ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

What are they?

 These include:
 Dynamics
 Rhythm/Metre
 Pitch/Melody/Harmony
 Instrumentation/Timbre
 Texture
 Tempo
 Structure/Form
 Context
Easy Way to Remember These

D R. P I T T S C
 Dynamics
Change in volume, musical expression,
determining partly the mood of the piece.
This indicates the loudness/softness of a
piece of music, and the way to attack
certain notes (ie. Accents)

These are notated using abbreviations or

symbols.
Some Common Dynamic Markings
ppp - pianississimo
pp – pianissimo (softer than piano)
p – piano (soft)
mp – mezzo piano (stronger than piano, but still soft)
mf – mezzo forte (medium strong)
f – forte (strong/loud)
ff – fortissimo (stronger than forte)
ARTICULATIONS
< - accent
- - sustain (sustenuto)
. = staccato (short note)
Some Common Dynamic Markings

< = Crescendo (cresc.) – getting louder

>= decresceno (decresc.) – getting softer
Sfz = surprise! – suddenly loud
 Rhythm and Meter
The arrangement of musical time. Music is
arranged in beats grouped into measures.
Meter is the grouping of strong and weak
beats. Rhythm is the arrangement of note
lengths in a piece of music. The center of
rhythm is the beat or pulse

“Rhythm is shaped by meter”

Clap the Rhythm
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
PITCH
Music is produced through VIBRATIONS.
The frequency of these vibrations produce
sounds of varying lowness or highness.

Slowly vibrations/bigger objects:

Faster vibrations/smaller objects:
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
MELODY

This is the arrangement of series pitches in

musical time. This can be considered the
recognizable ‘tune’ of the piece.

This is the HORIZONTAL aspect of music

Sing the Melody in each measure
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
HARMONY

This is a group of notes (chords) played together

and the relationship between a series of chords.

This usually supports the melody, played

simultaneously or as broken chords, giving
music its TEXTURE.

This is the vertical aspect of music.

Listen to the harmonic effect of
the following motives
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
TONALITY
Also known as the key. A piece can be
centered around a certain set of pitches
(major and minor scales), where there is a
sense of completion when the CHORDS
return to the TONIC, from the DOMINANT
(Key of C: returning from G to C)
 Instrumentation/Timbre
What is producing the music. This
describes what instruments [or voices] are
heard. This will greatly affect the mood of
the piece.
Timbre is also known as TONE COLOR,
which is the quality of sound that is used
to distinguish between instruments
 Texture
This describes the layers in music and how
they relate to each other. This is also
related to the VERTICAL aspect of music.

MONOPHONIC
• one melodic line with no harmony or accompaniment
• If multiple voices or instruments are playing in unison, it is still
Monophonic
 •There is one main melody with a less important
HOMOPHONIC accompaniment
• Accompaniment could be as simple as chords, or it could
be more complex
 •There are two or more melodic lines of
POLYPHONIC equal importance
• Often uses imitation, which is when one voice or
instrument presents a melodic idea, then another voice
repeats it

A. Round Song
B. Partner Song

C G

C C7 F

C G C
 Tempo
How fast or slow music is played. This is usually
marked using with symbols or Italian terms:

 Largo—very slowly and broad (40 - 58 bpm)

 Adagio—slow (60 - 76 bpm)
 Andante—walking speed (80 - 106 bpm)
 Moderato—moderate pace (108 - 118 bpm)
 Allegro—fast, cheerful (120 - 168 bpm)
 Presto—very fast (170 - 220 b.p.m)
 Structure/Form
This explains how music is organized into sections. The
structure of the piece is an overall picture of how the
piece progresses (in sections, using repetition, phrase
structure etc).

Some common musical forms:

a. Binary
 Two sections: A B
 Can be looked at as a statement of a theme and then a
counterstatement with a different theme.
 Any section can be repeated
b. Ternary
 Three sections: A B A
 Can be looked at as a statement of a theme, a contrasting
section, and a return to the original
 Each section can also be subdivided, as well

c. Rondo
 Rondo is a 5 or 7 part song that alternates between the beginning
‘A’ section with other contrasting sections ‘B’ and/or ‘C’. The ‘A’
section is the unifying repetition that holds the piece together.
 5 part Rondo pattern – ABACA
 7 Part Rondo pattern – ABACABA
 Context
This allows you to appreciate music for where it was
originally created, and for the purpose it was created.
This adds meaning to the music you hear, and will give
explanations for why certain elements of music are
used in distinct ways.