Music Universals/Terminology

Definition of Music

Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound. General definitions of music include a combination of vocal or instrumental sounds that are organised in time, producing a composition characterised by melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.

Music is more about the relationship between notes and about relative pitch rather than absolute pitch.

Music Universals

Music universals refer to aspects of music that appear across all cultures. They represent the fundamental principles that govern musical structure and experience. Here are some essential concepts in understanding music universals:

• Musical Notes: These are the building blocks of music, representing pitches in a musical scale. Each note corresponds to a specific frequency of sound. A ‘note’ is a sound with pitch, a sound that you can sing.

  -Notes are named by letters and by their fundamental frequency

• Scales: Scales inform the context of our music. A scale is a series of musical notes ordered by pitch BUT it is defined by its pattern of intervals NOT the notes themselves. The most common scale is the major scale, which has a specific pattern of whole steps and half steps.

• Intervals: An interval is the distance between two pitches, which can be measured in whole steps or half steps. Intervals can be melodic (played in sequence) or harmonic (played simultaneously).

• Whole Steps and Half Steps: A whole step is the distance between two notes that have one note in between them (e.g., from C to D). A half step is the smallest interval in Western music, occurring between two adjacent keys on a piano (e.g., from E to F).

  -7 half steps make a ‘perfect 5th’ (‘strong and stable’)

• Octaves: An octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. For example, if one note is A (440 Hz), the next A is at 880 Hz. An octave effectively resets the scale, higher or lower.

• Root/Tonic Note of Scale: The tonic note is the first note of a scale, serving as the home base around which the other notes are organised. In a C major scale, C is the tonic note.

• Transposing: Transposing involves shifting a piece of music from one key to another. This is done by maintaining the relationships between the notes, which alters the pitch while preserving the structure of the piece.

• Consonance and Dissonance: Consonance refers to combinations of notes that sound pleasant together. In contrast, dissonance refers to combinations that create tension or instability. The balance and movement between consonance and dissonance play a crucial role in musical compositions.

-The fundamental frequency of a note is the lowest frequency of a sound wave produced by that note, defining its pitch. Each musical note corresponds to a specific frequency, which is measured in Hertz (Hz). For example, the note A above middle C has a fundamental frequency of 440 Hz.

-Tonality refers to the organisation of music around a central note or tonic, and the system of relationships among pitches that define a musical key. It encompasses the hierarchy of notes, typically centred around the tonic, and relates to major and minor scales. In tonal music, melodies and harmonies are structured in a way that establishes a sense of home or resolution, typically aligning with the tonic note.

-The pentatonic scale is a musical scale that consists of five notes per octave. It can start on any note as it is the pattern of intervals that is what makes it pentatonic (W, W, m3, W, m3). It is one of the most common scales found in various musical traditions around the world, particularly in folk music. The pentatonic scale can be constructed by removing certain notes from a standard seven-note scale (like the major or minor scale), which tends to create a more harmonically simple and universally pleasant sound. A major pentatonic scale can be derived from the major scale by skipping the fourth and seventh notes, while the minor pentatonic scale involves skipping the second and sixth notes of the natural minor scale.

→ the pentatonic scale is found in all cultures and on all continents even when those groups of people had no contact with each other - how did this universality come to be?

Modes of a scale are variations derived from the original scale by starting on different degrees of that scale while maintaining the same notes. Each mode has its own distinct sound and character. The most common modes derived from the major scale are:

1. Ionian (Major Scale): This is the first mode and is identical to the major scale.

2. Dorian: The second mode which has a minor quality with a raised sixth degree, giving it a jazzy feel.

3. Phrygian: The third mode characterised by a flat second degree, giving it a Spanish or exotic sound.

4. Lydian: The fourth mode is similar to the major scale but has a raised fourth degree, which gives it a dreamy quality.

5. Mixolydian: The fifth mode has a dominant (or bluesy) sound with a flat seventh degree.

6. Aeolian (Natural Minor Scale): The sixth mode is equivalent to the natural minor scale.

7. Locrian: The seventh mode has a diminished quality and is often considered unstable or incomplete due to the flat fifth degree.

Each mode serves different purposes in music composition and contributes unique tonal colours, which can be employed to invoke specific emotions or styles.

Patterns of Intervals

Pentatonic - W, W, m3, W, m3

Major - W, W, h, W, W, W, h

Minor - W, h, W, W, h, W, W