Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical High School

Mrs. Bolender, Music

Elements of Music Study Guide

All music regardless of style is composed of the same basic building blocks.  Here is a summary of these elements of music, some of the important concepts relating to them and the terminology used in discussing them. 

·         RHYTHM – Rhythm is the word we use to describe how music moves through time.  The underlying, regular pulsations behind the music (beats) may be organized into groups called measures or bars.  This organization is known as meter.  There may be two beats bar (double meter/duple meter), three beats per bar (triple meter), four beats per bar (quadruple meter), and so on. 

            Measure – ________________________________________________________________________

The term syncopation refers to the accenting of a normally weak beat or the denying of accent on a beat, which is normally stressed.  The effect of syncopation is often to add energy and drive to the music.

·         TEMPO – Tempo is the rate at which the beat moves through time.  This is how fast and slow the music is.  There are many different terms used in music. 

            Examples:         Largo = ________________________

                                    Andante = ______________________

                                    Allegro = _______________________

                                    Presto = ________________________

·         FORM – Form or Structure refers to the large-scale organization of a piece of music.

Standard pop songs may contain the following distinct sections:

1.      Introduction – ___________________________________________________________________________

2.      Verses – ________________________________________________________________________________

3.      Refrain or Chorus – ______________________________________________________________________

4.      Bridge – ________________________________________________________________________________

5.      Interlude – ______________________________________________________________________________

6.      Coda – _________________________________________________________________________________

Other Forms:

1. 2-Part Form - ___________________________________________________________________________
2. 3-Part Form - ___________________________________________________________________________
3. Round/Cannon - _________________________________________________________________________
4. Theme and Variation - ____________________________________________________________________

·         TIMBRE – Timbre (pronounced “tamber”) refers to the actual sound quality of the musical tone. 

            Tone color – _________________________________________________________________________

Timbre is the result of what sound waves are actually present in the sound.  Usually timbre is determined by instrumentation.  Each instrument has its own tone color, and composers use and blend those colors much as a painter uses various paints. 

            Orchestration – ______________________________________________________________________

·         MELODY – Melody may be defined as a succession of tones, which conveys a complete musical idea.  Melody can also be defined as a line of sound that can go up or down.            

Melody really has two aspects: pitch and rhythm. 

Often melodies will display an arch-like shape, starting on a lower pitch, rising to a high point, and then falling once again to a low register. 

Two scales that some melodies are derived from are the blues scale and pentatonic scale.  The blues scale is mostly heard in jazz music and the pentatonic scale is heard in American Folk Songs and folk songs from other cultures.  The pentatonic scale only contains five notes and is found in music from all over the world.

·         HARMONY – Harmony refers to the sounding of two or more tones at the same time. 

A group of three or more notes sounding together is called a chord.  Three-note chords or triads are the basic building blocks of musical harmony.  Harmonies are said to be consonant (sweet sounding and stable) or dissonant (harsh sounding and unstable). 

Music in a major key (derived from a major scale) often sounds bright or cheerful.  Music in a minor key (derived from a minor scale) sounds darker or sad. 

·         DYNAMICS – The term dynamics refers to the volume or intensity of the music.  Dynamic shading creates much of the emotional impact of music. 

There are two words, which are used to describe the dynamic level of music:  piano and forte (pronounced for-tay).

pianissimo - _______________________________    mezzo forte  - ______________________________

piano  - ___________________________________  forte  - ____________________________________

mezzo piano - ______________________________   fortissimo  - ________________________________

crescendo - ________________________________  decrescendo - ______________________________

·         TEXTURE – Texture is the construction of the music.  (Layering, Melody and Harmony).

The simplest musical texture is monophonic (one voice) texture one line of music standing alone.  A flute solo or a person singing alone or both represents monophonic texture. 

Another kind of musical texture is homophonic same voice texture.  There are two varieties of homophonic texture – block chordal texture and melody and accompaniment texture.  In block chordal texture all the voices move together in rhythm and the melody is not especially prominent.  In melody and accompaniment texture there is a prominent melody, which is accompanied by chords in other voices.  Usually the melody “floats” on top of the other parts. 

The most complex musical texture is known as polyphonic (many voices) texture.  In polyphonic, two or more independent musical lines are woven together.