Module 1

Introduction to
Music
WHAT IS MUSIC?
 Music- comes from the greek word mousike
which means “the art of muse”. Muse is one of
the nine sister goddesses of song and poetry and
of the arts and sciences. She is the spirit that
gives the poet or composer his ideas and
inspiration.
 What is Melody?

Melody is the main voice of sound. It is

what can be sung.
 What is Harmony?

Harmony is an overlapping of notes that serves as the

basis for the melody. For example, a person playing the
guitar and singing is harmonizing with the chords on the
guitar and making melody with the voice
The Staff
 A staff is composed of 5 horizontal,
parallel lines and it has 4 equal spaces.
It’s where tones can be represented by
notes.
The sofa syllables are:
Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do,

The scale names are:

12345678

The Pitch names are:

abcdefg
KODALY METHOD
The singing names on the STAFF:
( SOFA SYLLABLES)

Singing names on the lines

mi sol, ti, re, fa

The singing names on the spaces are;

fa, la, do, mi.
Pitch names on the lines and spaces
The Clef
 - is a musical symbol placed at the
beginning of the staff. It used to fix the
pitch of a tone on a staff cannot be
determined if there is no clef. So a clef is
very necessary to be placed at the
beginning of a staff
 Two types of clef:

 G-clef or Treble clef

 F- clef or Bass clef
G-clef or Treble clef
F-clef or Bass clef
The scale
A scale is a succession of tones
arranged in a regular order,
either ascending.
 PITCH
Is the highness or lowness of a musical
sound. A tone is a musical sound. The
two notes below, although of the same
location, do not have the same pitch.
 Ledger Lines

- short line placed below or above the staff

to show the pitch of notes that cannot be
contained in the staff are called ledger lines.
 WHAT IS
MUSIC?
“Music” is one of the most difficult terms to define,
partially because beliefs about music have
changed z dramatically over time.

“Music is a system of communication involving

structured sounds produced by members of a
community that communicate with other
members”.
 z
 A working definition of music for our
purposes might be as follows: music is an
intentionally organized art form whose
medium is sound and silence, with core
elements
of pitch (melody and harmony), rhythm (
meter, tempo,
and articulation), dynamics, and the
qualities of timbre and texture.
 z Basic Music Elements

1. Sound
Overtone: A fundamental pitch with resultant
pitches sounding above it according to the
overtone series. Overtones are what give each
note its unique sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP0iotICL7k
 Timbre: The tone color of a sound
resulting from the overtones. Each voice
has a unique tone color that is described
using adjectives or metaphors such as
“nasally,” “resonant,” “vibrant,” “strident,”
“high,” “low,” “breathy,” “piercing,” “ringing,”
“rounded,” “warm,” “mellow,” “dark,”
“bright,” “heavy,” “light,” “vibrato.”
 Nasal-sound in which the airstream passes through the nose as a result
of the lowering of the soft palate (velum) at the back of the mouth.
 Resonant sound- is deep, loud and clear and continues for a long time
 Vibrant sounds- are loud and resonant.
 Strident- characterized by harsh, insistent, and discordant sound
 High and Low- Higher and Lower Pitch Sound
 Breathy- the air rushing threw the vocal cords and they are not
completely closed. In your higher register this would be your Falsetto
sound.
 Piercing sound-high-pitched, loud sound.
 A mellow tone has fewer upper harmonics, with stronger fundamental or
“true” tones. A beautiful mellow sound is one that still has a spectrum of
tonal color (harmonics), and that articulate the note in a rich and
resonating way. Terms to positively describe a mellow piano tone
include sweet, round, dark, and rich.
 Vibrato is the periodic variations of the pitch, where pitch is associated
with vibration of vocal chords.
Pitch: The frequency of the note’s
vibration (note names C, D, E, etc.).

Amplitude: How loud or soft a sound

is.

Duration: How long or short the

sound is.
2.Melody
z

 A succession of musical notes; a series of

pitches often organized into phrases.

