Music- an art of sound in time that expresses
ideas and emotions in significant forms through the
elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.
ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
 TIMBRE (pronounced tam-ber) - is also called tone
quality and tone color. Timbre is the quality of
a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes
different types of sound production, such as voices
and musical instruments.
Vocal Timbre/music -is music made specifically
for voices.
 nasal (voice resonates through the nose)
 head voice/falsetto (light),
 chest/speaking voice (throaty),
 guttural voice(raspy/growl)
Instrumental Timbre/music- is made solely for
instruments
 chordophone (guitar, zither, violin)
 idiophone (cymbals, maracas, xylophone,
gong)
 membranophone (drums),
 aerophones (flutes)
 RHYTHM (also called the “heartbeat”)- is the flow of
music through time
fast (4 beats/second),
moderate (2 beats/second) or
slow tempo (1 beat/second)
 Tempo - is the speed of the beat, the basic pace of
the music.
 METER-organization of beats into regular groups
Regular Meter in 2 (1-2), in 3 (1-2-3), in 4 (1-2-3-4),
Irregular Meter (2,3,2,3)
 Duration-the length of time a musical sound lasts.
It is the temporal aspect of music; time. It includes:
pulse, beat, rhythm, rhythmic density, meter,
tempo
 Dynamics - Degrees of loudness or softness in
music/sound
 Pitch - is the relative highness or lowness that we
hear in a sound
 MELODY- is a series of single tones which add up to a
recognizable whole
Narrow Range (1-3 tones),
Moderate or Pentatonic(5 tones),
Diatonic (7 tones)
Wide (8 tones and above)
 HARMONY-refers to the way chords are constructed
and how they follow each other.
Major Tonality (do-re-mi-fa-so-la ti-do),
Minor Tonality (la-ti-do-re-mi-fa-so-la),
Pentatonic (do-re-mi-so-la),
Modal (combination of different tonal patterns)
 TEXTURE- is the overall sound of a piece of music
Monophony (melody alone or a cappella),
Homophony (melody with instrumental accompaniment),
Polyphony (two or more different melodies sung at
the same time),
Heterophony (similar melodies sung at the same
time or same melody but ornamented by
several instruments)
 FORM- in music is the organization of musical
elements in time. In a musical composition, pitch, tone
color, dynamics, rhythm, melody, and texture interact
to produce a sense of shape and structure. Form is the
structure of a particular piece, how its parts are put
together to make the whole.
Syllabic phrasing or Stropic (one tone per syllable),
Melismatic phrasing (many tones per syllable)
Hornbostel-Sachs classification of instruments
1. Aerophone (wind instrument)-Instruments that are
blown to produce a sound. (flute, clarinet)
2. Chordophone (string instrument)-Instruments that
are either plucked or bowed. The string that vibrates
and produces the sound. (violin, guitar)
3. Idiophone- Instruments that is struck, shaken or
rubbed. The body of the instruments are the ones that
vibrates when they are played. (cymbals, bells,
maracas)
4. Membranophone-Instruments that use stretched
skins as membranes. The membranes are the ones
that vibrate and produce sound when struck with
bare hands, use of sticks or mallets.(snare drum, bass
Drum)
5. Electrophone-Instruments that use electronic circuits
or sound amplification in order for it to work and
produce sound. (electric guitar, electric drums)
FUNCTION OF MUSIC
1. Life cycle (childhood, adulthood, love and
courtship, marriage, death)
2. Religious chant/rites
3. Work or occupational
4. Epic song
5. Entertainment (welcome song/ Festive song)
/Ager