Musical Elements & Instruments Flashcards
Pitch
Relative highness or lowness of sound determined by vibrating air.
- Fast vibration high pitch
- Slow vibration low pitch
- Used horizontally to create melodies
Timbre
Quality of sound that identifies and distinguishes sounds
Ex: a piano sounds different from a flute
Time
The temporal manifestation of sound
Beat (Time)
A regular recurring pulse
Ex: Ticking clock
Meter ( Time)
Organizations of the beat into groupings of stressed and unstressed beats; patterns of sound
Ex: two beats one stressed Du0ple meter
Ex: four beats 1st & 3rd stressed Quadruple meter
Rhythm (Time)
The organization of the duration of individual sounds; ordered flow of music through time
Syncopation (Time)
Interruption of the regular flow of rhythm; sometimes called off beat rhythm
Tempo (Time)
The relative rate of speed of the beat
Swing (Time)
Used to describe the sense of propulsive rhythmic Feel or groove
Groove
General term for overall rhythmic flow of music
Ex: swing funk shuffle Latin rock
Free rhythm (Time)
Music with no regular pulse or meter
Harmony aka Chord
The simultaneous sounding of different pitches creates a chord; Different pitches at the same time; Chords played in background to support melody
Triad ( Harmony)
a three-note chord, the most common configuration; most western music
Chordal extension (Harmony)
additional pitch (es) added to a triad
Harmonic progression (Harmony)
Fixed series of interrelated chords ( usually repeated) played in a strict sequence
Cadence (Harmony)
“endpoint” at the conclusion of a musical phrase when
a chord progression comes to rest on a stable chord.
Consonance (Harmony)
a stable chord that creates a sense of “agreement” and repose
Dissonance (Harmony)
an unstable chord that creates a sense of tension & disagreement
Scale (Pitch)
Collection of pitches ( ordering of pitches)
- Blue Scale : pitch from Africa
Melody (Pitch)
series of pitches typically recognized
Ex: Twinkle Twinkle little star (Horizontal)
Texture
Relationship among different musical sounds occurring simultaneously ; Blend
Monophony ( Texture)
One melody no chords
- Rare in Jazz but found in early jazz breaks
- Can be used to begin or end a piece of music
- Can have more than one singer
Polyphony ( Texture)
two or more independent but equally important melodies occurring at the same time
- regularly
Homophony (Texture)
Single melody accompanied by chords; different pitches occurring at the same time
- Most common
- Big (swing) bands are typically homophonic
Dynamics
Volume; relative loudness or quietness of sound; amplitude
Ex; The weather because it’s changeable
Form
Structure and design of a piece of music Aspects of form include - repetition - contrast - variation - Development