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.
Showing posts with label Definitions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Definitions. Show all posts
Melody
The melody is often the most important part of a song. In the textbook Crossroads in Music, melody is described as “a succession of musical tones organized in a meaningful fashion” (p. 17). We can differentiate between songs because of their different melodies. Crossroads in Music (p. 17) explains that good melodies are easy to remember, but also different enough to be unique.
There are some vocabulary you need to know when discussing a song's melody. Much of the definitions below come from the textbook Crossroads in Music (p. 17-24).
Pitch
Pitch is the “highness or lowness of sound.” The keys on a piano each represent a different pitch, with higher pitches towards the right of the piano and lower pitches towards the right. Pitch and note are often used synonymously, although the meaning is slightly different.
Scales
A scale is “sequences of pitches” – a series of pitches that customarily go together. The most common scale in Western music is the C major scale, which include all the white keys on the piano from one C to the next C. In Western music there are two common scales, namely major scales and minor scales. Minor scales tend to sound sad, therefore sad ballads are often written in a minor scale. On the other hand, happy songs are written in major scales.
The most important note in the melody is called the tonic (also known as the key); for example, “C” is the tonic for a song written in C major.
A special type of scale that uses only five pitches (only the black keys on the piano) is called the pentatonic scale. Music from Asian cultures are often in the pentatonic scale. A very famous Western song that is in the pentatonic scale is “Amazing Grace”.
Melodic Contour, Motion, and Range
The contour (or shape) of a melody describes how the notes move up or down in pitch. For instance, the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” starts by ascending from C to A, then changing direction and descending again to C. Next follows two repetitions of a descending pattern (starting with G and ending in D), after which the first part with its ascending-descending form is repeated.
Notes can move up and down by stepping (conjunct) or skipping (disjunct). Stepping means that the notes move up or down one pitch at a time. Skipping means that the notes miss some pitches when the melody progress up or down. In the song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” the melody starts by repeating the same note (C) twice and then skipping upward to G, which is also repeated twice. The melody then steps one note up to (A) which is also repeated twice. Next the melodic contour changes direction and descends through a series of downward steps and repetitions. And so on.
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” has a short range. Its range only spans six notes from C to A. The range of a song is the distance between the the lowest and the highest pitch. Usually the wider the range of a song, the more difficult it is to perform. Vocalists are often praised if they can sing a wide range (very low and very high notes).
Countermelody
Apart from the primary melody, a song may have a secondary melody which is called the countermelody. Listen to the Rossini's "Duet for Two Cats" in the YouTube-video below. The first vocalist sings the primary melody and the second vocalist sings the countermelody. The piano provides the harmony.
Usually the countermelody is considered to be of secondary importance to the primary melody. Do you think that the countermelody in Rosinni's "Duet for Two Cats" is of less importance that the primary melody? Why or why not?
There are some vocabulary you need to know when discussing a song's melody. Much of the definitions below come from the textbook Crossroads in Music (p. 17-24).
Pitch
Pitch is the “highness or lowness of sound.” The keys on a piano each represent a different pitch, with higher pitches towards the right of the piano and lower pitches towards the right. Pitch and note are often used synonymously, although the meaning is slightly different.
Scales
A scale is “sequences of pitches” – a series of pitches that customarily go together. The most common scale in Western music is the C major scale, which include all the white keys on the piano from one C to the next C. In Western music there are two common scales, namely major scales and minor scales. Minor scales tend to sound sad, therefore sad ballads are often written in a minor scale. On the other hand, happy songs are written in major scales.
The most important note in the melody is called the tonic (also known as the key); for example, “C” is the tonic for a song written in C major.
A special type of scale that uses only five pitches (only the black keys on the piano) is called the pentatonic scale. Music from Asian cultures are often in the pentatonic scale. A very famous Western song that is in the pentatonic scale is “Amazing Grace”.
Melodic Contour, Motion, and Range
The contour (or shape) of a melody describes how the notes move up or down in pitch. For instance, the melody of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” starts by ascending from C to A, then changing direction and descending again to C. Next follows two repetitions of a descending pattern (starting with G and ending in D), after which the first part with its ascending-descending form is repeated.
Notes can move up and down by stepping (conjunct) or skipping (disjunct). Stepping means that the notes move up or down one pitch at a time. Skipping means that the notes miss some pitches when the melody progress up or down. In the song “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” the melody starts by repeating the same note (C) twice and then skipping upward to G, which is also repeated twice. The melody then steps one note up to (A) which is also repeated twice. Next the melodic contour changes direction and descends through a series of downward steps and repetitions. And so on.
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” has a short range. Its range only spans six notes from C to A. The range of a song is the distance between the the lowest and the highest pitch. Usually the wider the range of a song, the more difficult it is to perform. Vocalists are often praised if they can sing a wide range (very low and very high notes).
Countermelody
Apart from the primary melody, a song may have a secondary melody which is called the countermelody. Listen to the Rossini's "Duet for Two Cats" in the YouTube-video below. The first vocalist sings the primary melody and the second vocalist sings the countermelody. The piano provides the harmony.
Usually the countermelody is considered to be of secondary importance to the primary melody. Do you think that the countermelody in Rosinni's "Duet for Two Cats" is of less importance that the primary melody? Why or why not?
Hooks & Memes
The “hook” of the song, is the catchy part of the song. It is that part that you think of first when someone asks you to sing the song. The hook is usually found in the chorus, and it is sometimes also the title of the song.
Think of the Beatles’ song “Love Me Do”. Where is the hook? You’ve guessed it, it is the “Love Me Do”-part. What is the hook in the song you introduced as your favourite song?
