Beginnings·2 / 10
The three axes of any sound
~5 min read
Every musical event lives at the intersection of three dimensions. Get fluent with them and the rest of music theory becomes easier.
1. Time (Rhythm)
How sound is distributed in time. Pulse, beat, tempo, subdivision, meter, and groove all live here.
2. Pitch (Melody and Harmony)
How high or low a sound feels. Pitch comes from frequency - more on that in the Frequencies module.
3. Color (Timbre and Dynamics)
Why a flute and a violin playing the exact same note still sound different. Timbre is the fingerprint of a sound.
| Dimension | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Time | When? | On the beat, off the beat, fast, slow |
| Pitch | What note? | Low rumble, sparkling high note, a melody |
| Timbre | What color? | Smooth, raspy, bright, dark, warm |