The 4 Parameters of Sound
• PITCH = the frequency of vibration (heard as
“high” vs. “low”)
• DURATION = the length of time a sound
lasts (heard as aspects of rhythm)
• TIMBRE = tone color (the source of the
sound, i.e., instrument, voice, other)
• DYNAMICS = Loudness/Softness
“RHYTHM”
• From a Greek word (“rhythmos”) that
means “flow”
• Refers to all temporal (durational)
elements in a piece of music
• “The organization of time in music,
dividing up long spans of time into
smaller, more easily comprehended
units” (Craig Wright [Yale U])
Some Terms related to Rhythm
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Beat
Accent
Meter (duple, triple) (simple, compound)
Measure
Tempo
Syncopation
Polyrhythm (Polymeters)
Some Examples
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stars and Stripes Forever - John Philip Sousa - YouTube
The Blue Danube Waltz - Johann Strauss Jr - YouTube
Jethro Tull - Living In The Past 1969
Mission Impossible TV show theme song - YouTube
Ragtime Piano : SCOTT JOPLIN . " The Entertainer " (1902) YouTube
Kaida, Rupak Tal - YouTube
Birds of Fire - Mahavishnu Orchestra - YouTube
West Side Story (4/10) Movie CLIP - America (1961) HD –
YouTube
Bulgaria folklore, ruchenitsa – YouTube
Kopanitsa A La Turka – YouTube
The Rite of Spring - The Sacrifice - YouTube
Gregorian Chants from Assisi - Medieval Lauds - YouTube
Dynamics
•
•
•
•
•
•
forte = “loud” (literally, “strong”)
piano = “soft”
mezzo = “medium”
Levels: fff - ff - f - mf – mp – p – pp - ppp
crescendo = becoming louder
decrescendo = becoming softer
(also, diminuendo)
The 4 Parameters of Sound
• PITCH = the frequency of vibration (heard as
“high” vs. “low”)
• DURATION = the length of time a sound
lasts (heard as aspects of rhythm)
• TIMBRE = tone color (the source of the
sound, i.e., instrument, voice, other)
• DYNAMICS = Loudness/Softness
PITCH
• Function of “frequency” (how many
vibrations per second)
• Usually described as “high” or “low”
• Individual sound sometimes called a
“note” (from the written symbol for a
single sound)
• Range of human hearing 20 – 20,000 Hz
Some Useful Terms related to Pitch
• Interval – “distance” between 2 pitches
• Octave – 2:1 ratio of frequency
- What is an Octave - YouTube
•
•
•
•
Tonality – organization around home pitch
Tonic – the home pitch
Key – collection of pitches around a tonal center
Scale – set of pitches in ascending and descending
order (scala [Ital.] = “ladder”)
- Music Theory 101: Scales and Modes – YouTube
- The Major Scale Formula: Lesson 1 Music Theory – YouTube
- Understanding the Natural Minor Scale... - YouTube
Piano Keyboard & Great Staff
One Chromatic Octave