Music Fundamentals 2/1/2014 2:40:00 PM

- a musical sound has 4 basic components:

a) timbre- the tone quality or color of a musical sound, closely related to
instrument construction
b) pitch- a tones specific frequency level, measured in Hertz (Hz)
c) rhythm- the lengths, or durations, of sounds as patterns in time
d) dynamics- the volume of a musical sound, measured in decibels (dBs)

- media object used to make the sound, ex: musical instrument, voice
- organology the study of musical instruments
- Sachs-Hornbostel system standard classification system for musical
instruments created by Curt Sachs and Erik M. von Hornbostel, 5 categories:
a) aerophones- sound is produced by the direct vibration of air
flutes: splitting air on the edge of a cylinder
reeds: thin piece of material vibrating against the body of the instrument
or another reed
trumpets: vibration of lips
b) chordophones- sound is produced by the vibration of a string
zither: has strings and a sounding board
lute: has strings, a sounding board, and a neck which can be fretted or
fretless
c) idiophones- sound is produced by instrument itself vibrating
plucked (lamellophone): plucking a small metal tongue which vibrates
struck: striking the instrument itself either with a beater or with the hand
shaken: shaken, usually held, but can also be attached to the body
d) membranophones- sound is produced by a vibrating membrane stretched over a
frame, categorized by shape, mostly drums, mostly played with the hands
e) electrophones- sound is electronically produced, includes keyboards,
synthesizers, computers, and turn-tables

- pitch specific tone determined by its frequency level
a) definite pitch- determined by the dominance of a specific frequency level,
necessary to produce melody and harmony
b) indefinite pitch- consists of a cluster of frequency levels at more or less equal
volume, used in rhythmic capacity, ex: handclaps, rattles
- tuning system all the pitches common to a musical tradition, culturally
determined
- scale consists of a set of pitches, generally expressed in ascending order, used
in particular performances
- interval distance between 2 pitches
a) wide interval- one with a large difference in frequencies
b) narrow interval- relatively small difference in frequencies
- range span of pitches a given instrument or voice is capable of producing
a) wide range- capable of producing many pitches, usually larger, ex: piano
b) narrow range- capable of producing few pitches, usually smaller, ex: harmonica
c) high range- high-pitched, ex: violin, female voice
d) low range- low-pitched, ex: tuba, male voice
- melody organized succession of pitches forming a musical idea
- melodic contour the general direction and shape of a melody, typically drawn
as a graph representing the direction of the melody
- drone a continuous or repeating sound, represented as horizontal lines
- harmony represented as vertical lines
- ornamentation consists of embellishments applied to a melody, product of
improvisation
- text setting process of combining music and words, rhythmic relationship of
words to melody
a) syllabic- one pitch per syllable, ex: twinkle twinkle little star, rap
b) melismatic- more than one pitch per syllable, ex: African American spirituals

- rhythm relationship of sound durations
- beat regular pulsation of a sound, ex: heartbeat
- tempo rate, speed, ex: tempo of heartbeat increases with physical activity
- accent emphasized beat, used to indicate the underlying rhythmic structure of
a musical performance
- meter grouping of beats into regular units
a) duple- when groups of beats are divided by 2
b) triple- when groups of beats are divided by 3
- free rhythm no regular pulse, without a regular beat to follow a meter cannot
be established, usually highly ornamented, ex: speech
- rhythmic density refers to the relative quantity of notes between periodic
accents or within a specific unit of time, if the music sounds busy the rhythmic
density is high (thick); if it is relaxed the rhythmic density is low (thin)

- phonic structure relationship between different sounds in a given piece,
sometimes called texture
- monophony music with a single melodic line
- polyphony juxtaposition or overlapping of multiple lines of music
a) homophony- multiple lines of music expressing the same musical idea in the
same meter
b) independent polyphony- multiple lines of music expressing independent musical
ideas as a cohesive whole
c) heterophony- multiple performers playing simultaneous variations of the same
line of music

- dynamics refers to the relative volume of a musical sound
a) crescendo- gradual increase in volume
b) decrescendo- gradual decrease in volume
- form the overall pattern or structure of a piece of music as it unfolds in time

- oral tradition musical knowledge is transmitted directly to the student through
performance, rather than any form of written notation, musical illiteracy
- composers assumed to have the genius that leads to a works creation,
represents his ideas through graphic symbols called musical notation, which must
be played as written by performers, musical literacy
Music of the Americas and the Caribbean 2/1/2014 2:40:00 PM

Music of Africa and Europe 2/1/2014 2:40:00 PM

Music of the Middle East and Asia 2/1/2014 2:40:00 PM