Beat and Meter

A beat is what gives music its rhythmic pattern; it can be regular or irregular.
Beats are grouped together in a measure; the notes and rests correspond to a
certain number of beats. Meter refers to rhythmic patterns produced by
grouping together strong and weak beats. A meter may be in duple (two beats
in a measure), triple (three beats in a measure), quadruple (four beats in a
measure), and so on.

Dynamics

Dynamics refers to the volume of a performance. In written compositions,

dynamics are indicated by abbreviations or symbols that signify the intensity
at which a note or passage should be played or sung. They can be used like
punctuation in a sentence to indicate precise moments of emphasis.
Dynamics are derived from Italian. Read a score and you'll see words
like pianissimo used to indicate a very soft passage and fortissimo to indicate
a very loud section, for instance.

Harmony

Harmony is what you hear when two or more notes or chords are played at
the same time. Harmony supports the melody and gives it texture. Harmonic
chords may be described as major, minor, augmented, or diminished,
depending on the notes being played together. In a barbershop quartet, for
example, one person will sing the melody.

The harmony is provided by three others—a tenor, a bass, and a baritone, all
singing complimentary note combinations—in perfect pitch with one another.

Melody

Melody is the overarching tune created by playing a succession or series of

notes, and it is affected by pitch and rhythm. A composition may have a single
melody that runs through once, or there may be multiple melodies arranged in
a verse-chorus form, as you'd find in rock 'n' roll. In classical music, the
melody is usually repeated as a recurring musical theme that varies as the
composition progresses.

Pitch
The pitch of a sound is based on the frequency of vibration and the size of the
vibrating object. The slower the vibration and the bigger the vibrating object,
the lower the pitch; the faster the vibration and the smaller the vibrating object,
the higher the pitch. For example, the pitch of a double bassis lower than that
of the violin because the double bass has longer strings. Pitch may be definite,
easily identifiable (as with the piano, where there is a key for each note), or
indefinite, meaning pitch is difficult to discern (as with a percussion instrument,
such as the cymbals).

Rhythm

Rhythm may be defined as the pattern or placement of sounds in time and

beats in music.

Roger Kamien in his book "Music: An Appreciation" defines rhythm as "the

particular arrangement of note lengths in a piece of music." Rhythm is shaped
by meter; it has certain elements such as beat and tempo.

Tempo

Tempo refers to the speed at which a piece of music is played. In

compositions, a work's tempo is indicated by an Italian word at the beginning
of a score. Largo describes a very slow, languid pace (think of a placid lake),
while moderato indicates a moderate pace, and presto a very fast one. Tempo
can also be used to indicate emphasis. Ritenuto, for instance, tells the
musicians to slow down suddenly.

Texture

Musical texture refers to the number and type of layers used in a composition
and how these layers are related. A texture may be monophonic (single
melodic line), polyphonic (two or more melodic lines) and homophonic (the
main melody accompanied by chords).

Timbre

Also known as tone color, timbre refers to the quality of sound that
distinguishes one voice or instrument from another. It may range from dull to
lush and from dark to bright, depending on technique. For example, a clarinet
playing an uptempo melody in the mid to upper register could be described as
having a bright timbre. That same instrument slowly playing a monotone in its
lowest register could be described as having a dull timbre.
Key Musical Terms

Here are thumbnail descriptions of the previously described key elements of

music.

Element Definition Characteristics

Beat Gives music its rhythmic A beat can be regular or irregular.
pattern
Meter Rhythmic patterns produced A meter may be two or more beats in
by grouping together strong a measure.
and weak beats
Dynamics The volume of a Like punctuation marks, dynamics
performance abbreviations and symbols indicate
moments of emphasis.
Harmony The sound produced when Harmony supports the melody and
two or more notes are gives it texture.
played at the same time
Melody The overarching tune A composition may have a single or
created by playing a multiple melodies.
succession or series of
notes
Pitch A sound based on the The slower the vibration and the
frequency of vibration and bigger the vibrating object, the lower
size of the vibrating objects the pitch will be and vice versa.
Rhythm The pattern or placement of Rhythm is shaped by meter and has
sounds in time and beats in elements such as beat and tempo.
music
Tempo The speed at which a piece The tempo is indicated by an Italian
of music is played word at the beginning of a score, such
as largo for slow or presto for very
fast.
Texture The number and types of A texture may be a single line, two or
layers used in a more lines, or the main melody
composition accompanied by chords.
Timbre The quality of the sound Timbre can range from dull to lush and
that distinguishes one voice from dark to bright.
or instrument from another
Introduction to Syllables
A syllable is a "beat" of spoken word. Every word is at least one syllable in length, and many
words have multiple syllables. The number of syllables in a word is easier to discover directly
than to have explained. The process of discovery most easily begins with a physical movement
of some sort, such as tapping a finger on the table. Tap the table for each syllable in the words
below.

compete
• •
compete

volunteer
• • •
volunteer

inspiration
• • • •
inspiration

Stressed, Unstressed, and Secondarily -Stressed Syllables

Spoken English follows a loose, rhythmic pattern of soft beats. Stressed syllables form the
underlying basis of that rhythm. Unstressed and secondarily-stressed syllables are necessary off-
beats that fill the space between stressed syllables in spoken English.

