0.2 Chapter 1: elements of music  (Page 4/6)

Pitch, like temperature, is a sliding scale of infinite gradations. All theoretical systems of music organize this pitch continuum into successions of discrete steps analogous to the degrees on a thermometer. And just as the Fahrenheit and Celsius systems use different sized increments to measure temperature, different musical cultures have evolved distinctive pitch systems. The conventional approach to classifying pitch material is to construct a scale , an arrangement of the pitch material of a piece of music in order from low to high (and sometimes from high to low as well). Each element of a scale is called a “step” and the distance between steps is called an interval . Most Western European music is based on diatonic scales—seven-tone scales comprised of five “whole steps” (moderate-size intervals) and two “half steps” (small intervals). The position of the whole and half steps in the ascending ladder of tones determines the mode of the scale. Major and minor are two commonly encountered modes, but others are used in folk music, in Western European music before 1700, and in jazz. Another important scale type particularly associated with music from China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian cultures is pentatonic , a five-note scale comprised of three whole steps and two intervals of a step and a half.

The starting pitch of a scale is called the tonic or keynote. Most melodies end on the tonic of their scale, which functions as a point of rest, the pitch to which the others ultimately gravitate in the unfolding of a melody. Key is the combination of tonic and scale type. Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is in C minor because its basic musical materials are drawn from the minor scale that starts on the pitch C.

A succession of musical tones perceived as constituting a meaningful whole is called a melody . By its very nature, melody cannot be separated from rhythm. A musical tone has two fundamental qualities, pitch and duration, and both of these enter into the succession of pitch plus duration that constitutes a melody.

Melody

Melodies may be designed like sentences, falling into clauses, or phrases . Indeed, in composing vocal music, composers generally design melodies to parallel the structure and syntax of the text they are setting. The termination of a musical phrase is called a cadence . A full cadence functions like a period, punctuating the end of a complete musical thought. A half cadence is analogous to a comma, marking a pause or intermediate point of rest within a phrase. The refrain of Jingle Bells , for example, contains four phrases with three half cadences and a concluding full cadence: