Musical Terms Reference Notes

Tempo and Basic Rhythm

  • Tempo indications are still predominantly written in Italian; since the invention of the metronome by Johann Nepomuk Mälzel (1816) they can be quantified precisely.
    • Metronome markings appear as M. M. (Mälzel’s-Metronom) followed by a note value and a number.
    • Example: (\text{M. M. } \quarter = 80) → 80 quarter-notes sound per minute.

Principal Italian Tempo Words (grouped by speed)

  • Slow Tempi
    • Largo – “broad, very calm.”
    • Lento – “slow.”
    • Grave – “heavy, serious.”
    • Adagio – “calm, at ease.”
  • Medium Tempi
    • Andante – “walking pace.”
    • Moderato – “moderate.”
    • Allegretto – “a little lively/moved.”
  • Fast Tempi
    • Allegro – “cheerful, lively.”
    • Vivace – “vivacious, brisk.”
    • Presto – “fast.”
    • Prestissimo – “very fast.”
  • Gradual tempo changes
    • ritardando (rit.) / rallentando (rall.) – becoming slower.
    • accelerando (accel.) – becoming faster.
    • a tempo – return to the initial tempo.

Time-Signature Types

  • Even ("gerade") metres: \frac{2}{4}, \frac{4}{4}, \frac{2}{2}\,(\text{alla breve}), \dots
  • Triple metres: \frac{3}{4}, \frac{3}{8}, etc.
  • Up-beat (Auftakt)
    • A piece may begin with an incomplete bar; the final bar supplies the missing beats so that opening + closing bar = full bar.
    • The upbeat is not counted when numbering bars.

Compound & Irregular Metres

  • \frac{6}{8} is perceived differently according to tempo:
    • Slow (e.g.
      Adagio): heard as two slow triple groups.
    • Fast (e.g.
      Presto): heard as two duple groups → feels "even" despite written compound signature.
  • Irregular signatures arise from mixing duple & triple units, e.g.
    Béla Bartók’s Bulgarian Dance No. 6 in \frac{7}{8} (pattern 2+2+3) or Stravinsky’s Sacrificial Dance with constantly changing bars.
  • Folk example: the Bavarian/Austrian Zwiefacher alternates regularly between \frac{2}{4} and \frac{3}{4}.

Rhythmic Devices

  • Dotted values
    • A dot adds ½ of the note’s value.
    • Double-dot: second dot adds ¼ of original value.
    • Example: dotted quarter = \quarter + \eighth; double-dotted quarter = \quarter + \eighth + \sixteenth.
  • Tuplets
    • Triplet: three notes in the time of two (e.g.
      \mathrm{3}!:!2 ratio). Notated with a bracket/“3.”
    • Extensions: quintuplets, sextuplets, etc.
  • Syncopation (Synkope)
    • Accent is shifted forward or off the natural beat.
    • Creates tension and momentum; vital in dance, jazz, Stravinsky, etc.

Notation: Staff, Clefs & Octave-Naming

  • Modern notation uses a five-line staff; absolute pitch is fixed by a clef at the beginning.
  • G-clef (\“Treble\”) – evolved from letter G, fixes g'.
    • Standard position 2nd line = Violin clef.
    • 1st line = French violin clef.
    • 8va-treble clef sounds one octave higher/lower than written.
  • C-clef – evolved from C, fixes c'.
    • Middle line = Alto/Bratschen clef (viola).
    • 4th line (second from top) = Tenor clef (cello, bassoon high register).
    • Other historical variants: soprano, mezzo-soprano, baritone.
  • F-clef – from F, fixes f below middle C.
    • 4th line = Bass clef.
    • Lower placements: sub-bass; 8va-bass clef.
  • Special staves
    • Gregorian chant still uses a four-line staff (range rarely exceeds an octave).
    • Unpitched percussion: usually single-line notation.
  • Octave names (German usage)
    • Contra-octave, great octave, small octave, one-lined c', two-lined c'', three-lined c''', etc.

Form & Analysis: The Fugue

  • Definition (after J. G. Walther, 1732): A polyphonic piece in which one voice seems to "flee" and is imitated by others with the same theme in different keys.

Basic Structural Terms

  • Subject / Soggetto (Dux = "leader"): initial statement.
  • Answer / Comes ("companion")
    • Real answer – intervallically exact transposition at the fifth.
    • Tonal answer – adjusts intervals to maintain tonality.
  • Countersubject: contrapuntal line accompanying the answer.
  • Exposition: ends once every voice (commonly 3 or 4) has presented the subject.
  • After the exposition: alternation of
    • Episodes (themen-frei; modulating, sequential).
    • Subsequent entries ("Durchführungen").

Thematic Transformations

  • Inversion (U) – subject turned upside-down (mirror around a horizontal axis).
  • Retrograde / Krebs (K) – subject backwards.
  • Retrograde-Inversion (KU).
  • Augmentation – note values lengthened (e.g.
    quarters → halves).
  • Diminution – values shortened (quarters → eighths).
  • Stretto / Engführung – new entry starts before previous entry has finished.
  • Double Fugue – two subjects (or a persistent countersubject) combined.

J. S. Bach & The Wohltemperiertes Klavier (WTK)

  • Two books (1722 & 1744), each with 24 preludes & fugues covering all major/minor keys.
  • Notable variety in subject character, metre, texture, treatment.
    • C-major (Book I) – transparent, diatonic.
    • F-minor (Book I) – sighing melodic shapes.
    • A-minor (Book I) – dance-like sequences.
    • E♭-major (Book II) – majestic, dotted-rhythm.
    • C♯-minor (Book I) – chromatic, expressive.
  • c-minor Fugue (Book II) – extreme artifice:
    • Frequent stretto.
    • Subject appears in inversion & augmentation.
    • Demonstrates Bach’s mastery of permutation & motivic economy.

Practical & Interpretative Implications

  • Precise metronome markings aid uniform rehearsal but performers still flex micro-tempo for expression.
  • Understanding 6/8 perception guides conducting patterns: slow = "in 6," fast = "in 2."
  • Clef literacy is essential for transposing instruments (viola, cello, bassoon, trombone) and for historical editions.
  • Fugue analysis trains listening for layered structures, helping performers balance voices and highlight entries.