Music

Music is the vehicle of the universe. Whatever has a life of its own, has music. Be it the sound of waves or the chirping birds or the roar of a tiger. All of these are elements of sound and music within our cosmos. And we humans can only hear a limited subset of the complete sound spectrum. 

If you consider dogs, for example, they can hear infrasonic sounds as well (sounds in the frequency range < 20Hz). Given this and the great gift of musical instruments and voices bestowed upon us by our ancestors, we are in a position to principally blend all these sounds into what defines music - that which evokes, that which moves and that which transports us. Consider, for example, content like ads, short films, documentaries, videos and feature films. While there are a lot things at play in each of them, the prime mover for the audience is the emotive shifts portrayed succinctly by the background music. As such, the whole visual medium has music as its vehicle for the audience to move, sob, smile, exalt and enjoy! For a musician, it's a language of the soul, a connect with the sub-conscious and the inner-self. For me as a musician, creation of a musical piece is nothing short of divine experience - something that I am merely a channel for. It's cathartic to say the least, subtle yet powerful in its ability to express what

Music is an art form and cultural activity whose medium is sound organized in time. In general definitions of music will include common elements such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture. Different styles or types of music may emphasize, de-emphasize or omit some of these elements.

Music is a collection of coordinated sound or sounds. Making music is the process of putting sounds and tones in an order, often combining them to create a unified composition. People who make music creatively organize sounds for a desired result, like a Beethoven symphony or one of Duke Ellington's jazz songs. Music is made of sounds, vibrations and silent moments, and it doesn't always have to be pleasant or pretty. It can be used to convey a whole range of experiences, environments and emotions.

Music includes works played by jazz bands jazz band

Almost every human culture has a tradition of making music. Examples of early instruments like flutes and drums have been found dating back thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians used music in religious ceremonies. Many other African cultures have traditions related to drumming for important rituals. Today, rock and pop musicians tour and perform around the word, singing the songs that made them famous. All of these are examples of music.

Terms Related to Music

To better understand how music is made, let's discuss some important musical terms.

If you can sing the tune of a favorite song, you've experienced melody. Melody is the series of coordinated pitches that form the main line of a tune. Think about it as the primary voice in a musical work. And when we speak of 'voice' in this way, it might be a human voice or an instrumental one.

Example of a percussion ensemble from China. In this ensemble, the main voice would be performed on a percussion instrument. Percussion ensemble

When you hear a work, the melody stands out. But sometimes other sounds or voices help support it and make the music more complex. Harmony refers to multiple lines of musical notes that are subordinate to the melody and complement it. You can hear the harmony, but it's not as prominent as the melody. Harmony is often formed by a series of chords, three or more notes played at the same time.

Another important element of music is rhythm, the repeated patterns of movement in sound. Basically, rhythm is the placement of sound in time. It involves specific units of sounds arranged as beats. Also important to rhythm is the idea of tempo, the speed at which the beats are performed.

Music also has many terms that describe how it should be played or sung. These include words like allegro, which means quick and lively, and largo, which means slow. Other terms give instructions for loud or soft or bold or calm, or even suggest how specific notes should be emphasized. All of this helps to create a desired end result.

Characteristics and Types of Music

All music tends to share certain characteristics. Most includes the elements discussed above, like melody, harmony and rhythm. Music is also often collaborative, involving more than one person in its performance. It commonly builds in tempo, volume, energy over the course of a piece. A good way to illustrate this is to think of your favorite song. Does it begin soft, low, or slow and build to a more dramatic finish? Or does it begin with a loud flourish all at once?

Music is made with endless combinations of instruments, voices, and sounds, often produced by bands or ensembles. For example, an orchestra is an instrumental group that includes large sections of string, brass, woodwind and percussion instruments. Instrumental music also includes small ensembles like brass quintets; jazz trios of piano, string bass and drums; or percussion ensembles that include a range of percussion like drums, bells, and rattles.

Definition and main elements

Many authors define music as an organized combination of sound and silent moments. Let’s look at an example. A car alarm transmits sound and silence in in organized way, but would anyone call this noise music? So, what is missing? Why isn’t a car alarm music?

In a more teachable and all-embracing definition, music is created by a flowing composition of melody, harmony and rhythm.

What is melody?

Melody is the “singable” flow of sound. It is the “main voice” that stands out from everything else.

What is harmony?

The overlapping notes that serve as a base to the melody are the harmony. For example, a person playing the guitar and singing is making harmony with the chords in the guitar and creating the melody with his/her voice. Chords are an overlap of many notes that complement the melody and are called the harmony. We will examine chords later.

Observation: The melody is not necessarily composed by only one voice. It is possible to have two or more voices, although this situation is less frequent. To better understand the relationship between melody and harmony, think of a ship moving across the ocean. The ship (the harmony) serves as the base and support for the people, (the melody). Together, they both get safely and pleasurably across the water.

What is rhythm?

Rhythm is the beat of time through the music. Just as the watch marks hours, the rhythm  leads us at a certain pace through the song.

Each one of these subjects will be studied individually. A deeper knowledge of all the resources available to create music allows us the luxury of unlimited manipulation in creating the “sound” and “silent” flow of sound that is interesting to our ears. Here in Simplifying Theory you will learn how to understand the tools you need to create the music you feel inside you!