The Elements of Music

1
The Elements of Music

• Chapters 1 - 9

2
Sound Pitch, Dynamics, and Tone Color

• Pitch- The high or low quality of sound
• Dynamics- The loud or soft quality of music
• Tone color- Also known as timbre, refers to the
  unique quality of sound

3
Dynamics

• Forte--f,ff,fff-loud
• Piano--p,pp,ppp-very soft
• Mezzo---mf,mp--medium
• Crescendo--gradually louder
• Decrescendo,diminuendo--gradually softer

4
Voices

• Womens Voices
• Soprano
• Mezzo-soprano
• Alto

• Mens Voices
• Tenor
• Baritone
• Bass

5
Orchestral Instruments Stringspictures on p.
13-14

• Violin- highest pitched of string family
• Viola- medium pitched, takes role of supporting
  actor
• Cello- larger and lower pitched than viola, held
  between knees
• Bass- largest and lowest pitched of string
  family, played while standing
• Harp-47 strings and 7 foot pedals

6
Orchestral Instruments Woodwindspictures on p.
17-19

• Piccolo- highest pitched
• Flute- blown across tone hole
• Oboe- highest pitched of double reeds

7
Orchestral Instruments Woodwinds

• English horn- low oboe sound
• Clarinet- single reed
• Bassoon- lowest pitched of the double reed
  instruments, aka clown of the orchestra.
  Produces deep, nasal tone
• Saxophone- made of brass, single reed

8
Orchestral Instruments Brasspictured on page 21

• Trumpet- highest pitched of the brass family
• French horn-not as bright as a trumpet, consists
  of coiled tubing and is often used for hunting
  calls
• Trombone- incorporates a movable slide to change
  pitches
• Tuba- the lowest pitched of the brass instruments

9
Orchestral Instruments percussionpictured on
pp. 22-23

• Pitched percussion instruments
• Timpani large kettle drums
• Glockenspiel metal bars hit struck with mallets
• Xylophone wooden bars struck with mallets,
  producing a dry brittle sound
• Celesta small upright piano that sounds like a
  glockenspiel
• Chimes a set of metal tubes hung from a frame
  which are struck by a hammer

10
Orchestral Instruments Percussionpictured on
pp. 23-24

• Unpitched percussion instruments
• Bass drum
• Snare drum
• Cymbals
• Gong
• Triangle
• Tambourine

11
Orchestral Instruments KeyboardsPictured on pp.
26-27

• Piano keys activate hammers that hit strings
• Harpsichord keys activate plectra which pluck
  the strings
• Pipe organ keys control valves that channel air
  through various pipes

12
RhythmThe flow of music through time the
pattern of durations of notes and silences in
music

• Beat - the pulse of music
• Meter- the grouping of beats
• Tempo - the speed of the beat (pg. 34)
• Accent - a pitch that is played more loudly, held
  longer or is higher in pitch than the nearby
  notes
• Syncopation- When an accented note comes where we
  would normally not expect it

13
Tempo Markings
14
Tempo Markings

• Molto-much
• Non troppo-not too much (fast or slow)
• Accelerando- gradually faster
• Ritardando- gradually slower

15
Music Notation

• Notating pitch
• Staff the five lines and four spaces on which
  music is written
• Note an oval which represents a specific pitch
• Clef placed at the beginning of the staff, the
  clef assigns pitch names to the lines and spaces
  (pg. 36)

16
Music Notation (cont.)

• Notating Rhythm
• Durations the color of the note and the presence
  of stems or flags and beams and dots affect the
  duration of a note (pg. 37)
• Restssymbols for pauses with specific durations
  (pg. 36)

17
Music Notation (cont.)

• Notating meter
• Time signature placed next to the clef, the top
  number of the time signature indicates the
  grouping of beats and the bottom number indicates
  what kind of note will receive one beat.

18
MelodyA succession of pitches which add up to
a recognizable whole

• Intervals the distance between two pitches
• Sequence the repetition of a melodic pattern at
  a higher or lower pitch
• Cadence a resting spot

19
Harmonythe vertical aspect of music

• Chord a combination of three or more notes
  sounded simultaneously
• Consonance harmony that is stable and restful to
  the ear
• Dissonancetense and unstable harmony that
  demands onward motion to stable harmony
  (resolution)

20
Key - Tonalitythe homing instinct of music

• Major scale a succession of eight pitches
  arranged from low to high, based on the intervals
  of the white keys of a piano (pg. 46)
• Minor scale a succession of eight pitches
  arranged from low to high, based on a specific
  pattern of whole and half steps which results in
  a dark quality of melody and harmony

21
Key-Tonality (cont.)

• Chromatic scale a series of 12 pitches based on
  the black and white keys of the piano
• Modulation the shifting from one key to another

22
Texturelayers of sound

• Monophonic a single unaccompanied melody line
• Polyphonic two or more independent melody lines
  happening simultaneously
• Homophonic melody plus accompaniment

23
Musical Formthe shape, structure and
organization of music

• Binary form AB
• Ternary form ABA
• Rondo ABACAD
• Theme and VariationsA A A A A
• Ballad form AABA
• Strophicstanzas or verses
• Call and response