The raw materials of music are rhythm, melody and harmony. Rhythm refers to the controlled movement of music in time. The duration of tones, the number of times they are repeated, and the pattern with which they are sounded determines the rhythm of a musical passage. Rhythm is concerned with the duration of pitches and regulates all the relationships within a composition. We naturally hear sounds with a regular pulse, strong and weak beats, and respond to rhythm with our reflexes or physical movements.
Musical time is usually organized with a basic unit of length known as a beat; some beats are stronger than others and are referred to as accented beats. Beats are perceived in groups known as bars or measures, each containing a fixed number of beats.
Syncopation refers to an intentional upset of the normal accent; the accent, instead of falling on a strong beat of the measure, is shifted to a weak beat (for example, normal accent: ONE, two three; syncopation: one TWO three). It is one of the popular means for avoiding monotonous rhythmic patterns.
Melody is the element of music that the listener usually remembers. A melody is a succession of tones perceived by the mind as a unit, an impression of a conscious arrangement. The listener doesn't respond to tones separately, but in relation to each other within a pattern.
Harmony pertains to the movement and relationship of intervals and chords, hence the familiar do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do scale. The tones of an interval may be sounded in succession or simultaneously. A chord is a combination of three or more tones that constitute a single unit of harmony. The melody sounds above the supporting chords that provide the harmony.
Dissonance is responsible for the tension in music. It's easier to think of dissonance as restlessness and activity, consonance as relaxation and fulfillment. The dissonant chord creates tension and the consonant chord resolves it. Each complements the other, both are necessary.
A key refers to a group of related tones with a common center or tonic. The tones of the key serve as basic material for a given composition. When citing a composition in D major, the piece is based upon the family of tones that revolve around and gravitate to the tonic D. This relation to a central tone is known as tonality. When speaking of "atonal" music, one is referring to music that avoids a tonal center.
A scale is a series of tones arranged in consecutive order, ascending or descending.
The key signature at the beginning of a piece declares the number of sharps or flats that prevail in that particular composition, establishing what key it is in (C major has no sharps or flats, G major has one sharp, F major has one flat, etc.). These major and minor keys comprise the standard Western harmonic system.
The contrast between keys and the movement from one key to another is an essential element of musical structure and is known as modulation. It is one of the most important sources of variety in music.
Reading music is like reading another language. Musical notation is the result of an evolution that reaches back to antiquity. Through the centuries it adapts to the new systems of musical thought.
The procedure of variation is one of the oldest performing principles that have endured without interruption from the earliest known music to the present day. Variation is a technique by which successive statements of a theme are altered or presented in altered settings. The theme itself may vary in length. How the themes are modified depends on the type of music, classical, non-classical, jazz, popular, blues, etc. and the performers, instrumental or vocal, involved.
Arrangement can either mean the alteration of a composition from one medium to another, such as a popular song arranged for solo piano, or a string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) arranged for a full orchestra, or the simplification or elaboration of a piece, with or without a change of medium. Although the term transcription is often used interchangeably with arrangement, it tends to imply a more literal transference, rather than a re-composition or paraphrase reflecting the arranger's choices, not the composer's.
The combinations of letters and numbers that follow many, not all, compositions refer to a catalog listing. They serve to organize the works of a composer and help in establishing a chronology. Unfortunately, the available information is not always accurate, thus a higher "opus" or "catalog number" for example may actually be a much earlier piece. In any case, they do assist in accurately identifying a composition that has a generic title such as piano concerto or symphony. The most popular catalog listing is an opus number, abbreviated "Op." Others refer to the music historian, in most cases, who produced the particular catalog. Those most often sighted are: "K" numbers for Mozart (Ludwig Koechel, an Austrian botanist with immense admiration for Mozart), "Hob" or "H" numbers (Anthony van Hoboken) for Haydn, "D" numbers (Otto Deutsch) for Schubert, "RV" numbers (Ryom Verzeichnis) for Vivaldi and "BWV" numbers for Bach (Bach Werke-Verzeichnis, a thematic index compiled by musicologist Wolfgang Schmieder; originally "S" numbers were used for J.S. Bach).
The following are general descriptions regarding the standard symphony orchestra concert and various commonly used terms to describe the players. Certain works require atypical seating arrangements, and conductors often have individual preferences to secure the best balance of sound, dependent mostly on the acoustics of the performance space.
Baton: A thin, tapered stick (usually made of wood or fiberglass), used by the conductor of an orchestra or smaller chamber ensemble.
Concert: The term for a public performance of musical compositions, usually by an orchestra or chamber group, that does not require scenic representations. For a smaller scale performance, the term "recital" is usually preferred (piano recital, vocal recital, etc.).
Conducting: The direction of a musical performance by visible gestures designed to secure unanimity of execution and interpretation. The conductor beats time and indicates the entrances of the various instruments, the shadings in volume and numerous related details that serve to make clear the structure of the work. The conductor's right hand is used mainly for beating patterns that indicate the tempo of the music; the left hand is generally used for interpretive instruction (such as the relative loudness of the music, the phrasing, etc.) to capture the character of the composition and to effect the composer's direction. A conductor's facial expression and other body movements are essential in communicating his or her performance desires to the orchestra. The conductor works with a score, which consists of from a few to as many as twenty-five or more staves, each representing one or more instrumental or vocal part. In performance, some conductors choose not use a score, relying totally on memory (an astounding accomplishment).
Conductors were not necessary until ensembles began to increase in number and music became more intricate, needing broader interpretation. Modern conducting, with a lightweight baton, began in the early 19th century, but beating time to mark the rhythm goes back to the Middle Ages. In the 18th century, performances were directed from the harpsichord or early piano, or by the leading violinist. For example, Mozart directed his concertos and operas from the keyboard and Haydn presided at the pianoforte when his symphonies were performed. Many conductors in the early 19th century were violinists. Notable 19th-century conductors included Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, Hans von Bülow and Richard Wagner. Modern traditions of interpretation are realized by the conductor's own insights into the character of the work and the accepted performance practices for the particular period of music (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, post-Romantic, etc.).
Within the confines of the concert hall, conductors have a certain amount of power over the lives of the musicians with whom they work. A good conductor will hopefully make the orchestra and soloist(s) feel inspired, excited and proud to be making music.
Philharmonic: A name used by many musical organizations; its literal meaning: "music-loving" (from the Greek, phil = "loving" and harmonic = "concerning music"). Symphony and philharmonic orchestra are often used interchangeably.
"Pops" Orchestra or Concert: "Pops" is short for popular. A pops concert usually features well-known "lighter" classical compositions as well as music from the theater, films, jazz, rock, etc. (often referred to as crossover repertoire).
Chamber Orchestra: A chamber orchestra is comprised of fewer players (approximately 20 to 40 instrumentalists) than a standard orchestra.
Text (c) Lynne S. Mazza
