The Elements of Music

All music is made up of the same basic building blocks. These building blocks are called 'ELEMENTS'. Musicians can combine the elements in different ways in order to create different kinds of music.

Duration

The element of music that relates to time (beat, rhythm, metre, and tempo

Pitch

The element of music relating to the highness or lowness of a tone.

Dynamics

The element of music relating to the varying degree of volume (crescendo, decrescendo; forte [f] , mezzo forte [mf], mezzo piano [mp] piano [p])

Timbre

The element of music relating to the unique quality of sounds that allows us to distinguish between them. Also called tone colour.

Texture & Harmony

Texture describes how pitches and rhythms are combined and organized in music (e.g. the layers of sound).

Harmony describes the sounding of two or more notes at the same time (e.g. chord)

Form

The element of music relating to the structure of musical works or pieces.

Listen and describe the different elements you hear in the music.

Duration
Pitch
Dynamics
Timbre
Texture & Harmony
Form

Duration
Pitch
Dynamics
Timbre
Texture & Harmony
Form

Duration
Pitch
Dynamics
Timbre
Texture & Harmony
Form

Duration
Pitch
Dynamics
Timbre
Texture & Harmony
Form

Duration
Pitch
Dynamics
Timbre
Texture & Harmony
Form

Page updated

Report abuse