So, I know this is kind of out of order, since Lesson Two has yet to be posted, but I was digging through my old music notes, and I came across my 6th grade notes on this, so I figured I would type it up now.

Anyway, today we are going to talk about the six characteristics of music. It is fairly basic, but I figured we would start out small and build up.

Music is defined as "the art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre." Another, much simpler definition is "organized sound."

However, as most of us know, music is not just a person singing random notes, nor is it random rhythms. If it was, would anyone listen to it? It would be really, really boring, or in some cases, painful. In the music we hear on the radio, there are multiple parts, specific rhythms, and melodies meant to evoke a certain emotion. Music is built from rhythm, melody, harmony, form, tone, and expression.

1. Rhythm can be defined as simply "the beat" of a song. Rhythm holds a piece of music together. The types of notes that Rose showed you in Lesson One are the units frequently used to measure rhythm. Eighth notes are worth 0.5 beats, quarter notes are worth one beat, dotted quarter notes are worth 1.5 beats, half notes are worth two beats, dotted half notes are worth three beats, and whole notes are worth four beats. There are also rests, which are spaces in the music where nothing is played, and just as there are quarter notes and eighth notes, there are quarter rests and eighth rests.

2. Melody is the tune of the song, usually the main part which we all know and love. The melody of a song is made up of pitches, and each pitch has a specific notation on the staff. The notes go in order from A-G, as is shown below.


This in particular is called the grand staff, and those who play piano usually use this particular notation. Violins and other higher instruments usually only use the top part (treble), and lower instruments usually use the top part (bass). However, there are other staffs, such as the one used by viola players (alto, I believe... correct me if I am wrong).

3. Harmony is when two notes are played together--it is common in most popular music today to have multiple parts, whether both are vocal, or one is vocal and another is instrumental. Harmony, while not a necessity, is common, because it adds a lot to the sound of a song. It makes a particular song sound more complex and more interesting.

4. Form is the "shape" of the song, and is the way that it develops. Often in songs today, there is a refrain, or a "hook" that repeats itself, and there are verses, which often sound similar, but have different lyrics. There can also be parts of the song which are called "bridges" which help transition from the verse into the refrain of the song. Form is all about how these pieces fit together.

5. Tone is the quality of sound in a musical composition. Often when you think of various instruments, you think of a different tone. While a flute is often sweeter sounding, a guitar (depending on whether it is acoustic or electric) might sound rougher.

6. Expression is the part of a song that gives it its "mood". Expression refers to the tempo of a song (how fast or slow it is), the dynamics of a song (how loud or soft it is), and the style it is played in. Expression makes such a big difference in the sound of the music--faster songs which are louder often create more energy and excitement, while slower and softer songs can often create a more relaxing or more somber song.

These six different aspects of music make it more interesting and complex, adding qualities that make it special and unique. By changing any one of these aspects, you change the sound of of a song.

Anyway, I think that is about it If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

-Kat

O.O AWESOME LESSON KAT! congratz, now we just wait for Sho to post lesson two