Elements of Music

The Elements of Music
Chapters 1 - 9
Sound: Pitch, Dynamics, and
Tone Color
 Pitch- The high or low quality of sound
 Dynamics- The loud or soft quality of
music
 Tone color- Also known as timbre,
refers to the unique quality of sound
Dynamics
 Forte--f,ff,fff-loud
 Piano--p,pp,ppp-very soft
 Mezzo---mf,mp--medium
 Crescendo--gradually louder
 Decrescendo,diminuendo--gradually
softer
Voices
 Women’s Voices  Men’s Voices

– Soprano – Tenor
– Mezzo-soprano – Baritone
– Alto – Bass
Orchestral Instruments: Strings
pictures on p. 13-14
 Violin- highest pitched of string family

 Viola- medium pitched, takes role of
supporting actor
 Cello- larger and lower pitched than
viola, held between knees
 Bass- largest and lowest pitched of
string family, played while standing
 Harp-47 strings and 7 foot pedals
Orchestral Instruments: Woodwinds
pictures on p. 17-19
 Piccolo- highest pitched

 Flute- blown across tone hole
 Oboe- highest pitched of double reeds
Orchestral Instruments: Woodwinds
 English horn- low oboe sound

 Clarinet- single reed
 Bassoon- lowest pitched of the double
reed instruments, aka “clown” of the
orchestra. Produces deep, nasal tone
 Saxophone- made of brass, single reed
Orchestral Instruments: Brass
pictured on page 21
 Trumpet- highest pitched of the brass

family
 French horn-not as bright as a trumpet,
consists of coiled tubing and is often
used for hunting calls
 Trombone- incorporates a movable
slide to change pitches
 Tuba- the lowest pitched of the brass
instruments
Orchestral Instruments: percussion
pictured on pp. 22-23
 Pitched percussion instruments

– Timpani: large kettle drums
– Glockenspiel: metal bars hit struck with
mallets
– Xylophone: wooden bars struck with
mallets, producing a dry brittle sound
– Celesta: small upright piano that sounds
like a glockenspiel
– Chimes: a set of metal tubes hung from a
frame which are struck by a hammer
Orchestral Instruments: Percussion
pictured on pp. 23-24
 Unpitched percussion instruments

– Bass drum
– Snare drum
– Cymbals
– Gong
– Triangle
– Tambourine
Orchestral Instruments: Keyboards
Pictured on pp. 26-27
 Piano: keys activate hammers that hit

strings
 Harpsichord: keys activate plectra which
pluck the strings
 Pipe organ: keys control valves that
channel air through various pipes
Rhythm
The flow of music through time; the pattern of
durations of notes and silences in music
 Beat - the pulse of music

 Meter- the grouping of beats
 Tempo - the speed of the beat (pg. 34)
 Accent - a pitch that is played more
loudly, held longer or is higher in pitch
than the nearby notes
 Syncopation- When an accented note
comes where we would normally not
expect it
Tempo Markings
Tempo Markings
 Molto-much
 Non troppo-not too much (fast or slow)
 Accelerando- gradually faster
 Ritardando- gradually slower
Music Notation
 Notating pitch
– Staff: the five lines and four spaces on
which music is written
– Note: an oval which represents a specific
pitch
– Clef: placed at the beginning of the staff,
the clef assigns pitch names to the lines
and spaces (pg. 36)
Music Notation (cont.)
 Notating Rhythm
– Durations: the color of the note and the
presence of stems or flags and beams and
dots affect the duration of a note (pg. 37)
– Rests:symbols for pauses with specific
durations (pg. 36)
Music Notation (cont.)
 Notating meter
– Time signature: placed next to the clef, the
top number of the time signature indicates
the grouping of beats and the bottom
number indicates what kind of note will
receive one beat.
Melody
A succession of pitches which add up to a
recognizable whole
 Intervals: the distance between two

pitches
 Sequence: the repetition of a melodic
pattern at a higher or lower pitch
 Cadence: a resting spot
Harmony
the vertical aspect of music
 Chord: a combination of three or more

notes sounded simultaneously
 Consonance: harmony that is stable
and restful to the ear
 Dissonance:tense and unstable
harmony that demands onward motion
to stable harmony (resolution)
Key - Tonality
the homing instinct of music
 Major scale: a succession of eight pitches

arranged from low to high, based on the
intervals of the white keys of a piano (pg. 46)
 Minor scale: a succession of eight pitches
arranged from low to high, based on a
specific pattern of whole and half steps which
results in a dark quality of melody and
harmony
Key-Tonality (cont.)
 Chromatic scale: a series of 12 pitches

based on the black and white keys of
the piano
 Modulation: the shifting from one key to
another
Texture
layers of sound
 Monophonic: a single unaccompanied

melody line
 Polyphonic: two or more independent
melody lines happening simultaneously
 Homophonic: melody plus
accompaniment
Musical Form
the shape, structure and organization of music
 Binary form: AB
 Ternary form: ABA
 Rondo: ABACAD…
 Theme and Variations:A A’ A’’ A’’’ A’’’’…
 Ballad form: AABA
 Strophic:stanzas or verses
 Call and response

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The Elements of Music

 Women’s Voices  Men’s Voices

 Violin- highest pitched of string family

 Piccolo- highest pitched

 English horn- low oboe sound

 Trumpet- highest pitched of the brass

 Pitched percussion instruments

 Unpitched percussion instruments

 Piano: keys activate hammers that hit

 Beat - the pulse of music

 Intervals: the distance between two

 Chord: a combination of three or more

 Major scale: a succession of eight pitches

 Chromatic scale: a series of 12 pitches

 Monophonic: a single unaccompanied

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