Musicians and Their Music Pre-Departure Exam

What are the basic elements of music?

sound, rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre

sound

The raw material of which music is composed

rhythm

arrangement of time in music

melody

How we organize pitches, meaningful succession of pitches

harmony

simultaneous sounding of two or more different tones

timbre

unique quality or "color" of the sound of voices and instruments

pitch

highness or lowness of a sound

interval

distance between two pitches, e.g., octave, second, third

dynamic

level of volume, loud or soft

forte

loud

piano

soft

frequency

rate of a sound wave's vibration

register

a particular range of pitches

tone

sound with a specific pitch, produced by a constant rate of vibration of the sound-producing medium

staff

five lines and four spaces on which music is notated

octave

interval of an eighth, as from C to C

crescendo

becoming louder

decrescendo

becoming softer

tempo

The rate of speed at which a musical piece is performed

beat

basic underlying pulse of music

program music

music used to tell a story, linked to another body

absolute music

music for music's sake

accent

strong sound

meter

organization of rhythm into patterns of strong and weak beats

duple meter

two beats per measure

triple meter

three beats per measure

quadruple meter

four beats per measure

downbeat

first beat of a measure

upbeat

last beat of a measure

texture

The manner in which melodic lines are used in music

monophony

one unaccompanied melody line

polyphony

A combination of two or more simultaneous melodic lines

homophony

melody and accompanying chordal harmony

families

brass, woodwind, strings, percussion

brass family

trumpet, trombone, french horn, tuba

woodwind family

flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone

strings family

violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp

Percussion Family

drums, triangle, cymbals, bells, xylophone

What texture was Greek music most often?

monophonic

lyre

A small Greek harp used to accompany stories

What music scale system was used by the Greeks?

the modes

Medieval Period Dates

500-1450

theme

melody that recurs in the same form or an altered form throughout a piece or section of music

chord

meaningful combination of three or more tones

dissonance

active, unsettled sound

conssonance

passive sound that seems to be at rest

round

A melody that may be performed by two or more voices entering at different times, producing meaningful harmony

modes

seven-note scales within the range of an octave

Gregorian chants

In early forms of sheet music, the words of prayer are emphasized, and music to which portions of the Catholic service are sung. The texture is monophonic, the timbre that of unaccompanied voices.

syllabic

one note per syllable

melismatic

many notes per syllable

a capella

just voices, no instruments

Renaissance Period Dates

1450-1600

secularization

indifference to religious consideration

What was the business and cultural center of the Renaissance?

Florence, Italy

Characteristics of Renaissance-era music

complex, confident, modes close to today

What texture was Renaissance music most often?

polyphonic

word painting

music describing/representing the meaning of the words

imitative polyphony

technique in which each phrase of a composition is addressed by all the voices, which enter successively in imitation of each other

Palestrina

made polyphonic, Christian music

ostinato

A persistently ("obstinately") repeated melodic or

rhythmic pattern.

canon

A polyphonic composition in which all the voices

perform the same melody, beginning at different

times.

Josquin Desprez

Imitative polyphony, pairs of voices

the Madrigal

secular music produced in Italy, polyphonic in texture and expressive in mood

Instrumental music

used dance forms and rhythms

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