Music - Yr 8 Terms

Melody

The main tune of the piece.

Ascending

Notes are moving upwards

Descending

Notes are moving downwards

Conjunct

Notes are played next to each other

Disjunct

There are leaps between the notes

Low pitched

Notes are low in pitch

High pitched

Notes at the top of a range of sound

Articulation

How the notes are played

Legato

The notes are played smoothly/joined together

Staccato

The notes are played detached

Dynamics

The volume of the music

Forte

Loud

Piano

Quiet

Crescendo

Gradually gets louder

Diminuendo

Gradually gets quieter

Mezzo piano

Moderately quiet

Mezzo forte

Moderately loud

Tempo

The speed of the music

Allegro

It is fast

Allegretto

It is quite fast

Andante/Moderato

Walking pace, moderately slow

Lento

It is slow

Accelerando

It gets faster

Ritardando

It gets slower

2/4

2 crotchets in a bar

4/4

4 crotchets in a bar

3/4

3 crotchets in a bar

Structure

The form of the music

Verse

A non-repeated ‘paragraph’ of song

Chorus

Repeated main section of a song

Intro/Outro

The beginning or ending of a piece

Bridge

Linking section in a song

Instrumental

No vocals, just instruments in a song

Harmony / Tonality

The chords used and the key

Major

Music that sounds bright, cheerful or uplifting.

Minor

Music that sounds darker, tense or sad.

Instruments

What ______ are used and what they play

Strings

violin/viola/cello/double bass/harp

Woodwind

flute/oboe/clarinet/bassoon/piccolo

Brass

trumpet/horn/trombone/tuba

Percussion

timpani/snare/cymbals/tambourine/hand drum

Voices

soprano/alto/tenor/bass

Keyboards

piano/harpsichord/organ/synthesiser

Rock/pop

electric/acoustic guitar/bass guitar/drumkit/loops/sample

Rhythm

A pattern of long and short notes

Semibreves

4 beats

Minims

2 beats

Crotchets

1 beat

Quavers

1/2 a beat

Semiquavers

1/4 of a beat

Dotted notes

Adds half the value to the note

Off-beat

Emphasis on the weak beats

Syncopated

Rhythms played off-beat

Texture

The layers in the music

Thick texture

Lots of parts playing

Thin texture

Only one or two parts

Monophonic

One sound heard

Homophonic

A melody and accompaniment