Music Appreciation Terms

Music

organized sound

Tempo

speed of music

Dynamics

how loud or quiet music is, volume

Timbre

tone texture or tone quality

Four Traditional Music Groups/Instrument Families

Woodwinds, Brass, Strings, and Percussion

Four Traditional Voice Types

Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass

Female voice types

Soprano and Alto

Male voicce types

Tenor and Bass

Aerophone

any instrument that uses moving air to produce sound

Chordophone

any instrument that uses vibrating strings to make sound

Idiophone

any instrument that makes the sound from itself when hit, shaken, etc

Membranophone

any instrument that makes sound by vibrating thin material over a resonating chamber. AKA a drum

Electrophone

any instrument that produces sound electronically

Form

the overall plan of a piece of music

Texture

the interweaving of melodic and harmonic elements in the music’s structure

Monophonic

texture that is only a single line of melody

Homophonic

texture that is mainly focused on a single melody but has harmony

Polyphonic

texture with multiple independent melodies together

3 main cultural sources of Western Music

folk music, court music, religious music

A Capella

a style of singing without accompaniment; “As in the Chapel”

Epitaph of Seikilos

one of the oldest examples of written music

Liturgical

music that was made to be part of a church service

Gregorian Chant

a term used to describe all Latin chant music

Troubadour

poet-musician of the middle ages (French)

Ballad

a song that tells a story

Madrigals

a type of vocal chamber music for 2 to 9 singers each with individual unique melodic parts

Requiem Mass

a sung, organized church service in remembrance of the dead

Equal Temperament

tuning adjusted for mathematically “pure” intervals between noles

Opera

large scale musical drama that is sung

Anthony Vivaldi

(1678 - 1741) Baroque Italian composer, violinist, and priest, wrote “The Four Seasons”

Overture

instrumental feature at the beginning of operas and musicals that introduces main themes and melodies

Concerto Delle Donne

Ensemble of the Ladies

Masque

a type of entertainment that combines vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance as a social gathering

George Frideric Handel

born in German town of Halle, started music career in Hamburg, spent most of his time in London at the Royal Academy of Music, honored with burial at Westminster Abbey

Johann Sebastian Bach

(1685-1750) German composer and organist, most famous of baroque composers

Symphony

an extended, multi-movement composition, usually for orchestra

Theme

recurring melodic idea/sound

Motive

small melodic unit, part of the theme

Concerto

instrumental genre for solo or a small group made up of multiple movements

Rondo

Italian for round, a faster form that is A-B-A-C-A

Sonata

also called “Sonata allegro” form, follows a specific pattern if exposition, development, and recapitulation

Opera Comique

genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue arias. It originated from French Vaudeville acts from the 1600s.

Ludwig Van Beethoven

(1770-1827) most famous German composer of the late classical era, last of the “Vienna School” composers, began “9 symphony” tradition

Absolute Music

music that has no literary, dramatic, or pictorial program; just “pure” music

Programmatic Music

instrumental music with intended literary, dramatic, and/or pictorial associations

Niccolo Paganini

(1782-1840) Romantic era Italian violinist, mandolinist, and composer famous for “Carnival of Venice”

Clara & Robert Schumann

(1819-1896) a noted concert pianist already upon meeting Robert Schumann, a music professor in Leipzig; Married in 1840 against her father’s (his piano teacher) wishes

Lieder

German text vocal work with piano accompaniment

Ballet

a dance featuring a staged presentation of group or solo dancing with music, costumes, and scenery

Guiseppe Verdi

Italian composer famous for opera and an extended career

Georges Bizet

(1835-1875) French Romantic composer best known for his opera Carmen

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

(1840-1893) late romantic Russian composer known for The Nutcracker and The 1812 Overture

Hector Berlioz

(1803-1869) French composer of the Romantic Era known for bold innovation and visual style. His most famous work is “Symphonie Fantastique”

Richard Wagner

famous German composer of the late Romantic era, especially known for operas with norse mythology. Also controversial due to anti-semitic beliefs

Impressionism

French art movement using vague blurry. clashing, and/or unfocused images/sounds to give an “impression” of the subject

Claude Debussy

(1862-1918) French impressionist composer, entered Paris conservatory at 11, known for using saxophone with orchestra

Nadia Boulanger

(1887-1979) French compositionist teacher, conductor, and pianist. Responsible for dozens of composers and soloists, including her sister Lili Boulanger

Lili Boulanger

(1893-1918) French composer, child prodigy, first female winner of Prix De Rome Music Competition, sister to Nadia Boulanger. Born Marie-Juliette Olga Boulanger

Gustav Holst

(1874-1934) English composer, arranger, and teacher; life long friend to composer Ralph Vaughn Williams. His most famous work is The Planets