The Elements of Music

Some of the most important elements of music are dynamics, tempo, pitch, timbre, duration, texture, melody and structure. These elements help us both to describe the music that we hear and to create contrast in our music so that it sounds interesting.

Dynamics – this is how loud or quiet the music is. Loud can be represented by the Italian word forte ( f ) and quiet by the Italian word piano ( p ). There are other dynamics too. When something is very loud it is fortissimo ( ff ). Very quiet things are described as pianissimo ( pp ).

Rhythm – this is the regular pattern of long and short note lengths - (durations). Certain kinds of music, such as blues or marches, have a very characteristic rhythm. This is a tricky word to spell: R-H-Y-T-H-M – Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move

Structure – this is how the music is organised. For example, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has three parts, ABA, where the first and last sections are the same:- 1. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. 2. Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. 3. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are.

Melody - this is another word for ‘tune’. if a melody has notes which are close together it can be described as ‘conjunct’ and if it leaps around it can be described as ‘disjunct’.

Instrumentation - What instruments/voices are playing.

Tempo – this means the speed of the music, how fast (Allegro) or slow (Lento) it is.

Pitch – this is how high or low the sound is. For example, a soprano has a high-pitched voice, and a bass has a low-pitched voice.

Timbre – this is the type of sound that instruments and voices produce. For example, think of the difference in sound between a ‘cello and a piano, or a voice and a drum.

Duration – this is the length of a sound and can be long or short.

Texture - This is about describing how sounds are combined. If there is only one instrument playing it could be described as ‘monophonic’ but if there were lots of instruments playing the same thing it could be described as ‘unison’. There are other terms here like homophonic, polyphonic and heterophonic for you to discover.

Harmony - Harmony occurs when two notes of different pitch are sounded together. For now when you listen to a piece of music you might think the harmony sounds nice or you might think it sounds ‘clashy’ and horrible. The first nice sounding harmony is called ‘consonant’ and the second clashing type is called ‘dissonant’.

DR SMITH

Title / Composer:

Style /Genre / Context

Dynamics

Rhythm

Structure

Melody

Instrumentation

Texture / Timbre

Harmony (Consonant or Dissonant?)