Music Section I: Basic Elements of Music Theory (ACADEC '25-'26)

What is the broadest definition of music?

"Sound organized in time"

What is required to perceive and interpret sounds?

A time frame, sound waves, and a cognizant mind

What are common but not required factors to perceive and interpret sounds?

A person (composer) who first imagines the music, human or mechanical performers to generate the sounds, and a mechanical means of recording and reproducing them

What is improvisation?

The composition and performance of music happen simultaneously

What, to some degree, is necessary for music to exist?

Human intention and perception

What do scientists and philosophers debate about what counts as music?

Whether birdsong or accidental sound can be music, or whether a phonograph playing in the forest is music if no one hears it

What is sound described as in the abstract?

A wave of energy

What does sound have as a wave?

Both amplitude and frequency

What does amplitude affect?

The decibel level, or how loud or soft the tone is

What does frequency affect?

The pitch, or the highness or lowness of a sound

Between what frequency can normal human ears hear a sound as a single, sustained tone?

Between 20 and 20,000 cycles per second

What does a pure sine wave at 440 Hz sound like?

An A above middle C

What does Hz mean?

Cycles per second

What do orchestral musicians in the U.S. usually tune their instruments to?

A-440

What does A-440 mean in Hz?

440 Hz

What are the two kinds of musical sounds?

Pitched and non-pitched

What instruments provide the most non-pitched sounds in music?

Percussion

What is an ethnomusicologist?

Scholars who study the music of other cultures, or study multiple cultures comparively

When did Curt Sachs and Erich von Hornbostel categorize instruments?

The late 19th century

Who categorized instruments into new groups in the late 19th century?

Curt Sachs and Erich von Hornbostel

What 4 categorizes did Sachs and Hornbostel categorize instruments into?

Chordophones, aerophones, membranophones, and idiophones

What is the definition of a chordophone?

They have 1 or more strings, which are plucked, bowed, or struck; the vibrating string creates the sound wave

What are examples of a chordophone?

Violins, viola, cello, double bass, guitar, piano, harpsichord, lute, and harps

What is the definition of an aerophone?

They feature a vibrating column of air

What are examples of aerophones in the woodwind family?

Piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, organ, and saxophone

What are examples of aerophones in the brass family?

Trumpet, trombone, French horn, tube, cornet, flugelhorn, baritone, and bugle

What family do chordophones usually fall under?

Stringed instruments

What families do aerophones fall under?

Woodwinds and brass

What family do membranophones usually fall under?

Percussion

What family do idiophones usually fall under?

Percussion

What is the definition of a membranophone?

They have a skin or membrane stretched across a frame. The membrane, not the frame, vibrates when struck

What are examples of membranophones?

Timpani, bass drum, snare drum, and tambourine

What is the definition of an idiophone?

The body of the instrument itself vibrates when struck

What are examples of idiophones?

Marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, tubular bells, gongs, cymbals, triangle, celesta, and wood block

In what listening example do cymbals play several crashes at the end of its phrases?

"The Charleston"

What is the newly added 5th category to Sachs and Hornbostel's system?

Electrophones

What is the definition of an electrophone?

They create sound waves using a mechanical device known as an oscillator and are dependent upon electricity

What came first, instrument families or Sachs and Hornbostel's classification?

Instrument families

What is the definition of a stringed instrument?

They're usually bowed or plucked

In what listening example is there a double bass that introduces the fugue subject?

"La creation du monde"

What listening example notably features a violin?

Violin Sonata [No. 2], Mvt. II: "Blues"

Who invented the theremin?

Russian physicist Leon Theremin

What was Leon Theremin's profession?

Russian physicist

What was Leon Theremin's lifespan?

1896-1993

What is an example of an electrophone?

The theremin

What is the definition of a brass instrument?

Aerophones made of metal, and are sounded by the performer's buzzing lips, which make the column of air vibrate

In what listening example is a cornet notable?

