Musical Terms Mrs. Keating

Drum Solo – Entrance Question

Rhythm Beat is like your pulse! Your heart keeps the beat for the rest for your body! Rhythm is Patterns of Sound and Silence! Rhythm divides music into sections, using unaccented and accented beats to create a readable pattern.

Notation Notes are symbols that show a person how long to play and when to play. In music notation each note stands for a specific length of time for a tone to be held.

Melody Melody is the main idea of the music. Everyone has gotten a tune stuck in their head. If it is a memorable tune, with lots of repetition it can stay there for months. The notes of a melody move three ways: by repeating, by step and by leap.

Harmony Harmony is a combination of tones sounded together. The basic units of harmony are the interval- two notes played together the chord- where three or more tones are played at the same time.

Timbre Timbre is the special sound of an instrument or voice. The use of different tone color is what makes a piece of music interesting and gives the music its character. Picture Lady Gaga on ukulele and you will know what I mean.

Form Form is the structure or shape of a piece of music. Songs are often ABA form: A = Chorus B = Verse

Pitch Pitch is the highness or lowness of a tone. Usually the bigger the instrument the lower the pitches it can play. There are seven basic pitches in music. A B C D E F G

Tempo Tempo is how fast or slow music is played. Presto – Very fast Allegro – quick and lively Moderato – moderate, medium Andante – slow walking speed Largo – very slow

Dynamics Dynamics are how loudly or softly the music is played. The conductor is the controller of the dynamics.

Dynamics

Styles of Music There are many, many different styles of music …..some you may like and others you do not! We identify styles by how they combine the elements that we just discussed. Try to guess as many types as you can in the listening assignment.