More Terms

Apart from the terms associated with melody, harmony, and rhythm there are more terms that can help you to discuss music – some of them are listed and explained below. (Much of this discussion is based on Crossroads in Music, p. 31-47.)

Dynamics

When we want to talk about how loud or soft the volume of music is we refer to its dynamics. Soft dynamics is called piano and loud dynamics is known as forte.

Timbre

Different instruments can all play the same pitch (For more on "pitch" see "Melody"); however, we are able to distinguish the violin from cello and the trumpet from the French horn. How are we able to do this? “The answer lies in the fact that natural sounds are actually a composite made up of a primary pitch and a series of other pitches called overtones or partials” (Crossroads in Music, p. 32). These overtones give each instrument a unique sound, known as timbre.

Orchestration

When different timbres are combined for a band or an orchestra we call it orchestration.

Texture

Texture refers to the interplay between melody and harmony in music. If a song consist only of a melody, it is called monophonic (“mono” = one; “phony” = sound). When you are whistling a melody to yourself we can say that the texture is monophonic.

If there are more than one melody that are weaved together we refer to it as polyphonic (“poly” = many). The texture of Rossini’s “Duet for Two Cats” is polyphonic (To listen to Rossini's duet go to"Melody"). An important term here is counterpoint, and refers to a type of polyphony where the melodies are not merely combined, but plays against each other. Listen how Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand sing “Get Happy” and “Happy Days are Here Again” in a counterpoint duet.



If the music consists primarily of a single melody supported by harmony made up of fitting chords (For "chords" go to "Harmony"), it is known as homophonic (“homo” = similar; thus ‘similar sounds’). The texture of most popular music (i.e. pop music) is homophonic.

Density

When discussing the texture of music we can also describe its tonal density and rhythmic density. Tonal density refers to the number and kinds of voices and instruments that are used. Rhythmic density refers to the amount of rhythmic activity. A music’s dynamics (if it is forte, i.e. the volume is loud) will also influence its density. The timbre of certain instruments may also influence the density of music; for instance, a trumpet creates more tonal density than a flute.

Listen to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” again. Notice how both the tonal density and the rhythmic density changes throughout the song.

Form

We already touched on form when we discussed “Song Structure”. Crossroads in Music define form as “the overall design of a musical work that can be heard by the listener.” When we talk about a song's structure or form, we may use terms like repetition, variation, and contrast. Verses and choruses are usually repeated, while bridges and interludes provide variation and contrast. Listen to Dave Matthews perform “Sing Along” with The Blue Man Group.



The hook for this song is “If I sing a song, will you sing along,” but notice how the melody for the hook changes, especially towards the end of the song. There is therefore “variation” in the hook’s melody. Contrast in the song is provided by the guitar interlude. Towards the end of the song there is also a counterpoint melody that provides further contrast.

Minimalism

A final useful term when describing certain kinds of music is minimalism. “Minimalism involves using limited musical materials in a texture that features few (minimal) changes in rhythm, melody, and harmony. In practice this typically involves repeating musical ideas with an occasional change of a single feature…” (Crossroads in Music, p. 46). Electronic music, such as Techno Music, is often minimalistic. The “Ballad of Love and Hate” by The Avett Brothers (whom we listened to in a previous class) may also be described as minimalistic as it contains a lot of repetition with very little variation – it does not even have a chorus to provide contrast.