Elements of Music
Pitch – register (high or low); Organization of pitches with a pattern of intervals
between them creates scales; Words we might use to describe scales: major/minor, chromatic,
gapped, pentatonic.
Rhythm – the time element of music. A specific rhythm is a specific pattern in
time; we usually hear these in relation to a steady pulse, and mentally
organize this pulse or tempo into meter (sometimes called a
"time signature"). Meter
organizes beats into groups, usually of two or three; beats can be divided into
small units usually 2, 3 or 4 subdivisions
Melody, or musical line, is a combination
of pitch and rhythm (some say "duration"). Sometimes a melody is considered to be the theme of a
composition. We might characterize melody by its contour (rising or
falling) and the size of the intervals in it.
A melody that uses mostly small intervals (or scale steps) and is smooth
is said to be a conjunct melody.
Not surprisingly, a melody that uses large intervals is called a disjunct
melody. A motif (or motive)
is either a very short melody or a distinctive part of a longer melody. I might describe the opening four notes of
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as a "motific cell."
Timbre – sound quality or tone color;
timbre is the characteristic that allows us to distinguish between one
instrument and another, and the difference between vowel sounds (for example,
long "a" or "ee").
Terms we might use to describe timbre:
bright, dark, brassy, reedy, harsh, noisy, thin, buzzy, pure, raspy,
shrill, mellow, strained. I prefer to
avoid describing timbre in emotional terms (excited, angry, happy, sad, etc.);
that is not the sound quality, it is its effect or interpretation. Rather than describe the timbre of an
instrument in other terms, it is often more clear just to describe the timbre
by naming the instrument, once we have learned the names and sounds of a few
instruments.
Dynamics – loud or soft. A composition that has extremely soft
passages as well as extremely loud passages is said to have a large or wide dynamic
range. Dynamics can change suddenly
or gradually (crescendo, getting louder, or decrescendo, getting
softer.)
Texture – monophonic (one voice or line),
polyphonic (many voices, usually similar, as
in Renaissance or Baroque counterpoint),
homophonic (1. a melody with simple
accompaniment; 2. chords moving in the same rhythm
(homorhythmic))
heterophony – “mixed” or multiple
similar versions of a melody performed simultaneously (rare in European music;
possibly used in Ancient Greece)
collage – juxtaposition &
superimposition of extremely different textures or sounds
METER and examples
Most music in the world has a pulse or beat (exceptions
include shakuhachi music from Japan, Gregorian chant from Europe, various forms
of Arab music, some Australian didjeridu music, etc.). Usually, the pulses are organized (by the
performer, listener, and composer) into groups, usually from 2 to 5 beats in a
group, and are usually regular (the same number of beats repeating over and
over, and the beats always the same length).
This grouping is the general idea of METER. Most music derived from European sources falls into DUPLE (2 or 4
beats) or TRIPLE meters. Beats
themselves can be SUBDIVIDED into smaller parts, usually 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 even
parts (duple or triple subdivisions).
Music derived from folk music in the Balkans or from other sources such
as India have beats that are IRREGULAR in size. These beats usually are groups of two or three sub-pulses (or
pulse subdivisions). I prefer the term
“asymmetrical,” but there is no ideal
term for this concept.
The organization of time in European-influenced the music
usually is happening at at least three levels.
The middle ground, the level to which we are most likely to tap our
foot, is the beat (or pulse) which is grouped at a higher level into groups of
beats known as measures or bars. Going the other direction, beats are
subdivided into smaller parts.
Sometimes it is difficult to decide what is the basic level or speed of
the pulse (or tempo). For example, fast
music in a triple meter could be heard as a slow or moderate tempo (60 beats
per minute) with its beat subdivided into three parts, or as a very fast stream
of beats (180 beats per minute) that are grouped into threes.
In music there is a play between repetition (pattern) and
variety. The regularity of meter gives
rise to a set of expectations, and these expectations can be manipulated to
create emotion, motion, surprise, etc.
For example, in a 4-beat meter ("4/4" or "common
time"), the first beat is the strongest beat, and the third beat is the
next strongest. The second and fourth
beats are "weak" beats. Heavy
accents on these beats create a feeling of surprise known as
“syncopation.” Repeated heavy accents
on the second and fourth beats create a feeling known as "rock 'n'
roll." Another use of the
strong/weak beat distinction is the relative degree of melodic closure; when
the melody ends on beat 1 (the "downbeat"), it is called a strong
cadence and has the greatest feeling of closure, finality, rest or
completeness.