What is the basic element of rhythm?

ATTACK/ARTICULATION: what does the beginning of the note sound like? What is the instrument struck or played with? Is the attack soft or hard?

SUSTAINED PITCH: what does the note sound like after the attack? Intensity of sound? Is there the presence of VIBRATO (a rapid variation of pitch adding richness to a sound)?

Describe Timbre with adjectives you might use to describe color, temperature, consistency, or the human voice …

Abrasive, Booming, Brassy, Breathy, Bright, Brilliant, Brittle, Buzzy, Clear, Coarse, Cool, Cutting, Dark, Delicate, Distorted, Dry, Dull, Edgy, Ethereal, Flat, Focused, Full, Grating, Guttural, Harsh, Heavy, Hoarse, Hollow, Husky, Intense, Light, Lush, Mellow, Metallic, Muddy, Murky, Muted, Nasal, Penetrating, Piercing, Pure, Raspy, Reedy, Resonant, Rich, Ringing, Rough, Round, Scratchy, Shallow, Sharp, Shimmery, Shrill, Silky, Silvery, Smoky, Smooth, Strained, Strident, Strong, Subdued, Thick, Thin, Throaty, Thundering, Tremulous, Unfocused, Velvety, Vibrant, Warbling, Warm, Wheezy, Whispered, Wooden

You don't need to be a musician to understand the basic elements of music. Anyone who appreciates music will benefit from learning how to identify music's building blocks. Music may be soft or loud, slow or fast, and regular or irregular in tempo—all of these are evidence of a performer interpreting a composition's elements or parameters.

Leading musical theorists differ on how many elements of music exist: Some say there are as few as four or five, while others contend that there are as many as nine or 10. Knowing the generally accepted elements can help you understand the essential ​components of music.

A beat is what gives music its rhythmic pattern; it can be regular or irregular. Beats are grouped together in a measure; the notes and rests correspond to a certain number of beats. Meter refers to rhythmic patterns produced by grouping together strong and weak beats. A meter may be in duple (two beats in a measure), triple (three beats in a measure), quadruple (four beats in a measure), and so on.

Dynamics refers to the volume of a performance. In written compositions, dynamics are indicated by abbreviations or symbols that signify the intensity at which a note or passage should be played or sung. They can be used like punctuation in a sentence to indicate precise moments of emphasis. Dynamics are derived from Italian. Read a score and you'll see words like pianissimo used to indicate a very soft passage and fortissimo to indicate a very loud section, for instance.

Harmony is what you hear when two or more notes or chords are played at the same time. Harmony supports the melody and gives it texture. Harmonic chords may be described as major, minor, augmented, or diminished, depending on the notes being played together. In a barbershop quartet, for example, one person will sing the melody. The harmony is provided by three others—a tenor, a bass, and a baritone, all singing complimentary note combinations—in perfect pitch with one another.

Melody is the overarching tune created by playing a succession or series of notes, and it is affected by pitch and rhythm. A composition may have a single melody that runs through once, or there may be multiple melodies arranged in a verse-chorus form, as you'd find in rock 'n' roll. In classical music, the melody is usually repeated as a recurring musical theme that varies as the composition progresses.

The pitch of a sound is based on the frequency of vibration and the size of the vibrating object. The slower the vibration and the bigger the vibrating object, the lower the pitch; the faster the vibration and the smaller the vibrating object, the higher the pitch. For example, the pitch of a double bass is lower than that of the violin because the double bass has longer strings. Pitch may be definite, easily identifiable (as with the piano, where there is a key for each note), or indefinite, meaning pitch is difficult to discern (as with a percussion instrument, such as the cymbals).

Rhythm may be defined as the pattern or placement of sounds in time and beats in music. Roger Kamien in his book "Music: An Appreciation" defines rhythm as "the particular arrangement of note lengths in a piece of music." Rhythm is shaped by meter; it has certain elements such as beat and tempo.

