Fundamentals And Elements Of Music

CONTENT

1. Characteristics of Sound.
2. Elements of Music.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND

Musical sounds are distinguished from noises in that they are composed of regular,uniform vibrations, while noises are irregular and disordered vibrations. One musical tone is distinguished from another on the basis of pitch, intensity or loudness and quality or timbre.They are explained below:

1. PITCH: Pitch describes how high or low a tone is andit depends upon rapidity with which a sounding body vibrates; i.e. upon the frequency of vibration. The higher the frequency of vibration, the higher the tone; the pitch of siren gets higher and higher as the frequency of vibration increases. The lower the frequency, the lower the tone. 
2. INTENSITY OR LOUDNESS: The intensity or loudness of a sound depends upon the extent to which the sounding body vibrates i.e., the amplitude of vibration. A sound is louder as the amplitude of vibration is greater, and the intensity decreases as the distance from the source increases. Loudness is measured in decibels.
3. TIMBRE: The sound waves given off by different vibrating bodies differ in quality or timbre. A note from a saxophone, forinstance, differs from the note of the same pitch and intensity produced by a violin or a xylophone. Timbre is the sound quality or tone colour; timbre is the characteristic that allows us to distinguish between one instrument and another.

EVALUATION

1. What is sound?
2. State two features of musical sound.

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

Sound is created when an object vibrates. The elements of music include:

1. RHYTHM:It is the element of time in music. It 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 ‘time signature.’Rhythm can be viewed from another perspective as the effect created by combining a variety of notes with different durations. Consider syncopation, cross rhythms, poly rhythms, duplets and triplets. In rhythm, notes of durations are organized into patterns.
2. STRUCTURE:This is the overall plan of a piece of music. Examples include ternary A//B//A//, rondoA//B//A//C//A//D// ,binary A//B// etc.
3. NOTES ON THE KEYBOARD: To play the keyboard, certain notes are required to compose a piece of music. Notes identified with the keyboard include semibreve, minim, crotchet,quaver, semi-quaver, demisemiquaver, hemi demisemiquaver.Notes are sounds of keys on the scale of the keyboard.
4. MELODY: A sequence of single notes, the main most prominent line or voice in a piece of music, the line that the listener follows most closely.
5. TIMBRE: The quality of sound or ‘colour ’ of a sound and often refers to different instruments .However ,it also goes deeper ,covering all the different sounds one instrument can create.
6. DYNAMICS:Dynamics are changes in volume. Changes can be immediate or gradual of time.
7. TEXTURE:Texture describes the relationship of lines,known as voices within a piece .These lines form layers of sound. Texture is in various categories like monophonic,polyphonic and homophonic.
8. FORM:The order of events in a piece of music. The term may define the number of sections,and their relationship to each other and to the whole. In today’s music, sections often have an evenness and symmetrical like quality to them. Pieces balance between relationship and contrast.

EVALUATION

1. What are elements of music?
2. Explain any two elements of music you know.

GENERAL EVALUATION

1. Define the term theatre.
2. What is the role of the actors and actresses in drama?
3. What is plot?
4. List the two types of art.
5. State two importance of art.

READING ASSIGNMENT

Cultural and Creative Art (New Edition) by Peter Akinyemi& Co-Authors. (Book 1)

REFERENCE PAGE

Page 48

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. ……refers to the highness and lowness of tone in music. (a) Pitch  (b) Chord  (c) Duration  (d) Timbre
2. What feature of sound describes varying tones identified among different musical instruments? (a) Timbre  (b) Intensity  (c) Pitch  (d) Loudness
3. ……refers to two notes that are played simultaneously.
   1. Pitch (b) Chord (c) Timbre (d) Form
4. The vibration of objects creates ……(a) noise  (b) sound  (c) timbre  (d) pitch
5. A series of irregular and disorganized sounds is called ……(a) music  (b) noise  (c) timbre  (d) intensity

THEORY

1. Describe ‘structure’ as a characteristic of sound.
2. State the function of flat and sharp when introduced before a note as accidental.