Tutorial 1 (Sound/ Rhythm/ Musical Notation/ Melody)

1. Define the following elements of music.

(i) Sound: - “SOUND BEGINS WITH THE VIBRATION OF AN OBJECT.”

- PITCH
- DYNAMICS
- TONE COLOR
- DURATION (RHYTHM)

(ii) Rhythm : “IN MUSIC, RHYTHM REFERS TO THE ORDERED DURATIONS OF SOUNDS
AND SILENCES.”

2. Give the definition for the 3 properties of musical sound by giving relevant
examples.
Answer:
● Pitch
- PITCH IS THE RELATIVE HIGHNESS OR LOWNESS WE HEAR IN A SOUND.
- THE PITCH OF A SOUND IS DETERMINED BY THE FREQUENCY OF ITS
VIBRATION.
- A DEFINITE PITCH IS CALLED A TONE

((DO - )RE - MI - FA - SO - LA - TI - DO)

INTERVAL

OCTAVE

Pitch Range
- THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE LOWEST AND HIGHEST TONES THAT A VOICE OR
INSTRUMENT CAN PRODUCE.
- E.G. PIANO’S RANGE IS OVER 7 OCTAVES; AN AVERAGE UNTRAINED VOICE IS
BETWEEN 1 AND 2 OCTAVES.

● Dynamics(Loudness or softness)
 - DEGREE OF LOUDNESS OR SOFTNESS IN MUSIC

Dynamic Symbol:

- Crescendo: A gradual increase in loudness. It often creates excitement,

particularly when the pitch rises too.

- Decrescendo: a gradual decrease in loudness. It can be used to convey

a sense of calm.
- For extremes of softness and loudness, composers use ppp or pppp and fff or ffff.
The following notations indicate gradual changes in dynamics:

● Tone Color
- THE QUALITY TO DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT TONES OF DIFFERENT
INSTRUMENT IS CALLED TONE COLOR, OR TIMBRE
(PRONOUNCED TAM’-BER)
- TONE COLOR IS DESCRIBED BY WORDS SUCH AS BRIGHT, DARK, BRILLIANT,
MELLOW, AND RICH.

- LISTENING*
- WAGNER LONGHERIN (DISC1, NO.1)
- STRAVINSKY FIREBIRD (DISC1, NO.8)

● Duration: the length of time a musical sound lasts.

3. What is the difference between a definite pitch and an indefinite pitch? Answer with
examples.
Answer:

Definite Pitch
- A DEFINITE PITCH IS CALLED A TONE

((DO - )RE - MI - FA - SO - LA - TI - DO)

INTERVAL

OCTAVE
-Timpani (Kettledrums)
-Glockenspiel
-Xylophone
-Celesta
-Chimes

Indefinite Pitch
• DRUMS, PERCUSSIONS
• PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN CONTEMPORARY WESTERN MUSIC AND IN MUSICAL
CULTURES AROUND THE WORLD
-Snare Drum
-Bass Drum
-Tambourine
-Triangle
-Cymbals
-Gong (tam-tam)

4. Discuss the 4 aspects of rhythm.

Answer:
- beat - is a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time.
When you clap your hands or tap your foot to music, you are responding to its beat.
-A note may last a fraction of a beat, an entire beat, or more than a beat. More
specifically, rhythm can be defined as the particular arrangement of note lengths in a
piece of music. The rhythm of a melody is an essential feature of its personality.

- meter - DUPLE METER

- TRIPLE METER
- QUADRUPLE METER
- QUINTUPLE METER
- SEXTUPLE METER
- SEPTUPLE METER (UNSQUARE DANCE)
-In
music we find a repeated pattern of a strong beat plus one or
more weaker beats. The organization of beats into regular groups is called
meter.

-A group containing a fixed number of beats is called a measure.

There are several types of meter, which are based on the number of beats
in a measure.

-When a measure has 2 beats, it is in duple meter; we count 12, 12,

 -The first, or stressed, beat of the measure is known as the
downbeat.

-A pattern of 3 beats to the measure is known as triple meter. All

waltzes are in triple meter, we count 123, 123, etc.

-Another basic metrical pattern is quadruple meter, which has 4

beats to the measure. As usual, the downbeat is strongest; but there is
another stress on the third beat, which is stronger than the second and
fourth beats and weaker than the first: 1234, 1234.

- accent - ACCENT IS A TYPE OF DYNAMIC

syncopated - WHEN AN ACCENTED NOTE COMES WHERE WE NORMALLY WOULD NOT

EXPECT ONE, THE EFFECT IS KNOWN AS SYNCOPATION
- SYNCOPATION IS A CHARACTERISTIC FEATURE OF JAZZ

-tempo - SPEED OF THE BEAT

- A TEMPO INDICATION IS USUALLY GIVEN AT THE BEGINNING OF A PIECE.

largo very slow, broad

grave very slow, solemn

adagio slow

andante moderately slow, a walking pace

moderato moderate

allegretto moderately fast

allegro fast
 vivace lively

presto very fast

prestissimo as fast as possible

accelerando (becoming faster)

ritardando (becoming slower)

5. Define the following terms with relevant examples:

a) interval -The "distance" in pitch between any two tones is called an interval. / An
interval is the distance in pitch between two tones.
-Melody dictation to identify a sequence of intervals, or Chord identification to
identify harmonies with more than two tones.

b) octave -When tones are separated by the interval called an octave, they sound very
much alike.
-The definition of an octave is a progression of eight notes on a musical scale,
or the notes at the beginning and end of the progression.
- Two musical notes which are eight tones apart on a scale are an example of an
octave.

c) rest -A resting place at the end of a phrase is called a cadence.

-Arest is a musical symbol that marks the absence of a note. Rests are
written in a measure where no note is played; and, like music notes, they are
measured in length. Quarter, half, and whole rests are among the most
common.

d) climax -Often the highest tone of a melody will be the climax, the emotional focal
point.
- A climax is a high point.
- like a movie or piece of music — reaches its most important or exciting part

e) leap - A melody moves by small intervals called steps or by larger ones called leaps.
-Any interval larger than a step is a leap (do to mi, for example)
f) step - A melody moves by small intervals called steps.
- A step is the interval between two adjacent tones in the do-re-mi scale (from do
to re, re to mi, etc.)

g) theme -Frequently, a melody will serve as the starting point for a more extended piece
of music and, in stretching out, will go through all kinds of changes. This kind of melody
is called a theme.
-The musical basis upon which a composition is built. Usually a theme consists
of a recognizable melody or a characteristic rhythmic pattern. The theme may
sometimes be called the subject. A melodic figure or phrase that is the basis for a
composition or a section of a composition. Themes can and are repeated many times in
many different formats and by many different voices or instruments. *Some very good
examples of thematic presentation are the closing credits for any and all of the Star
Wars movies. The ending music presents all the themes presented in the movie.*a
theme is a complete tune or melody which is of fundamental importance in a piece of
music. Thematic metamorphosis or thematic transformation describes a process used
by Liszt and others in which a theme may undergo transformation to provide material to
sustain other movements or sections of a work, where new and apparently unrelated
themes might otherwise have been used.