Tempo refers to the speed at which a piece of music is played. In compositions, a work's tempo is indicated by an Italian word at the beginning of a score. Largo describes a very slow, languid pace (think of a placid lake), while moderato indicates a moderate pace, and presto a very fast one. Tempo can also be used to indicate emphasis. Ritenuto, for instance, tells the musicians to slow down suddenly. 

Musical texture refers to the number and type of layers used in a composition and how these layers are related. A texture may be monophonic (single melodic line), polyphonic (two or more melodic lines) and homophonic (the main melody accompanied by chords).

Also known as tone color, timbre refers to the quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or instrument from another. It may range from dull to lush and from dark to bright, depending on technique. For example, a clarinet playing an uptempo melody in the mid to upper register could be described as having a bright timbre. That same instrument slowly playing a monotone in its lowest register could be described as having a dull timbre.

Here are thumbnail descriptions of the previously described key elements of music. 

Everyone loves to listen to music. Do we always know exactly what we are listening to in the music? What are all the sounds that we hear? This article will answer the question: What Are The Five Basic Elements of Music? Knowing about how music is put together will definitely enhance our listening experience. There are quite a few “elements of music,” but we will concentrate on the five basic ones.
Let’s get started!

What is Music?

Before we dive into the Five Basic Elements of Music, we need to first understand what music is. If you look in the dictionary or encyclopedia the definition is quite detailed and complex. I taught this concept for years and still prefer my simple definition. Music is “Organized Sounds and Silences.” 

Music is like a nice big vadalia onion. We need to peel back the layers of our “musical onion.” We will call these layers – elements. They set a firm foundation for developing the concepts we need to understand how music is built. Learning about these elements will make you a better listener.   

Vocabulary for the Five Basic Elements of Music

Become familiar with the vocabulary listed below. Understanding each word will strengthen your musical skills and accelerate your musicianship.

• Rhythm
• Melody
• Harmony
• Form
• Timbre
• Beat
• Meter
• Time Signature
• Pitch
• Interval
• Tone Color

RHYTHM: The Most Important Element of Music

Rhythm is the most important of the five basic elements in music because it measures movement. This is measured horizontally as it gives motion to music through melody and harmony.

It’s worth mentioning again that music is organized sounds and silence. In rhythmic notation, sounds = notes, and silences = rest. 

A beat is a steady recurring pulse. Always think of your heartbeat as this steady recurring pulse.  Without it, you might not be living. 

The word meter in music is how rhythms are organized. The symbol used for the meter is called a time signature. These are two numbers at the far left of the music staff indicating how the notes fit in a measure.

The top number indicates how many beats per measure. The bottom number indicates the notes that get one beat.  

Time Signature

Rhythmic notation is created by using a variety of notes and rest values. The names of the notes and rests are Whole, Half, Quarter, Eighth, Sixteenth, Thirty Second, and Sixty-Fourth.

Note Values represent the musical sounds in music.

Rest Values represent the silences in music.

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Learning Music Notation

The next step to learning the elements of music is music notation. Understanding how to read and write music is an exciting and fun skill to develop.

I would definitely recommend exploring the Finale PrintMusic. It is a music software program. It is a download card that is simple to use with unlimited creative avenues for you to take. The fantastic benefits of this program are:

• You learn music notation much faster.
• Create your own music.
• Hear the music back instantly.
• Print out a copy of the music you created.
  

Click the link below to get a price from Amazon.

 Finale PrintMusic 2014 for Windows (Download Card) – Music Notation Software

Melody: The Most Memorable of the Elements of Music

Next to Rhythm, the element of Melody is quite important. Often referred to as the “tune,” the melody is what you can “hum” or “sing. “ A skillfully crafted melody has the power to “stay in your head” for a long time. Therefore, it is safe to say; the melody is the most memorable of the elements of music.

The high and low sounds in a melody are called pitches. Pitches are notated on the music staff using the musical alphabet.

                                      A B C D E F G 

There are certain words that we use to understand Melody fully.

• Pitch – a certain note with an assigned name.
• Interval – the distance or space between two pitches or notes.
• Shape – describes how the notation looks and sounds. Does it have larger leaps or smaller?
• Phrase – a melody is constructed much like a sentence in a language. It is made up of related musical ideas called phrases.  
• Direction – small and large leaps in a melody are notated vertically. The rhythms of a melody are notated horizontally.