3. Harmony
 The simultaneous, vertical combination of
notes, usually forming chords.

4. Rhythm
 The organization of music in time. Also closely
related to meter.
 z

5.Texture
The density (thickness or thinness) of
layers of sounds, melodies, and rhythms
in a piece: e.g., a complex orchestral
composition will have more possibilities
for dense textures than a song
accompanied only by guitar or piano.
 Most common types of texture:

Monophony: A single layer of sound; e.g.. a solo

voice
Homophony: A melody with an accompaniment;
e.g., a lead singer and a band; a singer and a guitar
or piano accompaniment; etc.
Polyphony: Two or more independent voices; e.g.,
a round or fugue.
In heterophony: there is only one melody, but
different variations of it are being sung or played at
the same time.
6. Structure or Form
The sections or movements of a
piece; i.e. verse and refrain, sonata
form, ABA, Rondo (ABACADA),
theme, and variations.
7. Expression
 Dynamics: Volume (amplitude)—how loud, soft,
medium, gradually getting louder or softer
(crescendo, decrescendo).
 Tempo: Beats per minute; how fast, medium, or
slow a piece of music is played or sung.
 Articulation: The manner in which notes are
played or words pronounced: e.g., long or short,
stressed or unstressed such as short (staccato),
smooth (legato), stressed (marcato), sudden
emphasis (sforzando), slurred, etc.
THE NOTES, REST AND
MEASURE SIGNATURE

z
 What is Notes?

Notes are the characters used on the staff as symbols

of a musical sound. A note shows the length (or time
value) the pitch of tones.
 PARTS OF A
z
NOTE:
 Hook- a short line written at the
end of the stem, it is also
called flag.
 Stem- is a vertical line written at
the left or right side of a
note head
 Stem on left
 Stem on the right
 Head
 Open note head
 Closed note head
 KINDS OF
z
NOTES

Whole Note- is an open

note head with a relative
time value of 4 beats.
 z

Half Note- is an open note

head with a stem and a
relative time value of 2 beats
 z

Quarter Note- is a closed note

head with a stem, and a
relative time value of 1beat
 z

Eight Note- is a closed note

head with a stem, one hook
or flag and a relative time
value of ½ beat
 z

Sixteenth Note- is a closed

note head with a stem, two
hooks or flag and a relative
time value of 1/4beat.
 z

KINDS OF
NOTES
 z
THE REST
A rest is a musical character
used on the staff to indicate
silence in music. Each kind
of a note has a
corresponding kind of rest.
The form of rest determines
its relative time value.
 z THE MEASURE
SIGNATURE
A measure is the space between
two bars. A bars is a vertical line
on the staff. A measure is
composed of two or more
consecutive beats, marked by
one or more accents. Measure
signature is a numeral sign found
at the beginning of a piece of
music.
 z

Measure signature is a
numeral sign found at the
beginning of a piece of
music.
SIMPLE FORMS OF
HAND MOVEMENT
 z

 Down-Up- the 1st beat is

down, and the 2nd beat goes
up. This holds true is 2/4 and
C.
z

 Down-right –up- the 1st

beat is down, the 2nd
beat is right or outward,
and the 3rd beat goes up.
This holds true in ¾ and
3/8.
 z

Down- left- right- up- the 1st

beat goes left or inward,
the 3rd beat goes right or
outwards, and the fourth
beat goes up. This holds
true in 4/4, and common
time C.
z

6
8
 z
DOT

Is a point placed after a

notes or rests half of
their relative time value
 THE
CHROMATIC
SIGNS
 SHARP
z

Raises the pitch

of a note a half
step.
 z
Flat

Lowers the
pitch of a note
half step.
NATURAL SIGN OR
CANCEL
z SIGN

It cancels the effect of

the sharp or the flat. The
natural sign brings the
note to its original pitch
and original singing
name.
MUSICAL TERMS
OF EXPRESSION
 POWER TERMS OR
 ppp- pianississimo-DYNAMICS
very soft
z  Crescendo (cresc.)- increasing in tone
 pp- pianissimo- softer volume.
 Decrescendo (decresc.)-decresing in
 p- piano- soft tone volume
 Diminuendo (dim).- diminishing in tone
 f- Forte- loud volume.
 Lento- slow and sad but not dragging
 ff- fortissimo- louder  Adagio- slow and literally at pleasure
 Moderato- moderate
 fff- fortississimo- very loud  Presto or vivo- very fast. Presto is the
 mezzo- means half fastest of the movement of music.

