Pitch, Rhythm, and HarmonyPg. 10-30

• A musical sound has four properties:• Pitch• Duration• Volume• Timbre

Pitch

• The highness or lowness of a sound.• When saying a pitch, referring to a single unchanging tone.• When a pitch is twice as high or twice as low it is an octave, or

two notes that are considered the same note, but are pitched higher or lower.

Pitch Vocab

• Half-step- the smallest difference between two notes (also called a semi-tone)• Whole Step- two half-steps.• Interval- the distance between two notes• Scale- a series of notes in ascending or descending order• Sharp #- indicates the note is raised a half step• Flat - ♭ indicates the note is lowered a half step

Overtones and Partials

• Pitches are not one single frequency, there are quiet frequencies occurring at the same time• Fundamental- the lowest frequency that occurs in a pitch, this

one dominates and is considered the main pitch of the frequencies.• Partials/Overtones- the faint notes that occur simultaneously

to the fundamental. Are the pitches at ½, 1/3, ¼, etc. of the fundamental.

Equal Temperament

• The system of tuning that splits the octave into 12 equal parts.• The 12 pitches of the equal temperament in ascending order

are called the chromatic scale.• The interval between each pitch in the chromatic scale is a

half-step.

Enharmonic Pitches

• When you sharp one note, you can also flat the note that is a whole step up. These two notes are the same pitch, but are written differently.• Notes that are notated differently but are identical in pitch are

enharmonics.

Scales

• Seven pitches (plus an octave)• C major is most common, no sharps or flats• Types of scales:• Major• Minor (melodic, pure, harmonic)

Scale Degrees Names

• The pitches in a scale are notated used numbers.• Seventh- leading tone• First- tonic pitch• Fifth- dominant pitch

Intervals

• The difference between any two pitches• Unit of measurement is the half-step• Types of Intervals:• Harmonic- When two pitches occur simultaneously• Melodic- when two pitches occur in quick succession

(ascending and descending)

Intervals of the Major Scale

• Creating a major scale:• Whole step between each pitch of the major scale EXCEPT

between pitches 3 and 4, and between pitches 7 and 8• Creates pattern of whole whole half whole whole whole half • Once major scale is created, you can create minor scales

from that

Minor Scales

• 3 types;• Natural or Pure• Harmonic• Melodic

• Always start on the 6th degree of the major scale

Natural or Pure

• Start on 6th degree of major scale.• Use the same notes as in the major scale, and same key

signature.

Harmonic

• Start on 6th degree of major scale• Use same notes from the major scale except that you raise the

7th pitch of the minor scale a half step

Melodic

• Start on 6th degree of major scale• Ascending the 6th and 7th tones are raised ½ step• Descending the tones return to the natural or pure minor

scale form

Relative/Parallel

• When you make a major scale minor it is called the relative major and minor (example: C minor and E flat major). Use the same pitches• Major and Minor scales that begin and end on the same tonic

pitch are called parallel

Melody

• A series of successive pitches perceived to form a coherent whole.• Only one pitch occurs at a time• Melodies are made up of scale degrees and can be transposed

by using different scales, but the same degrees.

Contour

• All melodies posses a contour or profile• Conjunct melody- moves smoothly in stepwise motion (half

and whole steps). Example: Row row row your boat• Disjunct- larger intervals and huge jumps. Example: The Star

Spangled Banner• You can also describe the contour of a melody using the terms

ascend and descend. Example: Row row ascends to an apex at “boat” then descends until the end of the song.

Range and Tessitura

• Range- The possible pitches an instrument can create• Notes on grand staff are labeled with numbers from lowest to

highest, the lowest C is called C1, then C2 and so on.• When you define and instruments range you say [highest

note] to [lowest note]. For example a viola’s range is C3 to E6.

Range and Tessiture cont’d

• Register- the sections a range is split up into (high, middle, or low register)• Tessitura- the range that the melody falls within. A higher

tessiture would have notes in the upper register (lower is in low reg. mid is in mid register).• Tessitura is usually used to refer to vocal music.