GCSE Elements of Music Workbook
GCSE Elements of Music Workbook
GCSE Elements of Music Workbook
THE ELEMENTS
OF MUSIC
WORKBOOK
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INTRODUCTION
The different kinds of music played and sung around the world are
incredibly varied, and it is very difficult to define features that all music
shares; one piece might be characterised as a melody supported by an
accompaniment of chords, but another might have neither melody nor
harmony (chords) but still be regarded as music.
When we try to get inside music and understand how it works, we usually do this by identifying
different ‘elements’ that can be described separately – while remembering that in reality we hear
all of these elements simultaneously.
The first thing we can do in defining these elements is to distinguish the ways in which sounds are
differentiated from each other from the arrangement of these different sounds in time. The ways in
which sounds can be distinguished from each other are many (pitch, timbre/sonority, loudness and
so on) and they need to be picked apart a little further. Pitch is defined by the frequency of
vibration of a sounding body (a string, a column of air, a metal plate, etc.). Faster vibrations give
rise to ‘higher’ pitches, slower vibrations to ‘lower’ pitches. The description of pitch as relatively
‘high’ or ‘low’ is reflected in the notational convention of indicating higher pitches (those involving
faster vibrations) higher on a musical staff than low pitches. A succession of pitches gives rise to
melody; simultaneous pitches define harmony. Most real-world sounds comprise not a single
frequency of vibration but a complex mixture of frequencies, and this combination gives rise to the
perception of timbre/sonority: timbre/sonority is one of the principal elements that allows us to
distinguish a clarinet from a trumpet, for example, or to distinguish between the voices of two
singers. Although usually considered rather lower down in the list of elements, timbre/sonority
plays an essential role alongside melody and harmony in western music, and can be one of the
most important elements, especially in music that uses instruments without definite pitches.
Similarly, dynamic contrasts (between louder and softer sounds) are important in many kinds of
music. As for the ways in which different sounds are arranged, this gives us the broad category of
musical time (under which come rhythm, metre, tempo and pulse). This is also linked to other
phenomena, such as melody and harmony, since they involve the arrangement of sounds in time,
as noted above; melody and harmony are placed among the most important elements in western
music.
Finally, we must consider the ways in which different voices and instruments combine. This is
partly a matter of timbre/sonority (since different combinations of instruments have distinctive
timbral/sonorous characteristics) and partly of dynamics (i.e. dynamic levels and their variations),
but it can also be much more than that; the ways in which different lines of the music combine
together is described as its texture, which is another important aspect of music that we can
investigate. This gives us the following list of musical ‘elements’ which can be grouped in related
clusters, in the order in which they are discussed in
the following section:
TIME: DURATION, PULSE, METRE,
TEMPO, RHYTHM.
PITCH: MELODY, TONALITY, HARMONY.
TEXTURE, TIMBRE/SONORITY,
DYNAMICS.
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TIME - DURATION
PULSE METRE TEMPO
AND RHYTHM
The way music proceeds through time is defined in several basic
ways, of which the most important are DURATION, PULSE, METRE,
TEMPO AND RHYTHM. Perhaps the easiest of these concepts to
grasp is DURATION: any performance of a piece of music lasts a
particular length of time. A song can be short, as little as two or three
minutes. An opera or a musical religious ritual can last several hours.
A concerto, a symphony or an Indian raga, might last anywhere
between fifteen minutes and an hour or so. There may also be sections within this overall duration:
three or four movements within a concerto or symphony, verses and choruses within a song. And,
of course, individual sounds also have DURATION.
Most music has a PULSE, which is perceived as a series of regular
beats. In some music it is obvious; in other music it is subtle. In certain
kinds of music there is no pulse, or a pulse that is weak or intermittent.
In most music the beats are arranged into a regularly repeating pattern,
in which some beats are stressed, others unstressed. This pattern is
called METRE (as in poetry). It is important to be clear about the
distinction between pulse and
metre. Pulse underlies the
basic beat, METRE is the way those beats are arranged
into patterns of stressed and unstressed. The most
common metres have measures (bars, groups or cycles)
of two, three or four beats (though many other groups
are encountered, particularly in musical traditions of the
Balkans, the Middle East and India). In western music
notation, the metre is indicated by a time signature (2/4,
3/4, 4/4, 6/8 and so on), and by division of the score into
bars. (The second or lower figure in a time signature refers to a particular note value, such as a
crotchet (/4) or quaver (/8); the first or upper figure gives the number of these note values per bar.)
