Composing Music – The musical elements are your “composer’s toolbox” – without a clear understanding of the elements of a car you will never be able to build a car. If we know the key elements that make up a car then we can use them to compare any car around the world from a Ferrari to a pickup truck by asking some simple questions – “What size engine does it have? What colour is it? How many wheels does it have? etc.” In the same way, we can understand any piece of music by asking questions – “What is the tempo? How loud is it? What key is it in? What instruments are playing? Etc…”Ģ. Performing/analysing Music – An understanding of the musical elements will enable you to understand any piece of music, whether you are trying to perform the piece or analyse it. Harmony – the relationship between 2 or more simultaneously sounding notesġ. Tonality – the key in which a piece is written (can change as piece progresses)

What each part/instrument is doing at any given point. Texture – the way in which melody, rhythm and harmony are combined in a piece of music. Structure – the way in which an overall piece of music is arranged into similar and contrasting sections.ĭynamics – how loud/quiet the music is (either the overall sound or of individual notes/instruments within it) (In everyday language this is the “groove”). Rhythm – the pattern of regular or irregular pulses caused in music by the occurrence of strong and weak beats. Here is a quick run through of the main musical elements (you will come across variations of this, but these are the crucial ones): Without the key musical elements a piece of music will no longer be music. Without these key elements it will no longer be a car. A car needs wheels, an engine, brakes, doors, a chassis, a steering wheel, etc. Think of the elements of music like the crucial elements of a car. Without them, music (of any style/age) would not exist because sound itself would not exist! The elements of music can be seen as being the building blocks of music.

Components of opera music