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Elements of Music - Hum 1

This document defines and explains the basic elements of music, including rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, form, and musical style. It discusses aspects of rhythm such as duration, tempo, and meter. It describes the different levels of dynamics and terms used to indicate volume. Melody, harmony, tone color, and pitch are also outlined. Musical forms like binary and ternary form are explained. Finally, it characterizes the different musical styles of historical eras from the Middle Ages to the modern period.

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Elle Kwon
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440 views

Elements of Music - Hum 1

This document defines and explains the basic elements of music, including rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, form, and musical style. It discusses aspects of rhythm such as duration, tempo, and meter. It describes the different levels of dynamics and terms used to indicate volume. Melody, harmony, tone color, and pitch are also outlined. Musical forms like binary and ternary form are explained. Finally, it characterizes the different musical styles of historical eras from the Middle Ages to the modern period.

Uploaded by

Elle Kwon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Humanities 1 A (E)

Elements of Music
Loren F.
Allaga
BSED Filipino

Loren F. Allaga
BSED Filipino

Rhythm
The element of "TIME" in music.
The structural rhythmic pulse of the music.
Rhythm includes meter which means measurement of
rhythmic unit.
This can be illustrated by the succession of similar sounds
in a song, as follows: introduction, stanza one, chorus, refrain,
stanza two, chorus, refrain, coda and conclusion.

Several important aspects of rhythm:


DURATION: how long a sound (or silence) lasts.
TEMPO: the speed of the BEAT.
Italian terms of tempo indications:
Largo = "large" or labored (slow)
Adagio = slow
Andante = steady "walking" tempo
Moderato = moderate
Allegro = fast ("happy")
Presto = very fast

METER: Beats organized into recognizable/recurring accent


patterns. Meter can be seen/felt through the standard patterns
used by conductors.

Dynamics
All musical aspects relating to the relative loudness or
quietness of music.
In Italian terms, the range are as follows:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Pianissimo [pp] as soft as possible


Piano [p] soft
Mezzo piano [mp] somewhat soft
Mezzo forte [mf] somewhat loud
Forte [f] loud
Fortissimo [ff] as loud as possible

g. Crescendo getting louder


h. Decrescendo/ diminuendo getting softer
i. Forzando abruptly slow
Accent - "punching" or "leaning into" a note harder to
temporarily emphasize it.

Melody
It is an orderly manner of tones or musical sounds that vary in
pitch and duration.
Tone - is a sound in music which designates the pitch and depends
on the vibration rate per second.
Tune less formal term of melody.
Theme a melody that is basis for an extended work.
Scales - families of pitches

Harmony
Thought of as the art of combining pitches into chords
(several notes played simultaneously as a "block").
Chords are arranged into sentence-like patterns called chord
progressions. This is called counterpoint or polyphony which
is particularly favored by modern composers.

Harmony is often described in terms of its relative HARSHNESS:


DISSONANCE: a harsh-sounding harmonic combination.
CONSONANCE: a smooth-sounding harmonic combination.

Other basic terms relating to Harmony are:


Modality: harmony created out of the ancient
Medieval/Renaissance modes.
Tonality: harmony that focuses on a "home" key center.
Atonality: modern harmony that AVOIDS any sense of a
"home" key center.

Tone Color
(or TIMBRE -pronounced "TAM-BER")
The result in the difference in timbre of quality of tone in a
variety of voices and instruments.
Familiarity with the quality of sound of musical instruments
can enable one to pick them out from a symphony orchestra.

Tempo
Refers to the pacing of the music.
Expressed in various Italian terms, as follows:
a. Moderato at a moderate tempo
b. Allegro fairly fast
c. Allegretto pace between moderato and allegro.
d. Presto very fast
e. Prestissimo as fast as possible
f. Grave solemn, slow
g. Largo very slowly and broadly
h. Adagio very slowly

Other terms are used to denote how the music is to be played


are:
a. Con anima with life
b. Con moto with emotion
c. Con spirito with spirit
d. Con brio with vivacity and spirit
e. Vivace with vivacity
f. Con ferso with fire
g. Grazioso gracefully
h. Maestoso majestically
i. Dolce softly, sweetly

Other basic terms relating to Rhythm are:


Syncopation: an "off-the-beat" accent (between the
counted numbers)
Ritardando: gradually slowing down the tempo
Accelerando: gradually speeding up the tempo
Rubato: freely and expressively making subtle changes in
the tempo

Texture
Refers to the number of individual musical lines (melodies)
and the relationship these lines have to one another.
It is either:
Monophonic - music with only one note sounding at a time
(having no harmony or accompaniment).