"Lost Your Head Blues"

What is the definition of a woodwind instrument?

Aerophones in which the column of air is moved by breath alone--as in the case of flutes and recorders-- or by one or two vibrating reeds usually made from wood

In what listening example does a saxophone play a solo?

"The Charleston"

What is the definition of a percussion instrument?

Membranophones and idiophones, plus some chordophones that are struck rather than bowed or plucked

In some cases, what instruments count as a 5th category in Western families?

Keyboard instruments

In what listening example is the piano a solo instrument?

"Sicilienne"

How many Hz is A2?

110 Hz

How many Hz is A3?

220 Hz

How many Hz is A4?

440 Hz

When did the first electronic instruments begin to appear?

The first decades of the 20th century

How is a theremin played?

The performer regulates frequency with one hand and amplitude with the other by disturbing the electrical fields that surroudn the protruding bars

When did the next important step in electronic instruments come?

The end of WWII

Why did WWII bring important steps in electronic instruments?

Enormous advances were made for wartime purposes, but after the war, many studios weren't needed for military purposes

What were electronically generated sounds and sounds by live instruments recorded on after WWII?

Tape

What is musique concrete?

Music recorded on tape to be edited, manipulated, and mechanically recombined to form collages of sound performed by loudspeaker

Why is musique concrete French?

Because the first practitioners were based in Paris

What are the basic techniques of tape music?

Looping and splicing, both permit compositions that humans cannot reproduce

What cities had famous postwar centers for electronic music?

Rome, Paris, Cologne, and New York City

What does a single, isolated musical sound possess?

Pitch, duration, volume, and timbre

What is pitch?

The highness or lowness of a sound

What dog breed has a higher-pitched bark than a St. Bernard?

A chihuahua

What is higher-pitched than a tomcat's yowl?

A kitten's meow

What instrument is pitched lower than a piccolo?

A tuba

What do musicians mean when they refer to "a pitch"?

A single tone whose highness or lowness does not change, or a steadily oscillating sound wave

What Hz is the A string on a guitar?

A-110 (110 Hz)

What will you hear if you pluck the A string on a guitar, find the exact midpoint and press it firmly to the fret board, and then pluck the now-half-as-long string?

You will hear the next-higher A (220 Hz)

When you halve the length of the string on a guitar, what does the string do?

Vibrates twice as fast

What is an interval?

The distance between notes

What is an octave?

The distance between A and the next higher or next lower A

What is middle C equivalent to?

C4

What instrument provides an excellent visual aid for understanding pitch and harmony?

A piano keyboard

Where is middle C located on a keyboard?

To the left group of two black keys closest to the middle of the keyboard

What is half step, or semitone?

The distance between any two adjacent keys on a keyboard

What is a half step also known as?

A semitone

What is the smallest interval normally used in Western music?

A half step

What is a whole step?

The distance between every other key on a keyboard, regardless of color

What is a scale?

A sequence of pitches in ascending or descending order

What are the basic intervals of any scale in Western music?

Half steps and whole steps

What are the white keys on a keyboard usually called?

Natural keys

Where would middle C appear on a G-clef?

1 line below the bottom-most line

Where would middle C appear on an F-clef?

1 line above the top-most line

Where would middle C appear on an alto clef?

The middle line, or 3rd from the bottom

Where would middle C appear on a tenor clef?

The 4th line from the bottom

What symbol represents a natural note?

♮

What sign do musicians assume, if its omitted?

Natural sign

What does musical notation use to indicate pitches?

A 5-line staff

Where does the word clef come from?

The French word "key"

What are the 3 main clefs in use today?

G-clef, F-clef, and C-clef

What is the symbol for G-clef?

𝄞

What is G-clef also called?

The treble clef

What does the G-clef indicate?

The 2nd line from the bottom of the staff is the pitch "G"

What is the F-clef also called?

The bass clef

What is the symbol for the F-clef?

𝄢

What is the symbol for the C-clef?

𝄡