WHAT IS MUSIC?

THE ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

 an artistic form of auditory communication  Rhythm: (beat, meter, tempo, syncopation)

incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in  Dynamics: (forte, piano, [etc.], crescendo,
a structured and continuous manner. decrescendo)
 the sounds produced by singers or musical  Melody: (pitch, theme, conjunct, disjunct)
instruments.  Harmony: (chord, progression, consonance,
THE SIX HISTORICAL STYLE-PERIODS OF dissonance, key, tonality, atonality)
WESTERN ART MUSIC  Tone color: (register, range,
instrumentation)
 Middle Ages (approximately 450-1450):  Texture: (monophonic, homophonic,
An era dominated by Catholic sacred polyphonic, imitation, counterpoint)
music, which began as simple chant but grew in  Form: (binary, ternary, strophic, through-
complexity in the 13th to 15th centuries by composed)
experiments in harmony and rhythm. Leading
composers of the later Middle Ages include
Pérotin and Machaut. 1. RHYTHM

 Renaissance (approximately 1450-1600): Rhythm is the element of "TIME" in music.

A more personal style emerged in this When you tap your foot to the music, you are
era with a greater focus on Humanism, and a "keeping the beat" or following the structural
rebirth of learning and exploration. During rhythmic pulse of the music. There are several
this "golden age of vocal music,” the leading important aspects of rhythm:
composers include Josquin Desprez,
Palestrina, and Weelkes. • DURATION: how long a sound (or silence)
lasts.
• TEMPO: the speed of the BEAT.
 Baroque (approximately 1600-1750):
This era—the last great age of
(Note: Tempo indications are often
aristocratic rule— is represented by
designated by Italian terms):
extremely ornate and elaborate approaches
to the arts. This era saw the rise of
Largo = "large" or labored (slow)
instrumental music, the invention of the
Adagio = slow
modern violin family and the creation of the
Andante = steady "walking" tempo
first orchestras. Great composers of the late
Moderato = moderate
Baroque include Vivaldi, Handel and JS
Allegro = fast ("happy")
Bach.
Presto = very fast
 Classic (approximately 1750-1820):
The music of this politically turbulent Other basic terms relating to Rhythm are:
era focused on structural unity, clarity and
balance. The new expressive and dramatic
approaches to composition and performance that
were developed in this era became the standards  Syncopation: an "off-the-beat" accent
that all "Classical" music are judged by. Great (between the counted numbers)
composers of the Classic era include Haydn,  Ritardando: gradually SLOWING DOWN
Mozart and Beethoven. the tempo
 Accelerando: gradually SPEEDING UP the
 Romantic (approximately 1820-1900): tempo
This era witnessed an explosion of  Rubato: freely and expressively making
flamboyance, nationalism, the rise of "superstar" subtle changes in the tempo. (a technique
performers, and concerts aimed at middle-class commonly encountered in music of the
"paying" audiences. Orchestral, theatrical and Romantic era)
soloistic music grew to spectacular heights of
personal expression. Among the leading 2. DYNAMICS
Romantic composers are Berlioz, Chopin,
Wagner. All musical aspects relating to the relative
loudness (or quietness) of music fall under the
 Modern (approximately 1900-present): general element of DYNAMICS.
Since approximately 1900, art-music has
been impacted by daring experimentation and The terms used to describe dynamic levels are often
advances in musical technology, as well as in Italian:
popular/non-Western influences. Leading
composers of the early 20th century were pianissimo [pp] = (very quiet)
Debussy, Schoenberg and Stravinsky, while piano [p] = (quiet)
many of the most prominent composers since mezzo-piano [mp] = (moderately quiet)
1950 have come from the US. mezzo-forte [mf ] = (moderately loud)
forte [f ] = (loud)
 fortissimo [ff ] = (very loud) consonance and dissonance, these terms are
somewhat subjective.
Other basic terms relating to Dynamics are: Other basic terms relating to Harmony are:

 Modality: harmony created out of the

ancient Medieval/Renaissance modes.
 Crescendo: gradually getting LOUDER
 Tonality: harmony that focuses on a "home"
 Diminuendo (or decrescendo) : gradually
key center.
getting QUIETER
 Atonality: modern harmony that AVOIDS
 Accent: "punching" or "leaning into" a note
any sense of a "home" key center.
harder to temporarily emphasize it.