Stressed syllable dictionary notation / ˈ/

When a word has more than one syllable, a single syllable within the word is given more
emphasis than any of the other syllables. That syllable is considered to be the stressed syllable.
The vowel sound of the stressed syllable is emphasized by being pronounced longer, louder, and
often at a higher pitch than the surrounding syllables. Vowel sounds of stressed syllables are
more likely to be phonetic (pronounced as the spelling would suggest).

The symbol / ˈ/ is used to represent the stressed syllable of a multi-syllable word.

Unstressed syllables and schwa notation /ə/

Within a multi-syllable word, an unstressed syllable is frequently located next to a stressed
syllable. Often, this vowel sound is not phonetic (not pronounced the way it is spelled), and is
instead pronounced with a quick, neutral vowel sound called schwa. Because schwa is a function
of syllable stress and not spelling, schwa can have almost any spelling.

In dictionary transcriptions, the vowel sound schwa is represented with an upside-down e: /ə/.

Secondarily-stressed syllable dictionary notation / ˌ /

Secondarily-stressed syllables most often occur two beats off a main stress. They are given more
emphasis than unstressed syllables, but not as much as a stressed syllable. Secondarily stressed
syllables are more likely to be pronounced phonetically than unstressed syllables.

The symbol / ˌ / is used to represent secondarily-stressed syllables of a multi-syllable word.

Representing syllable stress with dots: ● • 🌑

Along with the symbols for stressed and secondarily-stressed syllables, dots are used to show
the rhythm of spoken English stress patterns. A large dot represents a stressed syllable, a
medium dot represents a secondarily-stressed syllable, and a small dot represents an unstressed
syllable.

comˈpete
• 🌑
compete

ˌvolunˈteer
●• 🌑
volunteer

ˌinspiˈration
● • 🌑•
inspiration

Syllable Stress Patterns

 Learning syllable stress patterns is often overlooked and seen as too complicated for most
students to manage. This is unfortunate, both because of the importance of syllable stress in
proper English pronunciation, and because the patterns of syllable stress fit into just a few broad
categories. Those categories are:

 2-syllable word stress

 Compound noun stress
 Words with stress derived from suffixes (stress-controlling suffixes)

Taking the time to learn and understand syllable stress improves spoken communication and
increases spoken English fluency.

Other syllable stress lessons

Syllabic compression
2-syllable word stress patterns

Word Stress Rules

There are two very simple rules about word stress:

1. One word has only one stress. (One word cannot have two stresses.
If you hear two stresses, you hear two words. Two stresses cannot be
one word. It is true that there can be a "secondary" stress in some
words. But a secondary stress is much smaller than the main [primary]
stress, and is only used in long words.)
2. We can only stress vowels, not consonants.

Here are some more, rather complicated, rules that can help you understand
where to put the stress. But do not rely on them too much, because there are
many exceptions. It is better to try to "feel" the music of the language and to
add the stress naturally.
A. Stress on first syllable

rule example

Most 2-syllable nouns PRESent, EXport, CHIna, TAble

Most 2-syllable adjectives PRESent, SLENder, CLEVer, HAPpy

B. Stress on last syllable

rule example

Most 2-syllable verbs preSENT, exPORT, deCIDE, beGIN

There are many two-syllable words in English whose meaning and class
change with a change in stress. The word present, for example is a two-
syllable word. If we stress the first syllable, it is a noun (gift) or an adjective
(opposite of absent). But if we stress the second syllable, it becomes a verb
(to offer). More examples: the words export, import, contract and object can
all be nouns or verbs depending on whether the stress is on the first or
second syllable.

C. Stress on penultimate syllable (penultimate = second from end)

rule example
rule example

Words ending in -ic GRAPHic, geoGRAPHic, geoLOGic

Words ending in -sion and -tion teleVIsion, reveLAtion

For a few words, native English speakers don't always "agree" on where to
put the stress. For example, some people say teleVIsion and others
say TELevision. Another example is: CONtroversy and conTROversy.

D. Stress on ante-penultimate syllable (ante-penultimate = third from end)

rule example

Words ending in -cy, -ty, - deMOcracy, dependaBIlity, phoTOgraphy,

phyand -gy geOLogy

Words ending in -al CRItical, geoLOGical

E. Compound words (words with two parts)

rule example

For compound nouns, the stress is on BLACKbird, GREENhouse

rule example

the firstpart

For compound adjectives, the stress is on bad-TEMpered, old-

the second part FASHioned

For compound verbs, the stress is on underSTAND, overFLOW

the second part