 mp- mezzo piano- half soft

 mf- mezzo forte- half loud

 Large- broad and slow
z
 Andante- graceful movement as if
walking
 Ritardando (rit)- gradually slower
 Allegro- lively or brisk
 Ad libitum- at the pleasure of the
performer
 Vivace- quick and gay
 A tempo- back to the original speed
 Animato- with life

 Maestoso- grand and majestic

 Grazioso- gracious

 Accelerando (accel.)- gradually faster

 THE CHORUS

The chorus is a group of singers singing in

different voices. When the chorus is
composed of boys and girls, it is called
mixed chorus.
 CLASSIFICATION OF VOICES

 Female voices
a. Soprano- the highest female voice
b. Mezzo- Soprano- voice range between the
soprano and the alto.
c. Alto- the lowest female voices
 Male voices
a. Tenor – the highest adult male voice
b. Baritone- voice range between tenor and bass
c. Bass- the lowest male voice
CHORAL
MUSIC
 Choral music is music
performed by a group of
singers or a choir. The
singers may perform
without accompaniment, or
may be accompanied by
any instrumental
combination, from piano to
full orchestra.
 Common Used Musical  Classical – The period
Terms In Choral Music of music history which
dates from the mid
 Choir- Group of singers in 1700’s to mid 1800’s.
a chorus The music was spare
 Chorale- A hymn sung by and emotionally
the choir and reserved, especially
congregation often in when compared to
unison. Romantic and Boroque
 Chorus – A group singing music
in unison.  Duet – A piece of music
written for two vocalists
or instrumentalists.
 TYPES OF
CHORAL MUSIC
 Mixed choir (with male
and female voices) – This
is perhaps the most
common type, usually
consisting of soprano,
alto, tenor, and bass
voices.
 Male choirs – with the
same SATB voicing as
mixed choirs, but with
boys singing the upper
part (often called trebles
or boy sopranos) and men
singing alto (in falsetto),
also known as
countertenors.
 Women’s choir – a choir
of adult women, high
voices only, usually
consisting of soprano and
alto voices, two parts in
each.
 Men’s chorus – a choir of
adult men, low voices
only, usually consisting of
two tenors, baritone, and
bass.
 Children’s choir – This
includes boy choirs. Boy
choirs typically sing SSA
or SSAA, sometimes
including a cambiata/tenor
part for boys whose
voices are changing.
 Boys’ choir – a choir of
boys

 Girls’ choir – a choir of

girls, high voices only
 TYPES OF
CHORAL MUSIC
BASED ON
INSTITUTION
  Church (including
cathedral) choirs
Types Of  Chorale – dedicated to
Choral Music mostly sacred Christian
music
Based On  Collegiate and university
choir
Institution  Community choir (of
children or adults)
 School choirs
 MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT
Musical instrument, any for example, it can be
device for producing a used for entertainment or
musical sound. have a central role in
Instruments also express ritual; its use in ensemble
individual and community can demonstrate social
identities and reflect solidarity or possessing a
physical geographies. The specific instrument can
role a musical instrument enhance the status of an
plays in a society can individual.
range widely:
THE STRINGED FAMILY

