MunSci Hymn

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
Rhythm - The pattern of movement in time. - Harvard Dictionary of Music
BEAT
The pulse of the music in terms of how fast or slow it flows by (the pulse you tap
your foot to while listening to a song)
Measured in beats per minute (bpm)
60 bpm = 1 beat per second - a song at 60 bpm would be considered slow
120 bpm = 2 beats per second - a song at 120 bpm would be twice as fast as
60, a medium speed
240 bpm = 4 beats per second - a song at 240 bpm would be considered very
fast
*NOTE* When someone says “I love the beat of that song” … what they mean is
that they love the rhythmic structure/pattern … but what they’re actually saying
in musical terminology is that they love how fast or slow it goes
TEMPO
The speed of the beat (slow, medium, fast, etc.). Tempo is most easily
determined by the use of a METRONOME, an analog or digital device that clocks
the number of bpms by clicking/tapping at the same speed as the music. You
can download free metronome apps to your phone. In fact, you should do this
for the purpose of this course :)
METER
How beats are grouped into small patterns within a larger song. Musical phrases
are broken down into segments that show rhythmic groupings known as
MEASURES. Measures can have any number of beats in them, but most
commonly have 2, 3, or 4 beats. 2-beat measures are in duple meter, 3-beat
measures are in triple meter, and 4-beat measures are in quadruple meter. To
complicate things even more, every beat can be SUBDIVIDED into two equal
halves (simple) or three equal thirds (compound). When listening to songs
subdivided into simple meter, they sound even and “straight”; songs in
compound subdivision sound “swung”.
DUPLE: beat is in groups of 2 (try counting along to a song 1-2 | 1-2 …)

TRIPLE: beat is in groups of 3 (try counting along to a song 1-2-3 | 1-2-3 …)
QUADRUPLE: beat is in groups of 4 (try counting along to a song 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-
3-4 …)
SIMPLE: beat is divided evenly into two sub-beats (1-2 2-2 3-2 4-2…)
COMPOUND: beat is divided evenly into three sub-beats (1-2-3 2-2-3 3-2-3 4-
2-3 …)
Describe Timbre with adjectives you might use to describe color, temperature,
consistency, or the human voice …
Abrasive, Booming, Brassy, Breathy, Bright, Brilliant, Brittle, Buzzy, Clear,
Coarse, Cool, Cutting, Dark, Delicate, Distorted, Dry, Dull, Edgy, Ethereal, Flat,
Focused, Full, Grating, Guttural, Harsh, Heavy, Hoarse, Hollow, Husky, Intense,
Light, Lush, Mellow, Metallic, Muddy, Murky, Muted, Nasal, Penetrating,
Piercing, Pure, Raspy, Reedy, Resonant, Rich, Ringing, Rough, Round, Scratchy,
Shallow, Sharp, Shimmery, Shrill, Silky, Silvery, Smoky, Smooth, Strained,
Strident, Strong, Subdued, Thick, Thin, Throaty, Thundering, Tremulous,
Unfocused, Velvety, Vibrant, Warbling, Warm, Wheezy, Whispered, Wooden
You can take any meter grouping and subdivide it by simple or compound to
get completely different rhythmic feels. These are each represented by a TIME
SIGNATURE - which you won’t be tested on and don’t need to learn for the sake
of this course - but for those of you who already know music, let’s review how
they work …
DUPLE-SIMPLE TIME: 2/4
DUPLE-COMPOUND TIME: 6/8
TRIPLE SIMPLE TIME: 3/4
TRIPLE COMPOUND TIME: 9/8
QUADRUPLE SIMPLE TIME: 4/4
QUADRUPLE COMPOUND TIME: 12/8
*EVEN MORE METERS*

Here are some more advanced concepts for those of you with prior musical
training!
MIXED METER: can be found in pieces where the meter changes up
frequently - like a measure of 4/4 followed by a measure of 3/4 then 5/4 …
COMPLEX METER: occurs when a grouping is uneven or odd within a
measure. For instance, 7/8 or 5/4 time.
The word RHYTHM specifically refers to how pitches in music are organized
(compressed or elongated) over a consistent beat. A notational system allows
musicians to write and read rhythms precisely at any given tempo.
Timbre - The character of a sound distinct from its pitch, length, or intensity;
tone color. - Harvard Dictionary of Music
If two or more voices or instruments are performing the exact same melody,
how do you tell them apart? Their timbre/tone color. Timbre is the result of the
following factors:
MATERIAL OF INSTRUMENT: wood, metal, animal skin, plastic, vocal cords,
and other materials. How hollow or solid, thin or thick, how large or small?
The materials play the biggest factor in timbre.
ATTACK/ARTICULATION: what does the beginning of the note sound like?
What is the instrument struck or played with? Is the attack soft or hard?
SUSTAINED PITCH: what does the note sound like after the attack?
Intensity of sound? Is there the presence of VIBRATO (a rapid variation of
pitch adding richness to a sound)?
Dynamics - The aspect of music relating to degrees of loudness. - Harvard