HARMONY: Chordal Structure in the Elements of Music

 Musicians and teachers study the element of music called Harmony. It is the most simple concept to understand for beginners. For serious music students, the study of harmony may take years to master.

If we were to play the note “C” on the piano and at the same time play the note E, we would have harmony.

Below are a few words to help you understand the concept of Harmony.

• Dissonance – two or more sounds played at one time that has tension and may be unpleasant.
• Consonants – two or more sounds played together and pleasing to the ear.
• Chord – the combination of three or more notes played simultaneously.
• Triads – a three-note chord.
• Major or minor keys – tonal centers.

BONUS VIDEO!

Below is a recording of the famous melody – Over the Rainbow from the classic movie – The Wizard of Oz.

The performance is by the fantastic vocal quintet – Pentatonix. Please click on this recording and get a full dose of beautiful harmony under a great melody. 

Read more about How to Listen to Music through Harmony.

FORM: The Structure of Music

We are getting a pretty good idea of What are the Five Basic Elements in Music.  Great!

From the simplest rock ballad to a four-movement symphony, all music has structure. The more elaborate and complex the music, the more structure it needs.

Form is the structure of music composition. Rhythm, Melody, and Harmony are the main elements that a composer uses to design the musical architecture of the piece. A great article to explain this important element in more detail is the Musical Form of a Typical March.

One of the most detailed compositions for a composer to write is a Symphony. A composer constructs this monumental work utilizing all of the elements available. They must first start with the basic elements of music.

Below is that familiar tune again – Over the Rainbow. Viewing this will give you an example of its Form.

TIMBRE: The Last of the Five Basic Elements of Music

As we bring this article on What Are The Five Basic Elements of Music, this element describes the qualities of musical sound. It has nothing to do with the pitch, volume, or duration of the sounds. Timbre (pronounced – “Tam – ber”) is one of the five basic elements of music and enables the listener to hear the differences between musical instruments.

The trumpet has a much different sound than the violin, for example. Furthermore, the sound of the symphony orchestra is much different than a symphonic band. The human voice is another example of different timbres. Everybody has a different sound in their voice.

The concept of Timbre in music is sometimes difficult to understand. Click on the video below and listen to a great explanation of Timbre.

The Piano Keyboard

Suppose you are interested in pursuing music as a hobby or a professional career. I strongly suggest learning the piano. The piano is the one instrument that will help you with every aspect of music. You can apply all concepts learned in music to the piano. More importantly, you can take the piano to any level you wish.

Piano keyboards are portable and very affordable. There are countless ways that people can learn how to play the piano at home. Below is a suggestion for a portable piano keyboard to use in your home for studying music. I have used this. It is a great digital keyboard for a student starting in music. It has 88 keys/ Weighted. There are assorted programmed voices installed, built-in speakers, and a power cord.

 Alesis Recital – 88 Key Digital Electric Piano / Keyboard with Semi-Weighted Keys, Power Supply, Built-In Speakers, and 5 Premium Voices (Amazon Exclusive)

Features

• 88 Key Digital Electric Piano
• 5 Pre-set Sounds – Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Synth, and Bass
• Built-in FX: Chorus, Reverb, and 2 built-in 20W speakers 

• Power adapter or 6 D cell batteries (not included)
• Powerful Educational Features – Standard, split, layer

Add To Your Library

Below is my favorite music book. American composer Aaron Copland wrote this informative guide on how to listen to music. He uses the concept of “what to listen for in music”. His book gets into the elements of music that we overlook most of the time. Great book!

 What to Listen for in Music (Signet Classics)

In Closing

As we prepare to listen to our favorite music, let’s not forget the question: What are the Five Basic Elements of Music?

These elements are important to building a good foundation for whatever you wish to do in music. Remember my simple but precise definition of music being “Organized Sounds and Silences.” One last thought to put in your head for future thinking.

 ” We hear with our ears but listen with our brain!”

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