Musical Elements

• Rhythm• Pitch and Melody• Form• Texture (density of sound)• Dynamics (loud and soft)• Timbre (tone color)

Terminology

• For your assignments and reports, use the academic (and often Italian) terms discussed in class—avoid colloquial terminology like “hook,” “hit,” “outro,” “kick,” etc.

Rhythm: The flow of music through time

Primary concept in rhythm is the beat —Music may, or may not, have a beatMusic with a beat: Pulsatile

• Beat: Steady pulses, heard or unheard that underlies pulsatile music.

• Can be fast, slow, or in between• Not associated with mood—there’s no “happy” or “sad”

beat. Keep categories separated from “pop” definitions

– Music without a beat: Non-pulsatile– Music with a weak or unsteady sense of beat: Quasi-

pulsatile

Beat, continuedStandardized Italian terms

• Tempo - the rate at which the beat passes– Specified by beats per minute or subjective terms:

• Prestissimo—as fast as possible• Presto,—very fast• Allegro—fast• Moderato-moderate• Andante—walking speed• Largo—slow• Grave—very slow with “somber” feel

• Accelerando - a gradual speed up of tempo• Ritardando or Rallentando - a gradual slowing down of tempo• Rubato – “robbing time”– expressive slowing and speeding

slightly within a phrase.

Meter - an organization of beats, divisions of beats, and groupings of beats into distinct levels of the passage of time

▫ A meter with hierarchies of two such as this is very common, but beats may be grouped and divided in different ways

▫ Listen for the accent of first beat of a group to determine meter. How to listen for the beat????▫ If we perceive a grouping of two, we call it duple▫ If we perceive a grouping of four, we call it quadruple

▫ In This example they are grouped into twos.▫ The beginnings of notes (the horizontal lines) nearly always

coincide with one of these divisions:

Meter, continued• When beats are divided into two parts, they are called simple

meters—these are most common• In this example, the beat is grouped into threes but divided into

twos • This meter is called simple triple and is well known as the meter

for the European waltz and many Latin styles derived from it.

More meter• triple meter - a meter in which the beats are grouped in threes• duple meter - a meter in which beats are grouped in twos• In the example below, the meter is compound (beat divided into threes)

duple (beat grouped into twos).

• simple meter - a meter in which the beat is divided into two

• compound meter - a meter in which the beat is divided into three—HUH?

Example: “Yo no Compro Amores”Example: “Altos del Rosario”

14 Track 14 3.m4a

Compound Meter• The example below shows a compound meter in which the beat is divided by

three and grouped into twos.• This meter is called compound duple• This meter is common in Latin America in the chilena, cueca, and other dance

forms• If we perceive a grouping of four beats, the meter would be called ??• Ife we perceive a grouping of three beats, the meter would be called ??

Sesquiáltera

• Sesquiáltera: The alternation of simple triple and compound duple meters 3:2

• Bernstein’s “America” song exemplifies this rhythmic trait

• When these two meters are combined, we still have sesquiáltera, but we also have polyrhythm: at its simplest, the layering of a duple and triple meter and their rhythms

Polyrhythm and African influence

• The African influence of much Latin American Music can create intense polythythmic layering!

• Example: Grupo Afro Cuba “Aguado Koloya”

SyncopationMetrical Stress and Syncopation

▫ Syncopation - rhythm in which the metrical stress of a note is displaced in the meter so that the emphasis occurs on normally unstressed beats

The shifting of stress normally occurs one of two ways▫ a note which begins on a normally unstressed beat to extend through the

next stressed beat ▫ Emphasize notes on normally unstressed beats by playing them more

loudly or giving them a harder attack

Dynamics

• Loudness in Music• Relative measurement rather than exact levels• Forte, piano, mezzo-• Dynamics – the use of loudness as a musical element• Crescendo - gradually getting louder• Decrescendo - gradually getting softer• Performers in most cultures control loudness as an

expressive element • Artful contrasts of loud and soft create effective musical

expression

Pitch and Melody

• What is Pitch?▫ Pitch - the quality of a note that distinguishes a high note from a

low one▫ Frequency - the number of sound waves per second

▫ Hertz (hz) Pitch is metaphor for hz

▫ “Middle C:” 261.62▫ Definite vs indefinite pitch--Not all instruments have definite pitch▫ What are some indefinite pitch instruments?

