13) Music Concepts and Terms

You will need to revise and learn the following music concepts and terms to analyse the film music excerpt used for your task 2.

PITCH- refers to the highness or lowness in sound.

Melody-is a combination of pitch notes played one after the other that sound prominent.

Contour of melody-Moving in steps, leaps, jagged, static

Movement of melody- Ascending, Descending, Stagnant-sustaining

Contrary motion- 2 melodies/harmonies moving in opposite direction. here

Similar motion- Melodies/harmonies moving in the same direction. here

Counter melody- a second melody playing at the same time as the main. here

Tonality: is what defines the pitch arrangements. The pitch arrangements are usually in a scale, which is a sequence of notes. It is also known to be called the 'tonal centre' or 'home key'.

Major: Sounding bright and happy. here

Minor: Sounding dark and sad, mysterious. here

DURATION

Refers to the length of sound or silence. It includes aspects of:

- Note values and rests

- Tempo

- Time signature/ Meter

- Beat

- Rhythmic devices

1) BEAT- is a regular pulse in the music that makes us tap our feet. The emphasis on certain beats would determine the meter, for example If there are 4 beats to a bar and the 1st and 3rd beats are stressed that

would make it quadruple time.

a) Strong Beat- provides a sense of drive and direction. Music with a strong beat makes it easy for the listeners to tap, dance or clap.

Example: Daft Punk 'One more time' -There is strong beat on the 2nd and 4th beat.

Listen from 0:40-1:00 here

b) Weak Beat- provides a slight emphasis on the first beat of each bar. It is not as definite or strong as the example above. It gives the listeners some sense of structure and direction.

Example: Schubert's 'Serenade'- There is a slight emphasis on the first of every 3 beats. Listen 0:00-0:30 here

Time Signature- is usually placed at the beginning of a piece and are represented by 2 numbers. here

- Top number: Tells us how many beats there are in a bar (group).

- Bottom Number: Tells us what the value of the beats are.

2) RHYTHM- is a pattern of long and short sounds and rests (silence). It consists of note values below.

a) Note Values-are symbols that represent the length of the notes and silences. here

Reference: here

3) RHYTHMIC DEVICES

Repetition- a pattern that is repeated throughout the piece.

Example: The theme is repeated in Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker Act 2 No.12' 0:00-0:25 here

4) TEMPO- is the speed of music. It indicates how fast or slow the music is played.

Here are some Italian musical terminologies to learn:

Dynamics- Refers to the volume of music.

In Western Music, the musical terms for the varying dynamics are:

Pianissimo- Very Soft

Piano- Soft

Mezzo- Medium

Forte- Loud

Fortissimo- Very Loud

Two varying volumes:

Crescendo- Gradually getting louder

Decrescendo- Gradually getting softer

Expressive Techniques-

Refers to how an instrument is played to create sound.

Below, are families of the orchestra exploring various methods of playing to create a different sound (tone colour).

1. String here

2. Woodwind here

3. Vocal here

4. Brass here

TEXTURE: refers to the varying layers of sounds (instruments).

Examples of varying layers:

Thin: Violin and cello

Medium: Piano, bass/electric guitar, drums and vocals.

Thick: All the instruments of the orchestra playing at the same time.

Using the musical concepts and terms above, you can now analyse your chosen film music excerpt.