Chapter 1-4 Vocab

Front 1

sound

Back 1

the vibration of an object

Front 2

pitch

Back 2

the relative highness or lowness that we hear in a sound

Front 3

tone

Back 3

sound that has a definite pitch

Front 4

interval

Back 4

the distance between any two tones

Front 5

octave

Back 5

notes separated by the same interval

Front 6

pitch range or range

Back 6

the distance between the lowest and highest tones that can be produced

Front 7

dynamics

Back 7

degrees of loudness or softness in music

Front 8

accent

Back 8

an emphasized tone that is played louder than the ones around it

Front 9

pianissimo (pp)

Back 9

very soft

Front 10

piano (p)

Back 10

soft

Front 11

mezzo piano (mp)

Back 11

moderately soft

Front 12

mezzo forte (mf)

Back 12

moderately loud

Front 13

forte (f)

Back 13

loud

Front 14

fortissimo (ff)

Back 14

very loud

Front 15

decrescendo

Back 15

gradually softer

Front 16

crescendo

Back 16

gradually louder

Front 17

tone color or timbre

Back 17

the color difference between a flute and a trumpet, where sound is given a color; bright, dark, brilliant, mellow and rich

Front 18

women

Back 18

soprano
mezzo soprano
alto or contralto

Front 19

the categories musical instruments

Back 19

string
woodwind
brass
percussion
keyboard
electronic

Front 20

register

Back 20

the varying tone color of a specific instrument depending on the range in which it is played

Front 21

string instruments

Back 21

violin
viola
cello (violoncello)
double bass

Front 22

bow

Back 22

slightly curved stick strung tightly with horsehair

Front 23

pizzicato

Back 23

plucked string as with the double bass

Front 24

double stop

Back 24

two notes at once can be up to four strings or four notes at once

Front 25

vibrato

Back 25

throbbing, pitch fluctuations that make the tone warmer

Front 26

mute

Back 26

veil or muffled tone by fitting clamp onto the bridge

Front 27

tremolo

Back 27

rapidly repeats tones by quick up and down strokes of the bow, creating a sense of tension when loud or or a shimmering sound when soft

Front 28

harmonics

Back 28

very high pitched tones like a whistle, produced when certain parts of the string are touched lightly

Front 29

plectrum

Back 29

pick for stringed instruments, like for the guitar and harp

Front 30

woodwind instruments

Back 30

flute
clarinet
oboe
bassoon

Front 31

reed

Back 31

a very thin piece of cane about 2 n hlf inches long that is set into vibrations by a stream of air
- single: saxophone
- double: english horn

Front 32

brass instruments

Back 32

trumpet
french horn
trombone
tuba

Front 33

cornet

Back 33

simlar in shape to the trumpet but the tone is more mellow

Front 34

baritone horn

Back 34

looks like a tuba has the range of the trombone

Front 35

euphonium

Back 35

is the tenor instrument of the tuba family

Front 36

pitch of brass instruments

Back 36

regulated by both varying lip tensions and by using slides and valves to change the length of the tube thru which the air vibrates

Front 37

percussion instruments

Back 37

broken into definite and indefinite pitches

Front 38

definite pitch percussion

Back 38

timpani (Kdrums)
glockenspeil
xylophone
celesta
chimes

Front 39

indefinite pitch percussion

Back 39

snare drum
bass drum
tambourine
triangle
cymbals
gong

Front 40

keyboard instruments

Back 40

piano: versitle 88 keys spanning more than 7 octaves
harpsichord: piano relative, plucked by plectra
pipe organ: sets of pipes controlled from several different keyboards

Front 41

accordion

Back 41

has free steel reeds that are controlled by a treble keyboard with piano keys, played with the right hand and a bass keyboard buttons played with the left hand. the reeds are caused to vibrate by air pressure from a bellows

Front 42

theme

Back 42

is a melody used as the basis for a music composition

Front 43

variations

Back 43

repetitions of the theme, that are highlighting the tone of each instrument

Front 44

beat

Back 44

regular recurring pulse dividing music into units of time

Front 45

rhythm

Back 45

the flow of music thru time

Front 46

this describes particular arrangement of note lengths

Back 46

rhythm

Front 47

meter

Back 47

the organization of beats into regular groups

Front 48

measure

Back 48

a group containg a fixed number of beats

Front 49

there are several types of _____, which are based on the number of____ in a ______

Back 49

1 .meter
2. beats
3. measure

Front 50

duple meter

Back 50

when a measure has 2 beats and is counted 1'-2, 1'-2

Front 51

down beat

Back 51

the first or stressed beat of the measure

Front 52

triple meter

Back 52

pattern of three beats counted as 1'-2-3, 1'-2-3

Front 53

the waltz follows what meter

Back 53

the triple meter: 1'-2-3, 1'-2-3

Front 54

upbeat

Back 54

unaccented pulse preceding the down beat

Front 55

accent

Back 55

an emphasized note played louder than the others around it

Front 56

syncopation

Back 56

an accented note where one is not normally expected, like in jazz beats

Front 57

tempo

Back 57

the speed of the beat
- slow = solemn, lyrical
- fast = energetic and excited

Front 58

tempo indication

Back 58

terms that show tempo in italian

Front 59

largo

Back 59

very slow, or broad

Front 60

grave

Back 60

very slow or solemn

Front 61

adagio

Back 61

slow

Front 62

adante

Back 62

moderately slow, or walking pace

Front 63

allegretto

Back 63

moderately fast

Front 64

moderato

Back 64

moderate

Front 65

allegro

Back 65

fast

Front 66

vivace

Back 66

lively

Front 67

presto

Back 67

very fast

Front 68

prestissimo

Back 68

as fast as possible

Front 69

accelerando

Back 69

gradual quickening of tempo

Front 70

ritardando

Back 70

gradual slowing of tempo

Front 71

notation

Back 71

writing the specific pitches and rhythm, the rising and falling melodic lines and long or short notes

Front 72

note

Back 72

the oval symbol indicating the upward or downward pitches, where the duration is indicated by the color, black or white, or by the stem or flag on the symbol

Front 73

staff

Back 73

is a set of five horizontal lines

Front 74

the higher the note is placed on the staff the ____ is its pitch

Back 74

higher

Front 75

ledger lines

Back 75

indicate notes above or below the staff

Front 76

cleft

Back 76

is placed @ the beginning of the staff to show the pitch of each line and space

Front 77

treble cleft

Back 77

used for high ranges or notes played with the pianist right hand

Front 78

bass cleft

Back 78

used for low ranges or notes played with the pianists left hand

Front 79

grand staff

Back 79

is a combination of the bass and treble cleft

Front 80

middle c

Back 80

lies inbtween treble cleft on top and bass cleft on bottom for the grandstaff

Front 81

dotted rhythm

Back 81

strongly emphasized beat

Front 82

dotted note

Back 82

lengthens the duration of the note

Front 83

men

Back 83

tenor
baritone
bass