Choose a piece of music that is of major significance to your life and, using relevant details from \”basic elements of music\” (harmony, rhythm, tone, melody, dissonance, silence, lyrics), discuss at least three kinds of musical features define this piece musically and help make it special for you. Based on these elements, would you recommend that others should think this is a special piece? Why?

Follow the instructions

1- Your response should be in your own words

2- Include song title/ artist

3- Choose a piece of music that is of major significance to your life and, using relevant details from \”basic elements of music\” (harmony, rhythm, tone, melody, dissonance, silence, lyrics), discuss at least three kinds of musical features define this piece musically and help make it special for you. Based on these elements, would you recommend that others should think this is a special piece? Why?

Music may be defined as the deliberately shaped sound between silences. The better the shape, the more pleasing the sound. Like other forms of art, the most excellent forms of music enrich our lives environment.

Review the music terms below if you are not familiar with musical elements.
Music terms:

SOUND: Properties of Sound- Music designs sound and silence. Sound is anything that excites the auditory nerve system. Musical composition depends on controlled and shaped sound consistent in quality. We distinguish music from other sounds by recognizing four basic properties.
Pitch-the relative highness or lowness that we hear measurable in vibrations per second in the sound waves. A faster frequency produces a higher pitch, slower, a lower pitch. In music, a sound that has a definite pitch is called a tone. Scale- an arrangement of tones played in ascending or descending order. Western conventions divide the sound spectrum into equally spaced frequencies comprising octaves, not all music conforms to this convention.
Tone color or timbre – the signifying, physical characteristics of tone that allows us to distinguish the pitch played on different instruments. Musical tone sources include voice, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, and electronics.
Duration- the length of time in which the sound vibration is maintained without interruption. Duration in musical composition uses a set of conventions called musical notation by which the composer indicates the relative duration of each tone.
RHYTHM: Properties of Rhythm
Beat- individual pulses, the basic unit of time. Beats may be grouped in patterns with accents every few beats.
Tempo- rate of speed of the composition, which may be indicated by a metronome marking in the music notation. The composer may adjust the tempo by indicating this with words, accelerando (accelerate) or ritardando (retard, slow down). A performer who takes liberties with the tempo uses rubato.
Tempo terms: adagio (slow), andante (moderate), allegro (fast), presto (very quick)
Syncopation- accenting a normally weak or unaccented beat
MELODY: Properties of Melody- is a succession of individual tones with rhythmic & tonal organization. Melody is linear and horizontal; it is an organization of musical tones occurring one after another.
Tune- a melody is not always a tune, tune implies sing-ability.
Theme- the central musical idea, a melody that may be restated & varied throughout a piece of music.
Motif or motive- a short melodic or rhythmic idea around which a composer may design a composition.
HARMONY: Properties of Harmony- is the arrangement and progression of chords- two or more tones sounding at the same time, a vertical arrangement, and also moving forward in time. In harmony, we listen to how simultaneous tones sound together.
Interval- two tones played simultaneously or the space between two different tones.
Chord- three or more tones sounding simultaneously
Harmonic progression- harmonic movement forward in time
Consonance- intervals sounding sonorous & stable in their arrangement
Dissonance- intervals sounding tense and unstable (these are relative)
TEXTURE: Properties of Texture
Monophonic- single musical line without accompaniment. Voices or instruments playing at the same time with the same notes in unison. Gregorian chant is an example.
Polyphonic- counterpoint; when two or more melodic lines of equal interest are played or sung simultaneously.
Homophonic- chords accompany one main melody. Here the composer focuses attention of the melody by supporting it with subordinate sounds. Most popular music is from this genre.
Musical notation
Dynamic levels: pp (pianissimo) very soft to ff (fortissimo) very loud
Crescendo- becoming louder; decrescendo- becoming softer