Music theory is a set of systems for classifying the elements of music. Narrowly it may be defined as knowledge about music, as opposed to experience of music. The academic study of music is called musicology.

Table of contents

1 Sound and pitch 2 Rhythm 3 Melody 4 Harmony 5 Notation 6 Analysis 7 Books 8 External links

Sound and pitch

Music is based upon sounds, which travel in waves. The study of how humans interpret sound is called psychoacoustics.

Every object has a resonant frequency which is determined by the object's composition. The different frequencies at which an object vibrate are given by the harmonic series. Musical instruments are designed to exploit their resonant frequency. Different instruments have different timbres because of variation in the size and shape of the instrument.

Sounds which can be classified into pitches, according to their frequencies. Tuning is the process of assigning pitches to notes. The distance in pitch between two notes is called an interval. Notes, in turn, can be arranged into different scaless. The most common scales are the major and minor scales.

Rhythm

Rhythm is the arrangement of sounds in time. Metre divides time into regular intervals, called measures (or bars in British English). The time signature specifies how many beats are in a measure, and which kind of note lasts for one beat. Syncopated rhythms are rhythms in which normally unaccented beats are accented. Playing simultaneous rhythms in more than one time signature is called polyrhythm.

Melody

Melody combines notes pitches with rhythm. In a piece of music, the melody is the most identifiable theme. Melodies will often imply certain scales. Counterpoint is the study of combining and layering more or less independent melodies.

Harmony

Harmony happens when two or more notes sound at the same time, although an unaccompanied melody can still imply harmony. Melodies are often structured around sequences of chordss, called chord progressions.

Notation

Music notation is the graphical representation of music. Notes and rhythms are represented as symbols on the musical staff, along with directions indicating the key, tempo, dynamics, etc.

Analysis

Books

• The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is considered to be one of the best general reference sources about music.

• The AB guides, written by Eric Taylor, are published by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, famous for their graded music examinations.
  • The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part I; ISBN 1854724460
  • The AB Guide to Music Theory, Part II; ISBN 1854724479

External links

• Music Theory Online
• Computing in Musicology
• Journal of the Royal Musical Association

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Contributors please read WikiProject Music terminology if you consider working on these subjects.