Music EOY - Baroque, Classical, Romantic, General Music Elements

Stepwise/Scalic

movement of a melody upwards or downwards using the note of the scales in order

Leap

movement of a melody up or down with a jump from one note to another more distant

passing note

a note witch links the note before and after, usually on the weak beat of the bar

interval

the distance between two notes

Scale - Major

happy sounding scale

Scale - minor

Sad sounding scale - form of harmonic, natural, melodic

Scale - chromatic

a 13 note scale, where every step is a semitone

Scale - blues

major scale with a flattened third and seventh, which replaced the second and sixth note

Scale - Raga

an indian scale - sa , ri , ga , ma , pa , dha , ni

scale - slendro

the five note gamelan scale

scale - pelog

the seven note gamelan scale

Range

the notes that an instrument plays, highest - lowest

Glissando/slide/bend

a slide from one note to the next

Repetition

repeating music heard previously

sequence

where a melodic phrase is repeated at a different pitch

imitation (melodic)

the repetition of a melody in a different voice. can be played in a different pitch or changed a bit but the character remains.

ostinato (melodic)

phrase that constantly repeats usually at the same pitch

inversion (melodic)

melodic phrase turned horisontal / upside down

retrograde

phrase is played backwards to create contrast

riff

another word for ostinato but used in the context of popular music

improvisation

associated with jazz and Indian classical music. music built up on the spot during a performance.

call and response

a short melody (call) followed by an answering phrase (response)

Prego & Choro (salsa)

type of call and response used in salsa music

Walking bass

A bassline consisting of small steps or intervals up and down the scale

Fills (melodic)

short section of music between phrases

Stabs

short, accented notes, usually on an offbeat

Hook

Short, memorable bit of tune

Stave

The five lines on which music is written

Score

Musical name for sheet music

Treble clef

Used for the higher sounding pitches. Also known as the G clef.

Bass cleff

used for lower pitched instruments. Blob goes on the line for F below middle C

Sharp

Raises a note by a half step

Flat

lowers a note by a half step

Natural

cancels a sharp or flat

Phrase marks

indicate the length of a phrase

Tie

Curved line that joins 2 notes of the same pitch to sound like one note

Trill

Rapid alternation between the note indicated and the note directly above it

Turn

Playing of the note above the one on the score, the note itself, the note below the one on the score and the note itself again

Mordent

A single rapid alternation with the note above (upper mordent) or the note below (lower mordent)

Acciaccatura

An ornament which sounds like a crushed note played very quickly on the beat or just before it.

Appogiatura

a grace note performed before a note of the melody and falling on the beat

Anacrusis

an unstressed note or group of notes at the start of a phrase

Syncopation

emphasising or accenting the weaker beats of the bar

Metre

the regular pattern of beats indicated by a time signature

Pulse

the 'heartbeat' of the music. although the music may have rhythms made up of different note lengths, the pulse will be steady.

rest

an interval of silence indicated with a symbol

Pianissimo

very quiet

Piano

quiet

Mezzo piano

moderately quiet

Mezzo forte

moderately loud

Fortissimo

very loud

Crescendo

getting louder gradually

diminuendo

getting quieter gradually

monophonic

single melodic line ( without harmonies ) . a solo or instrument section such as violin 1s

Homophonic / chordal

a CHORDAL texture where all the parts move together, but there is one line thats most important (e.g. a hymn tune)

Polyphonic / contrapuntal

The weaving together of two or more equally important melodic lines, which all fit together harmonically. the texture sounds 'busy'

Unison

all instruments or voices playing or singing notes at the same pitch

Parallel motion

were parts move in the same direction as one another

Contrary motion

where parts move in the opposite direction

Counter melody

a second melody played at the same time as the main tune

Descant

a harmonising tune sung at the same time as melody but at a higher pitch

melody and accompaniment

a form on homophony - when the main tune is supported by accompaniment

heterophony

music made up of lots of versions of the main tune

Diatonic

Harmony using just notes from the scale

concordant

notes is the chord that all agree with each other

Dissonant

notes that disagree with each other and creating a clash

Atonal

music without any sense of key

Seventh chord

a four note chord with an added 7th.

- major 7th: major triad with 7th note of scale added

- Dominant 7th: Major triad with a flattened 7th added

- Minor 7th: Minor triad with a flattened 7th

Tonic chord (I)

the home or root chord built on the root note of the key you are in

Sub-dominant chord (IV)

The chord built around the fourth note of the key you are in

Dominant chord (V)

the chord built around the fifth note of the key you are in

Blue note

A note that has been altered or flattened in blues music, most frequently the 3rd 5th of 7th degree of the scale

Perfect cadence

V - I (sounds finished)

Imperfect cadence

Anything - V (sounds unfinished)

Plagal cadence

IV - I (sounds finished)

Interrupted cadence

V - VI (sounds surprising)

Arpeggio / broken chords

Playing the notes of a chord separately

Primary chords

I, IV, V

Secondary chords

II, III, VI

Harmonic progression

the sequence of chords in a piece

harmonic rhythm

The speed at which the chords change

Modulation

moving from one key to another

Pedal note

note held as the harmony changes (either a tonic or dominant pedal)

Drone

Low help note

Inverted pedal

when the pedal note is higher than the main tune

Baroque period

1650 - 1750

Baroque composers

Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Purcell

Baroque orchestra

Mainly strings, small amount of woodwin, very basic brass (no valves), percussion consists of 1 or 2 timpani, harpsichord

Baroque Prominent structures/forms

Ritornello Form, Sonata, Concerto Grosso, Canon and Fugue, Opera, Oratorio

Baroque features

Use of harpsichord, Terraced dynamics, predominantly strings in the orchestra, lots of ornamentation, basso continuo, polyphonic texture,contrasts in dynamics, dovetailed phraising

The classical period

1750 - 1820

classical composers

Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven (bridge composer)

Classical prominent structures/forms

Sonata form, concerto, symphony, minuet and trio, opera, oratorio

Classical key features

mainly homophonic textures, light clear texture, major/minor tonality ( mainly diatonic ), use of alberti bass, more varied dynamics including crescendos and diminuendos, clear cut phrases of 4 or 8 bars, clear cadence points ( perfect and imperfect ), predominantly tonic / dominant harmony, the emotion of the piece is carefully controlled

Alberti bass

Broken chord or arpeggiated accompaniment, where the notes of the chord are presented in the order lowest, highest, middle, highest and then repeated. pattern helps to create a smooth, sustained, flowing sound

The romantic period

1820 - 1900

Romantic composers

Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt

Romantic prominent structure/forms

opera, symphonic poem, theme and variation, lieder, programme music, piano concerto

circle of fifths

keys or tonalities ordered by ascending (for sharp keys) or descending (for flat keys) intervals of a fifth

Romantic key features

huge orchestra using a huge range of percussion instruments as well as auxiliary instruments, dramatic contrasts between moods and the music, unusual modulations to keys you wouldn't necessarily expect though still using major and minor keys, a wider use of chromatic notes to add warmth and expression to the music, irregular phrase length, use of rubato