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( Music theory)
Music theory is the field of study that deals with the mechanics of music and how music works. It involves identifying patterns that govern composers' techniques. In a more general sense, music theory also often distills and analyzes the elements of music – rhythm, harmony (harmonic function), melody, structure, form, and texture. Broadly, theory may include any statement, belief, or conception of or about music (Boretz, 1995). People who study these properties are known as music theorists. Music has many different elements. The main elements are rhythm, melody, harmony, structure, timbre, dynamics, and texture. Each element—and each of its sub-elements, if any—is discussed below. A series of notes sounding in succession. The notes of a melody are typically created with respect to pitch systems such as scales or modes. The rhythm of a melody is often based on the inflections of language, the physical rhythms of dance, or simply periodic pulsation. Melody is typically divided into phrases within a larger overarching structure. The elements of a melody are pitch, duration, dynamics, and timbre. In the context of theory, a piece of music may be melodically based. In this instance, a composer will first take a melody, and use that to create his work. A harmonically based piece, on the contrary, will focus on a chord progression, with the melody as a secondary or incidental factor of composition.
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