5. TONE COLOR (or TIMBRE -pronounced

3. MELODY "TAM-BER")

Melody is the LINEAR/HORIZONTAL If you play a "C" on the piano and then sing
presentation of pitch (the word used to describe the that "C", you and the piano have obviously
highness or lowness of a musical sound). Many produced the same pitch; however, your voice has a
famous musical compositions have a memorable different sound quality than the piano. Although the
melody or theme. scientific principles of musical acoustics are beyond
the scope of this course, it is safe to say that each
THEME: a melody that is the basis for an musical instrument or voice produces its own
extended musical work characteristic pattern of “overtones,” which gives it
a unique "tone color" or timbre. Composers use
Melodies can be derived from various scales timbre much like painters use colors to evoke
(families of pitches) such as the traditional major certain effects on a canvas. For example, the upper
and minor scales of tonal music, to more unusual register (portion of the range or compass) of a
ones such as the old church modes (of the Medieval clarinet produces tones that are brilliant and
and Renaissance periods: c. 500–1600), the piercing, while its lower
chromatic scale and the whole tone scale (both register gives a rich and dark timbre. A variety of
used in popular and art-music styles of the late 19th timbres can also be created by combining
and 20th-century periods), or unique scale systems instruments and/or voices.
devised in other cultures around the world.
Melodies can be described as: 6. TEXTURE

Texture refers to the number of individual

• musical lines (melodies) and the relationship these
lines have to one another.
NOTE: Be careful not to confuse the number of
CONJUNCT (smooth; easy to sing or play) musical lines with the number of performers
• DISJUNCT (disjointedly ragged or jumpy; producing the musical lines.
difficult to sing or play).
1. Monophonic (single-note) texture:
4. HARMONY
- Music with only one note sounding at a
Harmony is the VERTICALIZATION of
time (having no harmony or
pitch. Often, harmony is thought of as the art of
accompaniment).
combining pitches into chords (several notes played
simultaneously as a "block"). These chords are
2. Homophonic texture:
usually arranged into sentence-like patterns called
chord progressions.
- Music with two or more notes
sounding at a the same time, but
Harmony is often described in terms of its relative
generally featuring a prominent
HARSHNESS:
melody in the upper part, supported by
a less intricate harmonic
• DISSONANCE: a harsh-sounding harmonic
accompaniment underneath (often
based on homogenous chords—
BLOCKS of sound).
combination
• CONSONANCE: a smooth-sounding harmonic 3. Polyphonic texture:
combination
- Music with two or more independent
Dissonant chords produce musical "tension" melodies sounding at the same time. The
which is often "released" by resolving to consonant most intricate types of polyphonic
chords. Since we all have different opinions about texture— canon and fugue—may
introduce three, four, five or more
independent melodies simultaneously!
 This manner of writing is called TOP 10 GENRES OF MUSIC INDUSTRY
COUNTERPOINT.
A music genre is a conventional category
4. Imitative texture: that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to
a shared tradition or set of conventions. Music can
- Imitation is a special type of polyphonic be divided into different genres in many different
texture produced whenever a musical ways. The artistic nature of music means that these
idea is ECHOED from "voice" to classifications are often subjective and
"voice". Although imitation can be used controversial, and some genres may overlap.
in monophonic styles, it is more
prevalent in polyphonic art-music— 1. Electronic Dance Music
especially from the Renaissance and
Baroque periods. Generally referred as EDM, this form of music is
produced by DJs who add dozens of tones to a piece
to create unique music. You can hear them in clubs
or even live, depending upon your accessibility for
7. MUSICAL FORM the same. In the early twenties, electronic dance
music was known in the form of Jamaican dub
The large-scale form of a musical music, the electronic music of Kraftwerk, the disco
composition can be projected via any combination music of Giorgio Moroder, the Yellow Magic
of the musical elements previously studied. Orchestra and many more.
Traditionally, however, musical form in Western
music has been primarily associated with the order
of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic events (or the
text) in a piece. Letters (i.e., A, B, C) are used to
designate musical divisions brought about by the
repetition of melodic material or the presentation of
new, contrasting material. Some of the most 2. Rock Music
common musical forms are described below:
Originated as “Rock & Roll” in the United States,
Rock music has been rocking the world since the
1950s. It is a form of music that started actually
around string instruments, but now uses other
BASIC FORMS: modern instruments too making it a little difficult to
give it an accurate definition. Its loud and strong
Strophic Form: a design in VOCAL music, in beats make it popular among the youths. Some of
which the same music is used for several different the rock stars who have popularized the culture
verses (strophes) of words. [Example: "Deck the include Little Richard, Bill Haley and Chuck Berry
Halls" has many verses of words sung to the same while rock bands like Pink Floyd, The Doors,
music.] Metallica, Nirvana and Megadeth are the modern
bands who have taken the culture by storm.
Verse 1 . . . Verse 2 . . . Verse 3
(etc.) 3. Jazz
Through-composed: a structure in which there is
no repeat or return of any large-scale musical Identified with swing and blue notes, Jazz has its
section. [Example: Schubert's "Erlkönig".] roots both in the West African and European
culture. It is said that Jazz is “One of America’s
A B C D E... original art forms” and boasts a unique combination
of creativity, coactions and interactivity. Originating
Binary Form: a two-part form in which both in the late 19th to early 20th century, Jazz has also
main sections are repeated (as indicated in the played an important role in introducing the world to
diagram by "repeat marks"). The basic premise of a number of women performers like Ella Fitzgerald,
this form is CONTRAST: Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Ethel Waters.

