Music Theory
The task below is the elements of music that I have researched.
Dynamics
Dynamics is a mixture of loud and soft music which could also be said as amplitude. Dynamic levels are indicators for the emotional mood. Loud dynamics are relevant with vigor, turmoil, conflict, valor and more. But soft dynamics are relevant with peace, repose, calmness, sensuality and more. Soft dynamics are like love songs, lullabies, melancholy songs and sacred songs.
Dynamics could also be said as the accent of music. The dynamic levels are repeated and made as a variation to play song. Patterns of the dynamic levels can be equivalently matching to play good songs. Just like tempo, the terms for dynamics are written in Italy.
1. Pianissimo
2. Decrescendo
3. Piano
4. Diminuendo
5. Mezzo Piano
6. Crescendo
7. Mezzo forte
8. Forte
9. Fortissimo
The starting point which is pianissimo is known as the softest, and it would gradually get louder until fortissimo, the loudest. These are the main terms in Dynamics. The techniques like crescendo means like playing it louder and louder, and decrescendo/diminuendo are getting softer. These techniques make a song better.
Key
In a chord there is a term “Key”, or could be called as tonality. Key is like the central note, scale of a chord. For example, the C major chord’s key is C, which includes do, re, mi, fa, sol.
Meter
Meter is when the periodic effect of beat in music. Music doesn’t need beat to be music. But music which have beat will receive emphasis by making the beat longer or louder than the other beats. To get an example of meter, try to clap a steady beat. Then try to clap one loud one and one soft one. When music has this pattern (loud then soft), it is called a meter. If the music pattern is strong, it is called downbeat. If the music emphasizes long, it is called an agogic accent. If the music emphasizes loudness, its dynamic accent.
A group of fixed beats is called a measure. A measure with two patterns of two beat meter (duple meter) are counted 1-2 1-2. Three patterns of three beat meters (triple meter) are counted 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3. There are others such as quadruple meter and quintuple meter. These patterns are part of a time signature.
Harmony
Harmony is how a chord is constructed and how they follow to the music. A chord can be defined as a mixture/combination of three or more different tones that are related and are sounded together at the same time. When we hear music with chords, it is called homophonic. If it doesn’t have accompaniment, it is called monophonic. An arpeggio is a fast repetition of chord tones that are occurring with one time after another. It could also be called as a broken chord.
There are stable and unstable types of chords called consonance and dissonance. A combination of stable chords is called consonance. Stables chords are like calm and restful. A combination of unstable chords are called dissonance, it is like drama, suspense and surprised.
Instruments
Instruments are like the “base/color” of music. Organology is the term used for the study of musical instruments and is one of the most interesting features in music.
· String InstrumentsViolin, Viola, Cello, Doublebass, Viola Da Gamba, Guitar, Lute, Mandolin, Harp
· Woodwind Instruments Piccolo, Flute, Bass Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Contrabassoon, Recorder, Alto/Tenor/Baritone Saxophones
· Brasswind Instruments Trumpet, Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba
· Percussion InstrumentsSnare Drum, Tom-Tom, Bass Drum, Timpani or Kettledrums, Bongos, Timbales, Congas, Claves, Cymbals, Tam-Tam, Tambourine, Castanets, Triangle, Wood Block, Temple Blocks, Xylophone, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Chimes, Vibraphone, also including a wide group of noisemakers.
Melody
After listening to a song, we all usually remember the best part of the song. Melody is a group of individual tones that are recognized in a song. A melody starts and finishes. A melody of a song can go up and down, curved and more. That is called a melodic cure or line. Melodies are also performed with effect. For example if the melody is continuous and smooth, it is called a legato. If it is short and in a detached manner, it is called a staccato. Melodies are made from parts, the short parts are called phrases. The end of a phrase is called cadense. When a repetition of a melodic pattern is played, it is called a sequence.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the flow of music through time. It is the arrangement of tones on a beat. For example, try clapping the rhythm of your favorite song. There should be like a beat from the melody.
The picture above are the types of rhythm in a piece of music. The top one, whole note has the longest beat which is 4 beats. The lowest one, thirtysecond note is the fastest beat while having 36 beats in one bar. The rhythm can be found from the time signature, the number similar like a fraction that is located at the right of the treble clef.
Tempo
Tempo basically is the speed of the beat from a music. A fast tempo is relevant with the feeling of energy and excitement. While a slow tempo is relevant with a calm mood or tranquility. The indication of the tempo is told at the beginning of the song usually. The terms for tempo are written in Italian.
Largo: very slow, broad
Grave: very slow, solemn
Adagio: slow
Andante: moderately slow, a walking pace
Moderato: moderate
Allegretto: moderately fast
Allegro: fast
Vivace: lively
Presto: very fast
Prestissimo: as fast as possible
The metronome is an apparatus that symbolizes the tempo. It is a machine that produces ticking sounds of any musical speed. The metronome also tells the amount of beats per minute.
