1. Bell Ringer  When you listen to music, what are key elements that you specifically listen to? Think about what is in a piece of music that makes you like/dislike it. Is there a certain “mood” that is created in songs? What helps to create that mood? Think about things BESIDES lyrics.  When you are finished, please wait silently while the rest of class continues to work.

2. Elements of Music EXPLORING MUSIC SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

3. Beat and Meter  Heartbeat of music- what creates the “pulse” of a song?  How are the rhythms grouped together?  Groups of 2?  3?  4?  Combined groupings?  Dance v. march

4. Dynamics  Volume!!!!  Pianissimo (pp)  Piano (p)  Mezzo piano (mp)  Mezzo forte (mf)  Forte (f)  Fortissimo (ff)  Crescendo v. descrescendo

5. Harmony  The combination of simultaneous vertical blocks of different tones  Chords  Major (happy)  Minor (sad)  Usually an accompaniment to the main tune  Without harmony, a lot of songs would be quite simple and plain

6. Melody  An intentionally organized succession of musical tones  The main tune of a piece of music  Typically what you hear the main vocalist singing  The part that always gets stuck in your head  Repetitive and something easy to remember

7. Musical Instruments  The physical instruments that were engineered to create a specific sound  Each instrument has a unique sound and range of how low and high they can play  Main Families of Instruments  Brass  Percussion  Woodwind  String

8. Tone Color/Timbre  The distinct tonal quality of an instrument of voice, which is clearly identifiable by the ear  The “color” of a sound  Why you like the sound of certain artists v. others  Dark, bright, Whiny, Pingy, Light, Heavy, etc.

9. Texture  The way sounds are woven together  Do all the instruments and voices move together at the same time?  Are there a bunch of different parts moving at various times?  Is it a light texture, or a heavy texture (different than timbre)

10. Form  The structure and design of a composition  Incorporates…  Repetition  Contrast  Unity  Variety  Round/Canon  ABA  Rondo

11. Any Questions?