ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

FORM

The organization of all the parts of a musical composition

PULSE

a stream of equally spaced beats

TEMPO

speed of pulse

METER

a grouping of strong and weak beats

DOWNBEAT

first beat of group, strongest beat

HARMONY

the simultaneous sounding of different pitches

CHORD

combination of pitches, the basic unit of harmony

CONSONANCE

stable or pleasant harmony

DISSONANCE

unstable or unpleasant harmony

NOTE

The smallest unit of melody

PITCH

how “high” or “low” a note sounds

FREQUENCY

speed of vibration, determines pitch

MELODY

a succession of pitches that form a whole

PHRASE

part of a melody, like a clause in a sentence

CADENCE

the resting point of a phrase

TEXTURE

the relationship between the different voices in a piece of music.

MONOPHONY

texture with a single melody.

HOMOPHONY

texture melody and accompaniment.

POLYPHONY

texture with more than one independent melody.

TIMBRE

Tone color. The distinctive sound  of each instrument or singer.