4. Dubstep

The use of instruments attracting music lovers for

its bass and rhythm, this falls in the electronic music
genre. People consider it to be a darker form of
Ternary Form: a three-part form featuring a music, but since its birth in the late 1990s, this
return of the initial music after a contrasting section. genre has successfully made its place in the
Symmetry and balance are achieved through this industry.
return of material:
5. Rhythm and Blues ESCAPISM IN MUSIC

Vocalists like Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, The concept of music as a form of escapism,
Usher and the legendary Michael Jackson have all a doorway out from the mundane and tiring
made it huge in the music industry with their love repetitions of modern life, is simply put, a look in
for this form of music. Originated in the 1940s, this the wrong direction. Of course the initial experience
African-American music is a combination of hip of musical creation and the thought of escapism in
hop, funk, dance, pop and soul focusing on themes an attractive feeling. However, when we follow our
like relationships, sex and freedom. music away, we create a dichotomy that accepts the
daily monotomy of our lives rather than
6. Techno invigorating and charging the interactions with our
surroundings. Our art then becomes essentially
useless, doing nothing to inform our walking reality.
You may have listened to a number of techno music
while clubbing, but it is Detroit techno that is
considered to be the foundation of this form of Music is not about one emotion. Every
music. Unlike the days of its emergence, the use of experience is different. Strong and intense
technology today has greatly enhanced the quality emotion can mean different things for
of techno style music and popularizing it among
anyone. Our feelings are provoked when we
people day by day.
listen to music. We have the belief that the
7. Country Music emotions we connect with or experience
most often is the music we tend to seek out
Another popular genre of American music which that provokes those emotions. For some,
originated in the 1920s, Country music has its roots they experience sadness quite often and the
from American folk and western music. It is formed songs that stand out to them are the ones
using simple forms of instruments ranging from that really hit deep within this emotion
electric and steel guitars to drums and mandolin or
based on different experiences. For others,
mouth organ. Some very popular country music
singers include Shania Twain, Johnny Cash Taylor inspiration is an emotion they connect with
Swift and Kenny Rogers. the most and they seek music that re-
inspires this emotion. Music, as I’m sure
8. Electro many know and realize, is our way of
escaping from reality. I also think it is a way
A perfect blend of hip hop and electronic music, for us to reflect on our reality. Escapism can
electro or electro-funk uses drum machine, vocoder be seen negatively and positively but music
and talkbox helping it to distinguish itself from
serves as more than just one way to escape.
another similar form of music, Disco. Notable
artists who have been into this form of music The artists that write music escape by
include Arthur Baker, Freeez, Man Parrish and physically writing their emotions and
Midnight Star. experiences into melodies while listeners
escape by experiencing those melodies. I
9. Indie Rock tend to use music as both a way to escape
but also as a way to reflect.
Falling in the genre of alternative rock music, Indie
Rock originated in the 1980s and has gradually
changed the music industry. After a decade, it also
gave birth to a couple of sun-genres in related styles
such as math rock, emo, noise pop, post rock and lo-
fi.

10. Pop Music

“Pop” is a term derived from “Popular” and thus

Pop Music is known to be a genre of popular music.
With its roots in the rock & roll style, this form can
include any form of music ranging from urban and
dance to rock, country and Latin. Instruments highly
used are electric guitars, synthesizer drums as well
as bass and one can listen to this form of music by
listening to songs by Britney Spears, Madonna,
Beyonce Lady Gaga and of course the “King of
Pop”, Michael Jackson.