Elements of Music:

* How do we deal with sound? - We create, listen, feel, shut out, interpret, build, reduce, & learn with it.
* Sound deals with vibration of an object through a medium for us air. Still occurs though we cannot
hear it.
* Music is organized sound in time. Is it really?
* We use certain elements to determine whether or not something is sound.

* PITCH - high / low Frequency speed of vibrations meas. in cycles / sec
Fast = high Slow = low
TONE a tone is a sound that has a definite pitch
(HEARING) Human: 18 -20,000 Hz
Above ULTRA - Bats (up to 100,000 Hz!), whales, porpoises, and dolphins
Below INFRA below 10 Hz - Elephants, whales, rhinos, volcanoes, avalanches,
earthquakes and meteorites (and black holes!)

Black Hole article http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/09sep_blackholesounds.htm
57 octaves below middle C

* DYNAMICS pppp to ffff volume dial Crescendo and descrescendo

* TONE COLOR / timbre sound characteristic of a voice or instrument

* DURATION How long you hold a note or a rest. Know your notes!!!

*Instrumentation What is the piece made of.instruments or voices? Which ones?
* Strings, Brass, Percussion, Woodwinds, Electronic
* Piano is percussion and Harpsichord is stringed

Also classified as
IDIOPHONE sounds by the instrument itself vibrating Ex. Triangle marimba, bells, rattles
MEMBRANOPHONE - produces sound by a stretched vibrating membrane (ex. Struck drums)
CHORDOPHONE - produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched
between two points
AIROPHONE - produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate. Ex. Winds, sirens,
whips, Trumpet etc.
ELECTROPHONE - produces sound primarily by electrical means

Conductor: The person who directs a choir, band,or orchestra. Uses a baton, keeping the beat, paints
beat patterns in the air with their hands

* Rhythm
*Rhythm flow of music through time, particular arr. of note lengths in a piece of music. It is a greatly
recognizeable part of the characteristics of a melody. Comprised of beat, meter, accents and sync
* Beat regular recurring pulsation which divides music into units of time.
Combinations of diff. note lengths create rhythm.
* Meter The organization of beats into regular groups.
* Measure - group of beats There are Strong and Weak beats.there can be subdivision within beats
Duple, Triple, Quadruple, Sextuple meters
* Syncopation when a weak beat is accented. Creates an element of surprise. Great feature of Jazz is
the use of syncopation. Creates problems when your sino-atrial node gets out of whack and
your heart experiences arhythmia.
* Tempo speed of the beat Metronome markings. Coffee cup changes in CD-ROM
Accelerando and ritardando

Music Notation
Be able to identify each term: Staff, notehead, stem, flags, ledger lines, sharp, flat, natural, double sharp,
double flat, time signature, line, space, bar line, clef, grand staff. Middle C
Music Alphabet spell some words
Kinds of notes Know at least four kinds of notes and four kinds of rests!!!!
The DOT (beside a note) add half of whatever note it is, to itself
Tie way to lengthen the duration of a note. A symbol that connects two notes of the same pitch
Slur symbol that connects two notes of different pitches

Melody recognizable tune
Sometimes, a melody will have: Steps, skips / leaps,
Phrases Phrases are musical sentences
Sequences repetition of melodic patterns higher or lower. * we didnt cover this
Cadences points of repose * we didnt cover this
Know these for the next test and the final exam

* Scale Pattern (a succession) of pitches from one note to the very next note with the same letter name
(up the octave)
The major scale made of whole and half steps. The pattern is WWhWWWh

HARMONY
Added tones, supporting chords, melody & harmony
Chord and Triad
Consonance stable tone combination, resolution, arrival, pleasing to the ear
Dissonance unstable tone combination, tension (demands an onward motion to consonance),
unpleasing or harsh to the ear.
KEY
An area of sound involving a central tone, scale, and chord. Also called tonality.
KEY SIGNATURE sharps or flats at the clef that tell what notes will be used in the scale and key

TEXTURE Musical Textures and examples
Monophonic one voice
Chant, unison singing

Polyphonic many voices.each one independent (melody)
Counterpoint Combining several melodic lines into one meaningful whole
EX. Canons and rounds
EX. Track Little Fugue in G-Minor, J.S. Bach
EX. Track Ave Maria by Josquin

