Definition of music

 Music is comprised of sound.

 Music is made up of both sounds and silences.
 Music is intentionally made art.
 Music is humanly organized sound (Bakan, 2011).

Basic Music Elements

 Sound (overtone, timbre, pitch, amplitude, duration)
Overtone: A fundamental pitch with resultant pitches sounding above it according to the
overtone series. Overtones are what give each note its unique sound.
Timbre: The tone color of a sound resulting from the overtones. Each voice has a unique
tone color that is described using adjectives or metaphors.
Pitch: The frequency of the note’s vibration (note names C, D, E, etc.).
Amplitude: How loud or soft a sound is.
Duration: How long or short the sound is.
 Melody - A succession of musical notes; a series of pitches often organized into phrases.
 Harmony - The simultaneous, vertical combination of notes, usually forming chords.
 Rhythm - The organization of music in time. Also closely related to meter.
 Texture - The density (thickness or thinness) of layers of sounds, melodies, and rhythms
in a piece: e.g., a complex orchestral composition will have more possibilities for dense
textures than a song accompanied only by guitar or piano.

Most common types of texture:

 Monophony: A single layer of sound; e.g.. a solo voice

 Homophony: A melody with an accompaniment; e.g., a lead singer and a band; a
singer and a guitar or piano accompaniment; etc.
 Polyphony: Two or more independent voices; e.g., a round or fugue.

 Structure/form - The sections or movements of a piece; i.e. verse and refrain, sonata
form, ABA, Rondo (ABACADA), theme, and variations.
 Expression (dynamics, tempo, articulation)
Dynamics: Volume (amplitude)—how loud, soft, medium, gradually getting louder or
softer (crescendo, decrescendo).
 Tempo: Beats per minute; how fast, medium, or slow a piece of music is played or sung.

 Larghissimo – very, very slow (24 bpm and under)

 Adagissimo – very slowly
 Grave – very slow (25–45 bpm)
 Largo – broadly (40–60 bpm)
 Lento – slowly (45–60 bpm)
 Larghetto – rather broadly (60–66 bpm)
 Adagio – slowly with great expression[8] (66–76 bpm)
 Adagietto – slower than andante (72–76 bpm) or slightly faster than adagio (70–80 bpm)
 Andante – at a walking pace (76–108 bpm)
 Andantino – slightly faster than andante (although, in some cases, it can be taken to mean
slightly slower than andante) (80–108 bpm)
 Marcia moderato – moderately, in the manner of a march[9][10] (83–85 bpm)
 Andante moderato – between andante and moderato (thus the name) (92–112 bpm)
 Moderato – at a moderate speed (108–120 bpm)
 Allegretto – by the mid 19th century, moderately fast (112–120 bpm); see paragraph above for
earlier usage
 Allegro moderato – close to, but not quite allegro (116–120 bpm)
 Allegro – fast, quickly, and bright (120–156 bpm) (molto allegro is slightly faster than allegro, but
always in its range)
 Vivace – lively and fast (156–176 bpm)
 Vivacissimo – very fast and lively (172–176 bpm)
 Allegrissimo or Allegro vivace – very fast (172–176 bpm)
 Presto – very, very fast (168–200 bpm)
 Prestissimo – even faster than presto (200 bpm and over)

Articulation: The manner in which notes are played or words pronounced: e.g., long or
short, stressed or unstressed such as short (staccato), smooth (legato), stressed
(marcato), sudden emphasis (sforzando), slurred, etc.
Music Teaching Vocabulary
 Fast or Slow (tempo)
 Loud or Soft (dynamics)
 Short or Long (articulation)
 High or Low (pitch)
 Steady or Uneven (beat)
 Happy or Sad (emotional response)

Learning Notation: Rhythm

Rhythm concerns the organization of musical elements into sounds and silences.
Rhythm occurs in a melody, in the accompaniment, and uses combinations of short and
long durations to create patterns and entire compositions. Rests are as important to the
music as are the sounded rhythms because, just like language, rests use silence to help
organize the sounds so we can better understand them.

