Music Theory Fundamentals Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering fundamental music concepts including melody, rhythm, meter, harmony, tonality, texture, form, tempo, and dynamics.

Pitch

How high or low a note is.

Frequency

The number of vibrations in a second.

Melody

A succession of single pitches that we hear as a recognizable whole.

Range

The distance between the highest and lowest notes.

Contour

The shape of a melody.

Interval

The distance between two pitches.

Conjunct

Melodic intervals that are smaller.

Disjunct

Melodic intervals that are larger.

Phrase

A musical sentence.

Cadence

The resting place where a phrase ends.

Climax

The peak of the melodic line.

Countermelody

A secondary melody above or below the primary melody.

Rhythm

The movement of music in time.

Beat

The basic unit or pulse of rhythm.

Meter

The grouping of strong and weak beats into patterns of 2, 3, or 4.

Downbeat

The first accented beat of a pattern.

Duple meter

Meter in 2; strong and weak beats. Common in marches.

Triple meter

Meter in 3; strong-weak-weak. Common in dances.

Quadruple meter

Meter in 4; strong-weak-less strong-weak.

Simple meter

Each beat is divided into two.

Compound meter

Each beat is divided into three.

Time signature

Tells how many beats are in a measure and what duration of note gets the beat.

Syncopation

Deliberately upsetting the normal pattern of accents.

Polyrhythm

The simultaneous use of two conflicting rhythmic patterns.

Harmony

The simultaneous combination of sounds.

Chord

Three or more notes sounded together.

Triad

The most common chord.

Scale

A specific organization of notes set at certain intervals.

Octave

An interval of 8 notes from the bottom to the top of a scale.

Half-step

One of the 12 equal divisions of an octave.

Chromatic scale

A scale made entirely of half-steps.

Sharp (#)

Raises a pitch by a half-step.

Flat (♭)

Lowers a pitch by a half-step.

Modulation

Changing from the home key to another related key.

Transposition

Changing the key of an entire piece.

Tonic

The first note of the scale ("do"); it serves as the musical "home."

Tonality

Organizing music around a tonic pitch.

Major tonality

Associated with happy.

Minor tonality

Associated with sad.

Dissonance

Unstable, harsher-sounding notes that create tension.

Consonance

Agreeable-sounding combinations of notes that provide fulfillment/release.

Monophony

One voice or melody.

Polyphony

Two or more melodies happening at the same time.

Homophony

One voice has the melody while other lines accompany or harmonize.

Homorhythm

All voices or lines play the same rhythms.

Canon/round

A type of polyphony that frequently uses imitation.

Musical form

The structure or shape of a musical work.

Strophic form

The same melody is repeated with each stanza/verse.

Through-composed form

No section of the music or text is repeated.

Variation

Altering music while keeping the original recognizable.

Binary form

A two-part form: A-B.

Ternary form

A three-part form: A-B-A.

Theme

A melodic idea used as a building block for a larger work.

Thematic development

Expanding on a theme by varying melody, rhythm, or harmony.

Sequence

Restating an idea at a higher or lower pitch.

Motive/motif

The smallest fragment of a theme that forms a melodic-rhythmic unit.

Call-and-response

A leader sings/plays an idea and a group imitates or responds.

Ostinato

A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern repeated throughout a work or major section.

Movement

A complete, comparatively independent division of a large-scale work.

Tempo

The rate of speed or pace of music.

Metronome

A device that indicates tempo in beats per minute.

Grave

Solemn; very, very slow.

Largo

Broad; very slow.

Adagio

Quite slow.

Andante

A walking pace.

Moderato

Moderate speed.

Allegro

Fast; cheerful.

Vivace

Lively.

Presto

Very fast.

Accelerando

Getting faster.

Ritardando

Getting slower.

A tempo

Return to the original tempo.

Molto, meno, poco a poco, and non troppo

Very, less, little by little, and not too much.

Dynamics

The volume at which music is played.

Pianissimo (pp)

Very soft.

Piano (p)

Soft.

Mezzo piano (mp)

Moderately soft.

Mezzo forte (mf)

Moderately loud.

Forte (f)

Loud.

Fortissimo (ff)

Very loud.

Crescendo

Gradually growing louder.

Decrescendo/diminuendo

Gradually growing softer.