Timbre/Tone Color
Timbre or could be called as tone color is the quality/effect of sound from a sound source. For example, you could tell if a guitar and a violin is different even though it is still playing the same tone and melody. You could tell because the quality of the sound makers are different.
By combining different types of instruments, we will be able to find a new type of tone color. For example a piano and a violin. Or a band which includes drum, guitar, bass and piano. Of course would be including the orchestra; which includes the violin, cello, piano and more. Electronic instruments make different types of tone colors and keeps us attracted to the player, unlike traditional instruments. When a person plays an instrument, he/she feelings and emotions relate to the tone color and makes the sound better.
Texture
There is 3types of textures. A polyphonic texture is a melody that is repeated and having many sounds. Homophonic texture is when a melody is accompanied with chords. A monophonic texture is when a melody is not accompanied.
Pitch
Is the highness or lowest noise we hear in a sound. The pitch is made by the frequency of vibrations and the size of the vibrating objects. If the vibration is lower and the object is big, it will have a low pitch. If the vibration is higher and the object is small, the pitch will be high. For example a double bass is lower than the violin because the double bass has longer strings.
Form
Form is similar to rhythm which is relevant to time. But instead of focusing on single notes, form focuses on larger parts from a song. In Western areas it also could be called as “verse”, “chorus” or “bridge”. So basically, form is when the music switches to a different sensation. Sometimes it feels good or it even can worsen the song. But the form makes a song better.
Symphony
Symphony is used in an orchestra, consists of three or more movements and is made into great music. An example could be Beethoven’s symphonies.
Phrase
A phrase is when a melody is divided into two halves. Two halves are called a phrase and are formed in a musical period. It also could be called as a single music idea, usually very short.
Motif
A short music idea or part that is repeated during the song or composition. It also could be called a musical pattern.
Measure
The metric unit between two bars of a staff. The measure can be determined by the time signature. For example if the time signature is 4/4, there will be 4 beats per bar.
Coda
Coda is the conclusion movement, part of the composition or music
Dynamics is a mixture of loud and soft music which could also be said as amplitude. Dynamic levels are indicators for the emotional mood. Loud dynamics are relevant with vigor, turmoil, conflict, valor and more. But soft dynamics are relevant with peace, repose, calmness, sensuality and more. Soft dynamics are like love songs, lullabies, melancholy songs and sacred songs.
Dynamics could also be said as the accent of music. The dynamic levels are repeated and made as a variation to play song. Patterns of the dynamic levels can be equivalently matching to play good songs. Just like tempo, the terms for dynamics are written in Italy.
1. Pianissimo
2. Decrescendo
3. Piano
4. Diminuendo
5. Mezzo Piano
6. Crescendo
7. Mezzo forte
8. Forte
9. Fortissimo
The starting point which is pianissimo is known as the softest, and it would gradually get louder until fortissimo, the loudest. These are the main terms in Dynamics. The techniques like crescendo means like playing it louder and louder, and decrescendo/diminuendo are getting softer. These techniques make a song better.
Key
In a chord there is a term “Key”, or could be called as tonality. Key is like the central note, scale of a chord. For example, the C major chord’s key is C, which includes do, re, mi, fa, sol.
Meter
Meter is when the periodic effect of beat in music. Music doesn’t need beat to be music. But music which have beat will receive emphasis by making the beat longer or louder than the other beats. To get an example of meter, try to clap a steady beat. Then try to clap one loud one and one soft one. When music has this pattern (loud then soft), it is called a meter. If the music pattern is strong, it is called downbeat. If the music emphasizes long, it is called an agogic accent. If the music emphasizes loudness, its dynamic accent.
A group of fixed beats is called a measure. A measure with two patterns of two beat meter (duple meter) are counted 1-2 1-2. Three patterns of three beat meters (triple meter) are counted 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3. There are others such as quadruple meter and quintuple meter. These patterns are part of a time signature.
Harmony
Harmony is how a chord is constructed and how they follow to the music. A chord can be defined as a mixture/combination of three or more different tones that are related and are sounded together at the same time. When we hear music with chords, it is called homophonic. If it doesn’t have accompaniment, it is called monophonic. An arpeggio is a fast repetition of chord tones that are occurring with one time after another. It could also be called as a broken chord.
There are stable and unstable types of chords called consonance and dissonance. A combination of stable chords is called consonance. Stables chords are like calm and restful. A combination of unstable chords are called dissonance, it is like drama, suspense and surprised.
Instruments
Instruments are like the “base/color” of music. Organology is the term used for the study of musical instruments and is one of the most interesting features in music.
