Another important element of harmony is the cadence. This is a succession of chords that end a musical work or one of its sections. Most pieces of classical music end with a perfect cadence, which consists of a dominant chord followed by a tonic chord. A plagal cadence consists of a subdominant chord followed by a tonic chord. The “Amen” ending of a hymn is an example of a plagal cadence.
Harmony has been a part of Western music for more than 1,000 years. However, Western composers’ ideas about harmony have changed considerably over the centuries, particularly their ideas about consonance and dissonance. Harmony that sounds smooth and pleasant is consonant. Harmony that sounds rough and tense is dissonant. Generally, the notes that belong to the major and minor triads are considered consonant intervals, and all other intervals are dissonant.
Composers use harmony chiefly for music that has a melody and accompaniment. Some musical compositions consist of two or more melodies played at the same time. This form of music is called counterpoint.
Tone colour, also called timbre, is the quality of a musical sound. Tone colours produced by different musical instruments vary widely. For example, a flute has a smooth, bright sound, while an oboe has a more nasal quality. The differences in tone colour are due to difference in the way the instruments are made and in the means of producing sounds on them. Composers take account of tone colour in orchestration (writing or arranging music for a group of instruments). They combine tone colours just as an artist combines paints to create a picture.
Musical notation
Through the years, composers developed a system for writing down music so it could be performed by musicians. This system is called notation. Notation indicates (1) the pitch of notes; (2) the time values, or duration of the notes; and (3) expression–that is, the composer’s ideas about the manner in which the music should be performed.
Indicating pitch. The simplest way to express pitch is to use the letters A to G. This kind of notation, however, cannot show rhythm. Since the 1200’s, composers have used staff notation to express both pitch and rhythm. In this system, signs called notes represent musical sounds. The notes appear on a staff, which consists of five horizontal lines and the four intervening spaces. Each line and space represents a certain pitch. Short ledger lines indicate pitches above or below the staff.
A clef sign at the left end of the staff determines the names of each line and space. Most music is written in either treble clef or bass clef. High notes, such as those for the violin and flute, appear in treble clef. This clef is often called the G clef. It fixes the G above middle C (the C nearest the middle of the piano keyboard) on the second line from the bottom of the staff. Lower notes appear in bass clef, also called F clef. The bass clef fixes the F below middle C on the second line from the top of the staff.
Composers use both treble clef and bass clef for piano and harp music. The C clef is used in music for the viola, and sometimes in music for the bassoon, cello, and trombone. This clef fixes middle C in a position that minimizes the number of ledger lines.
A staff signature, or key signature, appears at the right of the clef sign. It consists of sharp signs or flat signs that indicate which notes should always be played sharp or flat. Each staff signature can indicate either of two keys–one major key and one minor key. For example, two sharps can mean the key of either D major or B minor.
The composer may show a change from the staff signature by placing an accidental in front of a note. An accidental is the sign for a sharp, a flat, or a natural. Any note not marked by a sharp or a flat is a natural. The natural sign cancels a sharp or a flat.
Indicating time values. Staff notation enables composers to indicate how long each note should be held. The semibreve has the longest time value of any note. The second longest note is the minim, then the crotchet, quaver, semiquaver, demisemiquaver, hemidemisemiquaver, and so on. Each time value is divided by two to find the next smallest note value.
The shape of a note shows its time value. Semibreves and minims have an open oval shape. Notes with shorter values have solid oval shapes. All notes except semibreves have stems. To indicate notes with shorter values than the crotchet, composers attach flags, or tails, to the stems. A quaver has one flag; a semiquaver has two, a demisemiquaver has three, and so on. In a series of short notes, the composer connects the note stems with beams instead of attaching a flag to each stem.
A dot on the right of a note increases its duration by half. For example, a dotted minim equals a minim plus a crotchet. Duration may also be increased by a tie, a curved line that connects consecutive notes of the same pitch. The total duration of tied notes equals that of the notes combined.
Periods of silence are an important part of a piece of music. The composer uses marks called rests to indicate silence in music. The various shapes of rests indicate their time values.
A composer groups the notes and rests in a piece of music into units of time called bars, or measures. The composer uses bars to separate measures on the staff. The way in which beats are grouped in bars is called the metre.
Metre is indicated by the time signature, a fraction that appears at the beginning of a piece of music. The numerator of the fraction tells the number of beats in a bar. The denominator tells what kind of note–minim, crotchet, quaver–receives one beat. Music with a 2/4 metre, for example, has two beats to a bar and a crotchet as the beat unit. One bar of 2/4 may have a minim, two crotchets, four quavers, or some other combination totalling two beats. A 4/4 metre, sometimes written as C, has four crotchets to a measure. Other commonly used metres include 3/4 and 6/8.
