Music Appreciation Mid Term

Melody

Recognizable Pattern of pitches

Rhythm

Variations in a pattern of sound

Form

The structure of the music piece

Pitch

how high or low a sound is, based on how fast it vibrates

Beat

steady pulse/sound

Harmony

Two or more pitches played together

Timbre

The quality that distinguishes one sound from another, e.g. starts fast or slow and how the sound progresses over time

Texture

The density of layers of melodies in a music piece

Decibel

The unit for measuring how loud a sound is (its volume or amplitude)

Scale

A set of pitches arranged in order from low to high (or high to low)

Hertz

The frequency level of a sound wave, the number of vibrations per second, higher is higher pitched

Octave

the distance from one note to the next note with the same name, 8 notes apart. The higher one vibrates twice as fast

Flux

How a sound changes over time e.g. constant flute vs pluck of guitar

Consonant

Two note that sound like they belong with each other

Chord

three or more notes sounded at the same time

Monophonic

One layer of melody

Meter

The grouping of sound into something measurable (duples or triples)

Interval

The distance between two notes

Dissonant

notes that sound tense or clashing when played together

Polyphonic

Two or more layers of melodies playing at the same time

Key

The group of notes a piece is built around, and the central note e.g. c major

Overtones

Higher, quieter sounds that ring along with the main note, (the fundamental), and give each instrument its unique sound. Their vibration rates are whole-number multiples of the fundamentals

Homophonic

One layer of melody with a supporting element

Reverberation

How the sound interacts with its environment, e.g. notes last longer or end faster

Tempo

How fast the sound is going. Fast > heartbeat, slow < heartbeat

Organum

2 lines of voices, early polyphony, parts weren’t equal

Nuemes

Early sheet music

Vernacular

Language of the people

Protestant Reformation

people opposing the catholic church and creating their own branches of the church

Martin Luther

started the protestant reformation, created Lutheran, 95 Theses

King Henry VIII

created the Anglican Church, thought Pope was too powerful

Sacred

music relating to the church

Secular

music not relating to the church

Renaissance

1401 - 1600 (15th to 16th century)

Middle Ages

501 - 1400 (6th to 14th century)

Troubadours

traveling musicians during middle ages. they played secular music about courtly love, chivalry, and political morals

cadence

how the music closes

Tonality

organizing music around one central “home” note, so the other notes feel like they pull toward or away from it

Renaissance Sacred Music

flowy rhythm, has metric but not as clear as secular music, sounds “perfect” (everything has a job, everything leads into something else, uniform)

Middle Ages Sacred Music

very slow, only voices, chant like, non-metric, latin, organum

Middle Ages Secular Music

instruments, sometimes vocal music, more rhythmic, faster, metric quality, non-Latin, more exciting

Renaissance Secular Music

Polyphonic texture, all metric, more consonance, more advanced, more beautiful