Music 101 General Music Terms

pitch

a sound created by vibrations

how high or low the sound is

fast vibration = what pitch?

high

slow vibration = what pitch?

low

note

a specific pitch

interval

the distance between two pitches (notes)

half step

type of interval

the distance between two neighbor notes

dissonant (clashing)

whole step

type of interval

any two pitches that are two half-steps apart

mildly dissonant (clashing)

scale

a succession of whole step and half step intervals that sound normal or logical

types of scales

major, minor, chromatic

major scale sequence of whole + half steps

WWHWWWH

Why Would Harry Willingly Waste Water at Home?

minor scale sequence of whole + half steps

WHWWHWW

Would Holly Walk With Henry, Without Wisdom?

chromatic scale sequence of whole + half steps

only half steps

melody

a succession of notes (any)

phrase

a short melody

natural to take a breath at the end if singing

motive

short succession of notes used throughout a piece to create a sense of unity

theme

similar to motive (succession of notes repeated) but longer

nonmetrical

no regular recurring pattern of beats

texture

the means by which melody, harmony, and rhythm are combined in a composition

monophony

most basic texture

single melody line has absolutely no harmony

tone color/timbre

quality of sound of an instrument or voice

genre

category based on shared characteristics

absolute music

instrumental music intended for listening pleasure

score

printed piece of music

chord

two or more notes played at the same time

harmony

notes that occur at the same time as the melody that enhance/support

homophony

a type of texture in which a melody line is enhanced by other musical material, usually cords

No. # meaning

the number associated with how many times a composer has composed this specific type of piece

Op. # meaning

Indicates what composition number this is for the composer overall

rhythm

how music occurs within time

beat

regularly recurring pulse

measure/bar

unit of musical time

meter

a pattern of regularly recurring accented + unaccented beats

duple meter

recurring pattern of one accented beat followed by one unaccented beat

triple meter

recurring pattern of one accented beat followed by two unaccented beats

quadruple meter

recurring pattern of one accented beat followed by a light beat, then a somewhat heavy beat, and then a final light beat

compound meter

recurring pattern of accented beats and unaccented beats that can be perceived as either duple or triple

polyphony

2+ melodic lines that are equal in importance

imitative polyphony

one melody line begins and another begins shortly after

nonimitative polyphony

2+ contrasting melody lines occurring simultaneously

organa

polyphonic compositions for a capella voices

form

the way a particular piece of music is laid out

binary form

when a piece of music has two sections of contrasting music (AB)

ternary form

three sections of music, with the first and last being the same (ABA)

movement

a separate piece of music with a clear ending that is part of a larger overall work

tempo

speed of music

grave tempo

very slow

largo tempo

very slow

lento tempo

very slow

adagio tempo

slow

andante tempo

somewhat slow → walking pace

moderato tempo

medium speed

allegretto tempo

somewhat fast

allegro tempo

fast

vivace tempo

fast

presto tempo

very fast

chamber music

ensembles of smaller size than current standard size orchestra (2-20 performers)

pit orchestra

used in opera and ballet genres

orchestra is located in the pit which is in front of + lower than/partially underneath the stage