Music Essays

Music Essays

Essay 1: Describe the features that give each melody a distinct character

Melody is one of the musical elements, which involves successions of single pitches or tones that are alleged to be unified. Various features have been established that give each melody a distinctive character. These features include the following. The first feature is pitch. This could be described as the lowness or highness of a tone depending on the rate of vibration or frequency. The second feature is the interval. This feature is described as the relationship and distance between two pitches (Brown et al., 2017). The third feature that gives a melody a distinctive character is range. This is the distance between the highest and the lowest tones of a melody. Shape is the fourth feature, which shows the direction that a melody takes as it turns downwards or upwards, or even remains static. Cadence is the fifth feature, which could be described as the musical punctuation or the resting place in a melody. Phrase and countermelody are also other features that give each melody a distinctive character.

Essay 2: Define Rhythm, Beat, and Meter, and Describe how they Act Together in Music

Rhythm is comprised of sounds and silences that are weaved together to form unique patterns that includes regular pulses (beats) of sound that are repeated to create rhythm. Beat, on the other hand, is described as the regular pulsation or a unit of length in musical time. Meter is the grouping of beats into larger and regular patterns that are notated as measures. Regarding how they work together, rhythm is the groups of notes of different notes or beats whereas meter is the overall grouping or “feel” of a song as far as which beats are accented and unaccented.

Essay 3: Describe the Role of Dissonance in Harmony

Harmony could be described as the successive or simultaneous combination of notes and the ensuing relationships of chords and intervals. On the other hand, dissonance is described as a sound that is created when two discordant notes or unstable notes are combined or played in unison. Usually, dissonance is associated with unpleasantness, harshness, or unacceptability. Therefore, in harmony, dissonance can then be described as the combination of notes or sounds that do not belong to the music style (Brown et al., 2017). Dissonance in plays a significant role in harmony. This is because it is the tension part of the harmony that helps in the production of unpleasing sounds. Dissonant harmony results from the disagreeable combination or blending of notes that do not sound like they go together.

Essay 4: What Makes Major and Minor Scales Sound Different? Describe the Character of Each.

A major scale could be described as a scale in which the third scale degree is a major third above the tonic note. However, regarding a minor scale, the third degree is a minor third above the tonic note. The third degree is the element that offers major sounding chords and scales their distinctive cheerier and brighter sound. On the contrary, the third degree gives the minor scales and chords their sadder and darker sounds. The third degree of the major scale (C#) is usually one note lower in the minor scale (C).  A major scale is spelled as A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-(A) whereas a minor scale is spelled as A-B-C-D-E-F-G-(A). Therefore, the only difference between major and minor scales is the third (3^rd) degree.

Essay 6: Describe the Four Categories of Musical Instruments Around the World and How They Each Produce Sound. Cite an Example of Each.

All musical instruments that are found around the world are grouped into four categories. These categories include stringed instruments, brass instruments, woodwind instruments, and percussion instruments. Stringed instruments contain strings which when plucked with fingers or when a bow is run across them, they vibrate and produce sound which is amplifies within the instrument’s body. Such instruments include guitars, violins, and banjos. Woodwinds, on the other side, are hollow cylindrical pipes that are designed out of metal, plastic, or wood. A mouthpiece at one end typically contains a single or double strip of thin wood, a reed, which vibrates when air is blown across it. Sound is therefore produced through an opening at the other end. The players of the woodwind instruments cover the holes that are located along the instrument with keys or fingers in order to create specific notes. Woodwinds include flute, piccolo, and bassoon (Hayden, 2019). The third category is the brass instruments, which are brass pipes that are long and hollow with a bell-shaped opening at one end. These instruments produce sound when they are blown through the mouthpiece and then the player presses valves to produce different notes. These instruments include trombones, tubas, and trumpets. The last category is the percussion instruments, which produce sound by either striking, shaking, or scraping. They include pianos, xylophones, drums, and maracas.