The Elements of Music

1. The Elements of Music Basic Terms to Understand as a Song Leader

2. Sound: Pitch, Dynamics, and Tone Color • Pitch - The high or low quality of sound • Dynamics - The loud or soft quality of music • Tone color - Also known as timbre, refers to the unique quality of sound

3. Dynamics • Forte --f,ff,fff-loud • Piano --p,pp,ppp-very soft • Mezzo ---mf,mp--medium • Crescendo --gradually louder • Decrescendo,diminuendo --gradually softer

4. Women’s Voices Soprano or 1st Soprano Mezzo-soprano Alto Men’s Voices Falsetto Tenor Baritone Bass Voices

5. RhythmThe flow of music through time; the pattern of durations of notes and silences in music • Beat - the pulse of music • Meter - the grouping of beats • Tempo - the speed of the beat • Accent - a pitch that is played more loudly, held longer or is higher in pitch than the nearby notes • Syncopation - When an accented note comes where we would normally not expect it

6. Tempo Markings • Molto-much Moto-Ritard means slow down exceedingly • Troppo - too much (fast or slow) • Poco – Literally “little by little” • Accelerando - gradually faster • Ritardando- gradually slower • A Tempo – Return to original tempo after Ritard • Rubato – means “Robbed”. A lingering on some notes and hurrying of others; free from strict tempo.

7. Tempo Terms • Grave, Very Slow • Largo, Lento – Slow • Larghetto, A little faster than Largo • Adiago, Moderately Slow • Andante, “Walking” Tempo • Andantino, A little faster than Andante • Allegretto, A little slower than Allegro • Allegro, Fast • Vivace, Lively • Presto, Very Fast • Prestissimo, Very Very Fast • Moderato, Moderate(ly) • Accel, Accelerando, Gradually becoming faster • Rit., Ritardando, Gradually becoming slower

8. Music Notation • Notating pitch • Staff: the five lines and four spaces on which music is written • Note: an oval which represents a specific pitch • Clef: placed at the beginning of the staff, the clef assigns pitch names to the lines and spaces

9. Music Notation • Notating Rhythm • Durations: the color of the note and the presence of stems or flags and beams and dots affect the duration of a note • Rests: symbols for pauses with specific durations

10. Music Notation • Notating meter • Time signature: placed next to the clef, the top number of the time signature indicates the grouping of beats and the bottom number indicates what kind of note will receive one beat.

11. MelodyA succession of pitches which add up to a recognizable whole • Intervals: the distance between two pitches • Sequence: the repetition of a melodic pattern at a higher or lower pitch

12. Harmonythe vertical aspect of music • Chord: a combination of three or more notes sounded simultaneously • Consonance: harmony that is stable and restful to the ear • Dissonance: tense and unstable harmony that demands onward motion to stable harmony (resolution or resolve) voice - Intonation

13. Key - Tonalitythe homing instinct of music • Major scale: a succession of eight pitches arranged from low to high, based on the intervals of the white keys of a piano • Minor scale: a succession of eight pitches arranged from low to high, based on a specific pattern of whole and half steps which results in a dark quality of melody and harmony

14. Key-Tonality • Chromatic scale: a series of 12 pitches based on the black and white keys of the piano • Modulation: the shifting from one key to another

15. Texturelayers of sound • Monophonic: a single unaccompanied melody line • Polyphonic: two or more independent melody lines happening simultaneously • Homophonic: melody plus accompaniment