Transcript Elements of Music - La Salle University

ALL MUSIC
HAS VALUE
TO SOMEBODY
What is Music?
What is Music?
• The Organization of Sound in Time
What is Music?
• The Organization of Sound in Time
• Sound
• Time
• Organization
Hearing vs Listening
• Passive listening (hearing) - being
mildly aware of sound
• Active listening - concentrating on
sounds.
Properties of Objects
• Size
• Shape
• Color
• Texture
Elements of Music
•Pitch
•Duration
•Dynamics
•Timbre
Pitch
• High or low sounds (notes)
Pitch
• High or low sounds (notes)
• Melody - the “tune”. A series of pitches
heard one at a time.
• Motive - a short, instantly recognizable
idea. Like a musical "word". Usually, a
melody consists of several motives.
Pitch
• Harmony: Two or more sounds heard at
the same time. Chords.
• Consonant - stable sound
• Dissonant - unstable sound
Pitch
• Interval - The distance between two
pitches.
• Conjunct - step (small interval)
• Disjunct - leap (large interval)
Pitch
• Vibrato - a rapid, slight variation of pitch.
• Produces a stronger, richer tone.
• Done by voices and instruments (many,
but not all).
Pitch
• Phrase - Part of a melody - when
singing, as much as you sing in one
breath
Pitch
• Shape - the contour of a melody mapping out the highs and lows.
Pitch
• Cadence - Resting place. Complete
(final / permanent) or incomplete
(temporary or a mid-way pause).
• A phrase will often end with a cadence.
“The Ball”
• Watching an unfamiliar sporting event
• It is difficult to try to absorb all the rules
and protocols immediately
• My advice, “Watch the ball”. The ball is
the object of primary importance.
• Watch the ball to try to follow gameplay.
• In music, the melody is “the Ball”.
Pitch = Frequency
• Frequency is measured in Hertz, or
cycles per second.
• The sound wave vibrates a number of
times per second, and it in turn
produces a specific pitch or note.
• A=440 is a standard tuning pitch for
instruments. 440 cycles per second is
the pitch A.
Frequency
• 440 Hertz is a tuning A.
• Human hearing commonly extends from
20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz (or 20
KiloHertz KHz).
Duration
• The element of time.
Duration
• Beat - the steady pulse that flows
through a piece of music.
• Fast or slow
• May be easy to hear (or feel), or it may
not be.
• Nonmetric - If the beat is not evident.
Duration
• Meter - how the beats are grouped.
• Most often in either in 2, 3 or 4 (most
common)
• Usually first beat is accented.
• Occasionally, meter is in another
grouping.
Duration
• Tempo - the speed of the beats.
• Fast or slow.
• Remember, the beat usually remains
steady
Duration
• Rhythm - a pattern of beats and
accents, shorts and longs.
• Often the rhythm is a pattern that
repeats.
Duration
• Syncopation - when the emphasis falls
on a beat that is normally not accented.
• An exception in “classical” music, but a
feature of “popular” music.
Dynamics
• Volume. Loud or soft
• The relative loudness or softness.
• Relative - loud to a flute is not the same
as loud to a trumpet!
Dynamics
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•
•
•
p = piano - soft
f = forte - strong (or loud)
Mezzo- = medium or half
-issimo = very
Dynamics
•
•
•
•
•
•
pp = pianissimo
p = piano
mp = mezzo-piano
mf = mezzo-forte
f = forte
ff = fortissimo
Dynamics
• pp - p - mp - - mf - f - ff
• -3 -2 -1 (0) 1 2 3
Dynamics
• Crescendo - gradual increase in volume
• Decrescendo - gradual decrease in
volume
• Subito - sudden change in volume
Timbre
• A description of the actual sounds you
are hearing.
Timbre
• Timbre can be a list of the instruments
or voices that you hear.
• Timbre can also refer to the variations in
tone color of a specific instrument (a
bright guitar or dark voice).