Within this SlideShare, I've filled it with extra music theory as it's packed with music elements that are so key to understand. I've written another educational PowerPoint to help me and others with studying music. I hope it's as useful as my other music theory slides! Make sure to comment what you think and what else you'd like for me to make in the future. Thank you. ~ Suzan G (Allowed to be shared and used but you must provide a link to the license and credit the creator/owner) <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons Licence" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a>. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

1. z
Fundamentals of
Music
Music Theory

2. z
The fundamental
elements of music
 The fundamental elements of music
are:
 Rhythm
 Beat
 Meter
 Pitch
 Dynamics
 Timbre
 Texture
 Form

3. z
What is Rhythm?
 Rhythm comes from the Greek word 'Rhythmos'
which means recurring motion. Rhythm is the
"movement marked by the regulated succession of
strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different
conditions"~ Anon. In music theory, rhythm is the
pulse of music.

4. z
How to count Rhythm?
 Rhythm is counted by the numbers 1,2,3 & 4. Usually,
there's an eighth note subdivision for each beat so, it
would have an 'and' between each beat.

5. z
How to read Rhythm?
z
 Rhythms are notated
using notes and rests
so, in order to read
rhythm in music then
you must understand
the diagrams on the left.
The note at the top
(Semi-breve) is held for
2 beats and the notes
below are halved. Time
signatures are used to
put notes together and
create a rhythm.

6. z
What is a Beat?
 A beat is a constant pulse and in music a beat is a unit of
measurement. The beat is what gives rhythm its pattern. In
composition, there's a number of 'beats per bar' which depends on
the time signature. A strong beat is a naturally accented beat
(stressed beat). A weak beat is an unstressed beat.

7. z
What are beats used for?
 Beats are used for counting time when playing or
listening to a composition. They're grouped together
in a bar/measure. The amount of the beats played
within a bar matter on the time/meter signature
which implies what type of note value is played per
bar.

8. z
How to read Beats?
 In order to read beats you must understand time signatures and note
values. Below, the 2 diagrams explain how to read time signatures
and the values of notes.
The numbers
of beats
played per
bar.
The type of
beat/note value:
4= Crotchet
2= Minim
8= Quaver

9. z
Meter
 Meter/metre in music is the natural division of rhythms
into equal sized groups. The notes in a composition are
divided using bar lines, the space between 2 bar lines
are called bars or measures. It's called a measure
because, we're measuring time through beats. The
time signature are used 'to specify how many beats are
contained in each measure, and which note value is
equivalent to a beat.' The grouping of strong and weak
beats is called meter.

10. z
Types of meter
 Below are examples of meter:
 Rhythmic meter: Below are the common time signatures.
 Simple duple (ex. 4/4)
 Simple triple (ex. 3/4)
 Compound duple (ex. 6/8)
 Compound triple (ex. 9/8)
Two-beat meter: STRONG - weak
Three-beat meter: STRONG - weak - weak
Four-beat meter: STRONG - weak - weak - weak

11. z
Pitch
 In music, pitch is how high or low sound is.
In rhythm pitch is called notes. The
sequence of notes is named a melody. 2 or
more pitches sounding together is a
harmony. Pitches are organized into musical
scales and the scales define keys. A key is a
set of notes that corresponds to a certain
scale and the key of a song piece is a group
of pitches.
Higher
Lower Higher
Lower

12. z
Dynamics
 In music, dynamics is the volume of the piece. Within a piece
notes show the pitch and the length. However, in pieces Italian
terms and signs like '<' or 'mf' show how loud or quiet to play
and when. Dynamics can refer to the contrast among parts of a
piece.

13. z
How to read dynamics?
This is how dynamic symbols
look like and how they're
placed in a piece.
These signs are shown under the staff and can vary in
size depending on which notes are being played within
the use of the symbol.

14. z
Timbre
 In music, Timbre is the
characteristics of musical sound as
in instruments or electronic music.
It's also all the different sounds an
instrument can make. Timbre allows
us to identify the contrast between
different instrumental sounds
through the quality of sound. The
word timbre is also associated with
color of tone. The shape, size,
material and use effect the sound
outcome of an instrument.

15. z
Texture  Texture in music is the consistency of sound
and how the tempo, melodic, and harmonic
materials are combined within a
composition/piece.
 The texture of music refers to the amount and
type of layers used in a composition plus how
these layers are related. A texture is either
monophonic where there's only 1 instrument
playing/singing, or it can be polyphonic where
there's more than 1. Or it can be homophonic
where the main melody is accompanied by
chords (1 line leads and other supports it).

16. z
Form  In music, form is the
structure of a musical
composition and the main
elements are repetition,
contrast and variation.
• Strophic - AAA, etc.
• Binary - AB
• Ternary - ABA
• Rondo - ABACA, or ABACADA
• Arch – ABCBA
• Sonata Form - An exposition, a
development, and a recapitulation.
• Sonata Rondo - ABA - C - ABA
Common
MusicalForms