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How do we talk about music?

We can talk about music in different ways. We can describe:

• the style of music
• the instruments used
• when a piece of music was written
• how it was made

We can also talk about the different parts that go together to make music.

You can use describing words to explain how music makes you feel. Happy, sad, excited or nervous!

What are the different parts of music?

The different parts that make up a piece of music are called dimensions.

A bit like making a cake, the dimensions are the musical ingredients used to make a song or piece of music.

The dimensions of music include:

When talking about music and these dimensions you might say:

• the tempo was slow
• the rhythm is repeated
• the start of the song was very loud
• there are brass instruments playing at the end
• there are lots of high pitched notes in the song

Different styles of music

We can talk about the style of a piece of music. This is called the musical genre.

Pop, jazz, classical or rock are all genres of music.

Songs of the same genre use the dimensions of music in a similar way.

The genre of a piece of music can be decided by:

• what the music is used for, such as music for film
• when in history it was made, like baroque music from 1600 - 1750
• the place or culture it has come from, for example Brazilian samba

Glossary

Here's the meanings of some important words:

Pulse - The steady beat that runs through the music.
Rhythm - A pattern of sounds of different lengths.
Duration - How long or short a sound is.
Structure - The order that different sections of a song or piece of music are played.
Pitch - How high or low a sound is.
Dynamics - The volume of the music. It might be loud or quiet.
Tempo - The speed of the music. It might be fast or slow.
Genre - The type or style of music.

Activities

Listening challenge

Listen to your favourite song or piece of music.

Can you talk to a grown-up or friend about how some of the different dimensions of music sounded?

Quiz