7 Musical Elements (Brief description)

Duration: Beat, pulse, rhythm, syncopation, sound and silence Dynamics: volume, directions/symbols, articulation Harmony: chords, triads, diatonic, chromatic, atonal, tension/resolution, tonality (major, minor) added note chords, chord substitutions, chord extensions Melody: phrases, symmetrical, ostinato, riffs, contour, scales used, range and register Structure: loops/ sequencing, repetition, multi-movement works, form, verse/chorus, blues, AABA, sonata form, binary form e.t.c Texture: density of sound, monophonic/homophonic/polyphonic, voicing of chords, track layering Timbre: instruments used, tone colour, sound quality, method of production and manipulation of sound sources, range, register, effects (pizzacto, arco, muted brass, gutar overdrive/distortion, vocal reverb e.t.c)

Details of the musical elements (Extended description)

Duration refers to the relative lengths of sounds and silences in music. Duration could be explored through: beat and pulse, rhythmic patterns: involving notes and rests, including duplets, triplets, ties, anacrusis, Metre such as simple and compound, regular and irregular, mixed metre, polymeter Rhythmic devices such as ostinati, syncopation, hemiola, diminution, augmentation and polyrhythms conventions associated with tempo, graphic, traditional and contemporary notation conventions associated with particular cultures and styles. Dynamics refers to the relative softness and loudness of sound. Dynamics could be explored through: Symbols, signs, directions Changes in volume, Emphasis on individual sounds (accent) Use of digital and electronic devices to alter volume and attack such as amplification and MIDI track volume preferences rticulation, graphic, traditional and contemporary notation Conventions associated with particular cultures and styles. Harmony is the vertical arrangement of sounds. It describes the ways in which combinations of sounds progress throughout a piece of music. Harmony could be explored through: diatonic harmony including triads, chords and their inversions in both major and minor keys Functional harmony such as cadences, dominant and diminished sevenths, secondary dominants Consonance and dissonance, tension and resolution, added note chords such as jazz/coloured chords, tonality, bitonality, polytonality, atonality, countermelodies, modal harmony, harmonic devices such as ground bass, passing 6/4, cadential 6/4, pedal point, track layering, accompaniment styles, modulation, intonation, graphic, traditional and contemporary notation, conventions associated with particular cultures and styles. Melody refers to the horizontal arrangement of sound. Melody could be explored through: patterns such as phrases, ostinati/riffs, sequences, motifs contour, ornamentation, definite and indefinite pitch, scales such as diatonic, pentatonic, modal, chromatic, whole tone, tone row, experimental scale forms, atonal patterns, modulation, pitch blends and other electronic forms of pitch adjustment range and register, intonation graphic, traditional and contemporary notation,conventions associated with particular cultures and styles. Structure refers to design in music arising from the combination of other musical elements. Structure could be explored through: considerations of repetition, variety, contrast, development and unification treatment of thematic material such as sampling, fugue, forms such as binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variation, strophic, through composed, verse and chorus, 12-bar blues, aleatoric, design within dramatic musical works such as opera, musical and rock opera, contemporary structures such as sequencing, multi-movement structures such as cantata, song cycles, sonata, symphony, suite, concerto, graphic, traditional and contemporary notation conventions associated with particular cultures and styles.

Texture refers to the density of sound. It is the interaction between the linear and vertical arrangement of music. Texture could be explored through: monophony, homophony, polyphony Voicing, roles of instruments and voices, sequencing, track layering, graphic, traditional and contemporary notation, conventions associated with particular cultures and styles. Timbre or tone colour refers to the characteristic sound quality of sound sources. Timbre could be explored through: sound sources (individually and in combination) such as vocal, instrumental, acoustic, electronic, computer-generated, environmental Methods of production and manipulation of sound sources, such as modifying instruments and playing them in unconventional ways, e.g. muting, vibrato, bowing, harmonics, harmonic singing, scratching, tapping Range, register, tessitura and articulation, digital and electronic altering of tones to add timbral contrast such as effects pedals, distortion, echo and reverb Graphic, traditional and contemporary notation conventions associated with particular cultures and styles.

More details can be found on the eLearning website

http://www.e-lr.com.au/ username: MCA password: Tutti