Many modern composers create irregular rhythms by changing the time signature several times during a piece of music. These composers also may use unusual time signatures, such as 5/4 or 11/16.
Another important element of time in music is tempo. The tempo tells how slowly or quickly the beat unit should be played. Composers sometimes show tempo by a metronome mark, which indicates the number of beats per minute. The musician can then follow the tempo by using a metronome, a timekeeping machine that can be adjusted to tick off each beat. Composers also may use a number of Italian words to indicate tempo. For example, the word adagio means slowly, and the word presto means fast. These Italian words are used because Italian musicians had the greatest influence in Europe during the 1600’s and 1700’s, when composers first used words to indicate tempo.
Indicating expression. To affect a listener’s feelings, music must be expressive. Composers use various words and symbols to indicate the kind of expression they want in a piece of music.
Some directions indicate articulation–that is, how a series of notes should be connected. A curved line over or under notes means that the notes should be connected smoothly. This style of playing is called legato. A dot over or under notes indicates that they should be played as short notes with silence between them. Musicians call this type of articulation staccato.
Composers use certain Italian words or their abbreviations to indicate dynamics (loudness or softness). For example, the word pianissimo (or pp) means very soft, and the word fortissimo (or ff) means very loud. Other directions, also in Italian, concern the emotional quality of the music. For example, dolce means sweetly, allegro means lively, and cantabile means songlike.
Music around the world
Western music is the music of people of European ancestry. It is the major form of music in Europe, North America, South America, and Australia. People in some Asian countries–for example, China, Korea, and Japan–also enjoy Western music. Western music can be divided into three main types: (1) classical music, (2) popular music, and (3) folk music.
Classical music, also called art music, is composed according to certain rules and performed by musicians from written music. It includes symphonies and music for opera and ballet. Classical composers have written different styles of music during different periods of history. For example, most classical music composed in the late 1700’s stresses simplicity and elegance. But much classical music of the late 1800’s is highly imaginative and emotional. Music written by great classical composers of the past provides as much enjoyment today as when it was written. See CLASSICAL MUSIC.
Popular music includes many kinds of music, such as country music, jazz, rock music, and music from musical comedies and films. Popular music, or entertainment music, is generally much simpler than classical music. However, some pieces written as popular music hundreds of years ago are performed as classical music today. In addition, many great classical composers wrote some tunes in the style of the popular music of their time. Thus, the line between popular and classical music is flexible, not hard and fast.
Country music is derived from the folk music of rural whites of the Southern United States and other American traditional music. Country music is played from memory or improvised (spontaneously varied) from an existing song. See COUNTRY MUSIC.
Jazz first became popular about 1900 among blacks of the Southern United States. It combines the complex rhythms of African music and the harmony of Western music. Jazz musicians have experimented with many kinds of instruments and styles. Most jazz features much improvisation. See JAZZ.
Rock music is a mixture of blues, country music, jazz, and American and British entertainment music. It is easier to understand than classical music or jazz. Styles of rock music frequently change, but such music always has a strong beat and a simple melody and rhythm. See ROCK MUSIC.
Folk music consists of the traditional songs of a people. Most folk songs begin in rural communities. One person makes up a song, and other people hear it and learn to sing it. Some folk songs have been passed on in this way for hundreds of years. Many composers of classical music have used folk music in their works. See FOLK MUSIC.
Asian music sounds different from Western music because the scales, instruments, and composing techniques used are different. For example, a scale in Western music has 12 notes to an octave. But the Arab scale has 17 notes to an octave, and the Indian scale has 22 notes. Such scales are called microtonal because they are made up of microtones–that is, intervals smaller than a semitone. The chief types of Asian music are those of (1) China, (2) Japan, (3) India, (4) the Arab countries, and (5) Indonesia.
Chinese music began more than 2,000 years ago. Orchestras with hundreds of musicians performed at early Chinese religious ceremonies and court festivities. Today, all Chinese plays are set to music. Peking opera, also called Beijing opera, is the most popular form of Chinese drama. It combines dialogue, music, dancing, and acrobatics.
The principal Chinese musical instruments are the jin and the pipa, two plucked stringed instruments. Chinese musicians also play bowed stringed instruments, flutes, and percussion instruments, especially bells, drums, and gongs. The basic scale of Chinese music has five notes, most commonly F, G, A, C, and D. Traditional Chinese music does not have harmony.
Japanese music was influenced by the court music of China. Japanese court music, called gagaku, dates from the A.D. 700’s. Japanese orchestras consist of shakuhachi (bamboo flutes), gongs, drums, and such plucked stringed instruments as the samisen and the koto.
Music is an essential part of Japanese theatre. The no play, a form of Japanese drama developed in the 1300’s, features solo and choral singing with accompaniment by a small orchestra. A large orchestra provides background music for the kabuki, a dance-drama.
