Year 7 - RevisionElements of MusicThe most important elements of music are dynamics, tempo, pitch, timbre, duration, texture and structure. These elements help us to create contrast in our music so that it sounds interesting.

Dynamics – this is how loud or quiet the music is. We have already learnt that loud is represented by the Italian word forte ( f ) and quiet is represented by the Italian word piano ( p ).There are other dynamics too. When something is very loud it is Fortissimo ( ff ).Very quiet things are described as Pianissimo ( pp ).

Tempo – this means the speed of the music, how fast (Presto) or slow (Lento) it is.

Pitch – this is how high or low the sound is. For example, a lady has a high-pitched voice,and a man has a low-pitched voice.

Timbre (said tam-bre) – this is the type of sound. For example, the difference between a‘cello and a piano, or a voice and a drum.‘cello and a piano, or a voice and a drum.

Duration – this is the length of a sound and can be long or short.

Rhythm – this is the beat of the music. It is most obvious when playing a percussioninstrument which does not have a tune. This is a very tricky word to spell so remember,R-H-Y-T-H-M – rhythm has your two hips moving!

Texture – this is the number of sounds happening at the same time. A Choir which has everyone singing different parts at once would have a Thick texture, a solo voice would have a Thin texture.

Structure – this is how the music is organised, how it is laid out. For example, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has three parts, where the beginning and end are the same:-1. Twinkle, twinkle, little starHow I wonder what you are2. Up above the world so highLike a diamond in the sky3. Twinkle, twinkle, little starHow I wonder what you are

Graphic ScoresGraphic Scores

We can use pictures and symbols to represent sounds.

Getting higher in pitch

Getting lower in pitch

Sounds getting longer in duration

Stave

5 Lines on which music is written

Treble Clef

Shows whereShows wherethe highnotes areon the stave

Bass Clef

Shows wherethe lownotes areon the stave

Quaver

½ beat

Crotchet

1 beat

fold

Minim

2 beats

Semibreve

4 beats

fold

Rhythm Chart – Length of sounds

Semibreve 4 beats Whole note

Minim 2 beats Half note

Crotchet 1 beat Quarter note

Symbol Rest Name Length American Name

Quaver ½ beat Eighth note

Semiquaver ¼ beat Sixteenth note

Notes written below the middle line have tails going upwards and notes above the middle line of the stave have tails going downwards

When two quavers are together they join ‘flags’ so

becomes

When a ‘dot’ is written after a note it increases the value of the note by half of it original value

ry

= 1 + ½ = 1½ beats

= 2 + 1 = 3 beats

To help us remember the names of the notes we can divide them into

Notes on the spaces

F A C E

E G B D F

Notes on the lines

very reen us rives ast

Treble Clef

A ll Cows Eat Grass

Notes in SPACES

A ll Cows Eat Grass

Bears Fear

Grizzly Don’t Anything

Notes on LINES

D E F G

Middle C

F G A B

2

Music is divided up into BARS using BAR LINES (lines across the STAVE)

The number of beats in each BAR is shown by the TIME SIGNATURE

A TIME SIGNATURE is two numbers, one over the other

The top number shows us thenumber of beats in each BAROften this is 2, 3 or 4 beats in a BAR

4The bottom number shows thetype of beat

When the bottom number is 8 we are using QUAVER BEATSWhen the bottom number is 4 we are using CROTCHET BEATSWhen the bottom number is 2 we are using MINIM BEATS

22

Two beats in each BAR

3 Three beats in each BAR

Minim beats

Means we must have the equivalent of 2 minims in each BAR

34

48

Four beats in each BAR

Crotchet beats

Quaver beats

Means we must have the equivalent of 3 crotchets in each BAR

Means we must have the equivalent of 4 quavers in each BAR

24

Top number tells us how many beats in a bar

A March has 2 beats in a bar

The Numbers at the start of a piece of music tells us how many of what kind of beat each bar contains Time Signature