Music Dictionary
Dynamics (volumes) are described in music with Italian words:

FORTISSIMO (ff) - very loud
FORTE (f) - loud
MEZZO FORTE (mf) - medium loud
MEZZO PIANO (mp) - medium soft
PIANO (p) - soft
PIANISSIMO (pp) - very soft
CRESCENDO (cresc.) - gradually loudening
DIMINUENDO (dim.) - gradually softening
Melody - A coherent succession of pitches. - Harvard Dictionary of Music
PITCH or NOTE or TONE: when referred to in melody, these are the

individual sounds that comprise a melody. When you hum or sing or play a
melody, you are performing a series of pitches/notes/tones in succession.
SCALE: a pattern of notes used to create a melody (this is what keeps
melodies sounding comfortable, familiar, and predictable rather than
random and unpredictable). Most musical scales are in MAJOR (sound
happy) or MINOR (sound sad or maybe angry or scary).
MELODIC CONTOUR: refers to the shape of the melody - like drawing an
arrow to accompany the direction of the melody. Melodies can go up or
down or stay flat and repeat the same note. When you sing along to a song,
you’re creating a melodic contour with your voice - a visual representation
(drawing a line higher as the melody goes higher, or lower as the melody
drops lower) is a great way to communicate a lot of information about the
piece of music quickly.
STEPWISE MOTION: is when melodies go one note up or down a scale. This
sounds simpler, easier, and more stable.
LEAP MOTION: is when melodies go multiple notes up or down a scale. This
sound more unexpected, energized, and dramatic.
Harmony -The relationship of pitches as they sound simultaneously. - Harvard

Dictionary of Music
For harmony to exist, there needs to be more than one note sounding at once.
INTERVAL: two notes sounded at once and the distance between them.
CHORD: three or more notes sounded at once. Chords create a musical
mood by the interactions of all the intervals within them.
TRIAD: most classical and popular music uses triadic harmony - harmony
developed by the use of three-note chords.
Harmony can sound CONSONANT, meaning the pitches sound pleasant

together, or DISSONANT, meaning the pitches sound unpleasant together.
Composers write music with both in mind to help paint a mood and tell a story
through music.
Texture - The pattern of sound created by the interaction of musical voices. -

Harvard Dictionary of Music
MONOPHONY: a single line of music occurring at a given time. This may be

a SOLO (single performer) or performed in UNISON (multiple performers on
the same line of music). Different instruments and voices can perform in
monophony even if they are performing the lines in different octaves -
think about a group all singing “Happy Birthday” together on the same note
at the same time.
HETEROPHONY: almost like unison - except one voice will do a little more
than the others - think of a solo gospel singer ornamenting/decorating the
melody that the rest of the choir is singing.
HOMOPHONY: two or more voices - one voice is the melody and the other
voice(s) serve in support roles. This is the texture most Western Classical
and popular music falls into - but many world music traditions do not
adhere to this format.
CHORDAL: all voices move with the same rhythm (like in church hymns)
MELODY-ACCOMPANIMENT: melody usually has most interesting rhythm,
other voices perform backgrounds with more simple/repetitive rhythm (like
in pop songs)
POLYPHONY: two or more voices moving independently from one another
at the same time; also known as COUNTERPOINT. This can sound dissonant
- with the two independent voices clashing - or it can sound consonant,
with the musicians performing lines that interlock well with each other even
though they’re very different from each other.

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ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

Rhythm - The pattern of movement in time. - Harvard Dictionary of Music

DUPLE: beat is in groups of 2 (try counting along to a song 1-2 | 1-2 …)

EVEN MORE METERS

Dynamics - The aspect of music relating to degrees of loudness. - Harvard

Dynamics (volumes) are described in music with Italian words:

Melody - A coherent succession of pitches. - Harvard Dictionary of Music

PITCH or NOTE or TONE: when referred to in melody, these are the

Harmony -The relationship of pitches as they sound simultaneously. - Harvard

Harmony can sound CONSONANT, meaning the pitches sound pleasant

Texture - The pattern of sound created by the interaction of musical voices. -

MONOPHONY: a single line of music occurring at a given time. This may be

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