FIND OUT MORE. Composition 333 • Musical Instruments 332 • Musicals 338 • Opera 338 • Orchestra 335 • Popular Music 334
PITCH
Pitch is the height or depth of a particular
note or sound. When two or more different
notes are played at once, the sound
produced is called harmony. Harmonies
can change the mood of a piece of music,
giving it a bright or a dark feel.MELODY
The arrangement of differently pitched notes one after the other
creates a melody, or tune. Simple melodies consist of just a few
notes, but more complex ones are created using many different
notes, rhythms, and harmonies. Good melodies tend to be catchy.WHY ARE NOTES AT DIFFERENT PITCHES?
The pitch of a note depends on the speed its sound
vibrates at: a fast speed of vibration produces a high
note, a slow speed produces a low note. The rate of
vibration per second is called the frequency of the
note. In the West, concert pitch is the standard to
which instruments are usually tuned for performance.A letter labels each of the eight
notes in this octave, which climbs
from C to C – where a new
octave begins at a higher pitch1 DIDGERIDOO
The sounds made by blowing into
a didgeridoo have a slow speed of
vibration, creating low notes.4 SCALE IN KEY OF C MAJOR
A scale shows the rising or falling
pitches of notes. It usually contains
one octave (eight notes). A key
is a group of notes based on a
particular note, such as C major.HOW MANY MELODIES ARE THERE?
The world never seems to run out of new tunes,
although echoes of one tune often turn up in
another. There are only seven notes in the Western
scale, but the way notes are combined into patterns
and harmonies, and grouped into rhythms creates
countless melodies. Other cultures in the world have
more complex scales that create even more melodies.1 RAVI SHANKAR
Indian classical musicians, such as
sitar player Ravi Shankar (1920–),
use sets of notes called ragas,
melodic scales. There are about
130 ragas. Each has its own mood.4 BILLIE HOLIDAY
This jazz singer (1915–1959) sang
hundreds of songs. As the songs
were not her own, the melodies
were often familiar to audiences.
However, the way she used her
voice made each song unique.Saxophone is
a woodwind
instrument not
brass, because its
mouthpiece is a reedC D
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