Pitch and Melody, continued

– The Octave• Interval - the distance in pitch between any two notes• Octave - the simplest possible ratio between two

frequencies—2:1• Parallel octaves - two otherwise identical melodies sung

simultaneously an octave apart

Pitch and Melody

Tuning Systems– Tuning system – What pitches represented?– 12-tone equal temperament: tuning system now

standardized in the Americas and Europe, but…• Other cultures have different systems–more notes per octave, fewer,

different intervals.• Indigenous cultures, especially, may use non-Western systems

• Western scale with local, non equal temperament tuning system: “folk” intonation

• Do not confuse with “playing out of tune”

More Pitch and Melody

– Tonality• Tonic - “home base” pitch, no matter its octave

(sometimes the tonal center or key center)• Tonality - The feeling that a melody revolves around

the central pitch• Tonal - music that uses tonality• Atonal – music without tonality

– Probably safe to say that all Latin American music, with the exception of some 20th-century and later “art” music, is tonal

Chapter 2: Pitch and Melody

– Modes• diatonic set - uses only seven of the available twelve pitches at a

time, represented in one form by the white keys of the piano keyboard– Most common are major and minor– A common trait in Latin American Muisc is bi-modality—the alternation of

a major or minor key with its relative minor or major key– Example: Andean music

• Pentatonic - Modes with five pitches—common in many Latin American Cultures

• Hexatonic - Modes with six pitches• Heptatonic - Modes with seven pitches• Scale - a convenient construction for illustrating the tonic and

pitch set used in a piece of music

Chapter 2: Pitch and Melody

• Melody: • Melody: Sequence of pitches in rhythm:• All cultures have melodic music of some kind• Melody may not be important or present in some types of

music• Concept of what makes melody beautiful differs from

culture to culture • What makes melody memorable is more than simply

sequence of pitches: all dimensions [Rhythm, for example] work together toward a single effect on the listener

Melody• A series of single notes that add up to a recognizable

whole• Comprised of rhythm, pitch

• Begins, moves, ends —can be short, long, anywhere in between; creates tension & release

• Melodic movement• Stepwise vs. leap motion• Range• Climax• Examples:

• Evil Ways by Carlos Santana• Somewhere, Over the Rainbow

Melody• Made of phrases (parts)• Cadence: Complete vs. Incomplete• Phrasing: balancing vs. non-balancing

• Defining phrases: lower-case letters

a

a’

Melody

• Balanced phrases—same number of beats in each

a

b

Melody• Phrases of differing lengths: non-balancing

– The sequence

a

b

Graph of melody:

Characteristics of Melodies

Melodic contour and motion

• Contour- general direction or shape of a melody over time

• Motion- conjunct and disjunct

Melodic Motion and Countour

Ornamentation• Enhancement or ornamentation of a melody

without changing its overall character

Motives and Themes• Motive- short melodic fragment that is repeated

at certain points, often used as “cell” or “building block”

• Ostinato: short repeated melodic phrase

• Theme- entire melody recognized as a discrete entity

Pitch and Melody

• Slur

• Glissando

• Vibrato

• Trill (and variants)

• Buzzing

• Other stylistic devices

Form

• STRUCTURE (Form)– Architecture, design, plan or layout of music– Structural determinants include

• Repetitions and contrasts• Sectional changes• Variations

– Understanding form enhances listening experience– At low level, signs of form: cadences in melody– At high level, signs: contrasts in loudness, harmony,

tempo, instruments

Pitch and Melody• STRUCTURE (Form)

– Phrases and Hierarchical Structures• Melodic phrase is the foundation of musical structures• Phrases can form parts of larger musical compositions• Some phrases simply strung together with no implication of higher grouping • When Phrases are part of a higher grouping, Use Uppercase letters to

designate differing phrases• A, B, C, etc

– Repeating Structures• Strophic - a song that repeats a group of melodic phrases over and over but

with different words [eg: Hymns/folk songs]• A, A’, A”, etc• Verse-Refrain – each verse has different words with same music; refrain uses

same words and music each time [eg: most western popular music today]• A B (refrain) A B, A, etc

– Varying structure• A B A C A D, etc

Pitch and Melody

• STRUCTURE– Variation• Transposition - playing the melody at a different pitch

level• Modulation – Temporary change of key or mode

Chapter 2: Pitch and Melody• STRUCTURE– Other common ways to vary a repetition• increased or different ornamentation• different mode• different tonal center• different tempo or rhythmic density (number of notes

per beat)• different instruments used• different texture

Poetic forms: décimaA DON PORFIRIO VÁSQUEZ¡Criollo, no: ¡Criollazo! Canta en el tono que rasques. Le llaman “El Amigazo”, Su nombre: ¡PORFIRIO VÁSQUEZ!

