The Music Language
What is music? According to the Oxford Dictionary: “Vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion”. In other words, we structure the sounds we make with our voice or instrument primarily to relay an emotion or tell a story. Beauty of form and harmony hints at the use of rules and guidelines. Where do these guidelines come from? In essence, the human ear and the perception of audible harmony determines what is pleasing. Centuries of musical history and development and the vast material available have established rules that apply to their respective styles and genres. The basic elements of music are melody, harmony and rhythm. The harmony establishes the vertical framework or boundaries for the melody. The melody is the horizontal movement of a line or voice. Finally, the rhythm describes how the notes move, are spaced and organized. All three make up what is taught in music theory. This is where...