The Elements of Music

RhythmMelody

HarmonyTempo

DynamicsTextureTimbreForm

RhythmWhat is Rhythm?

a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound.

● The pulse, beat or timing of music. ● A way to organize pitches in patterns.

Why is it important?

DURATION and TEMPO

There are two factors that go into making music that go along with rhythms.

Duration: the length of each sound

Tempo: the speed of music

How do we stay organized?

BELL RINGER 9/5/13

1. The length of each sound is also known as ___________.

2. “Fast” or “slow” or adjectives used to describe the ________ of a piece of music.

3. A strong, repeated pattern of movement or sound is known as __________.

4. “Thick” or “thin” are adjectives used to describe the

________ of a piece of music.

5. Which note has more beats a Whole note or a Sixteenth note?

Texture

Texture: the way multiple voices (or instruments) interact in a composition.

● Which voice is most prominent? Are all the voices equal?

● how thick or thin the music sounds

Texture Types

Monophonic- Literally meaning "one sound." ● describes music consisting of a single

melodic line; it can be sung/played by one person or many, as long as the same notes and rhythms are being performed.

Examples: Singing “Happy Birthday”, a bugle playing taps at a funeral, singing “The Star Spangled Banner” or “God Bless America.”

Texture Types

Polyphonic-"many sounds;" ● musical texture in which two or more

melodic lines of relatively equal importance are performed at the same time.

● This is a fairly complex style which was popular with composers from around 1500-1800.

Examples: Vocal and instrumental music from the Renaissance through the Baroque; Music for large instrumental ensembles; Religious choral music; A round or canon

Texture Types

Homophonic- is the texture that consists of a single, dominating melody that is accompanied by chords.

● The chords are not as important than the melody.

• Examples: Most popular music styles (rock, folk, country, jazz,etc.)

Timbre

Timbre- a word that describes the tone or unique quality of a sound. Also known as tone color.

● How we describe sounds: light, dark, rich, harsh...

If you play the same note on a piano and on a guitar, each note will have its own timbre.

Timbre comes from the Greek word that means drum.

BELL RINGER 9/12/13

1.

2.

3.

4. Singing “Happy Birthday is an example of this texture type.

5. This element of music, __________ is also known as “tone color.”

Melody- A rhythmically organized sequence of single tones so related to one another as to make up a particular phrase or idea.

● “A musical sentence.”● The leading part/line in a composition with

accompaniment.● From Greek melos, "song," its early sense

was "sweet music."● is “horizontal,” since its notes are played in

order and read from left-to-right.

Harmony- is produced when two complementary notes sound simultaneously.

● is found in chords, or can be played along a main melody.

● is considered “vertical,” because it is only made when notes are stacked and played at the same time.

FORM

Musical form: the overall structure or plan of a piece of music; the layout

of a composition, and how its divided into sections.

● how it is made● Identify sections that repeat, and sections that are

different

Common Musical Forms

Single Forms- works that are not clearly divided into sections; are through-composed.

Song Form: contains verse and refrain (or chorus); also might include a bridge.

Common Musical Forms

Binary Form: has two distinct sections A and B.

Ternary Form: has two distinct sections and a repeat of the “A”. ABA.

“da capo” form

Common Musical Forms

Rondo: ABACABA form. where the “A” theme keeps returning.

Theme and Variations: form that contains a theme and can be repeated indefinitely based up the number of variations.

Common Musical Forms

Sonata: form that contains three parts- Exposition, Development and Recapitulation.

Concerto: composed in three distinct parts for solo instrument accompanied by orchestra.

Symphony- large multi movement work for orchestra.

RHYTHM LAB

http://www.sfskids.org/templates/musicLabF.asp?pageid=12