Notes And Rests

Whole note Whole rest

Dotted half rest

Dotted half note

Half rest
Half note

Quarter rest
Quarter note

Eighth rest
Eighth note

Sixteenth rest
Sixteenth note
Learning Notation: Pitch

Notes Of The Treble Staff

Notes Of The Bass Staff

The alto clef is represented by the following symbol:

When the alto clef is indicated, the lines and spaces represent the following notes:

The tenor clef is represented by the following symbol:

When the tenor clef is indicated, the lines and spaces represent the following notes:
Scales

Scales
A scale is a group of pitches (scale degrees) arranged in ascending
order. These pitches span an octave. Diatonic scales are scales that
include half and whole steps. The first and last note is the tonic. It is
the most 'stable' note, or rather the easiest to find. Because of this,
diatonic melodies often end on the diatonic note. The other notes in
the scale also have names. The second note is the supertonic. The
third is the mediant, halfway between the tonic and dominant. The
fourth note is the subdominant. The fifth note is the dominant. The
submediant is the sixth note. The subtonic is the seventh note in
the natural minor scale. The seventh tone of the major, harmonic
and melodic minor scales is called the leading tone if it is one half
step lower than the tonic.

The Major Scale

The major scale consists of seven different pitches. There are half
steps between the third and fourth and seventh and eighth scale
degrees; whole steps exist between all other steps. Below is a the C
major scale. The pattern of whole and half steps is the same for all
major scales. By changing the first note, then using the pattern as a
guide, you can construct any major scale. Likewise, if you know the
pattern for any other scale, you can create them, too.
The Natural Minor Scales

These scales have seven different scale degrees. There are half
steps between the second and third and the fifth and sixth degrees;
whole steps exist between all other steps. Shown below is the A
minor scale.

The Harmonic Minor Scale

This scale is the same as the natural minor scale, except the
seventh step is raised a half step. There is now an interval of one
half step between the seventh and eighth notes, and one and a half
steps between the sixth and seventh notes. This is a harmonic A
minor.

The Melodic Minor Scale

This is another minor scale variation. In this scale, the sixth and
seventh notes are each raised one half step. All the patterns to this
point have been the same as one climbs and descends the scales.
The melodic minor scale, however, ascends with the modifications
noted above, but descends in the natural minor scale. This is a
melodic A minor.
Families of Musical Instruments
Musical instruments are grouped into families based on how they make sounds. In an
orchestra, musicians sit together in these family groupings. But not every instrument
fits neatly into a group. For example, the piano has strings that vibrate, and hammers
that strike. Is it a string instrument or a percussion instrument? Some say it is both!

Brass

Brass instruments are made of brass or some other metal and make
sound when air is blown inside. The musician's lips must buzz, as
though making a "raspberry" noise against the mouthpiece. Air then
vibrates inside the instrument, which produces a sound.

Brass instruments include trumpet, trombone, tuba, French

horn, cornet, and bugle.

Percussion

Most percussion instruments make sounds when they are hit, such as a
drum or a tambourine. Others are shaken, such as maracas, and still
others may be rubbed, scratched, or whatever else will make the
instrument vibrate and thus produce a sound.

Percussion instruments include drums, cymbals, triangle, chimes, tam-

tam, glockenspiel, timpani, bells, and xylophone.
Strings
Yes, the sounds of string instruments come from their strings. The strings
may be plucked, as in a guitar or harp; bowed, as with a cello or a violin;
or struck, as with a dulcimer. This creates a vibration that causes a unique
sound.

Stringed instruments include the violin, viola, cello, bass, harp,

and dulcimer.

Woodwinds
Woodwind instruments produce sound when air (wind) is blown
inside. Air might be blown across an edge, as with a flute; between
a reed and a surface, as with a clarinet; or between two reeds, as
with a bassoon. The sound happens when the air vibrates inside.

Woodwind instruments
include flute, piccolo, clarinet, recorder, bassoon, and oboe.