BeFul Exam

Musical Periods and Composers

  • Medieval: late 8th to early 15th centuries 

    • Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)

    • Ordo virtutum 

  • Renaissance: 1400 to 1600, significant cultural and societal change 

    • Josquin Des Prez 

    • Ave Maria ... Virgo serena

  • Baroque: 1600 to 1750, this era was defined by intricate, technically demanding music, and the invention of opera 

    • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

    • Prelude and Fugue in D Major

  • Classical: 1750 to 1830

    • Joseph Haydn

    • Symphony No. 94

  • Romantic: 1820 to 1910, known for its more emotive and descriptive sounds 

    • Ludwig van Beethoven

    • Für Elise

  • Modern: 1900 to 1930 

    • Claude Debussy

    • Claire de lune

  • Postmodern: 1930 to the present

    • Earle Brown

    • Home Burial (1949), for piano

Key Signatures and Orders of Accidentals

  1. Order of Sharps: FCGDAEB

  2. Order of Flats: BEADGCF

  3. Cmaj: no flats or sharps → A minor

  4. Dmaj: 2 sharps → B minor

  5. Emaj: 4 sharps → C# minor

  6. Fmaj: 1 flat → D minor

  7. Gmaj: 1 sharp → E minor

  8. Amaj: 3 sharps → F# minor

  9. Bmaj: 5 sharps → G# minor

  10. F#maj: 6 sharps → D# minor

  11. C#maj: 7 sharps → A# minor

  12. Bbmaj: 2 flats → G minor

  13. Ebmaj: 3 flats → C minor

  14. Ab maj: 4 flats → F minor

  15. Db maj: 5 flats → Bb minor

  16. Gb maj: 6 flats → Eb minor

  17. Cb maj: 7 flats → Ab minor

Cadences:

  1. Authentic → 5-1

  2. Plagal → 4-1

  3. Deceptive → 6

  4. Half → 5

  5. Perfect Authentic → 5-1 soprano resolves to tonic 

  6. Inverted Imperfect Authentic → one or both chords are inverted

  7. Leading tone Imperfact Authentic → 7*- 1