Music in World Cultures: Elements of Music

One might describe ”commas“ or “periods” in music as cadences. Maestro Maull provides several examples, including how cadences are used in “Ode to Joy” by Ludwig van Beethoven.

Chords provide us with a way of enriching a melody. Noticing reharmonization evokes different feelings. Maestro George Marriner Maull explores this concept using a piano piece by Béla Bartók.

Loud, soft and in-between! Maestro Maull helps you fine tune your awareness to the powerful element of dynamics in music

Composers sometimes choose to use uncommon scales, or "modes" in their pieces. Maestro George Marriner Maull explores these modes and why they are used. The song "Clair de Lune" by Gabriel Fauré is featured.

Can you sing it? A certain melody, that is. This Chat examines different types of melodies, on the spectrum from simple to complex.

Can you sense the "beat"? Meter is the particular grouping of beats in music. In this Chat Maestro Maull helps you learn to distinguish different meters.

Composers use repetition and sequence as formal devices in music. Maestro Maull demonstrates how these elements are often used in music.

"Silence" or "rests" in music can be highly effective! Maestro Maull shares some examples of rests in pieces by J.S. Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven.

In music, syncopation is rhythmic accent displacement - on purpose! Maestro Maull shares some examples of syncopation and why it's so effective.

All music has texture. Discover the different kinds in this Chat as Maestro Maull demonstrates various examples on the piano.

Dig a little deeper into various musical textures. Maestro Maull demonstrates these with "Dance of the Elves" by Edvard Grieg.

In this Chat, a new texture is explored - polyphonic or contrapuntal texture! Maestro Maull utilizes a "Prelude" by J.S. Bach to demonstrate.

This Chat serves as an introduction to different musical timbres. Maestro Maull helps you identify a few common sound sources found in music and shares how those sounds are produced.

This Chat features an exploration of the timbres of the oboe and English Horn using excerpts by Dvorak, Ravel and Rossini.

The site strives to be the Khan Academy of music.