The TEMPO of music is defined by the rate of pulse. Fast
music is music with a fast pulse; slow music is music with a
slow pulse.
RHYTHM is the general term to describe how sounds are
distributed over time (so pulse, metre and tempo are all
aspects of rhythm in this broad sense). During a piece of
music, notes or sounds will come and go in varying patterns
in relation to the pulse, metre and tempo. These patterns are
what is most often meant by the ‘rhythm’ of the music. The rhythm can consist of patterns of
longer or shorter notes in various combinations: even or uneven, emphasising the metre and
stresses or disrupting them. Patterns tend to be grouped in identifiable PHRASES, similar to the
phrases of speech. Much of the character of music is determined by this detailed rhythm and its
grouping into phrases, and the way they relate to pulse, metre and tempo.
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ACTIVITY 1
We’re going to begin exploring the ‘elements’ of music by looking at Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C
minor, a piece of late eighteenth-century western art music, with a duration of about half an hour.
It is divided into three sections called MOVEMENTS. We’ll begin by exploring the second
movement, the ‘slow movement’ of the Concerto.
Listen to the opening bars of the second movement on Elements Audio 1 and try to establish the
METRE. How many beats do you think there are to the bar: two, three or four? Try counting the
music in different ways (in twos, threes and fours) to establish what METRE you think the
movement has?
ACTIVITY 2
Look at the score of this passage from the second, (‘Larghetto’), movement of Mozart’s Piano
Concerto in C minor, given as SCORE 1 on the following pages. In this version of the score, the
orchestral parts have been reduced onto two staves, to make them easier to read. Look at the
opening bars, which are for piano only. Don’t worry if you are not used to reading a score on more
than one staff. All you are looking at is the number of beats in the bar – how many are there?
ACTIVITY 3
Now listen to Elements Audio 2, which repeats this passage, this time continuing a little further to
bar 12. As you do so, try to follow the score, given as SCORE 1 on the following pages. For most
of this passage you can just concentrate on the piano part, and particularly the upper staff of the
piano part, which carries the melody. You only need to follow the orchestral part in bars 5-8.
Think about the rhythmic character of bars 1-12.
Does it have clearly defined PHRASES – is it easy to break up into short chunks – or are the
phrases difficult to identify?
Does the rhythmic character of the music change during this passage?
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SCORE ONE
Piano Concerto in C minor, K491, second movement, bars 1–23 (piano reduction) -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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ACTIVITY 4
We’re now going to look at the opening of the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C
minor. Without looking at the score on the following pages, listen to the opening of the first
movement on Elements Audio 3. As you listen, try to establish in your mind the PULSE and
METRE of this movement, as you did with the slow movement. It may take you a while to be sure,
because the opening bars do not make it clear, but once the music “gets going”, try counting two,
three or four against the music, and try to establish the metre
ACTIVITY 5
Now listen to this same passage again on Elements Audio 3 and try to follow the score, given as
SCORE 2 on the following pages. Again, you don’t need to be able to pick out a lot of detail, just
think about the rhythmic character of the music. Use the times on your media player to identify
points where you think the rhythmic character of the music changes, and mark these points on the
score on the following pages. Then look specifically at bars 1-5 on the score and consider how
the rhythmic character of those bars is reflected in what you see on the score.
How does it compare with the rhythmic character of the second movement?
Does it flow smoothly, or are there distinct contrasts in rhythm in this passage?
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SCORE TWO
Piano Concerto in C minor, K491, first movement, orchestral exposition, bars 1–99 (piano
reduction) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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PITCH - MELODY
TONALITY
HARMONY
Most music consists of notes of particular PITCHES
(though there are some exceptions – music for
unpitched drums, for example). Notes of different pitch
occurring one after another form MELODIES. Of course,
there needs to be a certain number of notes before one
really perceives a fully fledged melody, as the term is commonly used. Some music for
instruments is made up of little groups of two or more notes, which are more generally referred to
as PHRASES, or (if they recur) MOTIFS. You could say that these are fragments of melody –
though it is also possible for a motif to consist of just a rhythm.
The notes of a melody are chosen from the notes of a SCALE or MODE. There are many different
scales in the world. In western music from the eighteenth century onwards, the two most common
types of scale have been the MAJOR SCALE and the MINOR SCALE. A major scale is said to be
in a MAJOR KEY, and a minor scale in a MINOR KEY. The name of the major or minor key is
determined by the starting note (TONIC or key note) of that scale. So a major scale that starts on
the note G is a scale of G major.
