Music language

What is musical language?

When we talk about musical language, we refer to a type of communication developed through music, which is achieved by the correct configuration of its constituent elements: chords, rhythm, melody, harmony, phrasing, movement, tessitura, orchestration, timbre...

In turn, it is also the most important academic specialty within music, which studies, in a theoretical-practical way, its constituent elements (mentioned above) and the main foundations of music in general. It is truly necessary to engage with music in a comprehensive way.

But it doesn't end there; this term has more meanings, depending on the perspective from which it is considered.

For example, if we consider it from a more artistic/emotional approach, musical language would be the art of creating or interpreting sounds with an expressive purpose. That is, a subjective system of sounds, capable of communicating expressive messages musically, and influencing people's state of mind.

Music as a language

The truth is that music, despite not being a communication method in the usual sense, is considered a universal language, or rather a universal phenomenon. It is a form of communication present in all cultures, equally understandable and enjoyable (albeit subjectively) by very different people who are culturally and geographically distant, respectively.

Music can be spoken of as a language because it expresses itself differently according to a specific intention, with pauses, emphasis, rhythm... and ordered with the structure typical of a communicative message: with a beginning, a development, and an end. So much so that it is directly extrapolable to grammatical language; where a note would be interpreted as a letter or a section as a paragraph... among other similarities.

Music is something like a "very poetic science" or a unique form of artistic expression. Or as the French novelist, poet, and playwright Victor Hugo aptly defined it: "Music expresses that which cannot be said and that which it is impossible to remain silent about."

The main elements of musical language

Despite some debate among music professionals about which constitutive elements make up musical language, there are some undisputed ones accepted by the vast majority. Let's look at them!

• Rhythm

Rhythm refers to the frequency or consistency of repetition in which sounds occur, whether regularly or irregularly, within a given time interval. Sounds can vary in intensity (weak or strong) or with respect to their duration (short or long).

• Melody

Melody is the consecutive succession of pleasant sounds, understood as a single entity. More specifically, it is a mixture of different rhythms, sounds, and pitches, which is the first step in creating musical accompaniment.

• Harmony

Harmony is a mixture and union of different sounds that function simultaneously, balanced, and corresponded. It occurs when two or more notes sound at the same time. Thus, through harmony, a musical arrangement can be made in which several notes form a chord.

• Phrasing

Phrasing, as its name suggests, refers to "musical phrases." They are compositional or metric musical fractions with their own musical meaning. To understand it better, a melody consists of several musical phrases.

• Movement

It refers to the musical tempo, that is, the speed at which a musical piece develops.

• Tessitura

It is the proper and characteristic pitch of an instrument or a human voice, which can change depending on the tonality (soprano, tenor...).

• Orchestration

Orchestration is understood as the organization and adaptation of musical pieces to be performed by the orchestra. Basically, how many and what type of instruments will participate in the musical work.

Why buy articles about musical language at NEOmúsica?

To understand everything that musical language encompasses today, we would need years and years of reading, comprehension, and practice, and we still don't know everything.

A good way to start learning is to buy a musical language book. In this section, you can find different solfège methods, intonation notebooks, rhythm courses, musical form notebooks, staff notebooks... and many more articles about musical language.

Furthermore, at NEOmúsica, we have major publishers such as Boileau Editorial, Ediciones Si Bemol, Idea Música, Impromptu, Real Musical, Sociedad Didáctico Musical...

Finally, if you want to know some musical terms very related to musical language, we recommend that you visit the NEOmúsica musical dictionary.

Until next time!