Causal Listener

Casual Listener Referential Listener Critical Listener Perceptive Listener
Casual listeners are probably the most common type of listeners. So, what is a casual listener? This type of listener likes having music playing, filling the environment with sounds. Whether present as a background to drive, study, work, exercise, or hang out with friends, music is an accompaniment to the casual listener’s daily activities. Sometimes the music simply mask the sounds of a noisy street. The casual listener may be conscious of the sound or merely consider it part of the environment. In any case, this type of listener views music primarily as a mood enhancer or as pleasant part of the environment.

The Referential Listener

Sometimes
Uses appropriate musical vocabulary, not lay terms like “mellow” or “upbeat,” to describe music. Tries to develop an awareness of different musical styles and realizes that there are significant and valid differences among these styles. The perceptive listener is open to all kinds of music. Realizes that music is created for many different purposes and by many different kinds of people. Really tries to understand the music and what makes it interesting before passing judgment on it. Would never decide that she does not like a certain kind of music without having listened to it. Tries to learn something about the music before listening to a live or recorded performance of it. Is aware of the fact that a piece of music, regardless of style, might take some time to reveal its structure, meaning and beauty, and is therefore prepared to reserve judgment until she has heard it many times.

Note Name Symbol Rest Equivalent
Whole Whole note Whole rest
Half Half note Half rest
Quarter Quarter note Quarter rest
Eighth Eighth note Eighth
However, as their name implies, these instruments sound “brassy,” and they are typically fashioned out of metal. In fact, three factors lend brass instruments their characteristic “brassy” timbre: the material, the flare-shaped bell, and the vibration of the player's lips on the mouthpiece.
As is the case with woodwind instruments, pitch in brass instruments depends on the length of the air column. Pitch is therefore directly related to the size of the instrument. The performer alters the length of the air column by opening or closing small holes with pads that are in turn activated by a key mechanism. This key mechanism is usually located along the side of the instrument. In order of pitch range (highest to lowest), the brass instruments most commonly found in an orchestra are the trumpet, horn, trombone, and tuba.
The following listening examples will help convey the individual characteristics of these instruments, in particular their distinctive timbres.
Trumpet
Horn
Trombone