Music Appreciation Quiz 1 Study Notes

A series of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from music appreciation, including definitions of musical terms and elements.

sound

Vibrations that are transmitted, usually through air, to the eardrum, which sends impulses to the brain.

pitch

Relative highness or lowness of a sound.

tone

Sound that has a definite pitch or frequency.

interval

Distance in pitch between any two tones.

octave

Interval between two tones in which the higher tone has twice the frequency of the lower tone.

pitch range

Distance between the highest and lowest tones that a given voice or instrument can produce.

dynamics

Degrees of loudness or softness in music.

accent

Emphasis of a note, which may result from its being louder, longer, or higher in pitch than the notes near it.

pianissimo

Very soft.

fortissimo

Very loud.

crescendo

Gradually louder.

tone color (timbre)

Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another.

soprano

Female voice of high range.

alto (contralto)

Female voice of low range.

tenor

Male voice of high range.

baritone

Male voice range lower than a tenor and higher than a bass.

bass

Male voice of low range.

brass

Instrument made of brass or silver, whose sound is produced by the vibrations of the player's lips.

percussion

Instrument of definite or indefinite pitch whose sound is produced by striking by hand, or with a stick or hammer.

vibrato

Small fluctuations of pitch that make the tone warmer.

legato

Smooth, connected manner of performing a melody.

staccato

Short, detached manner of performing a melody.

harmony

How chords are constructed and how they follow each other.

triad

Most basic of chords, consisting of three alternate tones of the scale.

scale

Series of pitches arranged in order from low to high or high to low.

chromatic scale

Scale including all twelve tones of the octave; each tone is a half step away from the next one.

modulation

Shift from one key to another within the same piece.

style

Characteristic way of using melody, rhythm, tone color, dynamics, harmony, texture, and form in music.