• String instruments are the highest

form of musical instruments. They are
sounded by a bow, a hammer or they
are plucked or strummed.
 VIOLIN
The violin is made of wood.
It has four strings. They are
made of sheep or goat gut,
but the highest string is most
often made of steel.
The violin has a range of
four octaves.
It is the most important
instrument in the orchestra.
The bow is made of wood
and horse hair.
 VIOLA
The viola is
larger than the
violin.
Its tone is lower
and heavier than
that of the violin.
 VIOLENCELLO
The cello is bass violin,
so large that is rest on
the floor while being
played.
 Its is tuned an octave
lower than the viola.
It has a deep rich tone .
 DOUBLE BASS
OR
CONTRA BASS
This is the largest violin
and plays the deepest
tones.
It is taller than a man, and
the player must stand
while he plays.
Its string are long and
thick
 HARP
The harp has forty-seven
strings made of gut which
plucked by hand.
C strings are red and f strings
are blue to help the player. It
has seven pedals to shift the
pitch into any key.
Its music is written like piano
music
 THE
WOODWIND
FAMILY
• The woodwind instrument are made of
wood or there is a portion of the
instrument that is made of wood or
bamboo whose tone is produced by
blowing in them.
 PICCOLO
This is a half-size
flute which plays an
octave higher than
its bigger brother.
Its tone is clear but
shrill
 FLUTE
The tube of the flute is made
of wood or silver.
Along the tube are six holes
for the fingers and fourteen
keys which open other holes
stopped by keys.
Its mouthpiece is a hole at the
side.
Its tone is clear and sweet
 OBOE
The oboe has wooden
tube with finger holes
and keys.
The mouthpiece is a
double reed.
Its tone is nasal and
sad
 ENGLISH HORN
This is not a horn, but an
alto oboe.
It is a larger than the
oboe , and has deeper
tone.
The bell is shaped like a
knob. It is nicknamed the
“country man”
 CLARINET
The wooden tube of the
clarinet has a mouthpiece of
one reed and a flaring bell at
the other end.
It is very important member
of the woodwind family.
There are large soprano,
small soprano, alto, tenor
and bass clarinets.
The clarinet has holes and
keys.
 BASS
CLARINET
 This larger clarinet is pitched an
octave lower than the B flat
soprano clarinet.
 Its mouthpiece is bent away from
the tube.
 The bell is tuned up to make the
clarinet easier to handle.
 The tone is deep and full.
 BASSOON
The tube of the bassoon is
nine feet long, double back to
make easier to hold.
It has a long, curve double
red mouthpiece on a metal
tube at the side.
 its tone can be low and sad,
or funny and hoarse. It is
called the clown of the
orchestra.
 THE
BRASS FAMILY
• The brass family consist of the wind instrument
made of brass, plated with silver, nickel, or
gold, or is pure brass and they are sounded by
the use of a mouthpiece.
 FRENCH HORN

 This horn is made of bras, with a

twelve-feet tube curved around.
 The player blows into a mouthpiece.
 The sound comes out of the bell at
the other end.
 Valves help to make different tones.
 The sound of the French is soft and
pure.
 TRUMPET
The trumpet has a six-feet
brass tube which is doubled
up.
It plays an octave higher than
the French horn.
It has three valves.
Its tone is brilliant.
The trumpet is the leader for
the brass family
 TROMBONE
The middle section of the
brass tube of the trombone
slides in and out to make
different tones.
Its tone is rich and strong.
There are two kinds of
trombones, the valve and the
slide.
 TUBA
This is the lowest-
pitched horn.
It has three valves.
Its sound is deep like an
organ.
It is a very large horn.
 SAXOPHONE
This popular instrument
of today is not accepted
in symphony orchestras.
It made of brass, has
reed mouthpiece and
many keys.
Its tone is mellow.
 THE
PERCUSSION FAMILY
• The percussion family is made up of
those instrument which are sounded by
beating or striking and these instruments
are the oldest instruments in the world.
SNARE DRUM
This drum has a skin
stretched over each end
of a wood or metal frame
It is played with two sticks.
It has only one tone and
so is used only for rhythm
BASS DRUM
This is a larger drum.
It is struck with a soft
headed stick.
Its sound is booming.
 KETTLE DRUM
This is also called timpani.
They are bowls of brass or
copper with skin stretched
across the top.
They are issued in pairs, with
one making a lower note than
the other.
They are played with sticks
having head of felt wood
covered with leather
 CYMBALS
These are round, brass
plates with handles at the
back.
They are played by
striking the edges against
each other to make a
clashing sound.
 TRIANGLE
This is a piece of steel bent
into a three-sided
instrument and is open at
one corner.
It is held by a cord and
struck with a metal rod.
 TAMBOURINE
This tiny drum has only one
skin and has many metal
jingles in the rim or hoop.
It is struck by the knuckles
or elbow or shaken to rattle
the jingles.