Introduction to the Elements of M
usic
Grade 8
What are they?
All music can be described in relation to the elements of
music, which are different _______________ of music.
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, dete
rmining partly the mood of the piece. This
indicates the loudness/softness of a piece
of music, and the way to attack certain not
es (ie. Accents)
These are notated using abbreviations or sy
mbols.
Some Common Dynamic Markings
ppp - pianissinissimo
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
DYNAMICS
Rhythm/Metre
Your definition: The arrangement of musical
time. Music is arranged in beats grouped i
nto measures. Meter is the grouping of str
ong and weak beats. Rhythm is the arran
gement of note lengths in a piece of music.
“Rhythm is shaped by metre”
RHYTHM
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
PITCH
Music is produced through VIBRATIONS. T
he 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
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
HARMONY
This is a group of notes (chords) played together a
nd the relationship between a series of chords.
This usually supports the melody, played simultan
eously or as broken chords, giving music it’s TE
XTURE.
This is the vertical aspect of music.
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
TONALITY
Also known as the key. A piece can be cent
ered around a certain set of pitches (major
and minor scales), where there is a sense
of completion when the CHORDS return t
o the TONIC, from the DOMINANT (Key o
f C: returning from G to C)
Pitch/Melody/Harmony/Tonality
Instrumentation/Timbre
What is producing the music. This describe
s what instruments [or voices] are heard.
This will greatly affect the mood of the pie
ce.
Timbre is also known as TONE COLOR, wh
ich is the quality of sound that is used to di
stinguish between instruments
Instrumentation/Timbre
Texture
This describes the layers in music and how t
hey relate to each other. This is also relat
ed to the VERTICAL aspect of music.
THICK/THIN
MONOPHONIC
POLYPHONIC
HOMOPHONIC
Texture
Tempo
How fast or slow music is played. This is usually
marked using with symbols or italian terms
Some Common Tempo Markings
Largo
Andante
Allegro
Allegretto
Tempo
Structure/Form
This explains how music is organized into sections. The st
ructure of the piece is an overall picture of how the piece
progresses (in sections, using repetition, phrase structur
e etc).
Some common musical forms:
- Binary
- Ternary
- Rondo
- Through-Composed
- Strophic
- Sonata Allegro
- Theme and Variation
Structure/Form
Context
This allows you to appreciate music for where it was origin
ally created, and for the purpose it was created.
This adds meaning to the music you hear, and will give ex
planations for why certain elements of music are used in
distinct ways.
Ie. How can you tell the difference between a piece by pian
o Bach and a piece by Chopin?
Ie. How can you tell the difference between a piece from K
orea and a piece from Spain?
