Music Appreciation: a Guide
Music Appreciation Study Sheet
Properties of Sound:
1. Pitch- Frequency of vibrations
● Overtones (makes up pitches). They are responsible for our unique voiceprint. They are located above the fundamental.
● Everyone has a unique voice print
2. Timbre- Color and quality. A tool by which we identify different voices and instruments. Very subjective- differently interpreted and heard and described. Ex: Gloomy, dark, clear, bright, harsh, rough, delicate, wide, narrow.
● Every person in the world has his or her own timbre because of overtones. Oscilloscope shows you your voiceprint.
3. Dynamics- how loud or how soft. Volume in music.
● Pianissimo- (pp) very soft
● Piano- (p) soft
● Mezzo Piano- (mp) medium soft
● Mezzo Forte- (mf) medium loud
● Forte- (f) forte
● Fortissimo- (ff) very loud
● Crescendo- becoming louder
● Decrescendo/Diminuendo- becoming softer
4. Duration- Length
Elements of Music
1. Melody- Meaningful succession of pitches; series of single tones that add up to a recognizable whole.
Phrase- Sections that make up a melody, an idea.
Cadence- Points of rest
Range- Difference from lowest to highest pitch
2. Harmony- more than one pitch; usually supports melody
Chord- when 3 or more pitches are played at the same time
Arpeggio- A broken chord. One after the other.
Major/Minor- Major sounds happier, stable. Minor is depressing.
Consonance- Stable, pleasant
Dissonance- Clash. Creates tension, which creates excitement
3. Texture- Weave of music; layers of music; melody/harmony
Monophonic- melody alone
Homophonic- melody and harmony
Polyphonic- multiple melodies at once
4. Dynamics- how loud or soft
5. Timbre- Color and quality.
6. Tempo- Speed. Basic pace of music.
● Largo- Very slow
● Adagio- Slow
● Andante- Walking pace
● Moderato; Allegretto- moderate
● Allegro- fast
● Vivace- lively
● Presto- very fast
● Pretissimo- as fast as possible
● Accelerando- Speeding up
● Ritardando- Slowing down
● Metronome- A
Properties of Sound:
1. Pitch- Frequency of vibrations
● Overtones (makes up pitches). They are responsible for our unique voiceprint. They are located above the fundamental.
● Everyone has a unique voice print
2. Timbre- Color and quality. A tool by which we identify different voices and instruments. Very subjective- differently interpreted and heard and described. Ex: Gloomy, dark, clear, bright, harsh, rough, delicate, wide, narrow.
● Every person in the world has his or her own timbre because of overtones. Oscilloscope shows you your voiceprint.
3. Dynamics- how loud or how soft. Volume in music.
● Pianissimo- (pp) very soft
● Piano- (p) soft
● Mezzo Piano- (mp) medium soft
● Mezzo Forte- (mf) medium loud
● Forte- (f) forte
● Fortissimo- (ff) very loud
● Crescendo- becoming louder
● Decrescendo/Diminuendo- becoming softer
4. Duration- Length
Elements of Music
1. Melody- Meaningful succession of pitches; series of single tones that add up to a recognizable whole.
Phrase- Sections that make up a melody, an idea.
Cadence- Points of rest
Range- Difference from lowest to highest pitch
2. Harmony- more than one pitch; usually supports melody
Chord- when 3 or more pitches are played at the same time
Arpeggio- A broken chord. One after the other.
Major/Minor- Major sounds happier, stable. Minor is depressing.
Consonance- Stable, pleasant
Dissonance- Clash. Creates tension, which creates excitement
3. Texture- Weave of music; layers of music; melody/harmony
Monophonic- melody alone
Homophonic- melody and harmony
Polyphonic- multiple melodies at once
4. Dynamics- how loud or soft
5. Timbre- Color and quality.
6. Tempo- Speed. Basic pace of music.
● Largo- Very slow
● Adagio- Slow
● Andante- Walking pace
● Moderato; Allegretto- moderate
● Allegro- fast
● Vivace- lively
● Presto- very fast
● Pretissimo- as fast as possible
● Accelerando- Speeding up
● Ritardando- Slowing down
● Metronome- A