Rhythm and Harmony

Rhythm

the way music is organized in time

Beat

steady pulse that underlies most music

Tempo

speed of the beat

Ritardando

tempo slows down

Accelerando

tempo speeds up

Poco a poco

gradual change in tempo

Subito

sudden change in tempo

Unmetered

no discernable beat/no steady tempo

Rubato

beat’s tempo changes for expressive effect

Downbeat

first beat in a measure, typically the strongest beat

Meter

pattern of emphasis superimposed on groups of beats

Anacrusis

aka pickup, comes before the downbeat

Time signature

indicates meter, bottom number is a durational value, top number is how many of those durational values happen in one measure

Common time

4/4 time

Cut time

aka alla breve; 2/2 time

Simple subdivision

each beat is divided in half

Compound subdivision

beat is subdivided into three equal parts

Mixed meter

measures with different meters happen in rapid succession

Irregular meter

measures that have different meters alternating in an irregular pattern OR steady beat that is grouped unpredictably or inconsistently

Polymeter

when two or more meters are operating simultaneously

Syncopation

weak beats/ in between beats are emphasized

Polyrhythm

aka cross-rhythm; two conflicting rhythmic patterns are present simultaneously

Harmony

occurs when two or more tones are sounding simultaneously

Common practice tonality

Western standard system of organizing pitch and harmony; developed in Europe in the Middle Ages and codified around 1750

Chord

three or more pitches sounding simultaneously

Triad

three note chord consisting of two intervals of a third

Major triad

has a major third interval between its lower two pitches and a minor third between its upper two pitches

Minor triad

has a minor third on the bottom and a major third above

Diminished triad

two minor thirds

Augmented triad

two major thirds

Root

lowest note in a triad

Third

middle note of a triad

Fifth

top note of a triad

Root position

when the root is on the bottom of the chord

First inversion

when the third of a triad is on the bottom

Second inversion

when the fifth of a triad is on the bottom

Key

set of seven notes used in a piece

Tonic pitch

gravitational center of a key, gives its name to the key

Chromatic pitches

pitches outside of the key signature of a piece, usually decorative

Key signature

set of sharps or flats at the beginning of every staff that indicates the key

Circle of fifths

as you move clockwise, each successive scale is a perfect fifth higher than the previous one and another sharp is added; opposite is true is you go counter-clockwise

Harmonic progression

series of chords or intervals that moves from tension toward resolution

Dissonance

quality of a pitch, interval, or chord that makes it seem unstable

Consonance

quality of a pitch, interval, or chord that makes it seem a suitable point of rest or resolution

Consonant chords

often stress the lower partials on the overtone series

Tritone

interval made up of two notes that are three whole steps apart; aka augmented fourth or diminished fifth; sounds very dissonant

Diatonic

having no accidentals other than those indicated in the key signature

Tonic triad

diatonic triad built on the tonic pitch, most stable chord in a key, used to end nearly all pieces of music

Diminished triad

built on the seventh scale degree, consists of two minor thirds, highly unstable

Dominant chord

V, contains the leading tone and the fifth scale degree, both of which want to resolve to the tonic pitch

Pre-dominant harmonies

harmonies that pull to the dominant chord

Supertonic

ii, triad built on the second scale degree, one of the predominant harmonies

Sub-dominant

IV, triad built on the fourth scale degree, one of the predominant harmonies

Chord progression

chain of triads; most common one is predominant-dominant-tonic; most natural sounding ones are chains of descending fifths

Bass line

lowest voice in a series of chords, often plays the root of the harmony; strongest kind is one that descends a fifith

Cadence

pausing point

Dominant seventh chord

V⁷; adds a fourth pitch that is an interval of a minor seventh from the root of the chord, consists of 5-7-2-4 scale degrees; contains a tritone (7-4) which causes tension

Simple harmony

diatonic, uses mostly triads

Complex harmony

uses more chromatic pitches, may use four or more pitches at the same time

Modal mixture

pitches in a triad are altered so a chord is in the parallel minor key

Modulate

changing keys; simplest way is to use accidentals to create the dominant seventh chord of the new key

Arnold Schoenberg

composer that sought to free dissonance from the need to resolve to the tonic, urged other composers to abandon common practice harmony

Atonal music

music that doesn’t conform to common-practice harmony, lacks a fixed tonal center

Twelve-tone method

system of pitch relationships invented by Schoenberg; uses a primary tone row consisting of all twelve chromatic pitches

Schoenberg’s protégés

Anton Webern, Alban Berg

Luigi Russolo

generated and categorized noises

Other composers who experimented musically

Claude Debussy, Igor Stravinsky

Non-functional harmonies

use of common practice chords without ever resolving them

Polytonality

use of two different keys to be performed simultaneously