M

Noun The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. The vocal or instrumental sound produced in this way.

Elements of Music Pitch register (high or low); Organization of pitches with a pattern of intervals between them creates scales; Words we might use to describe scales: major/minor, chromatic, gapped, and pentatonic. Rhythm the time element of music. A specific rhythm is a specific pattern in time; we usually hear these in relation to a steady pulse, and mentally organize this pulse or tempo into meter (sometimes called a "time signature"). Meter organizes beats into groups, usually of two or three; beats can be divided into small units usually 2, 3 or 4 subdivisions Melody, or musical line, is a combination of pitch and rhythm (some say "duration"). Sometimes a melody is considered to be the theme of a composition. We might characterize melody by its contour (rising or falling) and the size of the intervals in it. A melody that uses mostly small intervals (or scale steps) and is smooth is said to be a conjunct melody. Not surprisingly, a melody that uses large intervals is called a disjunct melody. A motif (or motive) is either a very short melody or a distinctive part of a longer melody. I might describe the opening four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as a "motific cell." Timbre sound quality or tone color; timbre is the characteristic that allows us to distinguish between one instrument and another, and the difference between vowel sounds (for example, long "a" or "ee"). Terms we might use to describe timbre: bright, dark, brassy, reedy, harsh, noisy, thin, buzzy, pure, raspy, shrill, mellow, and strained. I prefer to avoid describing timbre in emotional terms (excited, angry, happy, sad, etc.); that is not the sound quality, it is its effect or interpretation. Rather than describe the timbre of an instrument in other terms, it is often more clear just to describe the timbre by naming the instrument, once we have learned the names and sounds of a few instruments. Dynamics loud or soft. A composition that has extremely soft passages as well as extremely loud passages is said to have a large or wide dynamic range. Dynamics can change suddenly or gradually (crescendo, getting louder, or decrescendo, getting softer.) Texture monophonic (one voice or line), Polyphonic (many voices, usually similar, as in Renaissance or Baroque counterpoint), Homophonic (1. a melody with simple accompaniment; 2. Chords moving in the same rhythm (homorhythmic)) Heterophony xed r lt ple lar ver n f a el d perf r ed simultaneously (rare in European music; possibly used in Ancient Greece)

Collage juxtaposition & superimposition of extremely different textures or sounds.