An Introduction to Music www.muziclub.com

Contents Why living Music is so Important What is Music Fundamental Blocks for Music Melody Harmony Rhythm Lyrics* Mapping between key terms in Indian and western music Expressing Emotions through Music

Music - Essential Life Component From Loving to Living Music Why live Music Music - Essential Life Component Human Brain has natural affinity towards music. A musical activity improves intellectual brain activity. Music skills enhance Self Confidence, Social Bonding and Success in society . Playing music helps in bringing down Stress levels and improves overall health and well being. From Loving to Living Music Actively playing music (living music) is infinitely more enjoyable than passively listening to it Every Human being has the potential to evolve into a Musical genius with proper training and Practice

Music – Organized Sound evoking Emotions Rhythmic patterns Pitch / Frequency Melodic Phrases Timbre / Voice Harmonic Progressions Loudness / Dynamics evoking Emotions Wide melodic range, Consistent strong rhythm, Major Chords Narrow melodic range, Slow rhythm, Minor Chords Wide melodic range, Rhythm variations, Mixed Chords

Building Blocks of Music Song / Composition Lyrics Rhythm Rhymes Syllables Meter Tempo Melody Harmony Scale Phrase Chord Progressions Musical Note Duration Pitch Intensity Timbre Beats Frequency

Musical Note Duration Duration tells how long the note lasts or the Time Value of the note This is usually expressed in Beats (measure of time in music) Whole note 4 Beats Half Note 2 Beats Quarter Note 1 Beat Eighth Note half Beat Time value of Notes Auditory property helping sound to be perceived as higher or lower Depends on Frequency, expressed in Hertz (cycles per second) Pitch Higher Notes Lower Notes Quarter Note A on Staff = 440 Hz Tone and Note A sound of a specific frequency and pitch is referred to as a Musical Tone. In addition to these Tone has following Attributes Intensity: A measure of loudness Tones of specific frequency are referred to as Musical Notes and have associated names. E.g. Notes, C, D, E, F in western music

Melody – Musical Scales Overview A Musical Scale consists of a collection of Notes with pre defined Pitch distances Notes with Frequency difference of two times are said to be an Octave apart. In a commonly used ‘Equal Tempered’ scale, the Notes are divided equally into several parts, usually 12 The Ratio of Frequencies of adjacent intervals is fixed – 1.059 approx (12th root of 2) Each Step is referred to as a Semitone (S) and 2 steps as Tone (T) The Note A above middle C with frequency of 440 Hz is used as Tuning Standard in Western Music C5 523 Hz B A 440 Hz G 392 Hz F 349 Hz S E D T Middle C (C4) 261.5 Hz Music Scale shown over 12 Equal Temperaments

Melody – Musical Scales Most of the Music systems in the world use Diatonic Scale as the basic framework for musical Compositions which follows same pattern of Pitch distances T T S T T T S C D E F G A B C 8 C Guitar 7 B 6 A Piano 5 C D E F G A B C G 4 F Staff Notation S 3 E English Notes C D E F G A B C 2 D Indian Notes Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa T 1 C Spanish Notes Do Re Me Fa So La Ti Do Pitch gaps in a Diatonic Scale Diatonic Notes Names in various Music Systems

Instrument Ranges Human Voice Concert Piano Violin Bass Guitar Guitar C0 C1 C2 C3 C4 Middle C C5 C6 C7 Octave C8 Every Instrument has a limited Range of Pitches it can play Most Vocalists have a Vocal Range of 2-3 Octaves. Some people can go upto 3.5 or even 4 Sound of same frequency from different Sources sounds very similar even if tone quality (or timbre) is very different. Sound of Frequency in factors of 2 (Octaves) sounds very similar

Musical Phrases Melody is created using different patterns of Notes in a Musical Scale Musical phrase is a unit in Composition which has complete musical sense A melody typically consists of several consecutive musical phrases. Phrases usually culminate into a more or less definite cadence. Cadence is musical melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of Resolution Twin kle Twin kle lit tle star how I won der what you are Example of a common Melody

Consonance and Dissonance Harmony Combinations of certain notes sound pleasant and certain others sound annoying (dissonant) based on harmonic interaction between different frequencies Simultaneous notes of different pitches produce Chords, which provide fundamental building block for Harmony in Western Music The study of Harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions. Consonance is a chord or Interval that sounds pleasant to most people and appears to be at Rest. Consonances are generally points of arrival, Resolution or Rest. Most Harmonies and Melodies end on Consonance Chords Dissonance appears to be Unpleasant and at Unrest Consonance and Dissonance C Chord = C + E + G Example of C Chord on Piano and guitar

Examples of Chord Progressions Series of Chords that establish a Tonal Function for each Chord to produce Harmonic Flow Change of Chord, or "chord change", generally occurs on an accented Beat, Most Common Chords consist of Triads (3 notes) Formed using alternate notes. E.g. CEG = C Chord, GBD = G Chord Chords created using Bass notes of various Scale Degrees of the Tonic (Key) are often referred to with equivalent Roman Numerals. E.g. in the Key of C, C Chord = I, F Chord = IV, G Chord = V I - IV - V – V I - I - IV – V I - IV - I – V I - IV - V - IV 3 Chord Progressions Circle Progressions I - V - I I - IV - V - I Blues Changes I - I - I - I IV - IV - I – I V - V - I - I Examples of Chord Progressions

Rhythm Rhythm Tempo Metric Level Meter Rhythm is regulated succession of strong and weak elements and made up of sounds and silences. The strong and weak elements (sounds and silences) are put together to form a pattern of sounds which gets repeated A rhythm has a steady beat, but it may also have different kinds of beats. Tempo Speed or Pace of a given piece Can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece. Usually expressed in Beats per minute Metric Level Basic Unit of time that can be audible Also called Beat level Repeating series of identical distinct periods Meter Organization of music into regularly recurring measures of stressed and unstressed "beats“ Indicated in Western music notation by a time signature and bar-lines. Whole note 4 Beats Half note 2 Beats Quarter note 1 Beat Eighth note 1/2 Beat Beat Level Division Level Multiple Levels

Expressing Emotions through Music Melody Rhythm Harmony (Chord/ Tonality) Happiness, Excitement Wide Range Consistent, Strong, Loud, Fast Major Love, Affection, Tenderness Medium Gentle, Medium Tempo Sadness flat Slow Minor Tranquillity Smooth, Gentle Major/Minor Triumph, Ecstasy Wide Jumps Energetic, Loud, Fast Power Chord This is only a Rough Guideline. The infinitely complex musical structures and patterns allow Infinitely Complex Emotions to be Expressed with Music

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