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Rhythm (patterns of movement in time)

Historians, anthropologists, and ethnomusicologists have speculated that music originated in the beating of rhythms that were used to accompany ritual. In some cultures, music still focuses predominantly on rhythms, often very complicated ones. At times, in these cultures and even in our own, rhythmic patterns are played  alone, with no accompanying melody. For example, the rhythmic patterns of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” can be clapped without singing the melodic patterns.  In most Western music (including much of the music we will study this semester) rhythmic patterns are wedded so closely to melody as to be nearly inseparable.

In its broadest sense, rhythm is a term which refers to the organization of sounds in time. All music has rhythm (this includes the silence that is also a part of music!).  To understand rhythm, we need to understand beat, accent, syncopation, and meter.

Beat (The steady pulse that underlies the rhythm of most music)

When a beat is divided into two smaller units (or a multiple of two), this is called a duple subdivision. When a beat is divided into three smaller units, this is called triple subdivision, and so on.  Rock songs often use the duple subdivision, while swing and blues songs more often exhibit triple subdivision.

In some music, when rhythms based on different subdivisions of the beat are heard at the same time, “polyrhythms” are created.  Just remember that “poly-“ means “many”; therefore, the term means “many rhythms.”

Free rhythm: If there is no discernible beat in a piece or section of a piece, this is described as free rhythm.

Meter (pattern of accented and unaccented beats) Your ear naturally groups these beats into patterns – you hear “My Country ‘tis of Thee” in “three”, because each accented beat marks off a set of three equal beats.  This is called triple meter. “Twinkle, Twinkle” is “in two”, because each accented beat marks off a set of two equal beats. This is called duple meter. Most rock tunes, jazz pieces, and polkas are in duple meters; waltzes are in triple meters.

Asymmetrical meter - most of the music with which Western listeners are familiar is in either a duple or triple meter. However, some music is in other meters, like 5 or 7. Since these grouping cannot be divided evenly into subgroups of two or three, they are called asymmetrical meters. Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five,”  in a meter of five, is a good example. Many of the early Delta blues tunes you will hear this semester also have asymmetrical meters.

Syncopation (accents that conflict with the beat rather than lining up with the beat) If a large number of the accents fall “in-between” the main beats, the music is highly syncopated.  The horn interlude of James Brown’s “I Feel Good” is an excellent example of syncopation. Another example is the title phrase of Van Halen's "Runnin' with the Devil."  

Tempo (the speed or rate with which beats follow one another)  A “fast” piece has a rapid tempo. When the beats proceed at a regular rate, the tempo is constant, as in the ticking of a clock.  If the time between beats gets faster and slower, the tempo is said to be rubato.   If the beats get progressively faster, the tempo is  accelerating. If they get progressively slower, the tempo is decelerating.

Dynamics (the relative loudness or softness of a piece of music or passage thereof) This term refers to how loud or soft a piece, a section of a piece, of a particular note is.  Dynamic level:  The volume of a piece of music, a section of a piece of music, or  a specific musical note determines its dynamic level.

Dynamic Contrast (sudden or gradual changes in the dynamics)

Crescendo: gradually getting louder. Decrescendo (or diminuendo): gradually getting softer.

Timbre (quality of the sound)

(pronounced like “amber” NOT “timber,” which is a piece of wood) This term is used to describe the characteristic quality of the sound produced by a voice or instrument. A melody sung by folk-singer Bob Dylan will sound very different when sung by operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti.  Although they both may sing the same pitches, the sound of each voice is unique. A trumpet and clarinet have recognizable timbres that are easily distinguishable from one another; stringed instruments and drums are likewise categorically distinct in timbre. At a more specific level, one can speak of the different timbres that can be produced on a trumpet: for example, a “brash,” “mellow,” or “muted” sound. Once can also speak broadly about the timbral color of different kinds of ensembles, such as the “rich” sound of an orchestra versus the “harsh” sound of a heavy metal band. Vibrato  - a wavering effect produced by  voice or instrument that adds extra color to the basic timbre.

Texture (combination of sounds) When a melody is accompanied by chords, the result is an interweaving of sound. Melody is the horizontal strand; the chordal harmonies are the vertical strands. This interweaving of sounds is called texture. As fine or coarse threads in cloth are woven together with different techniques, so can melodies and harmonies be  arranged to produce widely contrasting results.

 Monophony (single melody)  The simplest kind of musical texture, monophonic texture, consists of a single melodic line without accompaniment. Sing any melody you know and the result is monophony. Vocal solos,  as well as solo works for instruments such as violin and flute, demonstrate artistic uses of monophony, as does mush of the music of China and Japan.