Homophonic one main voice/line with supporting chords. Chordal style.
EX. Track Tu se Morta by Claudio Monteverdi


Helpful Websites that might be useful:
http://musictheory.net/
http://www.teoria.com/tutorials/index.htm
http://www.emusictheory.com/practice.html
http://www.yokewong.net/freemusictheory.html
http://www.dolmetsch.com/theoryexercises.htm
http://www.mymusictheory.com/
http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/theory/theory.htm

You will be asked to
- Show your knowledge of lines & spaces in both the Treble and Bass clef
- Draw notes and rests
- Fill in empty measures to show your knowledge of time signature
- Make a major scale
- spell words using whole notes on different lines and spaces
- Write out definitions
- Answer multiple choice questions
Music, Sound
Pitch (a tone = a pitch)
Tone (as in resonsance of sound)
Hertz
Dynamics (and be able to arrange the symbols from softest to loudest)
Crescendo and decrescendo
Interval, octave
Timbre
Tempo (know a few tempo markings from your book also)
Voice Parts (name them and define them)
Instruments (be able to classify them by section and also by Idiophone, Membranophone etc.)
Idiophone, Membranophone, Chordophone, Airophone, Electrophone
Conductor
Orchestra, Choir, Band
Staff, Treble and Bass clef, grand staff
Ledger line
Time Signature
Rhythm, Beat, Meter
Measure
Bar line
Syncopation
Accents know the symbols and what each one does (staccato, legato, tenuto, marcato)
Note values and Rest values
Sharps and Flats draw the symbols and define each symbol
Half-step, whole-step
The Music Alphabet
Scale
Solfege
Chord, Triad
Melody, phrase
Score
Slur and Tie
Consonance and dissonance
Textures: Monophonic, Polyphonic, Homophonic

Draw the Note Tree Draw the Rest Tree

Chordophone, membranophone, aerophone, electrophone, idiophone

Making Scales
1. Write our your 8 notes: first & last note must have the same letter name, no skips
2. Check your pattern: major scales are: WWhWWWh
3. Add sharps or flats where needed, according to the pattern: you cannot mix sharps & flats!

PRACTICE SHEET:

1. Please draw four different kinds of notes and label them. Also tell how many beats each one gets:




2. Please draw four different kinds of rests and label them. Also tell how many beats each one gets:





3. Please draw whole notes onto the staff where the letters go so you can spell a word on the staff.

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C A B B A G E


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B A G G A G E

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D E A F


4. Define Consonance Pleasing, stable tone combinations. Pleasing sounds.


5. Define Ledger Lines Tiny lines that extend the musical staff up or down.


6. Define Chordophone An instrument that produces sound from a vibrating string.



7. Define Timbre The sound characteristic of a particular instrument or voice. It is what makes
certain instruments or voices sound individual and not the same.


8. Define Sharp (and draw it) a symbol that raises a tone (pitch / note) by a half step


9. Define Time Signature and draw one example A fraction found at the clef. The top number tell
you how many beats are in each measure (not how many notes) and the bottom number tells
you what kind of note gets the main beat.


10. List the sections of the orchestra: Strings, Brass, Woodwinds, Percussion, Keyboard, possibly
Electric






11. Draw a G major scale (the major scale pattern is WWHWWWH). Use the treble clef.

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Use this piano for reference. Please attempt to answer all questions as best as you can.
Check your work.












NOTES, RESTS, and their durations




Whole note = 4 beats Half note = 2 beats





Quarter note = 1 beat Eighth note= 1/2 beat




Sixteenth note = 1/4 beat Thirty-second note = 1/8



























The dot after a note adds half of that note to itself to make it a longer total duration.
For example:
= 4 and . = 6

A dot on top of a note means that it is staccato (short and unconnected)






Music is written on a staff made up of 5 lines and 4 spaces and uses A B C D E F G as its alphabet.

In Treble Clef, the lines and spaces are as follows:

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In Bass Clef, the lines and spaces are as follows:

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