Lesson 01. The Music Language

Melody = a succession of sounding tones organized as an aesthetic whole.

Related issues:

• Sound System = set of principles and rules for the organization of musical sounds. Main musical systems: Modal, Tonal, Serial, Synthesis
• Musical Theme = a melodic subject of a musical composition or movement (Merriam-Webster). (Wikipedia) - a certain type of melody having a definite structure, concise dimensions; the musical theme can be developed and has an aesthetic meaning.

Rhythm = the disposition of strong (accented) and weak (unaccented) beats in a piece of music; any aspect of music having to do with time, which, since music must exist in time, means that all music is rhythmic. Rhythm means TIME / DURATION

Tempo = the pace or speed of speech and also the degree to which individual sounds are fully articulated or blurred together (Dolmetsch)

Meter or 'metre' = the organisation of music or literary compositions into units of accented and unaccented beats (Dolmetsch). Meter organizes the rhythm.

= the attribute of a sound that determines the magnitude of the auditory sensation produced and that primarily depends on the amplitude of the sound wave involved (Merriam-Webster).

= the quality of the sound made by a particular voice or musical instrument.

a) the quality given to a sound by its overtones: the resonance by which the ear recognizes and identifies a voiced speech sound

b) the quality of tone distinctive of a particular singing voice or musical instrument

(Merriam-Webster)

= the simultaneous combination of more than one melody (Dolmetsch).

= the relationship of separate independent voices (Wikipedia)

= simultaneous melodies having [almost] the same rhythm (Wikipedia)

see also the definition in Britannica

(or accompanied melody) = solo musical discourse, where an instrument or a voice is accompanied by chords or by arpeggios.

= musical complex syntax where the composer combines and creates a simultaneously or/and successively synthesis between several musical distinct levels. These levels are bounded by melody, rhythm, loudness, tempo, timbre. Beethoven used systematically the symphonism in his works, not only in the orchestral ones, but also in the piano sonatas, string quartets etc.

Ex. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 (movement 1),

Piano Sonata op. 57 Appassionata,

last String Quartets etc.

Mozart too used symphonism in his Requiem – Confutatis maledictis movement for instance.

= In music, texture is how the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a composition, thus determining the overall quality of the sound in a piece. Texture is often described in regard to the density, or thickness… (Wikipedia)

= the structure of a particular piece, how its parts are put together to make the whole (Dolmetsch)

Ex. sonata, fugue, rondo (A B A C A D A...), rondo- sonata (A B A C A B A), lied (A B A) etc.

= Music can be described in terms of many genres and styles. Classifications are often arbitrary, and closely related forms often overlap. Larger genres and styles comprise more specific sub-categories. (Wikipedia)

instrumental, vocal-instrumental, opera etc... / suite, sonata, string quartet, symphony, concerto etc. / religious, secular

and so on...

In the pre-modern tradition, the aesthetics of music or musical aesthetics explored the mathematical and cosmological dimensions of rhythmic and harmonic organization. In the eighteenth century, focus shifted to the experience of hearing music, and thus to questions about its beauty and human enjoyment (plaisir and jouissance) of music.

In recent decades philosophers have tended to emphasize issues besides beauty and enjoyment. For example, music's capacity to express emotion has been a central issue.

Since ancient times, it has been thought that music has the ability to affect our passions.

There has been a strong tendency in the aesthetics of music to emphasize the paramount importance of compositional structure; however, other issues concerning the aesthetics of music include lyricism, harmony, hypnotism, emotiveness, temporal dynamics, resonance, playfulness, and color (see also musical development).

(Wikipedia)