Elements of Music
The Enjoyment of Music
Melody: Musical Line
Definition – coherent succession of single pitches
Pitch – refers to the highness or lowness of a tone
depending on the rate of vibration (faster=higher)
Interval – distance between two pitches (small or large)
Range – distance between the melody’s lowest and highest
tones
Shape – determined by the direction a melody takes as it
turns upward or downward or remains static
Example p. 3
Melody cont
Conjunct – small intervals in a joined or connected
manner
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/w
atch?videoId=ikQNFqVkNNc
Disjunct – disjointed or disconnected intervals
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/w
atch?videoId=veUJxETj7-c
Melody - Structure
Phrase – denotes a unit of meaning within a larger
structure
Cadence – the phrase ends in a resting place, which
punctuates the music in the same way that a comma or
period punctuates a sentence
Example – prokofiev
Melody - Structure
Rhyme Scheme – poem that describes the similarity in
sound of the last syllables in each line
Countermelody – “against the melody”
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/w
atch?videoId=0gF-Wzp8Ni8
Rhythm
Rhythm – the element that organizes movement in time
Beat – regular pulsation heard in most Western styles of
music, some stronger than others known as accented beats
(2,4 or 1,3)
Meters – patterns into which rhythmic pulses are organized
and marked off into measures
Meter is a broader term. While rhythm encompasses the
overall movement of music in time, meter is the actual
measurement of time
Rhythm - patterns
Duple meter – two beats to a measure
Triple meter – three beats to a measure
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=2RskSMhNPoM
Quadruple meter – common time, four beats
Simple meter – subdivided into four
Compound meter – subdivided into three
Example p.8
Rhythm - patterns
Upbeat – begins with the last beat of the measure (America, the
Beautiful)
Syncopation – a deliberate upsetting of the normal pattern of
accentuation (accenting the weak beat instead of the strong beat)
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=pMAtL7n_-rc
Example p. 11
Polyrhythm – (many rhythms) two against three or three against
four http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=pMAtL7n_-rc
Additive meter – grouping of irregular numbers of beats that add
up to a larger overall pattern
Harmony: Musical Space
Harmony – describes the movement and relationship
of intervals and chords
Chord – when three or more tones sound together
Scale – collection of pitches arranged in ascending or
descending order
Syllables – do-re-me-fa-sol-la-ti-do
Octave – do-do, or 1-8
Function of Harmony
Triad – most common chord in Western Music, a combination of
three tones
Tonic – first degree of the scale
Tonality – organization around a central tone
Major and minor scales – degrees 1-8 in an arrangement of whole and
half steps depending on maj or min
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=Qb_jQBgzU-I
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=N6K_IuBsRM4
Diatonic – melodies or harmonies that are built from the tones of a
major or min scale
Chromatic – describes the full gamut of notes available in the octave
Consonance and Dissonance
Dissonance – a combination of tones that sounds
discordant, unstable, in need of resolution
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=qj9QlWltv8s
Consonance – combination of musical tones that
provides a sense of relaxation and fulfillment
Drone – (far East) harmony takes the subsidiary role of
a single sustained pitch
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=amNF_F6oeRU
Texture
Monophonic – single voiced
Heterophony – 2 or more, usually improvised
Polyphony – many voiced, 2 or more different melodic lines
at once
Counterpoint – note against note, one musical line set
against another
Homophony – a single voices takes over the melodic interest
while the accompanying parts take a subordinate role
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=zR0ZJyEhNx0
Texture: counterpoint
Imitation – a melodic idea is presented in one voice and then restated in
another http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=KdiHaWHJNc8
Canon and round – each voice enters in succession with the same melody
Retrograde – a statement of the melody backward beginning with the last note
Inversion – turns the melody upside down, follows the same intervals but in
the opposite direction
Retrograde inversion – upside down and backwards
Augmentation – melody to be presented in longer time values
Diminution – melody is presented in short time values
Musical Form
Variation – some aspects of the music are altered but
the original is still recognizable
Improvisation – creating music on the spot
Binary form – two part A-B
Ternary form – A-B-A two part, repeat first part
Example p. 25
Form
Theme – when a melodic idea is used as a building block in the construction
of a musical work
Thematic development – elaborating or varying a musical idea
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=N6K_IuBsRM4
Sequence – idea may be restated at a higher or lower pitch
Motive – smallest fragment of a theme that forms a melodic-rhythmic unit
Call and Response – responsorial music
http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?videoId=uiB6vT5HT3U
Ostinato – a short musical pattern that is repeated
Movement – a complete, comparatively independent division of a large-scale
work
Tempo
Tempo – rate of speed
Tempo markings
Grave, very, very slow
Largo, very slow
Adagio, quite slow
Andante, walking
Moderato, moderate
Allegro, fast
Vivace, lively
Presto, very fast
Dynamics
Dynamics – denote the volume at which music is
played
pianissimo (pp), very soft
Piano (p), soft
Mezzo piano (mp), moderately soft
Mezzo forte (mf), moderately loud
Forte (f), loud
Fortissimo (ff), very loud
Crescendo and decrescendo