Jan C. LaRue’s “Guidelines for Style Analysis” is a comprehensive tool for listening to music in a systematic and comparative way. The SHMRG categories (Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Growth) provide a framework for breaking down and analyzing various aspects of a piece of music. Sound encompasses the overall sound quality of the music, including the number of parts present, the orchestration, and the use of dynamics. Understanding the texture, timbre, and dynamics of a piece can provide insight into how the composer creates specific effects and builds tension or contrast.
Harmony covers the vertical aspect of sound, analyzing the combination of simultaneous notes. This includes exploring the number of parts present, the type of harmony used (diatonic, atonal, chromatic, etc.), and the way sonorities move from one to the next. As a result of examining the key areas and modulations, we are able to get a clearer idea of how the composer creates a sense of organization in the composition as a whole.
Melody encompasses the horizontal aspect of music, exploring the sequence of pitches through time. Understanding the motion of a melody, the use of motifs, and the overall shape of the melody can give us insight into how the composer conveys meaning and emotion. Rhythm involves exploring the way the music is organized through time, including the use of meter, accent, and tempo. Analyzing the rhythm of a piece can help us understand how the composer creates a sense of structure and flow.
Finally, growth refers to the overall progression of the piece and the way the various elements (sound, harmony, melody, rhythm) evolve over time. Analyzing the growth of a piece can give us insight into how the composer builds and releases tension, creates an overall sense of structure and form and conveys meaning and emotion. In conclusion, the SHMRG categories provide a useful framework for analyzing and understanding the various elements of a piece of music. By breaking down the Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and growth of a piece, we can gain a deeper understanding of the composer’s intent and the meaning behind the music.
Works Cited
Grave, Floyd K. The Journal of Musicology, vol. 11, no. 2, 1993, pp. 269–76. JSTOR, Web.