ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

quarter note 1 beat

- music can be analyzed by considering a
variety of its elements, or parts, individually or
together
- foundation on which music is written,
arranged, and performed eighth note ½ beat
- commonly used list includes pitch, timbre,
texture, volume, duration, form
- elements of music may be compared to the
elements of art and design

sixteenth note ¼ beat

TIMBRE
- is the term for the color or sound of music
- refers to the frequencies that compose the
individual sounds
- some descriptive words in relation to timbre
are: loud, soft, brassy, gentle, natural,
melodious, strong, smooth, rich, deep, thick, whole rest 4 beats of
mellow, shrill, reedy, thin, breathy, rounded, silence
full, clear, piercing, harsh, warm, bright, dark,
flat, and light

Commonly Used List of the Main Elements: half rest 2 beats of

silence
Tone color/timbre - characteristic of an instrument or
voice
quarter rest 1 beat of
Dynamics - volume in music; how loud or soft the silence
sound is

a. pianissimo or pp - very soft

b. piano or p - soft
c. mezzo piano or mp - medium-soft eighth rest ½ beat of
d. mezzo forte or mf - medium-loud silence
e. forte or f - loud
f. fortissimo or ff - very loud

Rhythm - how the beat is broken down

sixteenth rest ¼ beat of
silence
whole note 4 beats

half note 2 beats

Tempo
- speed of the music
- speed of the underlying beat
- also known as pulse of music
- measured in bpm

TEVES
Markings:
a. prestissimo - very very fast (>200 bpm) RHYTHM AND BEAT
b. presto - very fast (168-200 bpm)
c. vivace - lively & fast (140-160 bpm)
BEAT RHYTHM
d. allegro - fast (120-140 bpm)
e. moderato - moderate (108-120 bpm) - skeleton of music - how you inhabit the
f. andante - walking pace (76-108 bpm) - pace, tempo, or the beat
g. adagio - slow and stately (66-76 bpm) timing that it takes to - a series of notes in a
h. lento/largo - very slow (40-60 bpm) play a particular piece of music piece–a pattern
i. grave - slow and solemn (20-40 bpm) music - rhythm + pitch =
- steady and regular melody
pulse - accenting - piece’s
CHANGES IN TEMPO notes are emphasized
a. accelerando - speeding up (accel.) more than others
b. allargando - growing broader, decreasing - actual flow of music
tempo (allarg.) through time
c. meno mosso - less movement or slower - counted off the beat
d. rallentando - gradually slowing down (rall.)
e. ritardando - less gradual slowing down (rit.) MUSIC vs BEAT
f. rubato - free adjustment of tempo for ● all sound is created by vibrations
expressive purposes ● travelling vibrations = sound waves
● if there are no molecules to vibrate, then no
Melody - actual tune of the song sound is created
Harmony - how the songs blend together ● sound waves can be represented as a wavy
Form - how the music is structured line
Style - how the overall characteristics sound ○ regular sound wave patterns - birds
chirping, bells
CHARACTERISTICS OF A TONE ○ erratic wave patterns - doors closing,
Tone traffic (noise)
- any type of sound
- a music or vocal sound with any reference to
MUSIC NOISE
its pitch, quality, and intensity
- there must be vibration to have a tone - art of arranging and - unwanted sound
combining sounds to - usually loud and
Dynamics create a harmonious meaningless
- loudness or softness; volume of the music melody - unpleasant
- < crescendo - gradually getting louder - pleasing to the ears - has an irregular wave
- has harmonious wave form
- > decrescendo - gradually getting softer
lengths - can obstruct and
- soothing confuse
Timbre - differentiates one sound from another; tone
quality
Duration - length of the tone ● real difference between noise and music is in
Pitch - the patterns of their sound waves
- how high or low ● both are damaging when very loud
- indefinite pitch - irregular
- the smaller the instrument the higher the pitch
- Hertz - frequency of a pitch (one hertz = one
second = one cycle: ex. 220 hz = 220 cycles
per second); oscilloscope is used to
measure

TEVES