2.

Dynamics
The element of music that refers to the loudness or
quietness of music is dynamics. Classical terms are used
to refer to the different levels pertaining to this:
• Pianissimo[pp] – very quiet
• Piano[p] – quiet
• Mezzo-piano[mp] – moderately quiet

• Mezzo-forte[mf] – moderately loud

• Forte[f] – loud
• Fortissimo[ff] – very loud
3. Melody
Melody refers to the linear presentation(horizontal)
of pitch. By horizontal, it means that in musical notation,
it is read in succession from left to right. Pitch is the
highness or lowness of musical sound.
4. Harmony
It arises when pitches are combined to form chords.
When several notes are simultaneously played, this refers
to a chord.
Harmony can be described in terms of its
“harshness”: dissonance is the harsh-sounding
combination while consonance is the smooth-sounding
combination.
5. Timbre
Timbre is often likened to the color of music. It is a
quality that distinguishes a voice or an instrument from
another. The timbre may give a certain tone or
characteristic to music, much like how a painter evokes
different effects or impressions onto the canvas.
6. Texture
The number of melodies, the type of layers, and their
relatedness in a composition is the texture of music. It may
be:
• Monophonic – single melodic line
• Polyphonic – two or more melodic lines
• Homophonic – main melody accompanied by chords
Principles of Art
These principles will provide explicit ways in
which these elements are used, how they are
manipulated, how they interact, and how they inform
the overall composition of the artwork to assist the artist
in conveying his intention. It is the principles of art that
influence the effect achieved by the elements, and
the linkages of other principles. These principles are:
balance, scale and proportion, emphasis and contrast,
unity and variety, harmony, movement, rhythm, and
repetition and pattern.
1. Balance
This principle refers to the distribution of the visual
elements in view of their placement in relation to each
other.
There are three forms of balance:
a. Symmetrical – the elements used on one side are
reflected to the other. This offer the most stable
visual sense to any artwork.
b. Asymmetrical – the elements
are not the same (or of the
same weight) on each side,
putting the heaviness on
one side.
c. Radial – there is a central
point in the composition, around which elements
and objects are distributed.
2. Scale and Proportion
Scale pertains to the size in
relation to what is normal to the
figure or object in question.

Proportion, on the other, is the

size of the components, or of
objects in relation to one another
when taken as a composition or
unit. This can also refer to values
Such as amounts or number of
elements or objects in the composition.
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” is an exploration on the
ideas of the Roman architect Vitruvius. For da Vinci, man’s
body can be used to better understand the symmetry that
exists in nature and the universe.
Proportion can be:
a. Natural – relates to the realistic size of the visual elements in
the artwork, especially for figurative artworks.
b. Exaggerated – refers to the unusual size relations of visual
elements, deliberately exaggerating the immensity or
minuteness of an object.
c. Idealized – most common to those that follow canons of
perfection, the size-relations of elements or objects, which
achieve the most ideal size-relations.