 Homophony (melody with accompaniment)  More common to our listening experience is homophonic texture, or melody accompanied by  chords. In homophony, the melody is often heard in the highest voice, but it can appear in lower voices or be taken up by different voices in turn. While we tend to listen for the melody, the chordal activity in non-melodic voices is also important.

Heterophony ( melody plus variation)

Polyphony (two or more independent melodies) In many cultures, esp. in the Western world, a number of different ways of combining  two or more voices or parts have been developed. We call music with two or more distinct  vocal and/or instrumental parts polyphonic. The majority of piano pieces are  polyphonic, because each hand plays a distinctive part. Within a polyphonic piece,  different instruments/voices perform different roles. For example, during an electric guitar solo in a performance by a rock band, the lead guitar acts as the principal melody instrument, while the “rhythm” guitar and/or keyboard provide(s) harmonic accompaniment by playing the chord progression, while the electric bass guitar provides the harmonic foundation by playing the “root” or tonic note of each chord in the chord progression, while the drums provide the rhythmic foundation.

Counterpoint/Countermelody – if two melodies are heard simultaneously, this can be described as counterpoint.

Call and response: This involves musical alternation between two individuals, two groups, or an individual and a group. Vocalists, instrumentalists, or a combination of the two may be involved. Various types are possible: imitative, responsorial (leader-group), and antiphonal (two groups). The most  common is responsorial, in the leader provides the verse and a group provides the response (which generally stays the same or nearly the same from one statement to the next).

Drone texture (Melody with drone)

A melody is performed over a constant tone.

Melody (a sequence of notes) The notes on the staff shown above represent a melody  - a succession of tones used in a meaningful way. Melody is usually the first thing we Westerners (i.e., North and South Americans and Europeans) listen for in a piece of music. It is also the “tune” that will be remembered long after the tune is over.

 - Melodic lines may be characterized by upward or downward movement, by both, or by hardly any movement at all.  A melody in which there are large distances between successive tones is called a disjunct melody. Such melodies often call for great dexterity in performance – think about how much difficulty many  people experience when singing “The Star-Spangled Banner” because of the relatively large distance between many of its pitches (resulting in a wide range of melody and requiring a wide vocal range to sing it).

A melody that moves in small steps is called a conjunct melody.  Such melodies are generally much easier to sing than disjunct ones. “The First Noel” is a familiar example.  In traditional Western music, in a very general sense, disjunct melodies tend to impart drama and energy, while conjunct melodies are capable of  sweeter, more lyrical effects.

Melodies are often described as having a contour or shape; the main types of melodic contours are ascending (the pitches of the melody become progressively higher), descending (become lower), undulating (pitches move alternately above and below a central tone), terraced (sudden shifts from one pitch level to another) and static (speech-like: little or no melodic motion at all, as in many rap tunes or the recitatives heard in operas).

Tonality  The organized relationship of pitches around a tonal center which can be defined by a particular functionality of chords and pitches.

Pitch (the relative highness or lowness of a particular note) All sounds are caused by vibrations of objects, which in turn produce vibrations in the air. But whereas the vibrations  may be random and irregular, a musical tone consists of regular, evenly-timed vibrations that recur in a pattern.

In a musical tone, the number of vibrations that occur per second determines a property called pitch.  The greater the number of vibrations per second, the higher the pitch; the fewer the number of vibrations per second, the lower the pitch.

Musical notation indicates specific pitches or tones by notes, or symbols arranged on a kind of linear ladder called a staff.

Pitches in Western music  The twelve equally-spaced pitches within a single octave, as found on a piano keyboard, are the basis of our pitch system. When played one after another in succession, these pitches constitute the chromatic scale (from which other musical scales are derived).  The “white key” pitches are given letter names: A, B, C, D,  E, F, and G. The “black key” pitches derive their names from either the white key directly above or below. They are the “sharps” and flats”.  Therefore, the pitch directly above C and directly below D can be called “C sharp” or D flat".

Scales (a sequence of pitches that make up a unit) Although there are twelve available pitches per octave, most music in the West is based on one of two types of 7-pitch scales.  The best-known patterns in Western music are the major and minor scales. Unlike the chromatic scale, in which all the intervals are the same, the major and minor scales are built on specific successions of pitches which have both smaller and larger intervals. The small intervals are called semitones and the larger ones are called whole tones. In most general terms, we say that pieces built on major scales (i.e., pieces in major keys) tend to sound bright and happy, while piece built on minor scales (in minor keys) tend to sound dark, brooding, or sad. Also worth mention is the pentatonic scale, a five-tone scale very often heard in folk tunes (especially many of the Irish tunes that made their way to the United States).

