Listening To Music- Exam 1

Music

An art form and cultural activity characterized by the use of sound and silence. It involves rhythm, melody, harmony, and timbre.

Sound

Type of energy made by vibrations that travels in waves.

Scale

A series of notes arranged in ascending or descending order by pitch.

Range

Distance between the lowest and highest tone that can be played by a musical instrument or sung by a voice.

Average Range

1.5-2 octaves

Trained

1.5-3 octaves

Pitch

Perceived frequency of a sound. How high or low a sound is.

Interval

The difference in pitch between two tones. The distance between two pitches.

Octave

An interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency.

Dynamics

Refers to the varying levels of volume of sound in the musical expression.

Pianissimo

Very soft

Piano

Soft

Mezzo Piano

Moderately soft

Mezzo Forte

Moderately loud

Forte

Loud

Fortissimo

Very loud

Tone Color

Also known as timbre and refers to the quality or color of a sound that distinguishes different types of sound production.

Vocal Music

Includes all forms of musical performance that use the human voice.

Instrumental Music

Encompasses music performed using musical instruments.

Electronic Music

Electronic devices and computers have become a significant medium for music production.

Mixed Media

Involves a combination of different performing media.

Soprano

Highest female voice.

Mezzo-Soprano

Middle female voice.

Alto

Lowest female voice.

Tenor

Highest male voice.

Baritone

Middle male voice.

Bass

Lowest male voice.

String

Produce sound through vibrations of strings.

Woodwind

Produce sound by blowing air through a mouthpiece or over a reed.

Brass

Produce sound by buzzing the lips into a mouthpiece.

Percussion

Produce sound when struck, shaken, or scraped.

Rhythm

Pattern of recurring beats, sounds, or accents over time, creating a structured flow within a musical piece.

Beat

Refers to the regular rhythmic pulse in a song.

Beat vs Pulse

Beat is typically used to describe the basic unit of time in a piece of music while pulse is more about the feel of the steady beat.

Meter

The pattern of the beats in a composition, usually grouped into regular measures or bars.

Accents

Emphasis or stress placed on certain beats or notes.

Syncopation

This occurs when the normally unaccented beats or parts of beats are emphasized.

Tempo

The speed of the beat.

Musical Notation

System of symbols and marks used to represent musical sounds in written form.

Staff

Fundamental component of musical notation, consisting of 5 horizontal lines and 4 spaces between them.

Clef

A symbol placed at the beginning of a staff in musical notation that designates the pitch of the notes written on the staff.

Melody

A sequence of musical notes that are perceived as a single coherent entity.

Harmony

Refers to the simultaneous combination of notes and the ensuing relationships between these notes when played together.

Cadence

Essential musical components, often described as the punctuation of music.

Pentatonic Scales

Used in many musical cultures around the world and are noted for their lack of semitones.

Keys

A piece refers to the tonal center or root note that provides a foundation for the melody and harmony.

Texture

Refers to the different layers of sound heard at once.

Musical Form

Refers to the structure and organization of a piece of music.