When notes of different pitch sound simultaneously,
the generic term for the result is HARMONY. Any
single instance of notes sounding simultaneously is a
CHORD. When the harmony of the music consists
simply of a succession of chords, this is
HOMOPHONY (CHORDAL). But it is also possible
to create harmony in which one melody co-exists
with another, sounding simultaneously on a different
voice or instrument; this is POLYPHONY.
ACTIVITY 6
Listen to the first twelve bars of the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor
again from Elements Audio 2 following the score, given as SCORE 1. This time, as you listen,
think about the PITCH elements of the music.
Is it repeating the same note, going up, going down, moving suddenly or gradually, by small steps
or by larger steps?
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ACTIVITY 7
Look at SCORE 1 and listen to Elements Audio 2 again.
What key is the second movement in? (Look at the key signature and the opening notes of the
music and use the “Key Signature Chart (Circle of Fifths)” below to help you)
Then, look at the melody of the first four bars. Do you think that it sticks closely to the notes of the
ACTIVITY 8
Look again at SCORE 2 showing the opening of the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in
C minor.
What key is the first movement in? (Look at the key signature and the opening notes of the music
and use the “Key Signature Chart (Circle of Fifths)” below to help you)
Look at the melody of the opening bars (bars 1-13). Does it stick closely to the notes of the key?
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ACTIVITY 9
Staying with SCORE 2, now consider the shape of the melody at the beginning of the first
movement and its groups into phrases.
How might you describe the phrases in the first nine bars: how is the music divided into phrases
How would you compare this with the beginning of the second movement from Activity 6?
TEXTURE TIMBRE
SONORITY AND
DYNAMICS
When you have several different notes sounding together,
whether in simple chords or in complicated polyphony, whether
voices or instruments, this creates what is known as a TEXTURE.
This term is also used with a fabric, in which the combining of
threads creates a particular texture – fine or coarse, open or
dense, for example.
TIMBRE and SONORITY are the terms used to describe the tone quality of a sound, voice or
instrument, for example its brightness, mellowness or purity.
Finally, musicians use the term DYNAMICS to describe
levels of loud or soft.
The terms TEXTURE, TIMBRE/SONORITY and
DYNAMICS are grouped together in this section because,
in practice, they interact with each other. A TEXTURE of
different instruments playing together will sound quite
different, depending on the TIMBRE/SONORITY and
DYNAMICS of each instrument within it.
Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor is scored for piano
with quite a small orchestra (by modern standards), but it
contains a wealth of effects and subtleties in its use of
TEXTURE, TIMBRE/SONORITY and DYNAMICS
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ACTIVITY 10
Listen again to the opening of the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor on
Elements Audio 3. Just listen straight through the track (bars 1-52). This time, listen out for the
different instruments and their combinations. Make a note of each striking change of TEXTURE,
TIMBRE/SONORITY and DYNAMICS in this passage. It is suggested that you do this twice, once
just listening to the recording and the second time following SCORE 2 again. Some of the
changes in TEXTURE are more striking than others. Where does the most striking change occur?
MUSICAL NOTATION
Notation also has a profound effect on the language we use
to describe music: for instance, we describe harmony as the
‘vertical’ dimension of music because harmony is notated
with the notes sounding together represented as vertical
stacks; rhythms are referred to as ‘dotted’ if their notation
requires the use of dots. This section on Musical Notation
thinks about the ways in which musicians use notation, what
it is good for and what its limitations might be. You will be
comparing three pieces of notation all asking you to listen to
a piece of music while attempting to follow it in a
corresponding piece of notation. This may be harder in one
or more examples than it is in the others, in which case don’t
worry about ‘following the score’ but concentrate on how the
notation is presented and what sense you can make of it.
ACTIVITY 11
Think back to the previous activities, where you were asked to listen to the first fifty-two bars of the
first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor while following the two-stave score given on
SCORE 2.
Which elements of the music you heard were indicated on the score and which were not? (Look
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ACTIVITY 12
Repeat Activity 11, doing exactly the same thing using an audio track and printed music for a very
different piece of music – a song by Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band called ‘Big Eyed
Beans from Venus’ – given as SCORE 3 and on Elements Audio 4. Since far less information is
contained on the printed music, you might like to make brief notes about all the things that could
have been represented in notation but have not been (at least in this version).
SCORE THREE
Big Eyed Beans from Venus – Captain Beefheart (words and music by Don Van Vliet)
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In sum, the score of the Mozart contains enough information for suitably trained musicians to play
the opening of his Piano Concerto in C minor. A pianist can sit down at a piano and play the two-
stave score. The full orchestral score contains more or less everything you need to know in order
to arrange a performance of the concerto by an orchestra and pianist.
