MARY GRACE NACIONJ3A

The Elements of Music

Beat and Meter - In order to define meter, let's first define beats. Beats give music its regular rhythmic pattern. Beats are grouped together in a measure; the notes and rests corresponds to a certain number of beats. Meter refers to rhythmic patterns produced by grouping together strong and weak beats. Meter may be in duple (2 beats in a measure), triple (3 beats in a measure), quadruple (4 beats in a measure) and so on.

Dynamics - Dynamics are abbreviations or symbols used to signify the degree of loudness or softness of a piece of music. It also indicates whether there is a change in volume.

Harmony - In general, harmony refers to the combination of notes (or chords) played together and the relationship between a series of chords. But to give you a better understanding of harmony, let's first define melody. Melody refers to the tune of a song or piece of music. It is created by playing a series of notes one after another. Harmony accompanies and supports the melody. It is created by playing a group of notes (either simultaneously or as broken chords) behind the melody thus giving it musical texture.

P roperties of music

Rhythm : Rhythm is the structure of the placement of notes in musical time. To create our rhythmic fractals, we used different types of rhythmic patterns and different note lengths 

Intervals : Intervals are the distances between notes in the musical scale. These are easily measured in half-steps, which makes it very simple to create a simple fractal. 

Dynamics : Dynamics are the changes in volume during a musical piece. There are approximately 8-10 general dynamic levels which can have fractal properties. Though we did not use dynamic properties in our own fractals, they are another important aspect of the frac 

Pitch : Pitch is the sound frequency of any given note. This is an important part of creating fractals as it allows a musical phrase to be raised or lowered in its pitch in order to further an interval or rhythmic fractal

Three primary types of M usical instruments

1. String Instruments: generate a sound when the string is plucked, strummed, slapped, etc. The frequency of the wave generated (and therefore the note produced) usually depends on the length of the vibrating portion of the string, its mass, the tension of each string and the point at which the string is excited; the tone quality varies with the construction of the resonating cavity. 

2. Reed(Wind) Instruments: generate a sound when a column of air is made to vibrate inside them. The frequency of the wave generated is related to the length of the column of air and the shape of the instrument, while the tone quality of the sound generated is affected by the construction of the instrument and method of tone production. The group is typically subdivided into Brass and Woodwind instruments. 

3. Percussion Instruments: create sound, with or without pitch, when struck. The shape and material of the part of the instrument to be struck and the shape of the resonating cavity, if any, determine the sound of the 

TYPES OF MUSICClassical MusicAh yes, the music of the old days. The kind of music that most of us have forgotten, yet listen to everyday. Because most of what we hear now is derived from what the great classical composers created decades and centuries ago. We may think of classical music as what orchestras play in a giant auditorium, wearing black clothes, with a conductor frantically waving his staff about. That's a very base description of something that the composers dedicated their lives to

Rock MusicThe origins of rock 'n' roll are as foggy as the genre is popular. What I can offer you is this: the term was coined in 1955 by Alan Freed, a disc jockey from Ohio. The oldest form of rock 'n' roll (1950s) was a mixture of R&B, country and rockabilly (it was just called hillbilly music back then), only it was faster, louder and 'dangerous'. The man at the forefront of this genre was (and still is) Elvis Presley, followed by personalities like Chuck Berry and Little Richard.

BluesThe reason why blues became so popular can only be understood when you look at its time of creation. The origin of blues is too unclear to pinpoint to one artist or one year; for the sake of historic importance, it's believed that the blues music was created in the late 19th century, by the black slaves that were forced to work in the cotton fields. Blues has firm roots in African traditional music. But above all else, the purpose of making the blues is always the same: the expression of intense emotions. It is the one reason why this genre had such a profound effect on America, and eventually the world.

Jazz is the second genre born from African traditional music. It is considered to be America's first indigenous form of music. It is believed to have started after the Civil War, when the black people were free to travel and seek employment.

Electronic music is much older than you think. The first in the history of electronic music was Thaddeus Cahill and his telharmonium in 1897. Since then, composers started using the concept of electronically generated music to produce scores that were impossible to replicate by man through existing mechanical instruments.

Folk music can be broadly classified into two groups, traditional folk and folk revival. Not styles, like other genres. There is only one type - folk. The actual folk songs are something that are indigenous to a culture, popularized at events and passed down mostly orally. 

Country music originated around the 1920s, part in Southern U.S. and part in the Appalachian mountains. It comes from a combination of southern folk songs, gospel and blues music. It all started with 'Sallie Gooden' by Eck Robertson. His style was similar to what we can call country music. The genre was made famous by Jimmie Rodgers, who is also known as the Father of Country Music.

R&B, which stands for Rhythm and Blues, was a name coined due to need rather than style. During the 40s, any music created by the African-American populace was termed 'black music' or 'race music'. The term was quite offensive and therefore, stunted the growth and popularity of the artists. In order to make it sound more upbeat, Billboard reporter Jerry Wexler coined R&B, and the phrase has stuck since then.

Hip Hop. The music of hip hop is just a part of the whole culture, a very big part. The music is marked by a significant importance to the bass and the beats, with rapping as the predominant vocal art form. Which is why rap is a part of hip hop culture and therefore, its styles are also a part of hip hop music.