Homophonic - music with two or more notes sounding at a


the same time (featuring a prominent melody, supported by a
less intricate harmonic accompaniment).
example: As in the performance of a folk singer with a guitar
accompaniment.

Polyphonic - music with two or more independent


melodies sounding at the same time.
- the most intricate types canon and fuguemay
introduce three, four, five or more independent melodies
simultaneously. This manner of writing is called Counterpoint.

Imitative - a special type of polyphonic texture produced


whenever a musical idea is echoed from "voice" to "voice".
- can be used in monophonic styles.

Pitch
This is the recognizable level of highness and lowness that
most musical sounds have.
Octave the most fundamental interval between levels of
pitch
- meaning eight notes away from the original.
- a difference in pitch would mean a difference in tone.

Timbre
is the tone color characteristic of each voice or instrument.
The quality of sound that that makes it distinct from other
sounds.
Example: The clarinet and the piano have obviously produced
the same pitch; however, the clarinet has a different sound
quality than the piano.
Timbres can also be created by combining instruments
and/or voices.

Musical Form
The overall organization (elements) of the composition.
It is associated with shape, structure and coherence.
Example: Jose Palmas lyrics of the Lupang Hinirang were
arranged into a march by Julian Felipe. All the notes and all
the components of the song constitute its form.

Most common musical forms, BASIC FORMS:


Strophic form: A design in VOCAL music, in which the same
music is used for several different verses (strophes) of words.

Example: "Deck the Halls" has many verses of words


sung to the same music.]
Verse 1 . . . Verse 2 . . . Verse 3 (etc.)

Through-composed: a structure in which there is no repeat


or return of any large-scale musical section.

Through-composed: a structure in which there is no repeat


or return of any large-scale musical section.
Example: Schubert's "Erlknig".
A B

C D E...

Binary form: a two-part form in which both main sections are


repeated (as indicated in the diagram by "repeat marks"). The
basic premise of this form is CONTRAST.

Ternary form: a three-part form featuring a return of the initial


music after a contrasting section. Symmetry and balance are
achieved through this return of material.

Ternary form: a three-part form featuring a return of the initial


music after a contrasting section. Symmetry and balance are
achieved through this return of material.

Musical Style
This refers to the composers or singers way of doing his
part. This is the result of his temperament, outlook in life and
training.

Musical styles of each historical era:


Middle Ages (approximately 450-1450):
dominated by Catholic sacred music, which began as
simple chant.
grew in complexity in the 13th to 15th centuries by
experiments in harmony and rhythm.
Leading composers of the later Middle Ages include Protin
and Machaut.

Renaissance (approximately 1450-1600):


Greater focus on Humanism, and a rebirth of learning and
exploration.
"Golden Age of Vocal Music"
Leading composers: Josquin Desprez, Palestrina, and
Weelkes.

Baroque (approximately 1600-1750):


Represented by extremely ornate and elaborate approaches
to the arts.
Rise of instrumental music, the invention of the modern
violin family and the creation of the first orchestras.
Great composers of the late baroque include Vivaldi, Handel
and JS Bach.

Classic (approximately 1750-1820):


Focused on structural unity, clarity and balance.
The new expressive and dramatic approaches to composition
and performance that were developed in this era became the
standards that all "Classical" music are judged by.
Great composers of the classic era include Haydn, Mozart
and Beethoven.

Romantic (approximately 1820-1900):


Witnessed an explosion of flamboyance, nationalism, the rise
of "superstar performers, and concerts aimed at middleclass "paying" audiences.
Orchestral, theatrical and soloistic music grew to spectacular
heights of personal expression.
Among the leading Romantic composers are Berlioz, Chopin,
and Wagner.

Modern (approximately 1900-present):


Impacted by daring experimentation and advances in musical
technology.
Popular/non-Western influences.
Leading composers of the early 20th century were Debussy,
Schoenberg and Stravinsky, while many of the most prominent
composers

since

1950

have

come

from

the

US

Thank you!

References:
Book:
Robeles, Felicidad C. et al., 2004. Humanities for
College Students.
PDF:
Ch1-elements.pdf

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