week 1

dynamics

AMPLITUDE is the physical measurement of levels of loudness and softness in sound, and, in music, the psychological term used to describe gradations of amplitude is

Timbre

(Harmonic Profile) is the quality of a sound or sonic event.

pure sine wave.

A sound wave without any harmonic content is called a

Most World music

cultures recognize the music interval known as the octave and most divide the octave into sub-intervals that comprise the particular pitches for the scales unique to each World culture.

Scale

may be defined as the number of pitches that divide an octave and the intervals between those pitches.

meter

If a steady beat is played with an accent (a longer and/or louder note) superimposed over the beat every second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth beat the musical effect that is produced is called

periodic aspect

Measures of music have a periodic aspect to them in that they are repeated one after the other.

accent and periodicity

Meter involves two other properties of music --

regular meter

Most music is metered with periodic beats called

phrase

Music consists of a series of measures linked together to form a phrase much the same as a series of words are linked together to form a sentence.

Form

Music is traditionally arranged in forms. Form is the entire body of the "musical event" which has a beginning and an ending. A complete "form of music" is called a composition, piece or a work. These terms are used interchangeably by musicians and others who speak and write about music.

pitch, tone, or note (all three words are interchangeable).

Sound may be measured by the number of vibrations per second or cycles-per-second (cps), also known as Hertz (Hz) produced by the vibrating body. If the vibration is steady (for example, 440 Hz), the musical effect produced is known as

sound waves or sound wave forms.

Sound vibrations are also known as

irregular meter.

Some music features meter comprised of patterns of beats of different lengths called

Tempo/rate of speed

Tempo (an Italian word) identifies the rate of speed of the beat of music and is measured by the number of beats per minute.

interval.

The "distance" between two pitches is known as an

regular/irregular

The beat of a meter may be regular (patterns with the same lengths), or irregular (patterns with different lengths).

downbeat.

The first beat in a unit (louder and/or longer) is known as the

amplitude.

The intensity (loudness or softness) of a sound is known as

meter.

The process of patterning beats with a stressed, accented beat (a louder and/or longer sound in comparison to other surrounding sounds) followed by a series of weaker beats is called

downbeat.

The stronger accented beat of a pattern (the louder or longer one) is called the

metronome.

There is a machine known by the term metronome which emits a steady short "click" or flash that may be adjusted to various rates of speed (tempi), thereby indicating at what speed (how fast or slow) a composition should proceed.

duple meter

Two patterns of two-beat meter (duple meter) are counted 1-2 | 1-2 (the "|" mark separates one group of two and the "_" mark represents an accent of loudness or length).

melody harmony

A series of different pitches with one following the other in time creates the basic musical element of Producing different pitches all of which occur at the same time creates the basic musical element of

measure or bar.

A downbeat delineates one unit of meter which is known as a

agogic accent.

An accent of length is called an

dynamic accent.

An accent of loudness is called a

quintuple meter

Five patterns of five-beat meter (quintuple meter) are counted 1-2-3-4-5 | 1-2-3-4-5 | 1-2-3-4-5 | 1-2-3-4-5 | 1-2-3-4-5.

quadruple meter

Four patterns of four-beat meter (quadruple meter) are counted 1-2-3 4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4.

A definition of music

Music may be defined as the organization of sounds in time (MUSIC - 1. Organized sound (New: 1940s), 2. The art of organizing sound so as to elicit an aesthetic response in a listener (from 1700 to present), 3. Aesthetically pleasing or harmonious sound, 4. "Sound that moves the human soul" - Christopher Hogwood). Natural sound sources derive from musical objects fashioned by humankind. Synthesized sound derives from electronic instruments. A philosophical position may be taken that "music" is not made by sound sources such as animals, waterfalls and others, although such sound may be considered to be music if a more liberal philosophical position is adopted.

measure.

One single pattern of any meter (for example, 1-2-3 4 of 1-2-3 4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4 | 1-2-3-4) is known as a

Musical instruments

also possess a unique harmonic profile and individuals discern the difference between musical instruments by their unique tone quality. All musical instruments of the same family have the same general tone quality.

Meter

is a result of the periodic effect of pulse (or beat) in music.