Elements of Music:

Melody, Rhythm, Harmony,

Texture, Sound & Form

Prof. Joëlle Morris MUS 210

Classical Music in Western Culture
 Elements of Music
(overview)

A working definition of music for our purposes might be as follows: music is an intentionally organized art form whose
medium is sound and silence, with core elements of pitch (melody and harmony), rhythm (meter, tempo, & articulation),
dynamics, and the qualities of timbre and texture.

Sound: Description of what one hears. Ex: overtone, timbre, pitch, amplitude, duration, tone.
Melody: A succession of musical notes; a series of pitches often organized into phrases.
Harmony: The simultaneous, vertical combination of notes, usually forming chords.
Rhythm: The organization of music in time. Also closely related to meter.
Expression: making appropriate use of dynamics, phrasing, timbre and articulation to bring the music to life.
Ex: dynamics, tempo, articulation.
Texture: The density (thickness or thinness) of layers of sounds, melodies, and rhythms in a piece: e.g., a
complex orchestral composition will have more possibilities for dense textures than a song accompanied
only by guitar or piano.
Form: The structure and movements of a musical piece.
 Elements of Sound - Expression
Overtone - A fundamental pitch with resultant pitches Tempo - refers to the speed of the beat. The tempo can
sounding above it according to the overtone series. be fast or slow. We use a metronome marking to indicate
Overtones are what give each note its unique sound. the tempo.
Pitch - The frequency of the note’s vibration Dynamic - refers to the varying and contrasting degrees
(note names C, D, E, etc.) of loudness or amplitude in a composition.
Amplitude - How loud or soft a sound is.
Duration - How long or short the sound is. commonly used tempos | commonly used dynamics
Timbre -The tone color of a sound resulting from the
overtones. Each voice has a unique tone color that is
described using adjectives or metaphors such as “nasal,”
“resonant,” “strident,” “high,” “low,” “breathy,” “piercing,”
“mellow,” “dark,” “bright,” “heavy,” “light,” “vibrato.”
Articulation - Refers to how specific notes or passages are
played. Articulation marks include the slur, staccato,
staccatissimo, accent, sforzando, legato… A different
symbol, placed above or below the note (depending on its
position on the staff), represents each articulation.
 Rhythm and Meter
Rhythm: The organization of music in time. It refers to the
ever-changing combinations of longer and shorter durations Meter refers to the grouping of both strong and weak
and silence that populate the surface of a piece of music. beats into recurring patterns.

Tempo - how fast of slow the beat of the music occurs

Accent – A strong emphasis of a beat Types of meter:
• Syncopation – a temporary shifting of the normally
accented beat to a normally weak beat. Simple duple (beats group into 2, divide into 2)
• Isorhythm - (from the Greek for "the same rhythm") is a
musical technique using a repeating rhythmic pattern, Simple triple (beats group into 3, divide into 2)
called a talea, in at least one voice part throughout a
composition. Simple quadruple (beats group into 4, divide into 2)
• Polyrhythm – Layers of various rhythms played together
• Rubato - When the performer is given the freedom to Compound duple (beats group into 2, divide into 3)
relax the tempo and hold it back.
• Hemiola – device that gives the impression of the music
speeding up. Ex. Music which was originally in triple time
moves into duple time.
 MELODY
A succession of musical notes; a series of pitches often organized into phrases. ie. the Thesis statement of a musical idea.
Melodies can be derived from various scales (families of pitches) such as the traditional major and minor scales of tonal
music, to more unusual ones such as the old church modes (of the Medieval and Renaissance periods: c. 500–1600), the
chromatic scale and the whole tone scale (both used in popular and art-music styles of the late 19th and 20th-century
periods)

Contour – The shape of a melody. Contour can be conjunct or

Contrapuntal Motion - Motion is the term used to
disjunct (see next page)
describe how 2 musical lines change notes in
Phrase - Short section of music of a musical composition into relation to each other.
which the music, whether vocal or instrumental, seems naturally to In counterpoint there can be 4 different motions:
fall. Sometimes this is 4 measures, but shorter and longer phrases
• Parallel -2 voices move in same direction w/
occur. Phrases end with a Cadence
same intervals
Cadence - The ending of a phrase; in a larger sense, a cadence may • Similar - 2 voices move in same direction w/
be a demarcation of a half-phrase, of a section of music, or of an diff intervals
entire movement.
• Contrary - 2 voices move in opposite direction
Period - The period is generally 8 measures long and contains 2
four-measure phrases. • Oblique - One voice is stationary, while the
other voice moves either direction.
Motive - A short, distinct melodic-rhythmic pattern that is
repeated. The restatement of a motif is called a Sequence.
Ex. Beethoven’s 5th symphony
Conjunct Melody – notes stay close Disjunct Melody – There can be large
together, and the melodic phrase moves intervals between notes, and the melodic
in a stepwise fashion phrase leaps upwards or downwards
 HARMONY
The simultaneous, vertical combination of notes, usually forming chords.
Note: Harmony does not have to be particularly “harmonious”; it may be quite dissonant, in fact.
For the purpose of definitions, the important fact is the notes are sounding at the same time.

