IB Music HL: Introductory and General Vocab

Chapters 1 - 12

style

• the characteristic way an artwork is represented

vernacular musics

• ordinary everyday music

• EX: pop or folk

oral transmission

• the preservation of music without the aid of written notation

medium

• the specific group that performs the piece

symphony

• four-movement orchestral work

genre

• more general term that suggest something of the overall character of the work as well as its function

secular music

• music for entertainment purposes

sacred music

• music for religious purposes

arpeggio

• broken chord

harmonics

• eerie crystalline tones

• very high register

• produced by lightly touching the string at certain points while the bow is drawn across the string

mute

• small attachment that fits over the bride of a string instrument

• muffles the sound

triple / quadruple stopping

• playing three or four strings together

double stopping

• playing two strings at once

trill

• rapid alternation between two notes

tremolo

• the rapid repetition of a tone though a quick up and down movement of the bow

• associated with suspense and excitement

glissando

• a finger of the left hand slides along the string while the right hand draws the bow

pizzicato

• plucked

staccato

• short and detached

legato

• smoothly connecting the notes

vibrato

• a slight throbbing effect

• achieved by a rapid wrist and finger movement on the string

• slightly alters the pitch

double bass

• lowest of the orchestral string instruments

cello

• AKA: violonecello

• lower range then the viola

• notable for its singing quality and dark resonance

• in the lower register

viola

• instrument larger than the violin

• has a lower range

• strings are longer thicker and heavier

violin

• evolved to its present form from instrument makers in Italy

• 1600 - 1750

• string instrument

bowed and plucked

• instruments that are bowed and plucked are in the sting family

membranophones

• drum type instruments that are sounded from tightly stretched membranes

idiophones

• produce sound from the substance itself

chordophones

• produce sound from a vibrating string stretched between two points

aerophones

• produce sound by using air

vibrato

• a throbbing effect on an instrument

voice types

• vocal ranges from highest to lowest

• EX: Female: soprano, mezzo-soprano, and alto

• EX: Male: tenor, baritone, and bass

register

• the distance from the lowest to the highest note

• the range of an instrument or voice

• EX: low middle or high

timbre / tone

• accounts for the striking differences in the sound quality of musical instruments

word-painting

• emphasizing and capturing a words meaning through music

melismatic

• the opposite of syllabic

• a single syllable can be held out over the course of multiple notes

syllabic

• a form for words to fit to music

• using one syllable per note

refrain / chorus

• a recurring part of music and words

strophic form

• the same music is repeated for each stanza

stanzas / strophes

• phrases in which rhymes are written

vernacular

• language of the people

secular

• nonreligious

vocalize

• wordless melodies

• EX: ahh

scat-singing

• jazz singing technique

• using wordless syllables

nonlexical

• syllables sung with no meaning

• EX: na na na

modifiers

• molto (very)

• meno (less)

• poco (a little)

• non troppo (not too much)

tempo

• grave (slow)

• largo (broad)

• adagio (quite slow)

• andante (walking pass)

• moderato (moderate)

• allegro (fast)

• vivace (lively)

• presto (very fast)

volume

• pianissimo (pp)

• piano (p)

• mezzo piano (mp)

• mezzo fotre (mf)

• forte (f)

• fortissimo (ff)

• brio (vigor)

dynamics

• describe the volume and intensity of the music

tempo

• rate of speed or pace of music

movement

• a complete comparatively independent division of a large-scale work

• used to divide long pieces like sonatas

ostinato

• a short melodic rhythmic or harmonic musical pattern

• repeated throughout a work or a major section of a piece

responsorial music

• call and response

• a form of music based on repetition

• a leader who is imitated or answered by an ensemble of followers

motive

• a small fragment forming a melodic-rhythmic unit within a theme

sequence

• restating of a theme or idea at a higher or lower pitch level

thematic development

• the expansion of a theme by varying its melody rhythm or harmony

theme

• a melodic idea that is used as a building block in the construction of a larger work

ternary form

• AKA: A-B-A

• a 3 part musical form

• a statement a departure and a return to the first section

binary form

• AKA: A-B

• a 2 part musical form

• based on a statement and a departure

• no return to the opening section

improvisation

• the spontaneous creation of music

variation

• a musical form in which some aspects of the music are altered but the original is still recognizable

through-composed form

• A musical form in which no main section of the music or text is repeated

• opposite of strophic form

strophic form

• a musical form in which the same melody is repeated with each stanza of the text

• EX: folk song or carol

form

• the organizing principle in music

round

• simplest form of a canon

• each voice or part enters in succession with the same melody

canon

• a strictly imitative work

Imitation

• when a melody is presented in one voice or part and then repeated later in another while the first part continues with new melody

• Baroque Fugue.

homorhythm

• a kind of homophony

• all parts move together in the same rhythm

• based on harmony moving in synch with a melody

homophony

• most commonly heard texture

• when the melodic voice is the strongest

• accompanying lines are less prominent

• the accompanying lines are usually chords

• similar to polyphony: rooted in harmony rather than counterpoint.

counterpoint

• one musical line set against another

polyphony

• when two or more melodies are combined

• based on counterpoint

heterophony

• when the melody is played or sung by multiple musicians at once

• each musician makes small variations to the melody or rhythm

• individual interpretations result in variations of the same melody

monophony

• when the melody is heard without any accompaniment or harmonies

• may include rhythm / percussion

texture

• the interweaving of the melodic lines with harmony

transposition

• taking a piece of music and putting it into a new key

• putting a piece into different ranges for other instruments

modulation

• creating tension by temporarily changing the key

dominant

• the leader of an active chord

• the fifth scale step

• dominant represents active harmony

• will lead and encourage reaching a point of tonic

active chords

• counterparts rest chords

• gives a song direction

tonic

• AKA: I Chord or Rest Chord

• tonic is the point of ultimate rest

• three note chord or triad built on the first scale step

• a point of rest

inflection

• Creates microtones

• slight dip or rise in pitch

• “Blue note” in jazz

microtone

• could sound off key

tritonic

a three note pattern

pentatonic

• a five note scale

diatonic

• both harmony and melody are firmly rooted in its key

minor scale

• has a lowered or flattened 3rd note

• Sad and darker

• W,H,W,W,H,W,W

chromatic scale

• all twelve half steps that make up an octave

major scale

• created by a specific pattern of hole and half step notes

• W,W,H,W,W,W,H

• can be created in any pitch

• happier and upbeat

key

• when a piece is set around a central tone of a specific note

• uses harmonies from the scale of a particular note

microtone

• mainly featured in non-western music

• smaller than half steps

• heard as “bent or inflected pitches” or sliding between pitches

flat

• lowering a note by a half step

sharp

• raising a note by a half step

whole step

• the distance between two notes

half step

• in Western music an octave has 12 half steps

• even semitones

• they are built on different scales.

octave

• the interval spanning eight notes of the scale

• notes that are exactly one octave apart share the same pitch

• each note is lettered A-G.

drone

• long sustained harmony note

consonance

• occurs when dissonance is resolved into a stable or restful tonality.

dissonance

• created by an unstable or discordant combination of pitches

• creates tension

tonic

• the tonic is the central pitch harmonies and melodies are built around

• this principle is called tonality

• the name of the key

• EX: Key of G = Tonic is G = Tonic is Do

scale

• a sequence of pitches within a major or minor key

• usually 7 different pitches in a 12 tone scale

triad

• a chord where 3 different pitches of a scale are played

chord

• simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches built from a scale or sequence of pitches