Music Theory: Musical Periods

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes regarding phrase structures, strategies for musical continuation, and the different types of musical periods.

Phrase pair

Two consecutive phrases connecting with each other.

Write something new

A strategy to continue music that, if used too often, can make a piece feel like a jumble of random ideas.

Write something old and familiar

A strategy to continue the music for the second phrase by taking material from the phrase that just finished to make the piece feel unified.

Write something both old and new

A common and satisfying way to continue to the next phrase, such as using the same harmony but a different melody.

Period

A structure consisting of two (sometimes more) consecutive phrases that are harmonically related.

Antecedent

The first phrase of a period, referred to as the 'question,' which ends with a weak or incomplete cadence ($HC$ or $IAC$).

Consequent

The second phrase of a period, referred to as the 'answer,' which ends with a strong or complete cadence ($IAC$ or $PAC$).

Parallel period

The most common type of period in which the two phrases begin identically; the consequent does not have to begin exactly the same as the antecedent.

Contrasting period

A period where the antecedent and consequent have different melodies and harmonies.

Sequential period

A period whose phrases use melodies with the same general shape and rhythm but at different pitch levels and with altered harmonies, such as exchanging tonic and dominant functions.