SECTION 3: THE ORGANIZING ELEMENTS OF MUSIC

rhythm

the organization of sound in time

What is another name for beat?

pulse

tempo

the rate at which the pulse moves

beat

points of rhythmic emphasis or stress

melody

a tune/the dominant tune of the composition; a succession of tones comprised of mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged to achieve musical shape

harmony

the combination of notes sounded simultaneously to produce chords; usually describes consonance, but can be used to describe dissonance

With emerging nationalistic political and cultural trends in the 19th century, composers began…

indicating tempo and mood in their scores.

movement

sections of a symphony or sonata

accelerando

gradual increase in tempo

tempo: prestissimo

very fast

tempo: presto

very fast

tempo: vivace

lively

tempo: allegro

fast

tempo: allegretto

fairly fast

tempo: moderato

moderately fast

tempo: andante

leisurely walking speed

tempo: adagio

at ease

tempo: lento/largo

slowly

“a tempo” after an accelerando

on tempo

“tempo primo” after an accelerando

initial tempo

ritardando/rallentando

gradually slows down

What is another name for ritardando?

rallentando

rubato/tempo rubato

subtle speeding up or slowing down

meter

organizes pulses into groupings called measures

duple meter

rhythmic pattern with the measure being divisible by two

duple meters contain:

a pattern of alternating strong (stressed) and weak (unstressed) beats

A pattern in which a strong beat is followed by two week beats creates:

triple meter

QUIZ: The ending of Hallelujah chorus illustrates the use of:

Ritardando

QUIZ: The following excerpt is an example of duple meter.

True

QUIZ: Which of the following Italian tempo terms best applies to this selection?

Allegro

QUIZ: The rhythmic “surprises” created by accents occurring in unexpected places in the following example is called…

Syncopation

QUIZ: Tempo is an Italian universal musical term that refers to the speed at which a music composition is played.

True

QUIZ: Where are tempo markings usually written in a music score?

over the staff

QUIZ: The tempo in this example…

Remains consistent

Disjunct melodies are melodies that:

jump from one pitch to another

Conjunct melodies are melodies that:

move between adjacent pitches

tonic

the note upon which a scale or key is based

What is another name for tonic?

keynote

Major components of melody

contour, direction, range

Major components of melody: contour

disjunct/conjunct/repeated pitch

Major components of melody: direction

upward- or downward-moving

Major components of melody: range

narrow or wide

The tonic, or keynote, is often used as a:

tonal center

QUIZ: Which statement is correct?

Melodic motion and melodic repetitio are both effective way of creating tension and relaxation

QUIZ: When a melody acquires significant importance within a given composition, it is called a:

theme

QUIZ: The melody in the following excerpt is comprised of:

several small melodic ideas

QUIZ: The melodic material in the following excerpt can be best described as having:

Mixed melodic directions with a transitional character

QUIZ: The characteristics of a melody may be best described in terms of:

shape, direction and range

QUIZ: Does the following excerpt feature more disjunct, conjunct, or repeated tones?

conjunct

QUIZ: A musical phrase does not necessarily need to have a sense of completion in and of itself.

True

QUIZ: The most salient compositional aspect of the following excerpt is:

Imitation between voices

QUIZ: Does the following excerpt move mainly by disjunct, conjunct, or repeated tones? (Chef’s Table Intro)

The except features all three

Arpeggio

notes of a chord are played one after another rather than simultaneously

Unison

when two simultaneous pitches of the same letter name are sounded together

QUIZ: Although the violin is mostly a single melody instrument, violinists can also play chords using an instrumental technique known as:

double stops

QUIZ: Two simultaneous pitches of the same letter name and pitch constitute a harmony.

False

QUIZ: In this excerpt, the function of harmony is provided by the tamboura drone.

True

QUIZ: Consonant harmonies usually provide a feeling of tension.

False

QUIZ: The relationship between consonance and dissonance has remained constant throughout history and consistent from culture to culture.

False

QUIZ: The following excerpt represents melody with harmonic accompaniment. (Beethoven Symphony No. 6 low melody)

False

monophony

single melody without accompaniment

plainchant

Gregorian chant

polyphony

two or more independent melodic lines

homophony

melodic with harmonic accompaniment

oratorio

large-scale musical setting of a sacred text, often lastingover two hours

QUIZ: Which of the following choices is the defining characteristic of polyphony?

The independence and equality of concurrent melodic lines

Piano played with two hands is:

homophonic

Quiz: Which of the following statements is correct?

Texture in music refers to the ways in which the horizontal strands of melody and the vertical strands of harmony relate to one another

Quiz: Musical texture refers to how melody and harmony relate to each other.

True

Quiz: The musical texture that consists of a single melody without accompaniment is called:

monophony