1 / 27

Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks, and invents.

Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks, and invents. - Ludwig von Beethoven, 1770-1827. The Elements of Music and a few other terms & ideas. Elements of Music. Timbre  the characteristic sound of a particular voice, instrument or ensemble

rowdy
Télécharger la présentation

Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks, and invents.

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks, and invents. - Ludwig von Beethoven, 1770-1827 The Elements of Music and a few other terms & ideas

  2. Elements of Music Timbre the characteristic sound of a particular voice, instrument or ensemble Melody a succession of pitches conceived as a meaningful whole Rhythm the arrangement of sounds in time Harmony created by 2 or more different tones sounding together Texture relationship of tones played at the same time Dynamics the loudness or softness of sounds; literally - volume Form  organizing structure of music Can’t we do these one at a time??? Way too much information – yikes!

  3. Elements of Music - Timbre

  4. Elements of Music - Timbre CSO Timbre  the physical characteristics of the sound of a particular voice, instrument, or ensemble. Beatles Bird & Miles

  5. Elements of Music – Timbre & Color Timbre is the “color” of music. When the artist uses the color red, he has a “sound.” To lighten his “sound,” he might add white; his new color is pink. If he adds brown, a deeper red emerges. Now his new “sound” is darker. The artist produces many affects with the addition of different colors. So does the composer. The various timbre the composer can use are the artist’s palette of color and sound.

  6. Elements of Music - Melody Melody  a succession of pitches conceived as a meaningful whole. Eg. “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” Top line is the melody. Notice how close the notes are on the staff. This means the melody is conjunct. Look for the highest and lowest notes; they are relatively close together. This is the range of the melody. If the melody is “catchy” and “singable” then we call it a tune. Did you notice who wrote this melody?

  7. Elements of Music - Melody Melody is similar to a paragraph. Think about how a paragraph is built. Words, phrases, sentences, the whole paragraph. • The melody is the whole paragraph. • Phrases are musical sentences punctuated by stopping points called cadences. • Motifs (motives) are the shortest building block, like an introductory sentence to the paragraph. The melody often carries the theme of the musical piece. The theme is the “main idea.” A very famous motif!

  8. Elements of Music - Melody A couple of final notes on melody: if the range of the melody is wide and awkward to sing, it probably is disjunct, like the one below. Remember a conjunct melody is smooth and fluid. Most great melodies are conjunct. We retain the melody in our mind. Sequences are repeated melodic patterns. See any in this example?

  9. Elements of Music Important Note For All of the Arts!!! In all of the arts, BALANCE is required. The artist balances REPETITION and CONTRAST. Repetition provides an “anchor” for us to remember what the artist wants to fix in our minds. CONTRAST introduces new subject matter or the same subject matter treated differently. Contraststimulates our interest. This is the general overview of “dynamics” in art. This is too much! I didn’t think music was this tough! When is he going to take a break?

  10. Elements of Music - Harmony Harmony  created by 2 or more notes sounding simultaneously. A chord has at least three notes or pitches. An interval is two notes; actually the distance between the two notes or pitches.

  11. Elements of Music - Harmony Rising thirds – harmony in motion. Harmonic progression – the forward movement of harmony through time. Johann Sebastion Bach 1685-1770

  12. Elements of Music - Harmony Harmony is also the vertical organization of music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 - 1791

  13. Elements of Music – Harmony (don’t forget the melody) The melody line is also here, on the top. Melody is the horizontal organization of music. Sometimes we use the word linear to denote horizontal movement.

  14. Elements of Music - Texture Texture refers to relationship of tones played at the same time. Think about the weave of cloth. Some weaves are more open and some are more closed. The idea of texture is similar to density. The earliest, most simple texture is monophony a single, unaccompanied melodic line (sometimes referred to as melodic voice).