Japanese music has no harmony but makes use of microtones and free rhythm. The basic scales are the natural minor scale and a major scale with the fourth note raised a half step–for example, the C major scale with an F sharp instead of an F.
Indian music is one of the few kinds of non-Western music that have become internationally popular. It first flourished in Hindu temples and the courts of the maharajahs (great kings) of India. A soloist sings or plucks a stringed instrument, such as the vina or the sitar. The soloist may be accompanied by a drummer and a musician playing a tambura, a lutelike instrument.
The notes of the Indian scale are arranged in various patterns called ragas. Each raga has a special meaning and may be associated with a particular mood, emotion, season, or time of day. The performer chooses an appropriate raga, plays it, and then improvises on it. See also INDIA, DANCE AND MUSIC OF.
Arab music is the music of the Arab nations of the Middle East and northern Africa. The main Arab instruments include flutes; drums; and two plucked stringed instruments, the oud and the qanun. Most Arab songs have instrumental accompaniment. However, musical instruments may not be used in Muslim worship. The chief Muslim religious music consists of calls to prayer sung by criers called muezzins and the chanting of passages from the Quran, the sacred book of the Muslims.
Indonesian music is noted for orchestras called gamelans. These orchestras consist of drums, gongs, and xylophones and are used to accompany puppet plays. Gamelan music has a kind of harmony because the instruments play different melodies at the same time.
African music is the music of black peoples who live south of the Sahara. These peoples use music in almost every aspect of their lives, especially religious ceremonies, festivals, and social rituals. Many Africans believe that music serves as a link with the spirit world.
Drums are the most important instruments in African music. Some drums are made of animal skins and may be played with the fingers. Others consist of hollow logs that the performer beats with sticks. African musicians also play flutes, xylophones, and stringed instruments. One kind of instrument, called the sansa or mbira, consists of a number of metal strips attached to a piece of wood. The musician plays the instrument by plucking the strips with the fingers or thumbs.
Most African music features complex rhythms. The musicians create these rhythms by combining different patterns of beats played on drums and iron bells or produced by handclapping. Some African songs have harmony. In many songs, a leader sings a phrase and then the chorus repeats the phrase or sings a refrain. Elements of African music appear in jazz, spirituals, gospel music, and the popular music of Brazil and the Caribbean.
American Indian music is the traditional music of the Indians of North and South America. Much of it developed before Europeans arrived in the Americas.
American Indians almost always perform music as part of an activity. For example, music and dancing play an important part in Indian religious ceremonies and such tribal rituals as rain dances and hunting dances. Indian religious leaders called medicine men sing songs as they treat the sick. The Indians also use songs in various social situations, such as courtship and trading. Many Indians compose their own songs. In the past, they said that they learned these songs from spirits that appeared to them in dreams.
Most American Indian music consists of singing accompanied by drums or rattles. Much of this vocal music uses a five-note scale–A, C, D, F, G. Some Indian groups also perform flute music.
In various parts of Latin America, the music of the Indians mixed with the folk music of their Spanish conquerors. This mixture produced distinctive types of popular music and dance.
Questions
How do composers indicate silence in music?
What is Western music? Why does Asian music sound different from Western music?
What is a staff signature? A time signature?
How do minor scales and major scales differ?
What is counterpoint?
What is the difference between tone and tone colour?
How does a musician play a brass instrument?
What is a theme? A motive?
What is the major difference between music and such arts as painting and poetry?
Additional Resources
Level I
Berger, Melvin. The Science of Music. Crowell 1989. Illustrated discussion of music fundamentals, instruments, acoustics, and recording.
Griffin, Clive D. Jazz. Dryad 1989.
The Oxford Junior Companion to Music. Ed. by Michael Hurd. 2nd ed. Oxford 1979.
Previn, Andre. Andre Previn’s Guide to the Orchestra. Putnam 1983.
Wilson, Clive. The Kingfisher Young People’s Book of Music. Larousse Kingfisher Chambers, New York, 1996.
Level II
Booth, Mark W. American Popular Music: A Reference Guide. Greenwood 1983.
Chase, Gilbert. America’s Music: From the Pilgrims to the Present. 3rd ed. Univ. of Illinois Press 1987. History of popular and classical music.
Copland, Aaron. What to Listen for in Music. Rev. ed. McGraw 1988.
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Vol 1: Africa. Edited by Ruth Stone. Garland Publishing, New York, 1996.
Geiringer, Karl. Instruments in the History of Western Music. 3rd ed. Oxford 1978.
Grout, Donald Jay. A History of Western Music. 3rd ed. Norton 1980.
Machlis, Joseph. The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perceptive Listening. 5th ed. Norton 1984.
The New Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. by Denis Arnold. 2 vols. Oxford 1983.
Stambler, Irwin. Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock, & Soul. St. Martin’s 1989.
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