Beethoven has a thought-provoking famous saying: "Music should make the human spirit explode." What means does music use to achieve such a strong effect? To sum up, it mainly includes the language of music, the structure of music and the harmony of music. The language of music mainly refers to melody, the structure of music includes factors such as rhythm and musical form, and the harmony of music mainly refers to harmony. Therefore, people often regard "melody", "rhythm" and "harmony" as the main components of music. Musical aestheticians believe: "The most important thing is the melody, which is inexhaustible and will never be exhausted. It is the basic image of musical beauty; harmony brings a variety of changes, and it constantly provides a novel basis; rhythm makes the two Combined with liveliness, this is the lifeblood of music, adding color charm to diverse timbres.”
The composition of music
The composition of music includes two aspects: musical elements and musical form.
(1) Basic elements of music
The four basic elements of music are rhythm, melody, harmony and timbre.
A. Rhythm
A piece of music can have no beat, but it cannot and cannot have no rhythm.
Like the Sanban in Chinese opera, it is composed of long or short, strong or weak sounds, but there is no strong or weak pattern to follow, that is, there is no beat; but it is rhythmic. , that is, there are cadences and priorities.
The same is true for the recitative in foreign operas (the aria in which the main characters express their inner emotions, that is, the singing before the aria that is equivalent to the introduction). It is similar to a kind of mumbling and has no fixed rhythm. , but it is also inseparable from the rhythm of priorities.
B． Melody
Although melody presents a linear thinking in music, in terms of its relationship with scales, its skeleton and its progression must be included within the scope of the scale system.
The scale system - the accumulation of long-term human cultural traditions and living customs, etc., constitutes the standardized arrangement of notes in musical works. Different arrangements will form different scale systems. The musical melody develops freely without departing from its norms.
The Chinese pentatonic scale derives from five basic modes: Gong, Shang, Jiao, Zheng and Yu, namely C Gong mode, D Shang mode, E angle mode, G Zheng mode and A Yu mode. In the West, there are mainly two basic modes: major and minor, which are divided into natural major, harmonic major, natural minor and harmonic minor. Generally speaking, major keys are suitable for expressing emotions such as vigor, clarity, and joy, while minor keys are suitable for expressing emotions such as tenderness, sadness, and humor.
When we listen to music, it is easy to hear the melody with a solo instrument, but it is difficult to distinguish it when multiple instruments are played at the same time, because it is often submerged in the subparts of multiple instruments or various harmonies, on the speakers.
After the 20th century, "sequential music" appeared in the West, which uses 12 semitones as a calculation method and arranges the order in advance: in the creation, rhythm, timbre, treble and other factors are strictly followed in the creation. Different treatments constitute musical works.
C. Harmony
Two sounds sound at the same time to form an interval. If two or more tones are sounded at the same time, the interval between each two tones must be a third, that is, a superposition of thirds, thus forming the original position of the chord.
D. Timbre
In a symphony orchestra, the violin part is like the soprano part in the chorus, playing a major role; it is gentle, pure and delicate, so it is good at playing singing and beautiful melodies. . The range and timbre of the cello are close to those of the ordinary human voice, so it is good at warm, confiding melodies. The oboe has a sweet tone, suitable for beautiful longings and fantasy tones. The piccolo has a crisp tone and is most suitable for expressing joyful emotions. ． ．
(2) Musical forms
The most common musical forms are: duology, trilogy, rondo, variation and sonata.
Sonata is a musical genre, and sonata form is a creative specification.
As the most important melody among the "three elements", it has the following functions: Melody can simulate nature, such as flowing water, birdsong, etc. Melody can also reflect life. For example, it can represent wall clocks, alarm clocks, small clocks and pocket watches in a watch shop. It can also depict the scene of a craftsman in a watch shop whistling and winding. Melody can also express emotions, which is what melody is best at. Melody can also shape images, which is a synthesis of the first three functions.
Rhythm is the skeleton of melody. It is the long and short relationship between organized sounds. The rhythm of rhythm comes from life, such as walking, swimming, tamping, hoeing, the pulse, breathing, heartbeat of the human body, operating machines, etc. Every aspect of life contains rhythm factors. Although there are many types of rhythms, they can be summarized into three categories: long, short, and a combination of long and short.
Harmony refers to the multi-part sound composed of the combination of different high and low tones that sound simultaneously and harmonize with each other in music. The use of harmony can make the main melody have a three-dimensional sense. As mentioned above, it can continuously provide a novel basis for music development.
The function of music
Music is a symbol, a sound symbol, that expresses what people are thinking. It is one of the carriers of people's thoughts. Music has a purpose and connotation, which contains the author's life experience, thoughts and feelings. From the sound wave analysis of music, it is between noise and pure tone with constant frequency. In terms of effect, it can bring people beautiful enjoyment and express people's emotions.
Music is a form of social behavior through which people can communicate with each other about emotions and life experiences. This role is most prominent in the song.