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315 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back

32-bar song form

A structure of four 8-bar phrases in the pattern AABA, used originally for chorus of a popular song. B=middle eight/bridge.
A cappella
Unaccompanied singing
Accent
A note given special emphasis
Additive rhythm
Rhymic patterns made from repetitions of a fast-note value as opposed to rhythms based on divisions and multiplications of the time value of a regular pulse.
Aerophone
A category of instruments that produce sounds when a body of air is made to vibrate (eg. woodwind and brass).
Agogo
In African music, a double bell played with a stick.
Air
English or French for 'song'.
Alap
Indian music - unmetred, improvised prelude (intro).
Aleatoric
Music determined by chance rather than composer.
Alto
A high male or low female voice.
Anacrusis
One or more weak-beat notes before the first strong beat or phrase. Also called 'pick-up'.
Analogue synthesiser
An early type of synthesiser that used varying electrical waveforms to produce sounds now created digitally.
Answering phrase
Second of a pair of balanced prhases. Sounds as if answering first phrase (question). These symmetrical/periodic phrases are also called the antecedent and the consequent.
Antiphony
Music in which 2 or more groups of performers alternate with each other.
Arco.
To use the bow.
Pizzicato
To pluck the strings.
Col legno
To bounce the bow on the strings with the wooden side,
Aria
Solo vocal work with instrumental accomp. Usually found in operas.
Arpeggio
A chord played as successive notes.
Articulation
The point at which the note is sounded.
The length of notes in relation to context (legato/staccato).
Attack
The start-point of a sound.
Atonality
Unrelated to a tonic note and has no sense of key.
Atumpan
Large, African, goblet-shaped drum, usually played in pairs.
Augmentation
A proportionate increase in the note-lengths of a melody (eg. 2 quavers and 1 crotchet becomes two crotchets and a minim).
Backing vocals
Accompany main singers. Notated as bvox.
Balafon
West-African xylophone
Ballad
Slow and expressive pop song / romantic composition in one movement.
Bandish
N. Indian music - content (rag and tal of piece)
Bansuri
Side-blown flute. Indian.
Baroque
1600-1750, period of music
Basic series/set
12-note row in serialism/prime order.
Bass
Low male voice / Lowest-sounding part of composition.
Basso Continuo
Baroque. Bass part with improvised accompanying chords on harmony instrument.
Basso Ostinato
Short bass melody continuously repeated for a sufficient length of time.
Bayan
Larger drum in tabla - Indian
Beat-matching
Dance music - adjusting speed of recording to exactly match the tempo of previous track.
Bhangra
Amalgation of western pop styles and traditional punjabi styles of music (indian).
Binary form
Structure in 2 sections - AB.
Bitonality
2 different keys at the same time.
Blues
USA musical genre evolved from black slaves. W. Africal traditions and western folk music.
Blue scale
A scale in which some degrees (blue notes) are flattened. Usually third and seventh degrees.
Bols
N. Indian music - syllables used to represent drum strokes on a tabla.
Book
Spoken words, stage directions and indications of lyrics for songs in a musical.
BPM
beats per minute
Break
in pop and jazz music, an instrumental solo. In dance music, a short passage when all parts drop out - sound effects/silence used.
Bridge
Contasting passage (eg, middle eight) in pop song.
Britpop
British music - evolved in 90s.
Breakbeat
Rhythm of hip-hop track created by sampling and looping an existing drum break.
Breakdown
Dance track - parts gradually drop out, leaving only 1 playing (usually drums).
Broken chord
Notes sounded individually in patterns, not together.
Cadenza
Improvised/written-out solo in an aria or concerto movement.
Canon
Compositional device in which a melody in one part is later repeated in another part whilst part1 continues to unfold.
Canon by inversion.
Second part to enter to enter presents original melody upside down.
Cell
Motif - often refers to group of notes/short-rhythm in 20th-century modernist styles.
