music: vocab, eras etc.

homophony

texture where all parts move together at the same rate, with highest part being most prominent

chordal homophony

stricter type of homophony where different parts move together, forming a sequence of chords

melody dominated homophony

also called melody and accompaniment - looser form of homophony where there is a clear focus on the main melody, with other parts playing accompanimental role

monophony/monody

texture where there is a single line of music without accompanying harmony

unison

when two or more musical parts play the same music as each other

octave unison

unison where both parts play the same notes, but in different octaves

antiphony

alternating responses between 2 parts

polyphony/counterpoint

texture where different and independent melodic lines are heard at the same time

types of cadence

perfect

imperfect- I-V

interrupted - V-VI

plagal - IV-I (assoc. with church music)

motif

musical idea - a short melodic or rhythmic phrase that is repeated and subjected to change and transformation in a passage of music

ostinato

a distinctive motif or rhythmic phrase that is repeated and subjected to change and transformation in a passage of music - ostinato is longer than motif

countermelody

a secondary melody heard at the same time as the main tune, which complements it

basso continuo

a bassline played by a single-line instrument (cello and bass) accompanied by a chordal instrument improvising a harmony part - key in BAROQUE

diatonic

music that uses the pitches of home key

chromatic

antonym of diatonic - music uses pitches from outside home key (often resulting in dissonance)

modal

scale/pitch collection that occurred before tonal music emerged - does not have cadence/modulate in the same way as tonal music as leading note is often flattened

atonal

music that doesn’t follow the tonal or modal system, without an identifiable home pitch - emerged in the early 20th century - music often chromatic and dissonant

simple time

music with 4 at bottom of time signature

compound time

music with 8 at bottom of time signature

swung quavers/semis

jazz technique of playing quavers in a long-short pattern

tessitura

main pitch range of an instrument/vocal part

melisma

singing of more than one note to a single syllable of text

syllabic word setting

a way of setting words so that each syllable has a single note

secondary dominant

a chord which functions as the dominant of a chord other than the tonic

forms

binary form - two part AB structure

ternary form - three part structure, usually ABA

sonata form

rondo form - based on repetition of a theme, separated by intervening episodes, often ABACA

sonata form

exposition - 1st and second subject

development - musical ideas explored, range of keys visited

recapitulation - concluding section - original first and second subject theme heard, now both in home key

(coda) - concluding part of musical composition

CLASSICAL

music moves from home key to second key then back again

symphony

large-scale work for orchestra, usually 4 movements, common from classical period

sonata

multi-mvmt work for single player or single player + piano accomp.

concerto

piece for solo performer accompanied by orchestra

song without words

short Romantic piece for solo piano with song-like qualities - created by Felix Mendelssohn + Fanny Hensel in 19th cent.

imitation

where one line of music copies the melody of another, often at different pitch and usually with entry of second part overlapping completion of first

canon

repeating a melody but starting after time delay

hemiola

rhythmic phrasing of two bars of triple time music as if they were three bars of duple time

BAROQUE

a cappella

choral music performed without instrumental accomp.

mordent

turn

anacrusis

upbeat - an unstressed pickup or lead-in note or group of notes that goes before the first accented note of a phrase

consonance

when notes are sounded together and produce a sound associated with sweetness, pleasantness and lack of tonal tension

dissonance

absence of consonance and associated with harshness and unpleasantness - spectrum from mildly to extremely dissonant

pedal point/note

sustained/repeated bass note over which the harmony changes

circle of fifths

harmonic progression where bass moves progressively by interval of a fifth

sections of a pop song

verse

pre-chorus

chorus

middle-eight

intro

outro

sequence

melodic phrase that is repeated, getting progressively higher (ascending sequence) or lower (descending sequence)

conjunct

movement by step - when melody moves up/down to next nearest note within scale

disjunct

movement by skip/leap, when melody moves up or down by larger interval than a step

medieval

anything up to and incl. 1400

earliest examples - 900-1000

composer: hildegard

renaissance

1400s-1600

choral - SATB - church music

lots of instrumental, not much written down

polyphonic/contrapuntal

composer: palestrina

baroque

1600-1750

contrapuntal

harpsichord, basso continuo

composers: js bach, handel, purcell

classical

1750-1830

often diatonic, regular and balanced phrases

strings, esp violins, flutes, trumpets, timps but not much percussion, singing, piano

composers: mozart, beethoven (mix of classical and romantic),

romantic

1830-1900

dissonance/chromaticism

harmonies get richer, melodies fuller, more free

listen out for dissonant chords and unusual instruments, e.g. percussion

composers: schumann, chopin (smaller piano pieces), rachmaninoff (big orchestral pieces), wagner (opera)

20th century (modern)

1900 onwards

minimalism, atonality (from 1909)

composers (mostly german): schoenberg (atonal), philip glass (minimalism)

melodic devices

sequence

ornamentation

passing notes

suspension

harmonic (chords) devices

suspension

pedal

ground bass

cadences

rhythmic devices

syncopation

swung notes

hemiola (baroque)