Music Theory & Elements: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, and Form

text painting

When the music matches the literal meaning of the lyrics

e.g., "Despacito" = "Slowly"

tempo

speed of the song:

fast, slow, or moderate

syllabic

single note for each syllable

melismatic

many notes for one syllable

Form examples

Verse-chorus, 32 bar form, sentimental ballad

chord & their qualities

two or more simultaneously sounding pitches

major (happy chords)

minor (sad mostly)

timbre

Instrument/voice names

Adjectives

Not judging the sound

Emotions: Explain what about the sound makes it sound that way

e.g deep and slow, bassy, shallow, airy

meter

grouping beats into a recognizable unit

Regular: grouped in patterns of 2, 3, or 4

Irregular: grouped in patterns of prime numbers greater than 3 (5, 7, 11, etc)

AABA

When the end of words rhyme

A Capella

singing with no instrumental backgrounds

triplet flow

dividing one beat into three divisions

Rapping 3 syllables in one beat

texture definition

Density or thickness of a song; how many layers it has; thick or thin

tension and release & (elements that enhance this in a song)

elements that enhance:

harmony (e.g, dissonance) and rhythm (syncopation), and melody

syncopation

when rhythms are off beat (a type of rhythm)

Creates a tension or pull

shape

ascending, descending

Good for analyzing phrases or sections of a song (like the verse or chorus)

Scale

set of musical notes; used in a lot of Western music to organize and build melodies and harmonies

Tension—> leading away from home

Release—> landing at home base

Steps: notes are really close together

Skips: notes are really far apart

Rhythm

duration of musical notes and their organization

Long and short note durations

Range

The span of all of the pitches (wide/narrow)

Pitch

The position of a single sound in the complete range of sound.

e.g, low or high

Musical form

Large-scale musical structure

How music is broken down into different sections

listen to; lyrics, harmonies, tension & release

metacognition

processes to plan, monitor, and assess understanding and performing

melody

A series of pitches performed over time; most important in music

melisma vs syllabic

many notes for one syllable vs one note per syllable

lateral reading/reading upstream

follow a link within a news story or claim directly to the original source of information or the primary sources referenced

harmony vs melody

Melody is one pitch at a time over a span of time; harmony is multiple pitches happening at one time

Harmony definition

combination of simultaneously sounding pitches; usually supports the melody

Drums

Drums are not usually harmony or melody.

dissonant

clashing, or unharmonious pitches

consonant

pleasant, harmonious pitches

click restraint

scanning through search results or headlines and seeing what sources look promising—then make an informed decision about whether to click or not

beat & 2 other kinds

basic unit of time in music

steady vs. unsteady

weak vs. strong

In hip hop—the entire instrumental backing track of a song

pulse—steady rhythmic repetition at a constant interval.

about AABA

1920s; tin pan alley; form divided into 4 equal sections based on the harmony

4 parts of verse-chorus + 2 facts

Most common, especially since the 1960s

Predictable, flexible, can be individualized

1.)Verse: tells the story

2.)Pre-chorus: energy increases, builds tension

3.)Chorus: repeated part, high energy

4.)Bridge: something new, preparing us for a return of the chorus

Why is meter important?

it allows people to feel the emotion behind the song and allows music artists to read the music