1. Basic Terms to Understand as a Song Leader
The Elements of Music
Basic Terms to Understand as a
Song Leader

2. Sound: Pitch, Dynamics, and Tone Color
Pitch - The high or low quality of sound
Dynamics - The loud or soft quality of music
Tone color - Also known as timbre, refers to the unique quality of sound

3. Dynamics Forte --f,ff,fff-loud Piano --p,pp,ppp-very soft
Mezzo ---mf,mp--medium
Crescendo --gradually louder
Decrescendo,diminuendo --gradually softer

4. Voices Women’s Voices Men’s Voices Soprano or 1st Soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Alto
Men’s Voices
Falsetto
Tenor
Baritone
Bass

5. Rhythm The flow of music through time; the pattern of durations of notes and silences in music
Beat - the pulse of music
Meter - the grouping of beats
Tempo - the speed of the beat
Accent - a pitch that is played more loudly, held longer or is higher in pitch than the nearby notes
Syncopation - When an accented note comes where we would normally not expect it

6. Tempo Markings Molto-much Moto-Ritard means slow down exceedingly
Troppo - too much (fast or slow)
Poco – Literally “little by little”
Accelerando - gradually faster
Ritardando - gradually slower
A Tempo – Return to original tempo after Ritard
Rubato – means “Robbed”. A lingering on some notes and hurrying of others; free from strict tempo.

7. Tempo Terms Grave, Very Slow Largo, Lento – Slow
Larghetto, A little faster than Largo
Adiago, Moderately Slow
Andante, “Walking” Tempo
Andantino, A little faster than Andante
Allegretto, A little slower than Allegro
Allegro, Fast
Vivace, Lively
Presto, Very Fast
Prestissimo, Very Very Fast
Moderato, Moderate(ly)
Accel, Accelerando, Gradually becoming faster
Rit., Ritardando, Gradually becoming slower

8. Music Notation Notating pitch
Staff: the five lines and four spaces on which music is written
Note: an oval which represents a specific pitch
Clef: placed at the beginning of the staff, the clef assigns pitch names to the lines and spaces

9. Music Notation Notating Rhythm
Durations: the color of the note and the presence of stems or flags and beams and dots affect the duration of a note
Rests: symbols for pauses with specific durations

10. Music Notation Notating meter
Time signature: placed next to the clef, the top number of the time signature indicates the grouping of beats and the bottom number indicates what kind of note will receive one beat.

11. Melody A succession of pitches which add up to a recognizable whole
Intervals: the distance between two pitches
Sequence: the repetition of a melodic pattern at a higher or lower pitch

12. Harmony the vertical aspect of music
Chord: a combination of three or more notes sounded simultaneously
Consonance: harmony that is stable and restful to the ear
Dissonance: tense and unstable harmony that demands onward motion to stable harmony (resolution or resolve) voice - Intonation

13. Key - Tonality the homing instinct of music
Major scale: a succession of eight pitches arranged from low to high, based on the intervals of the white keys of a piano
Minor scale: a succession of eight pitches arranged from low to high, based on a specific pattern of whole and half steps which results in a dark quality of melody and harmony

14. Key-Tonality
Chromatic scale: a series of 12 pitches based on the black and white keys of the piano
Modulation: the shifting from one key to another

15. Texture layers of sound
Monophonic: a single unaccompanied melody line
Polyphonic: two or more independent melody lines happening simultaneously
Homophonic: melody plus accompaniment