Elements of Music
Download
Report
Transcript Elements of Music
Elements of Music
Texture
▫ When you describe the texture of a piece of music, you
are describing how much is going on in the music at
any given moment.
▫ For example, texture can be thick or thin, or it may
have many or few layers.
▫ You may be only able to hear rhythm, or a melody line
with accompaniment, or it may have interweaving
melodies.
▫ There are many ways you can describe textures in
music, but the most important show the relationships
of melodies and harmonies.
Terminology
▫ Monophonic (unison)
Monophonic music has only one melodic line –
absolutely NO harmony or accompaniment.
Examples of monophonic music:
One person whistling
A group singing someone ‘Happy Birthday’ without
harmonies or instruments
A solo instrument (like a trumpet) playing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NtSqZcT_4
Terminology…
▫ Homophonic (block chords)
Homophonic music has one clear melodic line with all
other parts providing accompaniment or fill chords.
Examples of homophonic music:
A singer accompanied by a guitar picking or strumming
chords.
A small jazz combo with a bass, a piano, and a drum set
providing the ‘rhythm’ background for a trumpet solo.
A person playing the bagpipes (where the drones provide the
accompaniment.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WxfjWnuEno
Terminology
▫ Polyphonic
(different sounds or voices)
Polyphonic music has parts that weave in and out of each
other. There are more than one independent melody
occurring at the same time.
Examples of homophonic music:
A choir singing a round or canon (Row, Row, Row your
Boat.)
Most pieces of music for a large instrumental group
(orchestra)
Adding in a back-up singers or a second instrument playing
harmony opposite to the melody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72eEBz2rGWU
How do you figure out the texture
of a song?
• Figure out the texture of the following pieces keeping in mind the following rules:
• That if there are a lot of instruments playing at once
the texture is thick.
• If there are only one or two instruments playing the
texture is thin.
• You can build up the texture from thin to thick, or
reduce it from thick to thin.
• Use the technical terms as much as possible.
• Jill Barber – “Oh My My”
• “Rhapsody in Blue” George Gershwin