The Elements of Music

Rhythm Melody Harmony Tempo Dynamics Texture Timbre Form

Rhythm What is Rhythm? The pulse, beat or timing of music. 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 Sixteenth note?

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. How we describe sounds: light, dark, rich, harsh... If you play the same note on a piano and on a guitar, each note will have its own timbre. 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.

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 through-composed. 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 parts- Exposition, 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