Studied by 0 people
Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
Melody
a single line of music, the "tune" of a piece.
Conjunct
stepwise intervals
Disjunct
wide intervals
Harmony
the underlying or supportive notes which work with melody and rhythm.
Chord
3 or more notes sounding at the same time
Rhythm
the duration of sounds.
Form
the structure of music.
Genre
category.
Texture
the density of sound, the number of simultaneously sounding lines.
Monophonic
one sounding line
Homophonic
multiple sounding lines, one or more lines support the main melodic line
Polyphonic
multiple independent lines
Phrase
a musical thought.
Cadence
a musical punctuation
Dynamics
degrees of loudness or softness of tones.
Scale
an ascending or descending series of stepwise notes that cover the span of 8 notes (octave)
Timbre
the characteristic (quality) of sound produced by an instrument or human voice.
Pitch
highness or lowness of a tone.
Meter
the organization of rhythm.
Duration
the length of time a pitch sounds.
Gregorian chant/plainchant
music written with a single, monophonic line
Pope Gregory the Great
Namesake of Gregorian Chant, credited with collection of over 3,000 plainchants
Hildegard of Bingen
German, most celebrated woman of 12th century, composed more expressive plainchant
The Mass
most important service of worship
Proper
specific to days of the week
Ordinary
never changes, same every day
Organum
Earliest form of polyphony, based off of plainchant
Leonin
Worked at Notre Dame, first known composer of polyphony
Perotin
Successor of Leonin, expanded the organum into 3-4 voices
Chivalry
glorified women and idealized kindness and refined manners
Troubadours & Trouvères
poet/composers of secular music, often depicting medieval life and unrequited love
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
French Troubadour, wrote Kalenda maya
Italian Madrigal
Written for small groups, in the vernacular language, faster, regular rhythms, word painting, mainly depictions of love, also humor, politics, and satire
English Madrigal
Modeled after the Italian Madrigal, lighter texts used more often
Renaissance Motet
Latin text, a cappella, smooth melodies, sung by boys and men, use of imitation, consonant (pleasant) intervals
John Farmer
Helped shape madrigals into a truly native English artform
Martin Luther
Started the Protestant Revolution with his 95 Theses
John Calvin
Believed polyphony distracted from the sacred texts
Humanism
focusing on the person or the individual rather than religion
Importance of the printing press
Significant for the dissemination of music and texts
Palestrina
Composer who wrote the most amount of masses
A cappella singing
Singing (individual or group) without any instrumental accompaniment
Word Painting
Music imitates and directly reflects the text
Dance Music
Music specifically composed for dancing
Instruments
Divided into two main categories: Soft (bas, or indoor), or Loud (haut, or outdoor)
Tielman Susato
Well known printer and musician (multi-instrumentalist). Composed and arranged various secular and sacred pieces.
Baroque Opera
Large scale music drama that includes poetry, acting, scenery, costumes, singing, and instruments.
Homophonic Texture
Music with multiple voices and/or instrumental parts with a clear melodic line supported by less important accompanimental lines.
Overture
Played by the orchestra at the start of the opera; introduces all of the melodies that will be heard throughout the opera.
Recitatives
Musical passages in opera that are sung in a speech-like manner.
Arias
Solo vocal pieces in an opera, typically showcasing the singer's vocal ability.
Duo, Trios, & Quartets
Small ensemble pieces in opera featuring two, three, or four singers respectively.
Baroque Dance Suite (Partita)
Collections of dance pieces consisting of contrasting pieces in the same key, typically in binary or ternary form.
Fugue
A musical composition mainly written for keyboard instruments that uses imitation and contrapuntal lines moving in contrary motion.
Contrapuntal Lines
Musical lines moving in contrary motion.
Word-Painting
A musical technique that reflects the literal meaning of a song's lyrics.
Program Music
Instrumental music that directly depicts an extramusical narrative, such as Vivaldi's Four Seasons.
Baroque Concerto
A musical composition featuring an instrumental soloist or group of soloists, often in ritornello form.
Ritornello Form
A structure used in the baroque concerto that alternates between refrains played by the orchestra and episodes played by the soloist.
Johann Sebastian Bach
A composer and organist known for writing hundreds of hymns, cantatas, and instrumental pieces.
Allegro
A musical term indicating a fast tempo.
Adagio
A musical term indicating a slow tempo.
Antonio Vivaldi
Composer and violin virtuoso, conservatory teacher, wrote 500 concertos.
George Frederic Handel
Composer of mainly opera and English oratorio, German born but had the main part of his career in London.
Oratorio
Large scale dramatic work using sacred texts, featuring solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, not staged or costumed, originally used by the Catholic Church.
Handel's Messiah
Most famous oratorio.
Lutheran Chorales
Weekly hymns sung in Lutheran services with simple, singable melodies and homophonic texture.
Cantata
Elaborate chorale where poets and musicians add and substitute stanzas.
Arias
Lyrical, romantic songs sung by a soloist in an opera.
Recitative
Speech-like music meant to provide expositional information in an opera.
Libretto
Text used in an opera, written by a librettist.
Dynamic Ranges
Understanding soft to loud: pianissimo, piano, mezzopiano, mezzoforte, forte, fortissimo.
Allegro
Fast Tempo.
Andante
Walking pace tempo.
Adagio
Slow Tempo.
String Quartet Instruments
Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello.
Sonata Form
Structure consisting of Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation.
Theme and Variation Form
Opening theme is introduced and then embellished and altered in subsequent variations.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Famous composer with a large output, over 100 symphonies.
Minuet
Stately dance in ternary form, with a middle section called the trio.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Austrian composer, child prodigy on violin, piano, and composition.
Rondo Form
Consists of refrains and episodes, typically concluding a movement of a sonata, symphony, or quartet, following the pattern ABACA.
Classical Concerto
Focused on one soloist, structured as Fast - Slow - Fast with the 1st movement combining ritornello form and sonata form.
Cadenza
A moment in a concerto when a soloist plays by themselves for an extended period of time, typically virtuosic.
Types of Classical Opera
Opera Seria - Serious opera; Opera Buff - Comic Opera.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Important German composer, pushed the boundaries of the Symphony Orchestra.
