The Elements of Music

1. The Elements of Music Part Six: Texture

2. Learning Goal/Success Criteria • Learning Goal • I will learn about textureas an element of music. • Success Criteria: • I will be able to determine if a song’s texture is monophonic, homophonic, or polyphonic.

3. Texture • In music, texture is the number of individual musical lines (melodies) and the relationships these lines have to one another. • There are three main types of musical textures: monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic (they have historical origins).

4. Monophonic • Music that only has one melody line • Examples: • A vocal song with no accompaniment • A single musical instrument playing a melody • Many instruments playing the same melody

5. Monophonic Example • Listen to Example 1

6. Homophonic • Music that has a single melodic line with accompaniment • Examples: • A song with accompaniment • A single musical instrument or many musical instruments playing a melody which is supported by other instruments playing the harmony

7. Homophonic Example • Listen to Example 2

8. Monophonic/Homophonic Example • Sometimes though, songs can have monophonic and homophonic textures • Listen to Example 3

9. Polyphonic • Music which consists of two or more independent melodic lines which sound at the same time • Examples: • Round like Row, Row, Row Your Boat) • Classical Music

10. Polyphonic Example • Listen to Example 4

11. Homophonic/Polyphonic Example • Sometimes though, songs can have homophonic and polyphonic textures. • Most often this occurs in classical music, but it does occur in pop music: • Listen to Example 5

12. The Elements of Music Part Seven: Timbre

13. Learning Goal/Success Criteria • Learning Goal • I will learn about timbreas an element of music. • Success Criteria: • I will be able to determine what instruments are playing in a piece of music.

14. Timbre • In music, timbre (pronounced tam-ber) refers to the quality of a sound which allows us to tell the difference between musical instruments. • Different instruments playing a note at the same pitch have different sound qualities because they are built differently; it is the timbre that enables the listener to distinguish the sound

15. Timbre (continued) • Timbre is also known as sound color. • (Some people believe they see colors when they hear music!)

16. Instrument Families • The names of the instrument families that we typically hear in music today are as follows:

17. Woodwinds

18. Brass

19. Strings

20. Percussion

21. Voice

22. Electronic

23. Hearing Instruments • When listening for timbre in a piece of music, you will need to decide what instruments or groups of instruments (i.e. choir, orchestra, jazz band, rock group) are being played. Certain types of music will usually use certain types of instruments. • You should also be able to determine which instruments are performing the melody and which are performing “in the background.”

24. Staccato and Legato • We can also discuss how an instrument is being played in reference to timbre. There are a lot of different techniques that can be used on instruments, but here are 2 very common terms used to define instrumental styles:

25. Staccato • Short, detached

26. Legato • Smooth, connected

27. Adjectives to Describe Sound • Finally, people also often used adjectives to describe how an instrument or instruments “sound”:

28. Examples • Listen to the following examples and provide adjectives to describe how an instrument or instruments “sound.” List the instrument families (or actual instruments if you can). • 1. • 2. • 3.

29. Putting It All Together • Listen to the following musical example and make comments about the musical elements in your handout.