Music Appreciation Midterm 1

Define Melody

a line, or the tune, in music

Define Interval

is the distance between any two pitches

Define Conjuct

melody that moves in small connected intervals

define disjunct

melody that moves in far intervals

define phrases

units that make up a melody

define cadence

phrases ending in rest places

define rhythm

moves music forward in time

define meter

marked off in measures (or bars) organizes the beats (basic units) in music

what often marks a measure

Measures often begin with a strong downbeat

what are the most common simple meters

duple, triple, and quadruple- are the most common, each beat is divided into two

what is a compound meter

divide each beat into three rather than 2 (simple meter)

how are rhythmic complexities created

occur with offbeats, syncopation and polyrhytm

define non-metric

without an identifiable meter or clear beat

define ostinato

 the repetition of a short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern

define harmony

describes the vertical aspects of music: how notes (pitches) sound together

define chord

is the simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches

how are chords built

chords are built from a particular scale, or sequence of pitches

define triad

three alternate pitches of a scale

what is the most common chord in Western Music

triad

what is western music mostly based on

based on major or minor scales, from which melody and harmony are derived

define tonic

the central pitch around which a melody and its harmonies are built; this principle of organization is called tonality

define dissonance

created by an unstable, or discordant, combination of pitches

define consonance

occurs with a resolution of dissonance, producing a stable or restful sound

define octave

is the interval spanning eight notes of the scale

define half steps

octave divided into 12

how many half steps make a whole step

2

define chromatic scale

made up of all 12 half steps

define diatonic scale

consists of 7 whole and half steps whose patterns form major and minor scales

what is a sharp

is a symbol that raises a pitch by a half step

what is a flat

a symbol that lowers a pitch by half a step

what are microtones

intervals smaller than half steps

what is a tonic chord

built on the first scale note

what is another way to think about tonic chords

Home base to which active chords (dominant and subdominant) need to resolve

what is a key

pitch level

define transposition

when an entire works key is changed

define modulation

key is changed during the work

define texture

interweaving of the melodic lines with harmony

• (What sounds are we hearing from the music we are listening to)

define monophonic

• a single voice or line without harmonic accompaniment

  • Simplest texture

deine homophonic

when one melodic voice is prominent over the accompanying lines or voices

define polyphonic

many-voiced texture with different melodic lines

what is polyphonic

Based on counterpoint- one line set against another

what is imitation

when a melodic idea is presented in one voice, then restated in another

define canon

composition in which one musical line strictly imitates another at a fixed time interval throughout

rounds

perpetual canon at the unison

define heterophony

simultaneous statement of two or more different versions of the melody

define form

the organizing principle in music; basic elements are repetition, contrast, and variation

what are the two types of form

binary and ternary

binary form

A-B

ternary form

(A-B-A) (rounded binary)

strophic form

feature repeated music for each stanza of text

through composed form

no large repeated sections

define theme

 melodic idea in a large scale work

what are the small fragments that theme can be broken into

motives

what is sequence

result of a motive being repeated at a different pitch

what is call-and-response

repetitive style involving a soloist and a group

what is improvisation

creation of music while it is being performed

what is tempo

 the rate of speed/pace of the music

what are the speeds of tempo

• Allegro- fast

• Moderato- moderate

• Adagio- quite slow

• Accelerando- speeding up

• Ritardando- slowing down

what are dynamics

describe the volume, or how loud or the soft the music is played

what are the types of dynamics

• Forte- loud

• Piano- soft

define secular music

non-religious music

define sacred music

religious music

what language is sacred music sang in

latin

define syllabic

one note per syllable

define neumatic

few notes per syllable

define mellismatic

many notes per syllable

what is word painting

used to emphasize the text, perhaps with a drawn out word over many notes( melisma)

• doing something musically that represents the lyrics

what do the properties of sound include

• pitch

• duration

• volume

• timbre or tone color

what are the ranges the human voice can be separated into

soprano, alto, tenor, and bass

what are the instrument classifications

• Aerophones

• Chordophones

• idiophones → bells or cymbals

• membranophones → drums

define aerophones

such as flute or horns

define chordophones

violins or guitars

define idiophones

bells or cymbals

define membranophones

drums

what are the 4 families of the western instruments

• Strings

• Woodwinds

• Brass

• Percussion

what is plainchant music

features monophonic, nonmetric melodies set in one of the church modes or scales

what are the 3 categories that chant melodies fall into

syllabic, melismatic, and pneumatic

what is the ordinary of the mass

the fixed, invariable parts of the Catholic Mass

what are the sections of the ordinary

• Kyrie

• Gloria

• Credo → I believe

• Sanctus 

• Angus de → lamb of god

who was Hildegard

first woman composer

hildegarde’s life

• Born in v/ religious family in Germany → 10th child

• Given to monastery to be raised and was a Tithe

• Interested in science, arts, composing her own music and poetry

  • Credited with one of the first plays

• Renaissance woman before the renaissance

what is a tithe

to give or pay a tenth of one’s income, produce, or goods, typically to support a religious organization

what is the proper of the mass

other part of the mass other than the ordinary that can be changed

what portion of the proper was Hildegarde writing for

alleluia

what are differences between Hildegard’s Gregorian Chant and Other Gregorian Chant

• Hildegard had moments where it was v/ disjucnt → other Gregorian chant not typically disjunct

• Hildegard has a wide range and is very expressive → passion

• Also has dissonant cadence

• Kyrie Gregorian Chant → smoother contours

what is Gregorian Chant

the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin of the Roman Catholic Church

what bridges the gap between Hildegard and Marchaut

Notre Dame

who was Guillaume de Marchaut

• 1300s- Guillame de Machaut

• Composed the first polyphonic chant

• Part of the Ars Nova → new art movement

  • No longer just religious

  • We get Chansons → Secular Music/Chant and non-imitative

Rondeau- AB aAab AB

• Example: Ma Fin → My end is my beginning

• Non-imitative polyphony

• A→ music read forwards

• B → music read reverse

• a → same melody but different lyrics

• A → music read forwards

• a → back to the beginning with the same melody but different lyrics again

• b → backwards with new lyrics

• A → music read forwards

• B → music read reverse

Virelai

Abba then goes back to A

Raimbaut de Vaquerias

• Troubador- Southern France

• Travel to the crusades and sing the stories of what happened at the crusades

what are the two traveling minstrel groups in france

• Trouveres- Northern France

• Troubador- Southern France

what kind of music would Trouveres and Troubadors sing

• Strophic 

  • AA BB CC → repeat!

Define Motet

secular piece for use in the mass/church service but not in the ordinary

• Newly composed poetry in the church 

• Composed in latin

• Word painting

• Through composed

Josquine des Prez

known for creating the Motet- Ave Maria

What are the components of Ave Maria

Intro

1.) immaculate conception (duple meter)

2.) birth (virgin mary’s birth) (duple meter)

3.) Humility (duple meter)

4.) perpetual virginity → meter of the music changes to show how it the most important (triple meter (for the father, son, and the holy ghost)

5.) angelic virtues (duple meter)

Conclusion

what kind of texture does Ave Maria have

Polyphonic but also homorhythmic

what is the point of homorhythm

to make sure that lyrics are understood

what is a Madrigal

piece used for celebrating humanism

Palestrina main work studied

created the Pope Marcellus Mass (1567)