Chord progressions: a chord progression or harmonic progression is a Chords usually consists of

succession of chords that helps form the key of a piece. A change of key is called three vertical notes (a root,
a modulation. 3rd and 5th) called a Triad.

• Modality: harmony created out of the ancient Medieval/Renaissance modes

• Tonality – The principle of organizing musical compositions around a central Triad
note, the tonic (the home base pitch).

• Atonality - Describes music that does not conform to the system of tonal
hierarchies that characterized classical European music between the
sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. Chord progression

• Consonance – The combination of notes are stable in their sound, centered

around the tonic. The music will feel agreeable, blending and resolved. Major VS Minor keys

• Dissonance – Use of occasional harmony outside the tonic. Will feel jarring, Major is happy/bright
conflicting, in opposition with a feel of expectation to resolve to the tonic. Minor is sad/melancholic
 TEXTURE
How the rhythmic, melodic and harmonic lines are combined, determining the overall quality of the piece.
The density (thickness or thinness) of layers of sounds, melodies, and rhythms in a piece: e.g., a complex orchestral
composition will have more possibilities for dense textures than a song accompanied only by guitar or piano.
Monophonic - Simplest texture, consisting of melody Counterpoint - The relationship between two or more
without accompanying harmony (ie. solo guitar or unison musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically
singing like Gregorian chants) interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic
contour.
Polyphonic - Consists of two or more independent melodic
lines. (ie. a round/canon)

Imitation - The repetition of a melody in a polyphonic

Homophonic - A melody with an accompaniment that texture shortly after its first appearance in a different
typically provides rhythmic and harmonic support (most voice. The melody may vary through transposition,
common in western music) inversion, or otherwise, but retain its original character
Fugue No.3 in C# Major

Homorhythmic - Has a sameness of rhythm in all parts

(ie.chordal hymns)
 FORM
The sections or movements of a piece, form refers to the structure of a musical composition or performance
Strophic (AAA) Strophic form is one of the most common
musical forms. It’s also referred to as song form or verse
form. It’s the most basic of all the forms because of its
repetitiveness. , typically featuring an AAA structure.
Strophic form is most commonly seen in popular music, folk
music, or music that is verse based.
Binary (AB) Binary form is music with an A and B section.
While the material is different in each section, it’s closely
related.
Ternary (ABA) Ternary form is defined as ABA structure.
This means the piece starts with the main theme, goes to
contrasting material, and then returns with that exact main
theme material to end it.
Through-Composed (ABCDE..) Through-composed form is
a composition that is entirely continuous. Any large scale
thematic material is not repeated, and each section sounds
like something completely different. Through-composed
music was widely popular in the 17-20th centuries.
Rondo (ABACA) or (ABACABA) Rondo form is ABACA or
ABACABA. The most common forms are the 5-part and 7-
part Rondo. What you’ll notice about rondo form is that
each section returns to the A section. However, as the
sections progress, new material is added in between each A
section.
Sonata (Exposition, Development, Recapitulation ABA)
Sonata form is a musical composition that’s organized in
three distinct sections. The exposition moves from the
original key to a new key; the development passes through
several keys and the recapitulation returns to the original
key.
Theme And Variations (A,A1,A2,A3…) In theme and
variations, the main theme is developed throughout
subsequent sections. In the first section, the main theme is
first introduced. After that section comes to a close, the first
variation is introduced.
There are variants of each form, they can be adjusted to expand,
condense, or in a way switch to a new form.
ie. Sonata Rondo, Fugue, Minuet & Trio, ect…
Compositional Devices

Compositional devices
describe how the music
was put together.
They can describe common
tricks or techniques used by
composers, patterns that
exist between parts or any
meaningful structures that
you might observe.
 Example of Music Analysis Questions

You will be given a listening excerpt and sheet music of a musical piece

• Dynamics – Sudden volume changes? Articulations?

• Melody – what is the Contour? Ornaments? Accents?
Patterns? Range?
• Timbre – What instruments/voice are used and how do
• Harmony – Major/minor? Tension/resolution? they sound?, any tonal features that belong to that
Consonance/dissonance? Modulations? particular genre or period.

• Rhythm – Rhythmic patterns? Syncopation? Tempo?

Other rhythmic features?
• Texture – Density of instruments/voice?
Homophonic? Polyphonic? Counterpoint?
• Form/Structure – What type of form? Sequencing?
Genre? Variation?
Descriptive Paragraph:
• Elaborate on the piece, including historical/ contextual
details. How does this piece represent its time period.
• Elaborate on compositional devices (ostinatos,
repetitions, canon…) and use of instruments/voice.
• What kind of setting this musical piece would have been
performed at the time (church, salon, theater…).
 Wassily Kandinsky
Yellow, Red, Blue (1925)

“[In great art] the spectator does feel a corresponding thrill in himself. Such harmony or even contrast of emotion cannot
be superficial or worthless; indeed, the Stimmung of a picture can deepen and purify that of the spectator. Such works of
art at least preserve the soul from coarseness; they “key it up,” so to speak, to a certain height, as a tuning-key the strings
of a musical instrument.” - Wassily Kandinsky - Concerning the Spiritual in Art