M+C final

rhythm

arrangement of musical sounds in time. needed in music. like a pulse

duration

how long a note lasts

dotted rhythm

a pattern where each long note is 3x has long as each short note

beat

one unit of the steady pulse that determines tempo and meter. like a heartbeat or a clock tick

tempo

speed of music

Ritardando

gradually getting slower

Accelerando

gradually getting faster

adagio

slow tempo

Andante

walking tempo (medium slow)

moderato

moderate tempo

Allegretto

moderately fast

Allegro

fast tempo

accent

emphasis on a strong beat

meter

recurring pattern of weak and strong beats

duple meter

a pattern of 2 beats per measure

(one strong and one weak)

triple meter

a pattern of 3 beats per measure

(one strong and two weak)

measure

group of beats equal to one unit of meter

downbeat

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

upbeat

last beat of a measure

quadruple meter

a pattern or 4 beats per measure (the down beat and the third beat are stressed, though the third not as much as the down beat)

back beat

a strong accent on one of the normally unaccented beats of the bar, used especially in jazz and popular music.

simple meter

each beat is split into halves

(ONE-and TWO-and, ONE-and TWO-and)

compound meter

each bead is split into equal thirds

(ONE-and-uh, TWO-and-uh, THREE-and-uh)

rubato

deliberate, small scale distortion of tempo (accel. and rit. fluctuations)

Syncopation

Disruption in the regular pattern of accented and unaccented beats

(one-AND two-AND, one-AND two-AND)

ragtime

a style of syncopated african american dance music that arose in 1890s as a predecessor to jazz

tresillo

a syncopated latin rhythmic pattern made of 3 emphasized notes with a duple meter

cross-rhythm

a rhythmic texture in which 2 conflicting rhythmic patterns interlock

3 against 2

a cross rhythm in which two equal beats in one part corresponds to the time of three equal beats in another

tala

a rhythmic cycle in hindustani music, similar to western concept of meter

harmony

the aspect of music concerning simultaneous combinations of pitches

texture

musical fabric considered as a combination of sonic elements, as a result of the density of elements (thick, thin) and the relationship between elements (homophony, polyphony)

chord

basic building block of harmony. Any combination of 3 or more pitches sounded simultaneously

consonance

pleasant sounding harmonies

dissonance

combination of pitches that sound unpleasant

triad

group of 3 consonant pitches consisting of 2 stacked intervals of a third (Start on one diatonic note, skip a note, and skip another note)

built on first, fourth, and fifth notes on the scale

tonic

first note of a scale. home base

tonality

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

chord progression

series of chords

blues

traditional African American music characterized by emphasis on the 3 basic chords (I, IV, V), use of blue notes, frequent use of shuffle rhythms, and a preference for complex tone colors

twelve-bar blues

a repeating progression of the 3 basic chords over the span of 3 musical phrases, each phrase consisting of 4 bars

four-chord songs

A pop song built on a repeating chord progression, played on the white keys of a piano.

key

any of the 24 groups of pitches used in western music, each defined by its tonic pitch and its mode

modulation

the process of changing from one key to another

pump-up modulation

modulating up by step toward the end of a song to heighten the emotional level

Pivot-chord modulation

A key change in which a chord with one function in the old key has a new function in the new key

tall chord

A chord of 4 or more pitches that extends a triad by stacking additional thirds; also a chord built by stacking intervals other than thirds

atonality

Absence of tonality or key

whole-tone scale

a six-note scale consisting of nothing but whole steps and therefore lacking a clear tonic

monophony

single-line texture, or melody without accompaniment

heterophony

a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line

biphony

the texture of melody played against a drone

polyphony

the style of simultaneously combining a number of parts, each forming an individual melody and harmonizing with each other.

cannon / round

a type of imitative polyphony in which multiple melodic lines are generated by singing or playing the melody at different starting times

Imitative polyphony

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

Homophony

occurs when one melodic voice is prominent over the accompanying lines or voices

block chords

a series of chords in which the notes of each chord all move simultaneously to the notes of the next chord

counter melody

A melody played against the main melody.

riff

repeated pattern designed to generate rhythmic momentum

song

short texted piece of music, usually for a solo singer, with or without instrumental accompaniment. must have words

persona

in a song, the character who sings first person

strophic form

Song structure in which the same music is repeated with every stanza (strophe) of the poem.

verse

a section of a song comprising of one poetic unit and for which the same music is repeated for subsequent units

ballad

n folk music, a narrative song, usually in strophic form; an american popular music, a slow, romantic love song

blue note

in blues, the "bending" of certain pitches- the 3rd and 7th degree of the major scale, and sometimes the 5th- usually downward, by a half step or more

art song

Setting of a poem for solo voice and piano, translating the poem's mood and imagery into music, common in the romantic period.

Through-composed form

Song structure that is composed from beginning to end, without repetitions of large sections.

refrain

a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song

stop-time

a texture of alternating songs and silences. In jazz, blues, and ragtime, a texture of alternating riffs and silences that may be filled by a soloist

chorus

a segment of a song that, when repeated, does not change substantially in either music or lyrics and that can stand independently as a complete unit

verse and chorus form

a song in which verses alternate in repetition with the chorus

rap

a style of music in which the lyrics are changed

simple verse and chorus form

a song in which the same music is used for both the verses and chorus

contrasting verse and chorus form

verse and chorus sections have contrasting music, contrasting verses and choruses presented in alternation

AABA form

a song structure in which the chorus consists of 4 equal segments (usually 8 bars each) in the pattern, repeat, contrast, and return

bridge

a contrasting section in a compound song structures based on verse-and-chorus form; the B section in an AABA song

half chorus

in a popular song performance, a reprise of one half of a song's chorus (the BA of an AABA song)

Compound AABA song form

a song form, common in post-1960s songs, in which a bridge (B part) contrasts with the verse-chorus or chorus-chorus pairs (the A section)

pre-chorus

This section builds tension and leads into a chorus

post-chorus

in popular songs since the 1990s, a section that extends the mood of the chorus but with fewer words

interval

The distance between two notes

octave

an eight-line stanza

range

the difference between the highest and lowest notes

time signature

a musical notation indicating the number of beats to a measure and kind of note that takes a beat

conjunct

smooth, connected melody that moves principally by small intervals

disjunct

disjointed or disconnected melody with many leaps

legato

smooth and connected

staccato

short and detached

phrase

A musical sentence

cadence

rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words

motif

A recurring theme, subject or idea

ostinato

a musical phrase repeated over and over during a composition

pentatonic scale

a five-note scale found often in folk music and non-Western music

mode

major or minor

tonic chord

Triad built on the first, or tonic, note of the scale, serving as the main chord of a piece and usually beginning and ending it.

dominant chord

triad built on the fifth note of the scale, which sets up tension that is resolved by the tonic chord

arpeggio

the notes of a chord played in succession to one another, rather than simultaneously; a broken chord

binary from

AB

ternary form

Three-part (A-B-A) form based on a statement (A), contrast or departure (B), and repetition (A). Also three-part form.