MUFHL 308Introduction to Music:Rock & Roll

Fundamentals of Music

Basic ElementsMusical terminology and Vocabulary

The three major elements of music (any idiom)

Rhythm

Sometimes you can tell a song just by the rhythm

Basic ElementsMelody

A series of notes which express a musical ideaNote - the sound and symbol for a pitch.A melody always includes a rhythm

Harmony

two or more different notes sounding at the same time.

Musical Terms

Scale

A series of pitches dividing the octaveEuropean is DO RE ME FA SOL LA TI Octave

An entirely consonant harmonyMathematics shows us that 2xs the number of vibrations results in an octave higher. These pitches, no matter how high or low, share the same note name.European Scale divided into 12 equal parts. African scales differed according to region, but none divided it the same as Europeans.Results: Traditional African scales were not playable on European instruments so Africans generally assimilated European scales with African rhythms.

Musical Terms

Measures

small equal units of a piece (composition) usually containing 2-8 beats.

Progression

Flow of harmony to a resting point

Musical Terms

Chords (harmony was 2 or more notes)

Chords have 3 or more notes occurring at the same time that have a harmonic relationship.

Improvisation

Instantaneous creation of melody harmony and/or rhythm