Elements of Music

Pitch is a part of sound that is caused by the frequency. It can be high or low and singular or simultaneous.

Duration is the length of sounds and silences and the use of different rhythm patterns (long or short).

Loudness is the how loud or soft the sound is.

Timbre is the quality or tone color of the sound. It is what enables us to identify sounds with their source. Flute or clarinet...

Texture is the structure or pattern of the sounds. It is the linear or vertical properties of the density of a musical composition.

Form is what holds the components of a musical piece into a cohesive whole.

Style is the mode of presentation, construction, or execution of basic components of sound according to its function or cultural dimensions (popular, jazz, classical...).

 

Rhythm and Pitch are the two primary dimensions in music:

Rhythm is the arrangement of sounds and silence in the stream of time.

 

Rhythm and Pitch in Music Cognition research .pdf file

Music Cognition Research Center references for books and list of scholarlly journals on music congnition.