Music Appreciation Unit I Flashcards

cadence

the ending place of a musical phrase

pitch

the part of sound that is determined by its frequency

conjunct

melodies that move mainly with small intervals

disjunct

melodies that move mainly with larger disconnected intervals

phrase

a unit of musical exxpression within a melody

countermelody

a melody that is played at the same time as another melody which has lesser importance

rhythm

the movement of music in time

meter

the organization of the structure of the musical pulse

simple meter

each beat is divided by halves

compound meters

each beat is divided into three

nonmetric

music with a lack of temporal pulse

harmony

the simultaneous combination of sounds

chord

the occurrence of three or more notes being played at the sasme time

tonic

the base note of a scale

tonality

the organization of music around a central note

dissonance

a combination of notes that fight against each other

consonance

a combination of notes that agree with each other

drone

a single sustained pitch

tonic chord

the chord built on the first note

active chords

chords that need to resolve to the tonic, such as the dominant and the subdominant

diatonic

music in a major or minor key which focuses on 7 notes

inflection

a short microtonal alteration from the original pitch

texture

the interaction between melody and harmony

monophony

a musical texture that has only the melodic line without harmony

polyphony

a musical texture with different lines of melody at once. It is based around counterpoint

homophony

A music texture where one melodic line is the most prominent

imitation

when a melody is introduced in one voice, then played again in another; examples are rounds and canons

heterophony

the same musical line is played by different voices but each voice does a variation of the melody

counterpoint

one musical line played against another

homorhythm

all of the voices hav4e the same rhythm

round

a type of musical canon

repetition

playing the same musical term again

contrast

playing a vastly different musical idea from the initial one

strophic form

every verse has the same melody with different lyrics

through-composed

there is no repetition in the musical composition

variation

adding different musical ideas

improvisation

playing music that is made up on the spotIt allows musicians to express creativity and spontaneity during a performance.

binary form

There is an A section then the B section, it creates a sense of motion

ternary

the initial, the departure, then the return, ABA musical form

theme

the main musical idea that is to be developed upon

thematic development

the process of exploring different varieties of the theme

sequence

When the motive is repeated at a different pitch

motive

A musical idea that is a fragment of the theme

call and response

The repetition of an idea by a larger group after it is initially played by a voiceor instrument, creating an interactive musical dialogue.

responsorial music

A genre of religious music that involves call and response

ostinato

the use of a short musical pattern that involves repeating it

movement

A major section of a large scale musical pieceoften characterized by distinct themes and tempos.

tempo

the speed at which a composition is played

tempo markings

italian words that are used to notate a the speed of a musical composition

dynamics

how loud or soft a musical composition is played

nonlexical

made up syllables without meaning within a song such as scal or madrigal falalala

scat singing

nonlexical jazz improvization

vocalise

melodies that are sung on a neutral sound like “ah”

Latin

The sacred language of the Roman Catholic Church

Vernacular

the language of a given culture

secular

non religious music, often popular music

stanza

a unit of poetry

strophe

another term for stanza

refrain

words that are sung after each stanza

chorus

another word for refrain

syllabic

each syllable of text gets a note

melismatic

a textual setting where each syllable gets many notes, usually 5 or more

neumatic

A text setting when each syllable gets more than one note, specifically a few, usually no more than 5

word-painting

A technique used to illustrate a word through music that expresses its meaning

timbre

the sonic quality of an instrument, it is determined by its material and geometric dimensions the distinct tonal characteristic which an instrument posesses

tone color

another word for timbre

instrument

a device that is used to make musical sounds

register

the range of pitches that a musical instrument can play

soprano

the highest vocal register

mezzo-soprano

the 2nd highest vocal register with a name similar to the highest one

alto

the 3rd highest vocal register

tenor

the 3rd lowest vocal register

baritone

the 2nd lowest vocal register

bass

the lowest vocal registervibr

vibrato

modulating the pitch up and down, often done with vocal techniques

aeophone

an instrument that uses air to produce its sound

bagpipe

an instrument that can store air in a bag and play it through multiple reeds

chordophone

an instrument that utilizes a stretched string to make sounds

idiophone

an instrument that uses its own material substance to create a pitch

membranophone

an instrument that uses a membrane that is stretched which is usually struck in order to generate a sound

sacred music

music with a religious purpose

genre

a general category of music with a distinct pattern and/or instrumentation

symphony

a genre that is generally a four movement orchestral work with an internal form

form

the structure of a musical composition

medium

the kind of group that performms a piece

opus number

a number assigned to a composition created by a composer

oral transmission

the tradition of transmitting information through memory, musical, and or word

style

the distinct feature that make up an artwork

canon

a collection of works that are regarded as great