Musical "Elephants" Listening & Organization

The six w’s of music

• what

• who

• when

• where= musical context

• why= cultural/ historical context\

• how- musical organization (elephant)

musical elephant

prominent musical “elements" that are so obvious they’re often ignored, main feature of musical organization

rythm

temporal organization; tempo, free rhythm (irregular or no discernable pulse)

tonality

sonic/acoustic organization; text(language/meaning), dynamics, melody (linear pitch relationships), harmony (simultaneous pitch relationships)

texture

qualitative organization; 4 kinds of textures

density

quantitative organization; number and volume of instruments/ voices

form

structural organization; based on patterns of repeated and contrasting sections in a composition

monophonic (one)

single melody by one or more instruments or voices

homophonic (same)

melody w/ accompaniment (most common)

polyphonic (many)

simultaneous occurrence of independent melodies

heterophonic (different)

similar melodies not played together

passive listening

just hearing; not engages listening

active listening

focused listening