Introduction to the western music culture

The western music has given the name because of its origination in the western countries inclusive of Europe. The traditional music culture of western music is 1000 years old. The language and styles of music have changed till now but still.

There are a lot of characteristics to compare and denote the difference between western music and eastern music. Let us illustrate it with instruments. The instruments alone may stand for a huge difference in music culture between western and eastern music. The western music is harmonic possessing vertical patterns and dense nature.

The standard or average music texture of western music is equal temperament. On the other hand, the eastern music has melodically quarter-tone music culture. Many of the eastern countries possess five notes while only a few possess seven-note cultures. All western music contains seven notes.

The melody and harmony of the western music culture

The scales from the western music derive melody. The melody of a song plays an integral role in shaping its tune and audio. The melodies depend on different sets of scales varying from high to low and low to high. The melodies of western culture are the best way to identify and describe the music community of the western countries.

The harmony of the music comes from minor and major scales of western music. Harmony is the use of two or more notes simultaneously in a song. The melody is the linear element and the harmony is a vertical element. All most all western music possesses the combination of melody and harmony accompanied by chords. The chords are similar to the melody and harmony but with three or more notes simultaneously.

What are rhythm and timbre and how they differ from melody and harmony?

We can say rhythm as the feel of the intended music with which a person is emotionally attached. Technically the rhythm is the short or long duration period of melody and harmony. The rhythm of the song has pulses and beats which can occur at any speed but with an equal amount of time between each cycle.

The timbre of the music is completely dependent on the instruments used in its creation. The different instruments used in a piece of music describe the timbre of the music as every instrument has its sound and deep texture.