A “meme” is a piece of cultural information that easily spreads within a community. Some short video clips on the Internet that people forward to each other are a form of memes. The phrase “Why so serious?!” from the movie Batman: The Dark Knight is a very famous meme.
Certain tunes, and often the choruses of popular music, can be a meme. Frequently the hook of a very popular song can also become a meme. Have you ever whistled or hummed a part of a song, and then suddenly a friend that overheard you starts to whistle or hum it too? That is a meme in action -- a piece of cultural information moving from one brain to another brain.
As you can see hooks and memes have a close relationship. The most famous songs are those songs that have become popular memes.
Song Structure
The lyrics (or words) of a song usually follow a structure. Different parts of the structure are identifiable, and have specific names. These include:
For more information, read Tom Zarecki's post about "Song Lyrics"
- Verses
- Chorus (Refrain)
- Pre-chorus
- Hook ("Meme")
- Bridge
- Intro
- Outtro
- Interludes & Riffs
- Breakdown
For more information, read Tom Zarecki's post about "Song Lyrics"
Metadata
The metadata of a song is the important basic information about the song’s creation. Below are short definitions of different points that form the metadata of a song. But first, what is a song? For the purpose of this course we will define “song” as the combination of music and lyrics. (Song = music + lyric).
Title
The title is the name of the song.
Artist(s)
The artist is the person or group that performs the song. Artists usually includes a vocalist (singer) and other musicians (musical instrument players).
Composer
The composer is the person or persons responsible for the initial creation of the song. Composing a song requires a lyricist and a musician. The lyricist writes the lyric. A lyric is a type of poem that is relatively short and meant for singing. (That is why our course is called “Poetry in Music”. It could also have been called “Lyrics and Music”.) The musician, in the context of composing, is the person who writes the musical notes for the song. Sometimes the lyricist and musician is the same person; while at other times it might be different people.
Arranger
The arranger is responsible for the structure of the song, and decides when the different instruments will play and so on.
Engineer
The engineer (aka sound engineer, studio engineer, session engineer, recording engineer) controls the electronic recording equipment and “mixes” or “edits” the music electronically.
Producer
The producer is the overall manager/director of the song.
Three other important terms that is also part of the metadata are intro, outro and runtime. The intro (or “open”) is the beginning-section of the song from when the music starts, until the vocalist(s) start singing. The outro (or “close”) is the end-section of the song from when the vocalist(s) stops, until the music stops. There are two types of outros; a cold ending and a fade ending. With a cold ending the music stops suddenly. With a fade ending the music fades out; i.e. the volume decreases until all sound is gone. The runtime is the total length of time of the song and is usually given in minutes and seconds.
The metadata may also include the year the song was produced, and the record label (the name of the music company that produced, manufactured and marketed the song / album), as well as the album (usually the record or CD) on which the song first appeared.
Exercise:
Listen to the song “Wonderwall” by Oasis in the YouTube-video below.
See if you can find the metadata that are missing below. You may need to search on the Internet, or if you have the album, look in the CD-cover.
Title: "Wonderwall"
Artist: Oasis
Album:
Composer:
Arranger:
Engineer:
Producer: Owen Morris
Intro: Acoustic guitar strumming; 22 sec
Outtro: Cold end; ____ sec
Runtime:
When you use the music video above to figure out the length of the Intro, take note that the music only starts at second 17 of the video. The vocals start at second 39 in the video. To work out the length of the Intro you need deduct 17 from 39 That will give you the length in seconds for the Intro. A similar principle applies for working out the Outtro and the Runtime.
Title
The title is the name of the song.
Artist(s)
The artist is the person or group that performs the song. Artists usually includes a vocalist (singer) and other musicians (musical instrument players).
Composer
The composer is the person or persons responsible for the initial creation of the song. Composing a song requires a lyricist and a musician. The lyricist writes the lyric. A lyric is a type of poem that is relatively short and meant for singing. (That is why our course is called “Poetry in Music”. It could also have been called “Lyrics and Music”.) The musician, in the context of composing, is the person who writes the musical notes for the song. Sometimes the lyricist and musician is the same person; while at other times it might be different people.
Arranger
The arranger is responsible for the structure of the song, and decides when the different instruments will play and so on.
Engineer
The engineer (aka sound engineer, studio engineer, session engineer, recording engineer) controls the electronic recording equipment and “mixes” or “edits” the music electronically.
Producer
The producer is the overall manager/director of the song.
Three other important terms that is also part of the metadata are intro, outro and runtime. The intro (or “open”) is the beginning-section of the song from when the music starts, until the vocalist(s) start singing. The outro (or “close”) is the end-section of the song from when the vocalist(s) stops, until the music stops. There are two types of outros; a cold ending and a fade ending. With a cold ending the music stops suddenly. With a fade ending the music fades out; i.e. the volume decreases until all sound is gone. The runtime is the total length of time of the song and is usually given in minutes and seconds.
The metadata may also include the year the song was produced, and the record label (the name of the music company that produced, manufactured and marketed the song / album), as well as the album (usually the record or CD) on which the song first appeared.
Exercise:
Listen to the song “Wonderwall” by Oasis in the YouTube-video below.
See if you can find the metadata that are missing below. You may need to search on the Internet, or if you have the album, look in the CD-cover.
Title: "Wonderwall"
Artist: Oasis
Album:
Composer:
Arranger:
Engineer:
Producer: Owen Morris
Intro: Acoustic guitar strumming; 22 sec
Outtro: Cold end; ____ sec
Runtime:
When you use the music video above to figure out the length of the Intro, take note that the music only starts at second 17 of the video. The vocals start at second 39 in the video. To work out the length of the Intro you need deduct 17 from 39 That will give you the length in seconds for the Intro. A similar principle applies for working out the Outtro and the Runtime.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)