Elements of Music
Pitch
The relative highness or lowness of sound
A main part of the song
Melody
A series of pitches that
makes a tune
Tonality
Major
Minor
Texture
Polyphonic
More than one melody
Homophonic
Consists of a melody and an accompaniment
Melody is the focus of the music
Accompaniment is groups of notes
that support the melody
The layers of sound, how sparse
or dense the music is
Harmony
Monophonic
Single note texture
Acoustics
How sound responds inside an architecture
Effects the element of timbre
Dynamics
accent
Punching or leaning into a note
harder to temporarily emphasise it
Italian words & abbreviations
pp- pianissimo- very quiet
p- piano- quiet
mp- mezzo piano- moderately quiet
mf- mezzo forte- moderately loud
f- forte- loud
ff- fortissimo- very loud
How loud or soft the
music is performed
forte
loud
piano
soft
Timbre
The unique sound quality
of an instrument or sound
Tone colour
Brass
Mouthpiece
String
Oud, Lute, Guitar, Violin
Electronic
Pickup
Acoustic
Central Hall
Wood wind
Mouth piece
Small piece of wood that vibrates
Have a reed
Percussion
Any instrument that is struck or hit
Duration
Long and short sounds
Tempo
Rhythm
The speed of the beat
Time signature
Metre
How many beats are in a bar
Bars and beats
Pulse
Moderato- Moderately
86- 97 BPM
Adagio- slow and stately
55- 65 BPM
Andante- slow (a walking pace)
73- 77 BPM
Allegro- Fast, quickly and bright
109- 132 BPM
Form
Fugue
Symphony
A piece of music composed
for an orchestra
Chorus
Verse
The shape or the order and
arrangement of the music
It tracks new and repeated music
Orchestra
A big group of musicians
rondo
Movement
A section of a larger musical
work
Such as:
concerto or semphony