By contrast, the printed music of ‘Big Eyed
Beans from Venus’ doesn’t contain enough
information to enable a rock group to do the
equivalent job. This kind of printed music,
comprising lyrics and guitar chords, is very
common in popular music; it is often
extremely useful in enabling bands or solo
guitarists to play passable versions of songs
(the same musicians would almost always
refer also to recorded versions of the songs
as a guide). If you are a guitarist and you like
Captain Beefheart’s music, you will want to
figure out how his guitarists play those riffs –
and if this is the only notation you have got,
you are going to have to figure it out for
yourself!
Of course, if you think of an actual rock
performance for a moment, this is entirely
logical; rock bands don’t play from notation
but from memory, and there simply isn’t a
score in the way that there is a score of the
Mozart. Rock musicians don’t generally learn
songs from notation either, although they
might use sheets like this to get a head start
in figuring out how another band’s song is to
be played. The point of this is simple but
fundamental: musical notation exists to do a
particular job within a particular musical tradition, so the ways in which notation is used and the
information that the notation contains vary between musical traditions.
ACTIVITY 13
Video clips of the Mozart and Captain Beefheart pieces in performance can be found on Elements
Video 1. Watch them now.
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The basic notation of a song in pop or jazz is called a LEAD SHEET. It usually consists of the
melody (the ‘lead’), with lyrics if there are any, and indications of the accompanying harmony using
chord symbols as a shorthand. In jazz, lead sheets provide an aide memoire for a core repertoire
of standards (often American popular songs) with which jazz musicians are expected to be
familiar, but also provide a basis for sharing new compositions. The lead sheet provides only a
rough guide for performances, as the same composition can be performed in infinitely different
ways. Most significantly, jazz musicians will also decide on a particular ‘feel’ for their interpretation
– a combination of the tempo and ‘groove’, for example swing or bossa nova – which provides the
rhythmic basis for the performance. Even the melody and harmony are rarely performed simply as
notated on the lead sheet – often the rhythm of the melody is treated very freely, and different
harmonies are added or substituted. Of course, many elements of a jazz performance are not
usually represented on the lead sheet at all, such as a bass line, drum part and patterns for
accompanying chordal instruments such as guitar and piano, which, along with solos, are usually
improvised in accordance with the chosen ‘feel’ for the performance.
ACTIVITY 14
Listen to the first 0’54” of Veena Sahasrabuddhe’s performance of a composition called ‘Ranga de
rangarejavaa’ given on Elements Audio 5 following notation given below as you listen. The
notation has been given in two forms, firstly, the traditional Indian notation and secondary
transcribed into traditional western standard notation.
How much does the notation tell you about the music you hear on the recording?
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ACTIVITY 15
Read the following regarding “Musical Notation” filling in the missing word or words choosing from
those given in the box below:
Of the three examples you’ve explored – the Mozart Piano Concerto, the Captain Beefheart Lead
Sheet and the Indian notation of Raga Madhmad Sarang, the score contains
play the piece. Of course, it isn’t all they need to know, because to be able to carry out the
There are other examples of musical traditions involving the coordination of many different parts,
such as , which use notation very little or not at all. But in these
cases musicians tend to be much less concerned with playing music the same way it has been
played before, and more comfortable with the idea that the piece is being recreated in a slightly
form and slow down what would otherwise be an inevitable process of change; in western art
music this is often considered desirable. This doesn’t mean the of the music
doesn’t change over time, but the things that change most tend to be the things that aren’t
, precise and
, rather than the actual notes. This is just one of many ways in which the nature of the
notation musicians use plays a role in determining the music which is played and listened to.
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There are many other kinds of notation in use around the world, and to get a sense of this –
without getting into too much detail – we’re going to look at how a well-known melody –
“Greensleeves” – can be represented in different forms of notation.
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ACTIVITY 16
Give your own definitions for the following “Elements of Music Key Words” on the following pages,
or look back at the information given in this booklet to help you remember.
Finally, complete the “Learning Outcomes” to monitor and evaluate your learning on the Elements
of Music.
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Chord
Duration
Dynamics
Harmony
Lead Sheet
Melody
Metre
Mode
Motif
Movement(s)
Notation
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Understood Signatures
Key Word Meaning (tick) (staff, student, parent)
Phrase(s)
Pitch
Pulse
Rhythm
Scale
Tempo
Texture
Timbre/Sonority
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