· String InstrumentsViolin, Viola, Cello, Doublebass, Viola Da Gamba, Guitar, Lute, Mandolin, Harp
· Woodwind Instruments Piccolo, Flute, Bass Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Contrabassoon, Recorder, Alto/Tenor/Baritone Saxophones
· Brasswind Instruments Trumpet, Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Tuba
· Percussion InstrumentsSnare Drum, Tom-Tom, Bass Drum, Timpani or Kettledrums, Bongos, Timbales, Congas, Claves, Cymbals, Tam-Tam, Tambourine, Castanets, Triangle, Wood Block, Temple Blocks, Xylophone, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Chimes, Vibraphone, also including a wide group of noisemakers.
Melody
After listening to a song, we all usually remember the best part of the song. Melody is a group of individual tones that are recognized in a song. A melody starts and finishes. A melody of a song can go up and down, curved and more. That is called a melodic cure or line. Melodies are also performed with effect. For example if the melody is continuous and smooth, it is called a legato. If it is short and in a detached manner, it is called a staccato. Melodies are made from parts, the short parts are called phrases. The end of a phrase is called cadense. When a repetition of a melodic pattern is played, it is called a sequence.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the flow of music through time. It is the arrangement of tones on a beat. For example, try clapping the rhythm of your favorite song. There should be like a beat from the melody.
The picture above are the types of rhythm in a piece of music. The top one, whole note has the longest beat which is 4 beats. The lowest one, thirtysecond note is the fastest beat while having 36 beats in one bar. The rhythm can be found from the time signature, the number similar like a fraction that is located at the right of the treble clef.
Tempo
Tempo basically is the speed of the beat from a music. A fast tempo is relevant with the feeling of energy and excitement. While a slow tempo is relevant with a calm mood or tranquility. The indication of the tempo is told at the beginning of the song usually. The terms for tempo are written in Italian.
Largo: very slow, broad
Grave: very slow, solemn
Adagio: slow
Andante: moderately slow, a walking pace
Moderato: moderate
Allegretto: moderately fast
Allegro: fast
Vivace: lively
Presto: very fast
Prestissimo: as fast as possible
The metronome is an apparatus that symbolizes the tempo. It is a machine that produces ticking sounds of any musical speed. The metronome also tells the amount of beats per minute.
Timbre/Tone Color
Timbre or could be called as tone color is the quality/effect of sound from a sound source. For example, you could tell if a guitar and a violin is different even though it is still playing the same tone and melody. You could tell because the quality of the sound makers are different.
By combining different types of instruments, we will be able to find a new type of tone color. For example a piano and a violin. Or a band which includes drum, guitar, bass and piano. Of course would be including the orchestra; which includes the violin, cello, piano and more. Electronic instruments make different types of tone colors and keeps us attracted to the player, unlike traditional instruments. When a person plays an instrument, he/she feelings and emotions relate to the tone color and makes the sound better.
Texture
There is 3types of textures. A polyphonic texture is a melody that is repeated and having many sounds. Homophonic texture is when a melody is accompanied with chords. A monophonic texture is when a melody is not accompanied.
Pitch
Is the highness or lowest noise we hear in a sound. The pitch is made by the frequency of vibrations and the size of the vibrating objects. If the vibration is lower and the object is big, it will have a low pitch. If the vibration is higher and the object is small, the pitch will be high. For example a double bass is lower than the violin because the double bass has longer strings.
Form
Form is similar to rhythm which is relevant to time. But instead of focusing on single notes, form focuses on larger parts from a song. In Western areas it also could be called as “verse”, “chorus” or “bridge”. So basically, form is when the music switches to a different sensation. Sometimes it feels good or it even can worsen the song. But the form makes a song better.
Symphony
Symphony is used in an orchestra, consists of three or more movements and is made into great music. An example could be Beethoven’s symphonies.
Phrase
A phrase is when a melody is divided into two halves. Two halves are called a phrase and are formed in a musical period. It also could be called as a single music idea, usually very short.
Motif
A short music idea or part that is repeated during the song or composition. It also could be called a musical pattern.
Measure
The metric unit between two bars of a staff. The measure can be determined by the time signature. For example if the time signature is 4/4, there will be 4 beats per bar.
Coda
Coda is the conclusion movement, part of the composition or music
Reflection
Well the amount of elements I collected may not be complete but I have put an effort to the research and summarizing it. Although the last elements only consists of one line it is easy to understand. I think I got a pretty good score from this project because the poster that I made from the research was great, from my opinion. But I could have improved by have more elements.
Well the amount of elements I collected may not be complete but I have put an effort to the research and summarizing it. Although the last elements only consists of one line it is easy to understand. I think I got a pretty good score from this project because the poster that I made from the research was great, from my opinion. But I could have improved by have more elements.