Music Appreciation

The musician-neuroscientist who stated “music is a kind of fuel for the brain” is

Daniel Levitin

Recognizing a composition or performance’s unique combination of features is a goal of

Active listening

T/F: Rock music and classical music require different listening skills

True

Composer Aaron Copland described three levels of music listening; which of the following is NOT one of them?

Performing it with others

T/F: One should expect to immediately know how to listen to their first jazz concert without practicing listening to the style

False

Who has described music as “a kind of fuel for the brain”?

Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin

Recognizing formal “signposts” from the composer in a piece of music will help you find your way if you feel lost when listening to a composition.

True

• is an important part of developing a sense of [] when listening to a musical work

memory; time

what is the value of listening to different performances of a musical work?

you can hear how different performers shape the same musical work

what is NOT the value of listening to different performances of a musical work?

you can determine what is the best or definitive performance for everyone

you can judge how many mistakes one of the performers made

Which of the following are types of listening as described by composer Aaron Copland?

playing music in the background

active, engaged listening

emotionally reacting to a piece of music

Which of the following are likely to be good ways to develop your listening skills?

foregrounding listening to music without distraction

repeated listening

Which of the following might best help you remember the sequence and timing of events in a piece of music?

taking notes as you listen

Music impacts only a small remote area of the brain

False

Listening to a musical work multiple times will help you discuss it and/or write about it.

True

Which term describes the overall shape of a melody?

Contour

Which term refers to the distance between the first and second notes in Happy Birthday

Interval

A melodic line that moves predominantly by large leaps would be called

Disjunct

T/F: A countermelody is a secondary melodic line that accompanies or interacts with the main melody

True

Which term describes a melodic line’s ending or resting point?

Cadence

The contour of the opening phrase of Joy to the world is

Descending

Pitch

Highness or lowness of a note, depending on the frequency

Frequency

Rate of vibration

Note

A musical symbol denoting pitch and duration

Staff

The five parallel lines on which notes are written

Notation

The practice of writing down music, as opposed to oral tradition

Duration

Length of time something lasts; e.g., the vibration of a musical sound

Volume

Degree of loudness or softness of a sound; also amplitude. See also dynamics

Tone color

see timbre

Timbre

The quality of a sound that distinguishes one voice or instrument from another. Also tone color.

Melody

Succession of single pitches perceived by the ear as a unity.

Range

Distance between the lowest and highest pitches of a melody, an instrument, or a voice.

Contour

The overall shape of a melodic line. It can move upward or downward or remain static.

Interval

The distance and relationship between two pitches.

conjunct

Smooth, connected melody that moves principally by small intervals.

Disjunct

Disjointed or disconnected melody with many leaps.

phrase

A musical unit; often a component of a melody.

cadence

Resting place in a musical phrase; musical punctuation.

countermelody

An accompanying melody sounded against the principal melody.

rhyme scheme

The arrangement of rhyming words or corresponding sounds at the end of poetic lines.

climax

The high point in a melodic line or piece of music, usually representing the peak of intensity, range, and dynamics.

Imagine attending a rock concert and hearing the drummer provide a steady underlying pulse. What would this be called?

beat

What is another term for the first beat in a measure

downbeat

T/F: Simple meter is characterized by the subdivision of beats into groups of two

True

T/F: Yankee Doodle is an example of a song in triple meter

False

What is the difference rhythm and meter?

Rhythm refers to the pattern of sounds and silences in music, while meter refers to the organization of those sounds into regular groups.

