Music Appreciation Quiz + Test 1

Musical Era- Baroque Era

Dates: 1600–1750
Meaning: misshapen/ distorted + extravagant

def. style of music characterized by extravagance and ornamentation

Main hub= Venice, Italy

2 Important Historical Events:

• Era of absolute monarchy

• Colonization of America

• Isaac newton = theory of gravity

Role of Music/ Musicians:

-Musicians functioned through church or city, administration and their works were usually for specific occasions ex. royal wedding

-Status starting to raise but still employees

-Woman becoming large part of music

Characteristics:

• Figured bass= putting numeral above or below the bass note, to indicate chord required

• Basso continuo= ( set base for rhythm)

• Use & importance of harpsichord

• Trills= musical ornament def. quick short notes added to make melody more elaborate

• Terraced Dynamics= loud to soft, changing dynamics def. shifting dynamics from one note to another

• Ritornello= main melody that keeps repeating and returning

• Modulation= changing keys in the middle of a song

• MMC= multi movement cycle

Important Genres/Types:

• Opera= def. large scale work that utilizes singing, instrumentals, drama, and costumes

*Serious vs. lighthearted

*Recitative= half spoken half sung song where character explains what’s going on

*Aria= expressive part of opera where singers show off voice people, viewers wait for this part

• Concerto def. new type of music from baroque era, performed by ensemble, featuring soloist * consists of 3 movements allegro-adagio-allegro

• Concerto Grosso= performed by ensemble featuring multiple soloist

• Fugue= def. a short piece that serves as an introduction to a larger piece of work played on harpsichord overlapping and imitating sounds/instruments, polyphonic Ex. “ the art of the fugue”

• Suite= def. a group of short dances performed by the diverse array of instruments * each in binary form or ternary form Ex. Water music suite

Important Composers:

• Johann Sebastian Bach, Germany

• Important works= Zimmerman’s, “ art of a fugue “, “ organ G minor “, brandenburg concerto No. 2 in F major

• musical director in Germany, played organ (newly created), virtuoso, want to show passion and intensity (dissonance def. notes clashing “bad notes”)

• Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741 = played violin, born in Venice, teacher, performer

• where they were from= Italy

• Two important works= 4 seasons, Gloria RV 589

Musical Era- Classical Era

1750–1825
Meaning: Age of Enlightenment /Opposite of Baroque Era

Main hub= Vienna, Austria

2 Important Historical Events:

• Total monarchy (leading to fancy events and need for this type of elegant and pretty music)

• French revolution

• American Independence (1776)

• Scientific advancements ex. electricity

Role of Music/ Musicians:

-Patronage= arts needed for adornment of life, apart of noble lifestyle, musicians hired to create, teach, and play music ( allowed them to have more status, and money)

-composers were the conductors at the time

Characteristics:

• Simplicity

• Formality

• Elegant

• Order

• Simple melody

• Gradual Dynamics= crescendo () descendo ()

• Frequent Cadences= the way notes are played

• Articulation= staccato (smooth connected ) & legato (short)

• MMC= multi - movement cycle def. musical plan used throughout musical performance

Ex. 4 movement= I fast II slow III med-fast IV fast , 3 movements I fast II slow III fast

• Absolute music= no storyline or based on specific idea

• Piano took over no more harpsichord

• Intro of the orchestra

Important Genres/ Types

• Chamber= def. music that’s played by small or medium sized group, very versatile 2-20 people

• Symphony= def. concert music performed by orchestra that follows MMC, all four instrument families used, up to 50 players

*intended for listening audience

*25-30 players

• Concerto= def. concert music performed by orchestra featuring soloist * follows MMC, with 3 movements

• String quartet

-Cadenza= improvised soloist part, orchestra stops, showing talent with something sweet or dramatic

• Sonata= piano performance that follows MMC * can be written for 2 instruments

• String quartet= type of chamber, 2 violins, 1 chello, 1 viola, follows MMC

*popular because it was portable and had good range and rich sound without full orchestra

Important Composers:

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1792 (Child prodigy, Virtuoso)

• where they were from= Salzburg, Austria

• least two important works= “ A little night music “, “ rondo alla turca “

• Joseph Haydn 1732-1809 “ father of symphony “ , worked for prince (patronage)

• where they were from= Rohrau, Austria - career in Vienna

• at least two important works= symphony No. 94 G major “ surprise “, The creation (die schopfung)

Basic Elements of Music+ Components - Rhythm (Beat, Meter, Measure)

Rhythm Def. Controlled movement in time

• Beat Def. Basic unit and continuous pulse in music

• Meter Def. Group of beats in a large/ regular pattern (duple,triple,quadruple) '

• Measure Def. Section of music containing a set # of beats

Basic Elements of Music+ Components- Melody (Range, Contour,Movement)

Melody Def. Series of single notes that make musical sense

*Disjunct vs. Conjunct

*A line or tune in music

• Range Def. Span of notes, and how high and low they go

• Contour Def. The shape that the notes take

• Movement Def. An independent section of a larger musical composition.

• Cadence= the period in the musical sentence (rest or breathing point) * doesn’t mean they stop

Basic Elements of Music+ Components- Harmony (Tonic, Interval, Chord, Scale)

Harmony Def. Two or more notes at once that add musical depth and dimension

*Gives thickness to music

*Supports Melody

• Tonic Def. “homebase”, main note in a piece of music

• Interval Def. how far notes are

• Chord Def. 3 or more pitches at once

• Scale Def. series of consecutive notes going up or down (Major vs. Minor)

Basic Elements of Music+ Components- Musical Expression (Tempo & Dynamics)

Musical Expression Def. Elements that add expressive elements to music

Dynamics Def. The volume of the music medium

• Loud or forte

• Medium Loud or Mezzo Forte

• Soft or Piano

• Medium Soft or Mezzo Piano

Tempo Def. Speed of music , rate of speed

• Slow or adagio

• Fast or allego

• Medium or andante

Basic Elements of Music+ Components- Texture (Types)

Texture Def. The interweaving of melodic lines with Harmony

Types:

• Monophonic= one melody alone

• Homophonic= one melody with harmony

• Polyphonic= 2 or more melodies played at the same time

Basic Elements of Music+ Components- Form (Theme, Repetition, Contrast, Variation)

Form Def. The structure and design in music

-How a musical piece is organized, how a song is put together

• Theme Def. Main melody that keeps coming back

*Also called chorus or hook

Ex. Binary AB, Ternary ABA

• Repetition= Playing section of music again

• Contrast= Opposite of repetition- different than what’s playing

• Variation= Repeating section of music with slight change