Blue notes/Blues scale  Blues, jazz, and rock musicians characteristically alter the standard pitch sequence of major and minor scales in ways that give a distinctive “bluesy” sound to their music. The altered pitches which produce this effect are called blue notes, and the musical scale produced when blue notes are incorporated is often referred to as the blues scale.   

Harmony (pattern created by a progression of chords)

A chord progression is the sequence of chord in a piece of music.  In Western music, the most important chords are usually built on the 1st, 4th, and 5th degrees of the scale on which the piece is based. A chord built on the first scale degree is known as the “I” (one) or tonic chord, is usually the first and last chord heard in a piece. The “V” (five) chord is called the dominant, because of its dominant role in creating tension that can only be resolved by the tonic. The “IV” (four) chord is called the subdominant – it tends to lead to the arrival of the dominant chord.

Chord (two or more notes played simultaneously) When two different pitches are sung together, we become less aware of their individual sounds. A composite, blended sound is heard. The nature of the sound depends on the relationship of the two tones, the distance, or interval, between them. When two or more tones are sounded together, they form a chord. Chords in which all the different pitches seem to fit together nicely, creating a “pleasant” or “settled” effect, are said to be consonant.  Those chords that are jarring, crate tension, or seem to need resolution are called dissonant. (NOTE: The distinctions between consonance and dissonance are generally culturally based.  In other words, one should be careful in using these terms to apply to ALL music, noting that conceptions of consonance and dissonance have more to do with culturally-grounded expectations than with “absolute” or “universal” standards of aesthetic judgment).

Blues Chord Progression  The most common standardized chord progression in blues, jazz, and rock and roll music is found in the musical form of the “12-bar” blues. The progression can be notated as follows (one chord symbol for each measure of the 12-measure form: I-I-I-I; IV-IV-I-I; V-IV-I-I.  Use the “Batman Test” illustrated in class to  identify this progression.

Modulation – A change in tonality in the middle of a piece.

Atonality, polytonality, dodecaphony, aleatoric music, etc.:  In much modern music, the concepts of tonality discussed so far have limited or no relevance as analytical tools, since music-makers have consciously discarded conventional systems of musical organization in favor of complex, newly-created systems or, conversely, in favor of “non-systems,” which leave the creation of music up to chance procedures of random occurrences.

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Structural Elements

Formal Structure  The large-scale organization of a piece of music, which usually involved dividing the piece into parts or sections; often these will recur over the course of a piece.

Standard forms of mainstream Western music that you will encounter in this class:

Verse-chorus form  - the standard form of most pop tunes (Elton John, Sting, Vanessa Williams). The lyrics for the verse are different, while the lyrics for the chorus are the same. The chorus usually the catchy part that stays in your head, the part you can’t keep from humming in the shower.

12-bar blues form  - the blues chord progression outlined above is repeated over and over throughout the piece. Each repetition of the 12-bar sequence is called a “blues chorus.”

Strophic: a song that contains only verses

ostinato form – a short pattern of melody/harmony/rhythm is repeated over and over throughout the piece, usually acting as a constant underpinning to a main melody or recited text. Ostinato forms are very common in rap tunes and in much non-Western music. They are also frequent in jazz, Baroque music, and many other styles.

AABA song form – most common in older-style popular songs (such as Broadway show tunes, many of which have become jazz “standards”).  The contrasting “B” section is usually called the bridge.  Each “A” section has the same melody and chords, but different lyrics.  Contemporary swing tunes often have this form.   

Hornbostel-Sachs System of Instrument Classification (1914). This system divides instruments into distinct categories according to what vibrates to produce sound.

The four main Hornbostel-Sachs classifications and examples of each:

Aerophones  trumpet  trombone  French horn  tuba  clarinet  flute  saxophone  whistle  bansuri (Indian flute)  suling (Indonesian flute)  nay (middle Eastern flute)

Chordophones  violin  cello  double bass  guitar  banjo  ukelele  harp  piano kora (African harp-lute)  berimbau (Brazilian musical bow)

Membranophones  snare drum  bass drum  tom-tom  congas  bongos  tabla (India)  kendang (Indonesia)

Idiophones  cymbal  triangle  washboard  veste froittoir  maracas (and all other kinds of shakers and rattles)  tambourine (combination membranophone/idiophone)  xylophone  mbira (African thumb piano)

Additional category:

Electronophones

    Pure Electronophones          synthesizer         digital sampler          drum machine

    Amplified electronophones          electric guitar, bass, and piano