CHAPTER 5

- The word music comes from the Greek “mousikê” (tekhnê) by way
of the Latin musica. It is ultimately derived from “mousa,” the Greek
word for muse.

- The art of combining sounds of varying pitch to produce a coherent

composition that is melodious, harmonious, intelligible, and expressive
of ideas and emotions.

“Music moves us,it makes us feel the tears but cannot trace the source”, says Leticia
Landen.

Franz Liszt defines it as “ the language of the heart”.

*Prehistoric Period
- prehistoric music dates back to 4,000 years ago
when the “oldest known song” form Ur was
written in cuneiform. It was demonstrated to be
composed in harmonies of thirds and was
written using a Pythagorean tuning of the
diatonic scale.

*Greek Period
– music during this period is exemplified by the
Epitaph of Seikelos (first century A.D.)
engraved on a tombstone in Tralles, Asia Minor
and the “Hymn to Apollo” (second century
A.D.) by Mesomedes of Crete.
*Roman Period
– vocal and instrumental music formed part of
the daily lives of the early Romans. Songs and
operas based on the literary works or renowned
writers were among their entertainment fares.

*Medieval Period
– the only repertory of medieval music which has
survived from before 800 to the present is the
plainsong liturgical music of the Roman Catholic
Church.

*Renaissance Period
– the renaissance music did not take its roots in
Italy, but in northern Europe with the
establishment of the first generation of the
Flanco- Flemish school that produced famous
Burgundian composers.

*Baroque Period
– during this period, instrumental music became
dominant and most major music forms were
defined.
*Classic Period
– the music of the classical period is characterized
by homophonic texture (an obvious melody with
accompaniment). The popular instrumental music
was dominated by several well-defined forms: the
sonata, the symphony, and the concerto.

*Modern Period
– music today is no longer limited to concerts
and clubs in as much as the almost obsolete
cassette tape, the CD, the VCD, the DVD, the
MP3, the MP4, and the computer are media
generating music.
 Pitch – pitch is the relative highness or
lowness of a tone.

 Volume or Intensity – volume is the loudness

or softness of a sound. It ranges from very
soft (pianissimo) and soft (piano) to very loud
(fortissimo) and loud (forte).

 Tempo or Rate – tempo is the speed of a

composition or any of its sections. Terms such
as allegro (fast), vivace (lively), moderato
(moderate speed), andante (moderately slow),
adagio (slower than andante), lento (slow),
and largo (very slow) are related to tempo.
 Duration – duration is the length of time
during which a sound is produced.

 Timbre or Tone Color – timbre is the quality

of sounds that makes it distinct from other
sounds.

 Rhythm – rhythm is the consistent pattern or

succession of identical or similar sounds.
Similar sounds in a song, as follows:
introduction, stanza one, chorus, refrain,
stanza two, chorus, refrain, coda, and
conclusion.

 Melody – melody is the series of consecutive

tones that vary in pitch and duration but form
a line of individual significance and
expressive value. It is an orderly succession of
tones or musical sounds.

 Harmony – harmony is the simultaneous

sounding of two or more tones.
 Texture – texture is the number of tones
expected to be apprehended simultaneously. It
is either monophonic (sounding of a single
melodic line), polyphonic (simultaneous
sounding of two or more melodic lines), or
homophonic (sounding of one main melody
supported by a subordinate one).

 Form – form is the overall organization of the

composition. It is associated with shape,
structure, and coherence.
Instrumental Media – instrumental media pertain
to the different instruments played by musicians.
Based on how their sounds are produced, they are
classified into string or stringed, wind, percussion,
and keyboard instruments.
• String/Stringed Instruments – string or stringed
instruments, as their name suggests, have strings
which are either plucked or bowed. The plucked
strings are guitar, ukuleles, etc. the bowed strings
are violins, violas, etc.
•Percussion Instruments – percussion instruments
are beaten or struck. They come in a variety of
forms. The drums, glockenspiels, xylophones,
marimbas, gongs, cymbals, triangles, and chimes.
• Keyboard Instruments – keyboard instruments,
as their name suggests, have keys which are
pressed to produced sounds. They include the
piano, the organ, etc.