Music 100

Week 2
Chapter 2:
The Elements of Music
Lesson 2a: Melody, Pitch & Dynamics

This lesson corresponds to Revel text, chapter 2, 2.2, pp. 4-7.

The featured work in this chapter is Handel’s Water Music, Suite 2, no. 1 (1717)
What is • Music is the deliberate organization
of sounds by people for other
people to hear.
Music? • What is your definition of music?
 The • 3 basic elements of Music:

Elements of – Melody
– Rhythm

Music
– Harmony
Melody
• Melody
– The “tune” in music
– Long or short
– Smooth or jagged
– Simple or complex
• Melodic motion
– The way melody moves from note to note
– Steps (adjacent notes)
– Leaps (notes more than a step away)
– Repeated notes (same note again)
 • A melody consists of different types of
melodic motion.
– Phrase
• Section of a melody marked off by a
pause (called a cadence)

Melody – Shape
• The direction that the melody goes
(e.g., downward, upward, up and
then down, down and then up)
– Form
• Organizing structure of a
composition (i.e., repetition,
contrast, variation)
Melody:
example
 • Pitch is the exact highness or
lowness of a musical note.
• Determined by how fast the

Pitch musical object (voice or

instrument) vibrates, called
frequency
– Faster vibration = higher pitch
– Slower vibration = lower pitch
 • first 7 letters of the alphabet are
used to name notes:
A B C D E F G.

Note • Notes with the same name are

related to each other.

Names – C above Middle C on piano is

twice as many vibrations (cycles
per second) as Middle C.
– C below Middle C on piano is
half as many vibrations.
 • Distance between any two pitches
• The closest possible interval is unison.
– The same pitch sounded twice
• Half step

Intervals
– Distance between a white note on the
piano and the black note next to it
• Whole step
– Distance between two white notes on
the piano when there is a black note
between them
 • In a scale, determine the name of the
interval by counting the distance from one
Intervals note to the next (including the starting
note).
– 2 notes apart = second
– 3 notes apart = third
– 4 notes apart = fourth
– 5 notes apart = fifth
– 6 notes apart = sixth
– 7 notes apart = seventh
– 8 notes apart = octave
Intervals
• Intervals: distance between
two notes.
– Sharp
• A note that is a half
step higher.
• F# is one–half step
higher than F.
– Flat
• A note that is a half–
step lower.
• G♭ is one–half step
lower than G.
 • Dissonance: harsh sounding
intervals
– Intervals of a 2nd or 7th

Intervals – Dissonances often resolve into

consonances.
• Consonance: Pleasant sounding
intervals
– Intervals of a 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th
 • Dynamics are the loudness or softness of sound.

• p = Piano
– Soft
• mp = mezzo piano
– Medium soft

Dynamics • pp = Pianissimo
– Very soft
• f = Forte
– Loud
• mf = mezzo forte
– Medium loud
• ff = Fortissimo
– Very loud
 • Gradual changes in volume to
capture an audience's attention

Dynamics
• Crescendo
– A gradual increase in volume
• Decrescendo or diminuendo
– A gradual decrease in volume
Handel’s • Go back to your Revel text, chapter 2, section 2.2, p. 7

Water to listen to our selection from Handel’s Water Music.

• First listen to it to get familiar with it.

Music, • Next listen to it with the listening guide to apply some

of the melodic elements we’re learning about:

Suite 2,
• melodic motion
• Phrases
• Form
no. 1 • dynamics
Enjoy!