Key Musical Features

KEY MUSICAL FEATURES:

·      DYNAMICS: Volume (soft, loud) Range (No dynamics, little dynamics)

·      TEXTURE: Thick or thin (how many instruments playing at once) Type (monophonic, polyphonic, homophonic, heterophonic)

·      MELODY: Who is playing the melody, how the melody develops

·      HARMONY: Dissonance, Consonance, Intervals

·      TONALITY: Major (happy), Minor (sad), Atonal (no tone), Bitonality (two tones), Mode (different collection of tones and semitones) 

·      RHYTHM (SYNCOPATION,ACCENTED NOTES, USE OF RESTS ETC…):

·      INSTRUMENTATION: Instruments being used (orchestra, quartet, solo)

·      TIMBRE / TONE COLOUR: Light, Brittle, Heavy, Think, Murky

·      DURATION: Length of the notes

·      PEDAL (single note)/ DRONE (two notes)/ GROUND BASS (Repeating bass pattern)/ PROMINENT CHORD PROGRESSIONS (1, 4, 5, 1)

·      USE OF ORNAMENTATION (Trills, turns)/ EMBELLISHMENT (VOCAL, TRILL, TURN ETC..)

·      TIME SIGNATURE (4/4, 2/4, 6/8 etc…)

HISTORICAL/CONTEXTUAL:

·      POSSIBLE COUNTRY (World music)

·      TYPE OF WORK (SYMPHONY, TRIO, MASS,OPERA, BALLET, FILM ETC…)

·      GENRE OF MUSIC (MINIMALISM, POP, FOLK ETC…)

·      TIME PERIOD – WHY? (BAROQUE, CLASSICAL ETC…)