Musical Elements

...made from a combination of short and long sounds.

Steady Beat

Time Signatures:

Melody

...a combination of high and low pitches that create a line of music.

notes are played smooth and connected

Staccatto...

notes are played short and separate

The Art behind it all...

YOU!

...is the combination of all these things mixed with

a little heart

+

to

and a message

from the composer

+

and artist

Pitches & Range

... the tone quality

High

&

Low

Treble Clef

Timbre

Harmony

When two or more notes are sung or played at the same time

Monophony

Do

Each Instrument has its own unique sound

"Sound"

"One"

Mi

...a single melody line of music

Homophony

UNISON: Many people play or sing the same melody.

Let's listen to a few...

"Sound"

"Same"

Oboe

Bass Clef

a bright and duck-like sound

Texture

CHORDS: 3 or more notes played together.

(Woodwind)

The simple or complex layers of sound

Double Reed players always look a little funny when they play!

Chords

Polyphony

When 3 or more notes are sung or played at the same time

Trumpet

Marimba

a bright and brassy sound

Cello

a clean and soft sound

"Sounds"

Here are 2 examples of

instruments that play chords...

a smooth and rich sound

"Many"

Guitar

Piano

(Brass)

(percussion)

Flute

(Strings)

a light and airy sound

C

For Example

E

G

When played at the same time,

Popular during the Renaissance and Baroque Era

these notes create a CHORD

This one is called C Major.

(Woodwinds)

Rhythm

Musical Elements

Top #

equals the # of beats in each measure.

3 beats per measure

It all starts with the....

6 beats per measure

4

6

3

= 1 beat

4

8

4

= 1 beat

2

4

3

1

Bottom #

represents what type of note receives the beat. (1 beat)

Tempo

?

How Fast?

How

Whole Note

Musical Expression

4 beats

Here's an overview:

Dynamics

Now it looks more like this...

(There's an app for everything!)

Half Note

Then it looked like this...

Use a Metronome to know!

Articulation

How loud or soft music is played

Used to look like this...

2 beats

(Sounds like the tick-tock of a clock!)

Legato...

HOW the notes are played in relation to one another.

Fortissimo

Quarter Note

The same pitch

Different pitch

1 beat

Forte

1 beat

Mezzo Forte

Mezzo Piano

Piano

Pianissimo

Very softly played

Soft

Pianississimo

Softer than

(almost inaudible)

Not too soft

Not too loud

Strongly played (loud)

Eighth Note

Very Strongly played

= 1 beat total

1/2 Beat

Here the artist must interpret part of the composer's intention with the slur markings.

1/2 + 1/2 = 1

What makes music come alive

The first note in each set of slur should be emphasized.

Sixteenth Note

= 1 beat total

1/4 beat

Gradually growing Louder!!

Eighth Note

1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 + 1/4 = 1

Gradually growing softer

Slurs indicate a Legato articulation where notes are played smooth and connected.

Form

...The way a song is put together.

In Pop Music

it might look like this...

For example:

Verse

Refrain

Verse

In Classical Music

Refrain

it might look like this...

Bridge

Refrain

A

B

Section

A

Section