Unit 1 Music Appreciation

Rhythm

placement of the sounds in time, pattern in time of a single group of notes

Beat

music with a steady pulse

Measure/bar

beats grouped into these

Meter

way to organize music

Duple meter

strong beat-weak beat

Triple meter

strong-weak-weak

Quadruple meter

strong-weak-strong-weak

strong-weak-weak-weak

Simple meter

beats divided by halves

Compound meter

beats divided by 3

Tempo

time-speed at which the music moves

Largo

very slow-broad

Adagio

slow, leisurely

Andante

“walking” moderate tempo

Moderate

moderate

Allegro

moderately fast = brisk tempo

Presto

very fast

Prestissimo

as fast as possible

Dynamics

degree of loudness or softness the music is played (mezzo=moderately)

Fortissimo

very loud - ff

Forte

loud - f

Mezzo forte

moderately loud - mf

Mezzo piano

moderately soft - mp

Piano

soft - p

Pianissimo

very soft - pp

Crescendo

gradually gets louder - <

Decrescendo

gradually gets softer - >

Sforzanfo

suddenly gets loud - sfz

Subito piano

suddenly gets soft - sub. pp.

Strings

a stretched string vibrates, sound starts with a vibrating string (harmony)

Violin

highest common orchestral string

Viola

darker middle voice

Cello

rich lower register

Double bass

lowest common string

Harp

plucked strings

Woodwinds

air vibrates through a tube, air sets the instrument vibrating (melody)

Flute

air crosses an edge

Oboe

double reed

Clarinet

single reed

Bassoon

double reed…

Piccolo

very high flute relative

Saxaphone

single reed (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass)

Brass

buzzing lips start the vibration (power)

Trumpet

flared bell

French horn

rounded and blended

Trombone

slide

Euphonium

small tuba

Tuba

deep bass

Percussion

Something is struck, shaken, or scraped (pulse)

Timpani

tuned drums

Snare drum

crisp rhythmic sound

Bass drum

deep impact

Cymbals

bright accents

Xylophone

pitched percussion

Lockenspiel

pitched percussion…

Melody

the musical idea you can sing or hum, a sequence of pitches that forms a recognizable musical idea

Contour

rise, fall, or stay level

Range

narrow or wide

Rhythm (m)

smooth, repeated, syncopated

Motive

a short musical idea that returns

Harmony

notes and chords sounding together, happens when different pitches sound together

Chord

several notes sounding together

Consonance

stable/pleasant sounding combinations

Dissonance

tense/unstable combinations

Chord progessions

create direction and emotion

Texture

how many musical layers interact, describes how musical layers are combined

Monophonic

one melody alone (Whitney)

Homophonic

melody and accompaniment (Firework-Katy)

Polyphonic

two or more independent melodies (wdtab-encanto)

Heterophonic

simultaneous versions of the same melody (valley)

Form

how music is organized over time, large-scale organization of music

Binary

AB (Mary had little lamb)

Ternary

ABA (Twinkle Twinkle)

Verse-Chorus

ABAB… (Drivers License)

Rondo

ABACA or ABACABA (Beetles)

Theme and Variations

AA’A”A’” (Teenage Dream-Katy)