World Music Musical Elements

Sound and Music the ingredients, or elements, that make up all music and develop a common language for discussing these sonic properties.

All sound, including music, is made up of four components. Sound begins with (1) a vibration, which travels through (2) a medium (typically air) to (3) the human ear and finally (4) to the brain where the sound is analyzed.

Vibrations are around us at all times, unseen yet perceived by our ears and brain. Imagine that instead of living in air we lived underwater and could see these vibrations swirling around us. These vibrations can start in a number of ways and from a variety of sources- from a rock being dropped on the ground to the plucking of a string. Our brains are amazing analyzers of sound.

Each of us can identify the voices of our friends and loved ones sight unseen. And even young listeners can already identify various instruments and musical styles. Those of you who have radios in your automobile equipped with a 5 second scan or search function know that the brain very quickly can tell the difference between musical styles such as classic rock, alternative, hip-hop, R&B, Mexican music, jazz, classical- often within less than a second.

Music is an art form based on the organization of sound in time Music is an art form based on the organization of sound in time. Since it belongs to the world of art it is exclusively human- the complex songs of birds and whales, for instance, are not considered art but rather communication. And since music belongs to the world of art, different cultures in different time periods may have vastly different ideas on how music is organized. Even within one culture there are gray areas and not everyone may agree on what is and is not acceptable music.

For instance, speech is not normally considered music but there are some hybrid forms that are neither pure speech nor pure singing, for instance rap and some performances of poetry, which challenge musically boundaries.

Some of the most famous pieces of “music” challenge boundaries Some of the most famous pieces of “music” challenge boundaries. For instance, the American composer John Cage wrote a piece entitled 4’33’’ that entails four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence. An actual performance of this piece would make the point that there is no such thing as silence and that the sounds of the audience and world outside are part of the performance.

Do you believe this is a valid piece of music? Whether you do or not, it shows that there are many circumstances where there is not 100% agreement about what is music and what is not.

Because the rules for organizing sound into music differ from culture to culture when first acquainted with music from a different culture than yours it may be very difficult to perceive the way in which music is organized. At first the music may seem like noise, a disorganized sound that may be disorienting or irritating.

Many of us may have experienced listening to a favorite song a high volume when an angry parent knocks on our bedroom door and asks us to “turn down that noise!” The parent obviously does not perceive or appreciate the manner in which the music is organized, so much so that they may simply perceive the music as noise.

The same is true when approaching any music different than ours The same is true when approaching any music different than ours. We often must spend some time learning how the music is organized before we can appreciate the music more fully.