Escúcheme, por favor, escúcheme aunque no quiera: cómo canta marinera, yo lo creo un trovador. Soy su fiel admirador, lo oí y le di un abrazo; donde él fui pasito a paso por sentir su melodía. Le digo, desde ese día ¡criollo, no: ¡Criollazo...!

Es el adjetivo justo que merece un decimista, zapateador, jaranista, compositor de buen gusto. Perdóname si te asusto pero por Dios, no me atasques, que aunque la lengua me masques repetiré que es tan ducho que sin esforzarse mucho canta en el tono que rasques.

Riqueza debía tener mas Dios le dará otro premio, pues por su alma de bohemio como si fuera un deber, gozó más con proteger al que le tendió su brazo.

Hoy comentan este caso los que de él han recibido, y en un geto agradecido le llaman “El Amigazo”.

Cuando le llegue el momento... —y esto no es un mal presagio—, como póstumo sufragio le haremos un monumento. Ruego al que grabe el cemento que con buen cincel recalque y en un ángulo le marque, donde la piedra resista, para que por siempre exista su nombre: ¡PORFIRIO VÁSQUEZ!

Poetic forms: copla“La Guacamaya”–traditional, performed by Los Lobos

Pobrecita guacamaya ay! Que lastima me dasAy que lastima me das, pobrecita guacamayaSe acabron las pitahayas ahora si que comerasPobrecita guacamaya ay! Que lastima me das

Vuela, vuela, vuela, como yo voleCuando me llevaron preso senorita por ustedVuela, vuela, vuela, como yo voleCuando me llevaron preso senorita por usted

Una guacamaya pinta le dijo a la coloradaVamonos para tierra pa pasar la temporada

Vuela, vuela, vuela, como yo voleCuando me llevaron preso senorita por usted

Vuela, vuela, vuela, como yo voleCuando me llevaron preso senorita por ustedPoor Guacamaya, oh what a pityOh what a pity, poor guacamayaThe cactus fruit are all gone now, What will you eat?Poor Guacamaya, oh what a pity

Fly, fly, fly ,oh how I flewWhen I was taken prisoner, señorita, All because of youFly, fly, fly ,oh how I flewWhen I was taken prisoner, señorita, All because of you

The many-colored guacamaya said to the red one“Let us go to my land to pass the season”

Texture Texture describes the following attributes:

▫What instrument(s)/voice(s) are performing▫The timbres of the instrument(s)/voice(s)▫The relative roles of each of the instrument(s)/voice(s)

Changes in texture can articulate important sectional divisions Musicologists & music theorists divide textures into four large

categories:

▫Monophony▫Homophony▫Polyphony▫Heterophony

Texture

Monophony• meaning one sound

– one instrument playing one note at a time/voice singing melody

• Below is a graph of a monophonic texture:

Monophony is extremely common throughout the world

Texture

– parallel octaves – called monophony because singing in parallel octaves sounds virtually the same as a single melody

Parallel Octaves © 2013 Cengage Learning

Texture

Homophony - a single melody accompanied by supporting harmony• In the graph of a homophonic texture below, the melody the

voice sings is the principal melody associated with the song• The parts played by the guitar and bass accompany it.

Texture

Polyphony - several melodies of more or less equal focus at the same time

• round or canon - one of the most familiar forms of polyphony in the West, (ex. “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”) in which singers sing the same melody at staggered time intervals.

• imitative polyphony - one line imitates the melody in another line

• Non-imitative polyphony - different melodies, guided by common structural principles, weave around one another– Common in non-Western music

TextureHeterophony: Common in many cultures though not in the West—assumes more than one singer/instrument– Musicians often enrich a piece by adding

ornamentation and variations to the melody simultaneously• Not strict monophony: Although we would perceive a

single melody, each rendition would be different• Not polyphony: Only one melody

Texture

Heterophony - simultaneous variations of one melody

• the graph of a heterophonic texture below shows the performances by a south Indian singer (blue lines) and violinist (red lines)

• although they sing and play the same basic melodies, their slight differences in notes and ornamentation create simultaneous variations.

Texture

Other Textures• Many textures are hybrids

The Drone• Drone - a long, constant pitch played throughout all or part of a

composition– Ear does not recognize it as an independent melody

Drums• Very important for texture in some cultures• Drums and other nonpitched percussion instruments do not fit neatly

into general classifications of texture• drum polyphony – where each individual drum has a line all its own,

but the “melodies” of the drums are very limited, if they can be called melodies at all