Elements and Principles of Music

1. Elements and Principlesof Music Arts Education 6

2. Elements of Music • Rhythm • Pitch • Melody • Dynamics • Timbre/tone • Texture

3. Rhythm • Beat -- the regular, repeated pulsation in music • Tempo -- the speed or pace of the music

4. Pitch • Pitch describes the highness or lowness of sounds. • Different instruments or voice have different pitched. • San Francisco Symphony Site (link)

5. Melody • A melody is a combination of pitches and durations that make a musical sentence. • Melodies may consist of one or more smaller sections (phrases) similar to phrases in a sentence.

6. Dynamics • The term "dynamics" describes loudness or softness of sounds. • Relates to what effect or mood is being communicated. • Free Play Music

7. Timbre/Tone • Timbre describes the quality or "colour" of sound. Timbre is determined by those characteristics of sound that help us distinguish one sound from another. • Dark, light, airy, mystical, rich, full, dancing, excited.

8. Texture • Texture is layering of different sounds in music. Texture is also how the sounds are combined (harmonizing). • Composers create various textures by combining sounds, instruments or voices to achieve expressive effects. • The texture may be blaring, rough, smooth, choppy, disjointed, tight, rich.

9. Principles of Music • Variety • Repetition • Balance • Acoustics • Tension and Resolution • Transition • Unity

10. Variety • This is used to create interest and can be done in many different ways using the elements: • Loud to soft dynamics • Fast to slow • Thick and thin

11. repetition • Organization of the music where a particular melody is repeated. • Sometimes used to emphasize the theme: • E.g. chorus, or certain notes/phrases

12. Balance • Balance in music traditionally has referred to the relative volume of various sounds. • For instance, a musician can try to balance timbres through instrument selection in order to maintain a desired sound or effect.

13. Acoustics • Acoustics pertain to how sound waves travel differently in different places (e.g. meeting halls, classrooms or an outdoor field). Different locations absorb and reflect sound in different ways. • Acoustics can be changed. For example, you could play a drum in an empty closet and then again when the closet is full of clothing.

14. Tension and Resolution • Tension is related to the story of the music. Tension builds throughout a song. Tension can be through the use of many different elements. • E.g. a building of dynamics, a rising of a melodic line or the use of more dissonant harmony could all lead to an increase in tension. • Resolution is a common occurrence after the building of tension. This involves changing the elements to create a sense of relaxation.

15. Transition • Transition in music typically involves the connection of ideas or "bridging" of one part of the music to another. • E.g. chorus, instrumental break is a “bridge”

16. Unity • Town in Saskatchewan • Unity is the principle of composition in which all the separate parts work together to make the song complete.