Some Music Theory Insight

Here are some notes on the 'Aesthetics of Music' as researched in the book by R.Scruton, 1997.

It was written by Aaron Copland that music has four essential elements: rhythm, melody, harmony and tonal colour, leaving out pitch and instead imports 'tonal colour' which is routed in the character of sound rather than the organisation.

So what are the meanings, features and uses for these terms:
Pitch first of all is produced by and from the point of view of physics, reducible to a vibration. Audible pitches extend from 60beats per second to 3000 or more.

Rhythm has several importan variables in rhythmic organisation.

The beat us the pulse of a rhythm, comparable to that of a heartbeat. The beat must take into account the time signature of the piece of music (number of beats and value per measurement). These beats can be played either as a downbeat or upbeat, the downbeat producing a relatively clear sound, the upbeat on the other hand is clearly heard as a melodic event often providing a 'leading into melody' sound.

Grouping of notes - these may be quavered, crotchet, semi quavered groupings to provide a constant rhythm.

Accent - is a rhythmic emphasis that may fall on or off the beat. The difference between an accented and a non accented note being the level of attack used.

Tempo - how many beats per minute

Simple and Compound rhythm - Simple = 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 2/2, 3/2, 4/8 etc.
Compound = 9/8, 12/8 etc.

Melody is a musical phrase of notes in predominant succession.

Melodies may occur as an accompanying figure that becomes predominant or gradually permeates the the melodic line until it becomes a part of it.

Motifs, phrases and melodies may stand out more or less vividly from the surrounding music not because of their loudness or timbre but simply as the capture the listeners attention.

counterpoint depends on the composers ability to switch our attention from part to part whilst maintaing an even texture.

Harmony is the coming of two or more melodic events or notes played together.

Tonal colour relates to how instrumentation/pitch/notes sound together, how a melody sits between other melodies and how instruments may interact with one another.

Have a grasp of what each of these elements mean and how they may be used on their own and together provides great advantages to a composer. Knowing how a rhythm works enables the tools to manipulate a rhythm without a disjointed motion occurring. Just as with melody, knowing that melodies can sit together in harmony or counterpoint opens up further compositional choices for how the composer wishes the listener to hear the melody, whether that is instantly or becoming a predominant feature over some time.