moldau drawn along a schematic river (not a map, not to scale). Each scene uses different timbres and dynamics to paint a picture.

Worked example

Example: Let's compare absolute and program music

Compare the minuet from Mozart's Symphony No. 40 with The Moldau, using musical terms.

Purpose: Mozart's minuet is absolute: no story, just musical ideas. The Moldau is program music: it describes a river's journey.
Form: the minuet uses ternary (ABA) form. The Moldau follows the order of the scenes along the river, with the main river melody returning.
Tonality: the minuet moves from G minor to a G major trio and back. The Moldau's main melody is first minor, then returns in major near the end, like arriving home.
Timbre: Mozart chooses timbres for musical contrast, such as letting the woodwinds and horns stand out in the Trio; Smetana picks timbres to paint: horns for hunting, flutes for springs.
Dynamics: both use contrast, but Smetana's loudest moment (the rapids) describes something; Mozart's loud moments create musical drama.

Both use contrast and return, but program music uses the elements to describe things outside the music, while absolute music uses them to build musical structure.

Worked example

Example: Let's write a detailed personal response

Listen to the finale of Stravinsky's The Firebird (it begins quietly with a solo horn melody and grows to a huge, loud ending). Let's write a radio-style commentary.

Start with what you hear: "It opens with one horn playing a gentle melody, almost alone, a thin texture."
Describe changes: "The melody passes to other instruments and keeps repeating, getting louder and fuller as more of the orchestra joins."
Name the elements: "Crescendo, thickening texture, and brass and percussion at the end."
Give a personal response with reasons: "It made me feel like the sun rising after a long night, because it grows from one quiet voice to the whole orchestra."
Reflect as a listener (C2.3): "Strength: I noticed the texture change. Next time: listen for which instruments take the melody."

A detailed response describes, uses musical terms, gives a personal reaction with reasons, and reflects.

Just for fun

Funny-but-true: Mozart wrote three whole symphonies, Nos. 39, 40 and 41, in the summer of 1788. Most of us take longer than that to finish a summer reading list! 📚

Hands-on activity

Listening log, three ways

You need: a way to listen to recordings with a grown-up (a library, a streaming service or a public radio website), paper, and coloured pencils.

Listen to the third movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40. Raise your hand when the Trio begins and again when the Minuet returns. Was it ABA?
Listen to The Moldau (about 12 minutes). Number the scenes from the picture as you hear them.
Respond in three different ways: (a) a journal paragraph using at least four musical terms; (b) a drawing of one scene from The Moldau; (c) a 30-second radio-style commentary recorded on a phone or performed live.
Find one example of each texture (monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic) in music you already know.
Reflect: As a listener, what do you notice easily? What do you want to get better at noticing?

Your turn

What is the difference between absolute and program music?

Is The Moldau absolute or program music? How do you know?

Describe homophonic texture and give an example.

What form is a minuet and trio?

Mozart's Symphony No. 40 is in G minor. What is its key signature?

Which instruments represent the two springs at the start of The Moldau?

Name three things a detailed personal response to music should include.

More practice: warm-up

What is monophonic texture?

What time signature is a minuet usually in?

Who composed The Firebird?

What is a symphony?

What is polyphonic texture?

More practice: on your own

A round like Frère Jacques, sung in four parts, is which texture? Explain.

How does Smetana use timbre to paint the forest hunt?

Why does the main melody returning in a major key near the end of The Moldau create a strong effect?

In the Mozart minuet, how does the Trio contrast with the Minuet?

Write a 2-sentence personal response to any piece you love, using two musical terms.

Challenge

Choose a scene that is not in The Moldau (for example, a snowstorm in a Canadian forest). Describe how you would use at least four elements of music to paint it as program music.

Could the same piece be heard as both absolute and program music? Explain with an example.

Write a short reflection on your strengths and areas for improvement as an audience member at a live orchestra concert.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Music that tells a story or paints a scene is ___.

A melody with chords underneath is ___ texture.

Minuet – Trio – Minuet is ___ form.

The Moldau describes ___.

Mozart's Symphony No. 40 is in ___.

A round sung in parts is an example of ___ texture.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Students analyse, using musical terminology, how the elements of music are used in absolute and program music (C2.2), express detailed personal responses in a variety of ways (C2.1), and reflect on their strengths and areas for improvement as listeners and audience members (C2.3).

How to help at home:

Listen together to The Moldau (Smetana) and the third movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40. Recordings are widely available through libraries and streaming services.
Before telling your child the title of a piece, ask what it makes them imagine. Then reveal the title and compare.
Ask for reasons: "What in the music made you feel that?"

Common difficulties:

Saying any music with a mood is program music. Program music has a specific story, scene or idea given by the composer.
Mixing up homophonic and polyphonic. Homophonic = one melody plus chords; polyphonic = several melodies.
Responses without musical terms. Keep a list of terms nearby while listening.