all key terminology

imported from tup's quizlet

Anacrusis

upbeat

Conjunct (stepwise)

notes move by step (next-door notes like C-D)

Disjunct (angular)

lots of leaps between notes (bigger intervals)

arpeggio (broken chord)

playing the notes of a chord one by one, ascending or descending

high pitch

high sound

sequence

a pattern of musical notes that are repeated moving up or down the scale

imitation

melody in one part is repeated a few notes later in a different part, overlapping the melody of the first part

repetition

repeating a phrase or note

Motif

short musical idea or phrase

octave

8 notes

Tone/Major 2nd

the distance between next door notes in a major scale

Major 3rd

4 semitones

Perfect 4th

5 semitones

Perfect 5th

7 semitones

Major 6th

9 semitones

Major 7th

11 semitones

Semitone

the distance between two notes next to each other

penatonic

five note scale

Perfect cadence

Sounds finished (chords V - I)

Imperfect Cadence

Sounds unfinished (ends on chord V)

Plagal Cadence

IV-I

Interrupted Cadence

'Surprise' cadences. You think you're going to hear a perfect cadence, but you get a minor chord instead.

Pedal

A sustained or repeated note in the bass

Major

happy sounding

minor

sad sounding

Modulation to the Dominant and Relative Major/Minor

When a piece of music changes key

Contrast

introducing variety using contrasting ideas

Ostinato

a continually repeated musical phrase or rhythm

Phrasing (regular and irregular)

how the music 'breathes'

Pianissimo

very soft

Piano

soft

mezzo piano

moderately soft

mezzo forte

moderately loud

forte

loud

fortissimo

very loud

crescendo

gradually get louder

diminuendo

gradually get softer

Sforzando

Sudden strong accent

Monophonic

single-line texture, or melody without accompaniment

Homophonic

all melodies placed on top of each other, and move together in chord

Polyphonic

multi-melodic

Canon

When an identical melody begins at two or four bars distance to the initial melody and works harmonically with it

Drone

a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece

Alberti Bass

An accompaniment derived from broken chords.

Semibreve

4 beat note

Minim

2 beat note

Crotchet ♩

1 beat note

Quaver♪

1/2 beat note

Semiquaver♬

1/4 beat note

Semidemiquaver

1/8 beat note

Semidemisemiquaver

1/16 beat note

dotted note

A dot lengthens the value of a note by half of its original value

Syncopation

Off beat rhythms

Staccato

short and detached

Legato

smooth and connected

Sustained

A held note

Heterophonic

Texture in which two or more voices (or parts) elaborate the same melody simultaneously, often the result of improvisation.

Antiphonal

A type of music in which two or more groups of voices or instruments alternate with one another

♭

A flat lowers a note by a semitone

♮

Natural, cancels sharps and flats

♯

a sharp increases a note by a semitone

Scale

a string of notes going up tone by tone or semitone by semitone

Key signature

sharps or flats placed at the beginning of a selection indicating its key

C major/A minor

No sharps or flats

F major/D minor

1 flat (Bb)

B♭ Major/G minor

2 flats (B♭, E♭)

E♭ major/C minor

3 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭)

A♭ major/F minor

4 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭)

D♭ Major/B♭ Minor

5 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭)

G♭ Major/E♭ minor

6 flats (B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭)

B major/G# minor

5 sharps - F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯

E major/C# minor

4 sharps - F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯

A major/F♯ minor

3 sharps - F♯, C♯, G♯

D major/B minor

2 sharps (F#, C#)

G major/E minor

1 sharp - F♯

Father Christmas Gave Dad An Electric Blanket

Order of ♯ in a key signature (FCGDAEB)

Blanket Explodes And Dad Gets Cold Feet

Order of ♭ in a key signature (BEADGCF)

Note a semitone above last sharp

Key signature

Second to last ♭

key signature

relative Minor Key signature

3 semitones below major

Raise the seventh note

Minor scales

Aeolian mode

Mixolydian Mode

Dorian Mode

Pentatonic scale

5 note scale

Hexatonic scale

Blues scale

a major scale in which the 3rd, the 7th, and sometimes the 5th degrees are lowered

Whole-tone scale

Chromatic scale

Includes all twelve notes of an octave.

Vibrato

slightly throbbing or pulsating effect, adding warmth and beauty to the tone

Tremolo

rapid ("trembling") repetition of a tone or chord, without apparent breaks, to express emotion

Double stopping

playing two notes simultaneously on a string instrument

Pizzicato

plucking the strings

Sur la touche

on the fingerboard

accented notes

notes that are emphasized

Piccolo, flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bassoon, contra bassoon

examples of woodwind instruments in order of pitch

Saxophone

woodwind instrument not commonly used in an orchestra

trumpet, french horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba

examples of brass instruments in order of pitch

violin, viola, cello, double bass

examples of string instruments in order of pitch

triangle, gong, timpani, bass drum

examples of percussion instruments, in order of pitch (tuned and untuned percussion)