  15. Elements of Music - Texture • Additional textures include: • Polyphony two or more distinct musical lines sounding simultaneously. Effect is linear rather than vertical. • Homophony main melodic line with accompaniment. Accompaniment supports the melody. Eg. Singer with guitar. • Two more terms • consonance notes sound as if they go together naturally; sounds pleasing (not necessarily happy) to the ear; lacks tension. • dissonance  notes sound as if they do not work together; think of an infant pounding on a keyboard; creates tension. Words, words, words! Let them sink in!

  16. Elements of Music - Rhythm Normal Somebody lost the beat. Never had the beat! Rhythm begins with a heartbeat. Ba-bomp. Ba-bomp. Ba-bomp. Rhythm  refers to the arrangement of sounds in time.

  17. Elements of Music – “Pizza Notes” How many people do you expect for dinner? One pizza for 16. ¼ pizza ½ pizza Whole pizza ½ pizza ¼ pizza 1/16 pizza 1/8 pizza No way.

  18. Elements of Music - Rhythm “whole” note = 4 beats 4/4 time is also called common time. It’s the most “common” of all meters! Get it? 4/4 = four beats to a measure and every quarter note is one beat long. “quarter” note = 1 beat Approximation of a heartbeat. I never realized music was so complicated • Beat regularly recurring pulse. • Meter  grouping or organization of beats. • Tempo  speed at which music is performed.

  19. Elements of Music - Dynamics small amp Basically, dynamics is the loudness or softness of the music. But the term can mean more – we’ll talk. big amp

  20. Elements of Music - Dynamics Quartet v. Orchestra. Of course one can play louder than the other; however, can they match each other’s intensity? How does intensity relate to dynamics? Good question. What is he talking about? Talk about intense!

  21. Elements of Music - Form Form  the organizing structure of a piece. Label sections with letters: “A,” “B,” “C,” etc. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far awayNow it looks as though they’re here to stayOh, I believe in yesterday.Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be,There’s a shadow hanging over me.Oh, yesterday came suddenly.Why she had to go I don’t know she wouldn’t say.I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday.Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play.Now I need a place to hide away.Oh, I believe in yesterday. A This is the repetition and contrast thing. A Paul used sonata-allegro form for “Yesterday,” the most covered tune of all time. B A

  22. Elements of Music - Form A bit more on form: • Ternery: the most common form; balanced application of repetition and contrast; outlined as ABA. A popular variation of ternery form is AABA. • Binary: focuses on contrast; outlined as AB or AABB. • Theme & variations: presents a theme and then plays it several times; each repetition is changed but still recognizable. All art(s) use form – even the bowl you made your mom in junior high school had some kind of form. Mine was worse, but what does this have to do with music? My bowl wasn’t that bad.

  23. Elements of Music – Theme & Variations Here we begin with a boring old cheese pizza. Now we add a little pineapple. Still pizza, but is it the same pizza? How ‘bout a few anchovies? Here’s our pizza now. It’s still pizza, but with many different tastes. How does this relate to form in music?

  24. Western Music v. “World” Music Western music rooted in “formal” (written) music, originating in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Western music  a recorded (written) history. Western music tradition  split into “art” music and “popular” or “commercial” music. Manuscripts of music from the Middle Ages.

  25. Western Music v. “World” Music • Differences include: • Most world stylesemphasize melody more than Western music. • Harmony is more highly developed in Western music. • Rhythm is under-developed in Western music relative to most world styles. • Form is much more developed in Western music. Western music is written; therefore, the form is the same in each performance. Many world styles use improvisation. Idea of repetition and contrast is universal.

  26. Western Music v. “World” Music Differences include: • Timbre is highly stylized in all cultures. • Polyphonic texture is unique to Western music. Most world music is homophonic in texture. • Dynamics remain universal. • Improvisation is important in many world styles. In the past, it was more important in Western music than currently. • Improv is especially used in pop music – jazz, rock, blues.

  27. Elements of Music Don’t beat your head against the wall. Listen to some music and think about what you’re listening to. Eventually, it all makes sense.

More Related