The
Elements of
Music
Rhythm
Melody
Harmony
Tempo
Dynamics
Texture
Timbre
Form
Rhythm
What 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
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.
If you play the same note
on a piano and on a
guitar, each note will
have its own timbre.
● How we describe
sounds: light, dark,
rich, harsh...
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 throughcomposed.
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 partsExposition, 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