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05/16/16

Introduction

Elements of Music

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Melody: The Tune

A single line of notes heard in succession as a coherent unit

Breaths correspond to the ends of phrases (poetry and music).
Points of arrival/rest = cadences; like the periods in sentences.
Melodic motion--stepwise (= conjunct) vs. leaps (disjunct); usually a combination of both, but one predominates.
Contour--upward or downward movement or both

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Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Melody: The Tune

Derived from the notes of a scale--series of notes that moves stepwise and covers a complete octave
Melodic Interval--distance between two notes, one after another

Half steps--adjacent notes on the piano
Whole steps--two notes apart on the piano (including black notes)

Tonic--beginning note of scale; most important note in scale; defines the name of the key
Modes--major and minor--half steps in different places in the scale

Major = often bright, happy
Minor = often somber, darker, less optimistic

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Melody: Acoustics

The science of sound
Pitch--highness or lowness of sound; based on frequency--number of oscillations/sec.
Dynamics/volume--loudness or softness of sound--based on amplitude or size of sound wave

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Rhythm: Ordering of Music Through Time

Meter--underlying pattern of beats (pulses) that maintains itself consistently throughout a work

Triple meter--beats grouped in 3’s (LONG-short-short or STRONG-weak- weak)
Duple meter--beats grouped in 2’s (LONG-short or STRONG-weak)

Measure--each unit of beats in a meter

Number and duration of notes within each unit can vary.

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Harmony: Multiple Notes Played/Sung Simultaneously

Harmonic Interval--two notes sounding simultaneously
Chord--three or more notes sounding simultaneously
A melody can be harmonized (using chords) in more than one way.
When a melody is in a “key,” the first note of that scale’s key is called the tonic. Harmonies are centered on this main note.
Tonic--serves as a “home base.”

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Texture--Number and Relationship of Musical Lines

Monophonic--one single melodic line with no accompaniment
Homophonic--a single melodic line with accompaniment; melody stands out above accompaniment, which is supportive
Polyphonic--multiple melodies of equal importance performed simultaneously

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Dynamics: Volume of Sound

Ranges from very soft to very loud.
Composers often use Italian terms/abbreviations to designate volume.

pp (pianissimo) = very soft
p (piano) = soft
mp (mezzo piano) = medium soft
mf (mezzo forte) = medium loud
f (forte) = loud
ff (fortissimo) = very loud

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Form: Structure of Musical Work

Way in which individual units are put together
Based on three strategies:

Repetition--the same music over again
Variation--the same music over again but slightly different in some way
Contrast--different music

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Form: Structure of Musical Work

Subunits of Form are designated using letters.

First section = A
Second section = A, if the same (repetition), A’ if slightly different (variation), B if different (contrast)
Subsequent sections, if different from A or B, are named C, D, etc.

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Word/Music Relationships

In songs, how does the music relate to the words?

Word painting--using musical elements to “describe” a word or phrase
Often the structure of the poetry matches the form of the work; the poetry (lyrics) dictates the form.
Repetitions/variations/contrasts in the poetry may lead to repetitions/variations/contrasts in the music.

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Timbre: The Color of Music

Timbre is what makes instruments/voices sound different, even when they perform the same notes.
Created by the fundamental and spectral content of the overtones/partials in the sound wave.
Frequency remains the same, but wave form is different.

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Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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Genre: Category of a Work

Determined by combination of performance medium (solo voices, choir, orchestra, string quartet, band, etc.) and social function.
Sets up expectations in the listener--a symphony is different from a song.

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PRENTICE HALL

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

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