Elements of Music - PPT Overview

The Elements of Music
Music has been an important part

of the activities of humankind since
the beginning of recorded history.
Today, music is important in ways
that were unimaginable during
earlier times. It plays a vital and
important role in the lives of human
beings. It is found everywhere in
our world -- on television and radio;
in our homes, automobiles,
airplanes, and offices.
• Humans use music in a variety of ways---
for everything from personal entertainment
to contemplative activities. Music has the
power to influence psychological aspects
of behavior both consciously and
unconsciously and acquiring a knowledge
of music may create a deeper sensitivity in
humans for their environment and social
culture and it is believed to enrich life.
The Elements of Music
As with all the arts, Music has its own language
called the Elements of Music.
These Elements are:
Melody Tempo
Dynamics Harmony
Form Timbre
Rhythm
Elements of Music
• Rhythm : beat,meter,tempo
• Dynamics : piano,mezzo piano,forte
• Melody : conjunct,disjunct
• Harmony : dissonance,consonance
• Timbre : brass,woodwind,string
• Texture : mono,homo,polyphonic
• Form : strophic, binary, ternary
MELODY
Melody is the tune of a song.
Everyone knows the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
• Melodies can be described as;
– CONJUCT (smooth; easy to sing or

play)
– DISJUCT (jumpy; difficult to sing or
play)
TEMPO
Tempo: is the speed of a song.
Largo: is slow speed

Andante: is walking
Allegro: is fast
DYNAMICS
Dynamics: is volume within the song
Anything with a “p” in music means soft
p is soft (piano)
pp is very soft (pianissimo)
anything with an “f” means loud (forte)

ff means very loud (fortissimo)
m= medium (mezzo) NEVER used by itself:
mp= medium soft (mezzo piano)
mf= med. loud (mezzo forte)
pp<ff crescendo (pronounced creshindoe) gradually getting louder

ff>pp decrescendo (or diminuendo) gradually getting softer
HARMONY
Harmony is 2 or more notes played at the

same time.
It normally takes at least 2 people to sing

harmony or 2 instruments to play
harmony. Exceptions are piano, guitar,
banjo, harp, (or any stringed instrument)
• Harmony is often described in terms of its
relative HARSHNESS;
– DISSONANCE : a harsh sounding harmonic

combination
– CONSONANCE : a smooth sounding
harmonic combination
FORM
Form: is how the music is setup
For example:
• Twinkle, Twinkle little star

• How I wonder what you are……(A)
• Up above the world so high
• Like a diamond in the sky………..(B)
• Twinkle, Twinkle little star
• How I wonder what you…………..(A)
BUT it is not about the same words (as in poetry)

its about the tune. (Sing it and see!)
Timbre
Timbre: (pronounced timbar) is the sound
quality of the instruments. For example, a
piano sounds like a piano because of its
timbre.
You can always tell when you call your best

friend if they answer or if another member
of the family answers because you
recognize the timbre of his or her voice.
Timbre
In music this relates to the instrument families
For example:
• Brass---has a buzz mouthpiece to produce sound (trumpet, trombone, horn, tuba)
• Woodwind—needs a wooden reed to produce sound (clarinet, saxophone, oboe,
bassoon)
• Percussion---sound is made by striking it to sound (drum, piano, cymbals, triangle)
• Strings---sound is produced by plucking, or strumming to vibrate string (violin, viola,
cello, bass)
Voice Categories:
• Soprano—high female
• Alto---low female
• Tenor---high male
• Bass---low male
Rhythm
Rhythm---length of notes and rests in music
Quarter note=1 beat Half note= 2 beats
Dotted half=3 beats Whole= 4 beats
1/8 note = ½ beat (2 8th notes = 1 beat)
1/16 note= ¼ ( 4 16th notes= 1 beat)
Quarter rest=1 beat Half Rest= 2 beats
Whole Rest= (do nothing for the whole measure or 4 beats)
8th rest= ½ rest

RHYTHM
4 3 2 6 > examples of time signature, top # tells you how
4 4 4 8 many beats per measure
4
4 timing means there are four beats per measure
1 + 2 + 1 = 4 4 3 + 1 = 4 2 +1 + 1 = 4
Bar Lines
Any combo works as long as it ads up to the top #

Mary Had A Little Lamb
• M- USIC
• U-NLOCKS
• S- ELF- EXPRESSION
• I-NTELLIGENCE
• C-REATIVITY

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The Elements of Music

Music has been an important part

These Elements are:

Everyone knows the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

– CONJUCT (smooth; easy to sing or

Largo: is slow speed

anything with an “f” means loud (forte)

pp<ff crescendo (pronounced creshindoe) gradually getting louder

Harmony is 2 or more notes played at the

It normally takes at least 2 people to sing

– DISSONANCE : a harsh sounding harmonic

• Twinkle, Twinkle little star

BUT it is not about the same words (as in poetry)

You can always tell when you call your best

Quarter note=1 beat Half note= 2 beats

Dotted half=3 beats Whole= 4 beats

1/8 note = ½ beat (2 8th notes = 1 beat)

1/16 note= ¼ ( 4 16th notes= 1 beat)

Quarter rest=1 beat Half Rest= 2 beats

Whole Rest= (do nothing for the whole measure or 4 beats)

8th rest= ½ rest

Any combo works as long as it ads up to the top #

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