Exploring Music: Listening, Baroque Period, and Terminology

The Sensual Plane

Listening for pure enjoyment of sound.

The Expressive Plane

Listening for the emotions or meaning behind the music.

The Musical Plane

Listening to the structure, form, and technical elements of the music.

The Baroque Period

Characterized by dramatic expression, contrast, and ornamentation from 1600 to 1750.

Basso Continuo

A bass line played by a keyboard (harpsichord/organ) and a bass instrument (cello/bassoon).

Terraced Dynamics

Sudden shifts between loud and soft.

Cadences

Harmonic progressions that signal the end of a phrase or section.

Authentic Cadence

A cadence that resolves from V to I.

Plagal Cadence

A cadence that resolves from IV to I.

Half Cadence

A cadence that ends on V.

Deceptive Cadence

A cadence that resolves from V to vi.

Verse-Chorus Form

Alternates between verses (changing lyrics) and a chorus (repeated section).

AABA Form

Common in jazz and Tin Pan Alley songs; features two contrasting sections (A and B).

Strophic Form

The same music is repeated for each stanza of lyrics.

12-Bar Blues

A chord progression (I-IV-V) over 12 bars, often with an AAB lyrical structure.

Free Form/Through-Composed

No repeating sections; the music evolves continuously.

Monophonic Texture

Single melodic line with no accompaniment.

Homophonic Texture

Melody with chordal accompaniment.

Polyphonic Texture

Multiple independent melodies occurring simultaneously.

Melody in Baroque Music

Ornate, often with embellishments and trills.

Rhythm in Baroque Music

Steady and driving, with a strong sense of meter.

Harmony in Baroque Music

Use of major and minor scales, basso continuo, and functional harmony.

Texture in Baroque Music

Often polyphonic (e.g., fugues) or homophonic (e.g., arias).

Dynamics in Baroque Music

Terraced dynamics (sudden shifts between loud and soft).

Baroque Orchestra

Smaller than modern orchestras, including strings, harpsichord, and sometimes woodwinds and brass.

Ground Bass/Basso Ostinato

A repeating bass line.

Florentine Camerata

A group of intellectuals who pioneered opera and monody.

Monody

A single vocal line with simple accompaniment.

Recitative

Speech-like singing that advances the plot in opera.

Aria/Da Capo Aria

A lyrical solo piece in opera; da capo aria has an ABA structure.

Ornamentation/Decoration/Embellishment

Adding flourishes to melodies (e.g., trills, mordents).

Virtuosic

Highly technical and demanding music.

Alto Clef

A clef used primarily for viola music.

Lament Bass

A descending bass line (i-v6-iv6-V) often used in tragic music.

Chromatic Bass Lines

Bass lines that move by semitones.

Suspensions

A note held over from one chord to the next, creating dissonance.

Concerto Grosso

A piece contrasting a small group (concertino) with the full orchestra (ripieno/tutti).

Ritornello Form

A recurring theme (ritornello) alternates with contrasting sections.

Invention

A short contrapuntal piece, often for keyboard.

Fugue

A complex polyphonic form with a main theme (subject), imitative entries (answer), and countersubjects.

Subject in Fugue

The main theme of the fugue.

Answer in Fugue

The subject transposed to a different key.

Countersubject in Fugue

A secondary theme that accompanies the subject.

Exposition in Fugue

The opening section where the subject and answer are introduced.

Sequence in Fugue

Repetition of a motif at different pitch levels.

Inversion in Fugue

The subject played upside down.

Augmentation in Fugue

The subject played in longer note values.

Diminution in Fugue

The subject played in shorter note values.

Pedal Tone

A sustained note, usually in the bass, while harmonies change above it.