Elements of Music

• Music consists of sounds organized in time.

Musical Sounds

• Four main properties: pitch, dynamics, timbre, and rhythm.
• Sound is produced when an object vibrates.
• Pitch refers to the highness or lowness of a sound.
• Dynamics describes how loud or soft music sounds.
• Tone constitutes a sound with a definite pitch.
• Interval represents the distance between two pitches.
• pp means pianissimo or very soft.
• p means piano or soft.
• mp means mezzo piano or moderately soft.
• mf means mezzo forte or moderately loud.
• f means forte or loud.
• ff means fortissimo or very loud.

Rhythm

• Four main properties: beat, meter, accent, and tempo.
• Beat is a regularly repeating pulse dividing music into equal parts.
• Meter is the organization of beats into regular groups.
• Measure is a group with a fixed number of beats.
• Downbeat is the first, or stressed, beat of a measure.
• Accent involves playing a note louder than surrounding notes.
• Syncopation occurs when an accent falls on an unexpected beat.
• Tempo signifies the speed of a beat.

Vocal Information

• Three common female voices include soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto.
• Three common male voices include tenor, baritone, and bass.

Western Musical Instruments

• Six categories: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboards, and electronic.
• Melody refers to a series of notes that form a recognizable musical whole.
• Harmony occurs when two or more notes are played simultaneously.

Western Music Periods

• Six stylistic periods: Middle Age (450–1450), Renaissance (1450–1600), Baroque (1600–1750), Classical (1750–1820), Romantic (1820–1900), and Twentieth Century (1900–Present).

Middle Ages (450-1450)

• Notate means to write down music.
• Gregorian Chant is the official music of the Roman Catholic Church, with monks beginning to notate it around the 700s.
• Gregorian Chant is a single melody (monophonic texture) set to a Latin text.
• Three social classes: clergy, nobility, and peasantry.
• Notated music in the Middle Ages used diamond and rectangle-shaped notes.
• Middle Ages notes were written on a staff consisting of four lines (compared to five today).

Renaissance (1450-1600)

• Composer refers to a person who writes music.
• Word Painting involves making a musical representation of text.
• Sacred Music is intended for church performances.
• Secular Music is performed outside the church for entertainment.
• Madrigal is a secular piece performed by several solo voices.
• Renaissance composers did not write for specific instruments, music was playable on most instruments.

Baroque (1600-1750)

• Baroque art is characterized by action and movement.
• Composers were hired by churches, courts, opera houses, etc.
• Composers wrote a lot of music due to demand and payment.
• Opera was extremely popular.
• J.S. Bach was the period's greatest musician.
• Rhythm was expressed with repeating patterns.
• Baroque melodies are difficult to sing because they are elaborate and not easy to remember.
• Terraced Dynamics refers to a sudden change in volume.
• Concerto Grosso features a soloist playing alongside an entire ensemble.
• Program Music is associated with a story, poem, idea, or scene.
• Suites are music composed for dancing.
• Oratorio resembles an opera without acting, scenery, or costumes, written for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra.
• Chorus is a large group of singers

Classical (1750-1820)

• The term comes from a desire to return to the "classic" art and architecture of the Greek and Romans.
• Three Master Composers: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
• The middle class wanted live performances and to play music at home.
• Composers used folk and popular melodies in their music.
• Vienna, Austria was the center of musical activity.
• Classical rhythm was very flexible while Baroque rhythm was in a constant motion.
• Syncopation occurs when an accent falls on an unexpected beat.
• A classical medley is tuneful and easy to remember.
• Composers used crescendos, decrescendos, and sudden shifts in dynamics.
• The piano was invented around 1700 and replaced the harpsichord.
• The piano was more flexible, hence the name "piano-forte" for soft-loud, and shortened to "piano."
• Prodigy is a child with extraordinary talent.

Classical Composers

• Joseph Haydn composed 107 symphonies, was instrumental in the development of chamber music, and taught both Mozart and Beethoven.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could sight read any music, play violin and harpsichord, and composed music effortlessly.
• Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 and died at 57, began to lose his hearing at 29, helped transition music from Classical to Romantic era.
• Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 are most famous and recognizable works.