What is the meter of this excerpt from Mozat’s ah, vous diary-je mama?

duple

What is the meter from this excerpt from Grenensleeves, an English folk song?

sextuple

Rhythm

The controlled movement of music in time.

beat

Regular pulsation; a basic unit of length in musical time.

accent

The emphasis on a beat resulting in its being louder or longer than another in a measure

meter

Organization of rhythm in time; the grouping of beats into larger, regular patterns, notated as measures.

measure, or bar

Metric grouping of beats, notated on the musical staff and separated by vertical bar lines.

bar (or measure) lines

Vertical lines on a staff that separate measures; each measure gets a specific number of beats.

downbeat

First beat of the measure, the strongest in any meter.

duple meter

Basic metrical pattern of two beats to a measure.

triple meter

Basic metrical pattern of three beats to a measure.

quadruple meter

Basic metrical pattern of four beats to a measure. Also common time.

simple meter

Meter in which the beat is divided into two, as opposed to compound meter.

compound meter

Meter in which each main beat is divided into three rather than two.

sextuple meter

Compound metrical pattern of six beats to a measure.

upbeat

Last beat of a measure, a weak beat that anticipates the downbeat.

syncopation

Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse through a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an offbeat.

offbeat

A weak beat or weak portion of a beat.

polyrhythm

The simultaneous use of several rhythmic patterns or meters, common in twentieth-century music and certain African musics.

nonmetric

Music lacking a strong sense of beat or meter, common in certain non-Western cultures.

Which term describes a group of three or more notes played simultaneously?

chord

A musical interval spanning eight notes is called

An Octave

T/F: Melody refers to the horizontal aspect of music, while harmony refers to the vertical aspect

True

T/F: The tonic is the central pitch around which a melody and its harmonies are built.

True

T/F: Consonance refers to the harsh sounds created by discordant combinations of pitches

False

The vertical aspect of music—i.e., how pitches sound together—is called

Harmony

Harmony

The simultaneous combination of notes and the ensuing relationships of intervals and chords

Chord

Simultaneous combination of three or more pitches that constitute a single block of harmony.

scale

Series of pitches in ascending or descending order, comprising the notes of a key.

octave

interval between two notes eight diatonic pitches apart; the lower note vibrates half as fast as the upper and sounds an octave lower.

triad

Common chord type, consisting of three pitches built on alternate notes of the scale (e.g., steps 1–3–5, or do–mi–sol).

tonic

The first note of the scale, or key; do.

tonality

Principle of organization around a tonic, or home, pitch, based on a major or minor scale.

dissonance

Combination of tones that sounds discordant and unstable, in need of resolution.

consonance

Concordant or harmonious combination of pitches that provides a sense of relaxations and stability in music.

drone

Sustained sounding of one or several pitches for harmonic support, a common feature of some folk musics.

A musical interval that spans two half steps is called a

Whole step

Which of the following scales includes all twelve pitches within an octave?

Chromatic

Which of the following illustrates the correct pattern of intervallic steps in a major scale?

whole-whole-half-whole-whole-whole-half

Which of the following illustrates the correct pattern of intervallic steps in a minor scale?

whole-half-whole-whole-half-whole-whole

T/F: Diatonic music firmly rooted in chromaticism

False

What is the term for a chord built on the fifth degree of a scale?

Dominant

Semitone

Also known as a half step, the smallest interval commonly used in the Western musical system.

half step

Smallest interval used in the Western system; the octave divides into twelve such intervals. On the piano, the distance between any two adjacent keys, whether black or white. Also semitone.

microtone

Musical interval smaller than a semitone (half step), prevalent in some non-Western musics and some modern music.

chromatic

Melody or harmony built from many if not all twelve pitches of the octave. A chromatic scale consists of an ascending or descending sequence of half steps.

sharp sign

Musical symbol (_) that indicates raising a pitch by a half step.

flat sign

Musical symbol (_) that indicates lowering a pitch by a half step.

whole step

Interval consisting of two half steps.

key

Defines the relationship of pitches with a common center, or tonic. Also a lever on a keyboard or woodwind instrument.

major scale

Scale consisting of seven different pitches that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps (W-W-H-W-W-W-H). Differs from the minor scale primarily in that its third degree is raised half a step.

dominant

The fifth scale step, sol.

minor scale

Scale consisting of seven different pitches that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps (W-H-W-W-H-W-W). Differs from the major scale primarily in that its third degree is lowered half a step.

diatonic

Melody or harmony built from the seven pitches of a major or minor scale. A diatonic scale encompasses patterns of seven whole steps and half steps.