BASICS OF MUSIC THEORY EVERY MUSIC DEPARTMENT MEMBER SHOULD KNOW

QUESTION 1. HOW MANY MUSICIANS DO WE HAVE IN THE BUILDING? How would you describe music? Some folks say its a LANGUAGE. Some say is an ART FORM. Some say its a MINISTRY. Some also say its a WAY OF LIFE. Some say its what FEELING sounds like.

1. MUSICIANS IN TERMS OF CAPABILITIES CAN BE CATEGORIZED INTO 3 AREAS. ENJOYERS: Theirs is to just enjoy the music that is being played. Even though they do not have any formal training in music, they can appreciate the beauty of the music and can also tell when something goes wrong but cant exactly pin point what or where. Its a God given ability. And almost everybody has that gift. PERFORMERS: These groups of people have the ability to enjoy music first and can also go the extra mile to perform it. It requires being able to do things with various parts of your body and mind which are not part and parcel of your normal scheme of things. Performance requires amongst other things, learning new body postures and positions in order to produce a sound.

CREATORS: Is the highest in the music ability chain. All the music we are capable of enjoying are performed by people with performance ability

and all the music that is performed come from those who create them. - It goes beyond jotting down a few lines that rhyme. -Drumming an interesting beat. It is the usage of the elements of music in a creative way that leaves its unique mark when performed and enjoyed. Imagine you listen to a piece of music and you can tell: The can distinguish the difference between MAJOR and MINOR chords. You can tell when an instrument joins and when it fades You can tell when a new vocal harmony is added in a chorus. You can make out all the different dynamics of the lead and the backup vocals. You can tell the song structure. Wouldnt that be interesting and wouldnt that make rehearsals fun when all of us are on the same page? But as we have learnt, it doesnt just come. It takes a lot of DEDICATION, PASSION and PRACTISE and just like FAITH, even as you keep on hearing, hearing and hearing, it will come and stay.

QUESTION. WHAT DO YOU HEAR WHEN YOU LISTEN TO MUSIC OR ON WHAT GROUND DO YOU CRITIQUE A SOND?
COMPONENT OF MUSIC MELODY It is the result of playing notes of different pitches one after the other in an organized way. It is the TUNE. It gives the song its IDENTITY. It is very DISTINGUISHABLE and is often SINGABLE.

 It is the basic element of a song that every other feature is built upon and according for. It is the SKELETON of the music.

RHYTHM Like every living thing or organism, music has a pulse (heart beat). Explain. We also have notes. Semibreve Minim Crotchet Quaver Semi quaver The creative use of these notes as against the pulse or beats is what results in RHYTHM. Sometimes the notes may fall on-the-beat and sometimes off-the-beat (syncopation) Rhythmic harmony (keyboard) Rhythmic melody (trumpet)

HARMONY AGREEMENT COMFORT EQUALITY There are a whole lot of melodic lines in a piece of music. Voice Bass guitar Electric guitar Trumpet etc.

 The Principle that allows them to sit together or co-exist without troubles is what we call HARMONY. Examples of harmony The relationship that exist between the drum set. Vocal harmony (between the voices) Chordal harmony (keyboard, guitar etc.) Finally we can say HARMONY: IS THE TOTAL BLEND OF ALL THE COMPONENT OF MUSIC.

TONE

It is the nature of sound used in interpreting musical thoughts in a piece of music. Tone can be seen as color just like an artist sees COLOR. Based on the mood he wants to create, he might prefer certain instruments with particular sound texture to others. Or require an instrument or a phrase to be sung in a particular way. Examples of tone characters Husky voice, high pitched voice, low voice (deep voice), middle ranged voice etc. Bright piano, acoustic piano, e piano Fretless bass, pick bass Trumpet, French horn, Trombone