Elements and Principles of Music

Recommended prerequisite: art 1, physics

Hopefully this posts helps people learn music.. without learning music!

pitch - hue
timbre - saturation
dynamics - value
chord - colour
key - colour scheme
wheel of fifths - colour wheel
tritone - complementary colour

In terms of waves, pitch and hue correspond to frequency. The superposition of waves cause constructive and destructive interferences, creating distinct timbre and saturation (but timbre is less customizable than saturation, since it is a uniquely built in characteristic for each instrument). The amplitude of a wave is to dynamics and value.

A chord is a mixture of pitches like colour a mixture of hues, although not so much timbre and dynamics. A key tells what set of pitches and chords to use. The wheel of fifths describes relationships between chords as a colour wheel describes relationships between colours. A tritone is two pitches that make a lot of destructive interference (like complementary colours, two colours that decrease saturation) and has a lot of tension.

rhythm - pattern
meter - rhythm
rest - space

A meter cannot exist without a rhythm, as rhythm cannot exist without pattern (whut, confused?). Say in musical terms, you have this rhythm: ∆∆∆∆∆∆. With the same rhythm, you can create different meters such as ∆∆ ∆∆ ∆∆ and ∆∆∆ ∆∆∆, or even ∆ ∆∆ ∆∆∆ (although not common). Another example with ∆∆∆∆ is ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ and ∆∆ ∆∆. Rest is simply a "nothingness".

texture - balance
articulation - texture
motif - shape
theme - form
structure - layer
melody - figure
accompaniment - background
instrument - medium

Texture is the relation between voices, regarding their distance and relative motion. Articulation is to texture, since you can make flaky textures with peppery notes and flowing textures with streaming notes. A motif is less than a theme, as a shape is a little less than a form, but a motif can still be a subject. A theme is more complete than a motif, as a form has more details that distinguishes itself from a shape. The structure describes the layers in piece of music, what comes first and next. An accompaniment is the backdrop for a melody.

There does not seem to be an equivalent for beat and tempo, as far as my little brain knows. The beat is a pretend drum that continuously taps the tempo, the speed of the music.

Even if you do already know these things, keep in mind that the best musician tries to exploit as many elements as possible. Noting these elements gives a handhold at expressing the idiosyncrasies of a piece. It is key to being an exceptional performer!