Elements of Music
- Instrumentation
- The instruments used to play the piece
- Dynamics
- Beat/Pulse/Tempo
- Pitch
- How high or low a specific sound is
- Mood/Expression
- The way the song makes you feel
- Melody
- Rhythm
- Patterns of long and short sounds and silences within the music. Rhythm is written onto sheet music using note values
- Example:
- Timbre (Texture)
- The distinctive sound qualities that different instruments/voices make. It is what makes two instruments sound different when they are both playing the same note at the same volume
Beat/Pulse/Tempo
Pulse is what gives us an impulse to tap along to the music!
Tempo is the speed of the music. Some words used to describe tempo are:
Words used to describe tempo
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Andante | Walking Pace |
| Adagio | Quite Slow |
| Allegro | Fast |
| Presto | Very Fast |
| Vivace | Full of Life |
| Moderato | Moderate Pace |
| Largo | Slow |
| Pretissimo | As fast as possible |
| A tempo | Return to original tempo |
| Accelerando (Accel) | Gradually increase tempo |
| Rallentando/Ritardando | Slowdown (at end) |
(Tempo markings are above the stave and dynamic markings are below the stave)
Dynamics
Dynamics are how loud or soft the music is. Dynamic markings are indicated below the stave.
Dynamic Markings
| Definition | Name | Symbol |
|---|---|---|
| Very loud | Fortissimo | ff |
| Loud | Forte | f |
| Medium Loud | Mezzo Forte | mf |
| Medium Soft | Mezzo Piano | mp |
| Soft | Piano | p |
| Very Soft | Pianissimo | p |
| Gradually getting louder | Cresendo (Cresc) | p < f |
| Gradually getting softer | Decresendo (Decresc) | f > p |
Melody
A melody is the central component in a piece of music. It is a combination of pitch and rhythm to keep in time with pulse. The melody groups pitches in a way that creates a musical idea or motif (a short snippet of melody that can stick in your head)
Words used to describe melody
- Ascending (Rising)
- Descending (Falling)
- Low-Pitched/High-Pitched
- Leaping
- Complicated
- Simple
- Repetitive
Texture (Words)
| Name | Definition |
|---|---|
| Monophonic | 1 melody line |
| Homophonic | 1 melody with accompaniment |
| Polyphonic | More than 1 melody with accompaniment |