34

Top number tells us how many beats in a bar

A Waltz has 3 beats in a bar

how many of what kind of beat each bar contains Time Signature

In year 7 we perform music on the Glockenspiel

It has the same layout of notes as the Keyboard and the Piano

C D E F G A B C D E

These notes repeat

C D E F G A B C D E

Semitone Tone

We use the word SEMITONE to describe moving the smallest distancebetween two notes or one step

The distance between the E and the F on the Keyboard is called aSEMITONE

We use the word TONE to describe moving two steps(or two SEMITONES)

The distance between A and B on the Keyboard is called a TONEThis is because there is another black note in between the A and B

Semitone Tone

The sharps and flats are the names given to the BLACKnotes on the Keyboard or the second row of bars on theGlockenspiel

Sharps and Flats (second row)

C D E F G A B C D E

Sharps and Flats (black notes)

Towards the left

Lower in pitch

Towards the right

Higher in pitch

We name SHARPS and FLATS using the names of thenotes that they are next to.

� Sharp - raises the pitch of a note by one semitone

♭ Flat - lowers the pitch of a note by one semitone

� Natural - cancels a previous sharp or flat

C# D# F# G# A# C# D#

C D E F G A B C D E

We can see that the black notes on the keyboard are betweentwo white notes. If the black note is Higher than the white we use the Sharp nameIf the black note is Lower than the white we use the Flat name

or or or or or or or

D♭ E♭ G♭ A♭ B♭ D♭ E♭

So we can see that all black notes have two names!

When writing music on the stave we put the sharp or flat in frontof the note we want to change

� �

♭ �

Percussion = RedBrass = YellowWoodwind = GreenStrings = Blue

There are four sections in an Orchestra

Pic

colo

Nam

e m

eans

sm

all i

n Ita

lian

Tra

nsve

rse

= p

laye

d si

dew

ays

Hig

hest

in p

itch

Flu

teU

sual

ly m

ade

from

Silv

erT

rans

vers

e =

pla

yed

side

way

s

Obo

eD

oubl

e R

eed

Larg

er v

ersi

onca

lled

aC

orA

ngla

is

Cla

rinet

Sin

gle

Ree

dM

ade

from

woo

d

Bas

soon

Dou

ble

Ree

dLo

wes

t in

pitc

h

The

Wo

od

win

dS

ectio

n

Vio

linH

ighe

st in

Pitc

hN

umbe

r of

str

ings

= 4

Arc

o= B

owed

Piz

zica

to=

Plu

cked

Vio

laT

imbr

e W

oody

/Mel

low

Num

ber

of s

trin

gs =

4A

rco=

Bow

edP

izzi

cato

= P

luck

ed

Vio

lonc

ello

or

’cel

loP

laye

r is

sitt

ing

N

umbe

r of

str

ings

= 4

Arc

o= B

owed

Piz

zica

to=

Plu

cked

Dou

ble

Bas

sP

laye

d up

right

Num

ber

of s

trin

gs =

4A

rco=

Bow

edP

izzi

cato

= P

luck

ed

The

Str

ing

Sec

tion

Per

cuss

ion

Sec

tion

Per

cuss

ion

desc

ribes

sou

ndm

ade

whe

n w

e hi

tso

met

hing

The

re a

re T

WO

type

s

We

call

them

TU

NE

Dan

d U

NT

UN

ED

We

can

play

a m

elod

y on

T

UN

ED

per

cuss

ion

an e

xam

ple

is a

Xyl

opho

ne a

nd a

G

lock

ensp

iel

Tim

pani

orK

ettle

Dru

mT

UN

ED

Sna

re D

rum

Ofte

n pa

rt o

f aD

rum

Kit

UN

TU

NE

D

The

Bra

ssS

ectio

n

Tru

mpe

tU

ses

lip b

uzzi

ngto

mak

e so

und

Has

3 v

alve

sH

ighe

st in

pitc

h

Tro

mbo

neH

as N

O v

alve

s bu

t us

es a

slid

e to

cha

nge

pitc

hC

hang

e so

und

usin

g m

ute

Fre

nch

Hor

nH

as 3

val

ves

Cha

nge

soun

d us

ing

hand

or

mut

e

Tub

aLo

wes

t and

Larg

est i

nstr

umen

tH

as 3

val

ves