UNIT 1 Music Theory test

staccato

Short, separated, light.

marcato

Short, accented, and heavy. Strong, individual emphasis.

slur

A curved line connecting different notes that tells you to play legato. It denotes musical phrasing.

tie

Extends the duration of a note by combining their two lengths.

metric accent

When a note appears on a strong beat.

meter

The pattern of strong and weak beats.

syncopation

When a note appears on a weak beat (for example, emphasizing beat 2 in 3/4).

metric hierarchy

The organization of beats into levels of strength within a meter, where some beats feel naturally stronger than others.

hypermeter

Consistent, larger groupings of strong or weak beats.

anacrusis

A pickup; an incomplete measure at the start of a piece.

hemiola

When you get a sense of 3 against 2 (not a triplet).

double dot

Add one-fourth of the value of the note.

augmentation dot

Add one-half of the value of the note.

breve

A note equal to two whole notes (or four half notes); sometimes called a “double whole note.”

pentatonic scale

The first five notes in a scale. When major, solfege is do, re, mi, sol, la; when minor, do, me, fa, sol, te.

plane

The x-axis or horizontal plane where the beat is placed.

ictus

The physical location of the downbeat.

polyrhythm

When you feel two different meters at the same time (most common in compound meters like 12/8).

consonant intervals

Intervals that sound stable or pleasant together (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8).

dissonant intervals

Intervals that create tension or need resolution (2 and 7).

accelerando

Speed up gradually.

ritardando

Gradually slow down.

rubato

Flexible tempo, allowing for expressive timing.

simple meter

each main beat is naturally divided into two equal parts (ex: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4)

Compound meter

each main beat is naturally divided into three equal parts (ex: 6/8, 9/8, 12/8)

Duple meter

a metric pattern where beats are grouped into two per measure. (ex: 2/4 (simple duple), 6/8 (compound duple))

triple meter

a metric pattern where beats are grouped into three per measure (ex: 3/4 (simple triple), 9/8 (compound triple))

Chromatic scale

a scale going up half-step by half-step

diatonic scale

the notes in a scale

major tetrachord

wwh

minor tetrachord

whw

pentachord scale (min and Maj) 

maj: wwhw, min: whww