Chaal rhythm
Found in Bhangra.
Chaconne and passacaglia
Continuous variations based on an ostinato. Different in origins but basically same by beginning of 18th century.
Chamber orchestra
Small orchestra.
Chordophone
Instruments which produce sound primarily by vibrating strings eg. violin, guitar.
Chromatic notes
Foreign to the prevailing key.
Circle of 5ths
Series of bass notes each a 5th higher or lower than previous note.
Classical
1750-1825, period of music.
Clef
A symbol defining the pitches of the notes on a stave.
Coda
Closing section at end of movement/song/piece.
Coloratura
Ornamental style of vocal music - eg. soprano soloists in opera.
Compound metre
Each beat can be divided into three shorter notes of equal length.
Concerto
Composition for one or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra. Usually in 3 movements.
Consonance
Relative stability of two or more notes sounded together (concords) - they go together well.
Dissonance
Relative instability of two or more notes sounded together (discords) - clashing chords.
Con sordino
An instruction for a performer to use a mute.
Countermelody
A new melody heard simultaneously with a melody that has been heard before.
Counterpoint
(Countrapuntal) - the simulataneous combination of 2 or more melodic lines.
Cross-rhythm
Conflicts with the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed beats of a composition, or the combination of conflicting rhythms within a single beat (eg. duplets against triplets).
Cyclic
2 or more different movements are linked by the uses of the same/similar themes.
Da capo
Instruction to repeat the music from the beginning - usually ending at Fine.
Dance band
Ensemble (typically consists of saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, drums and bass) associated with popular music of swing era - 30s and 40s.
Decay
The end-part of a sound. Might decay gradually or suddenly.
Decks
Turntables used by DJ.
Decorations
Printed embellishments or small departures from the written score designed to enrich a performance.
Delay
Audio effect - a sound is replayed after a very short delay - often many times in quick succession.
Descant
Melodic line sung above the main melody of a hymn/similar vocal piece.
Dhol
Large, cylindrical African drum.
Dhrupad
Traditional style of dignified slow singing in Indian music.
Dimunition
Proportionate decrease in note-lengths - opposite of augmentation.
Disco
Populare style of up-tempo dance music in 70s with distinctive four-on-the-floor beat.
Distortion
Rough sound produced when audio signal is deformed.
DJ
Presents and comments on recorded music / creates continuous music for dancing by mixing pre-recorded tracks.
Djembe
Goblet-shaped African drum.
Dominant
Fifth degree of a scale.
Double stopping
The performance of a two-note chord on a bowed string instrument.
Doubling
The simultaneous performance of the same melody by two players/groups of players at same pitch/in octaves.
Drone
A sustained/repeated note sounded against a changing harmony.
Drum and bass
Very fast popular dance style - drum and bass = underlying structure.
Drum loop
Short series of drum beats repeated over and over again without any musical/tempo inconsistencies.
Drum machine
Synsthesiser capable of simulating the sounds of a number of percussion instruments.
Dundun
Double-headed hourglass drum from Africa - talking drum.
Editing
Preparing a final version of a piece by selecting, processing and correcting material.
Episode
A distinct section within a movement.
EQ
Equalisation. A signal processing device that alters the frequency response of a sound.
European synth-pop
New wave of pop music in 70s. Synthesisers play an important role in rhythm and melody, as well as harmony. Eg. Ultravox and Duran Duran.
Expressionism
Early 20th-century style characterised by expression of inner fears and obsessions (delves into subconsious mind) through distorted/violent artistic ideas.
Extended performance techniques
Unusual or unconcentional ways of using the voice/an instrument.
Falsetto
Vocal technique when a man sings in a different tone in a higher register.
Figuration
Melodic line made up of repeated and varied figures or continuous ornamental patterns.
Figure
Motif.
Figured bass
Bass part with Arabic numerals that indicate intervals above the bass to be played to form desired chords.
Fill
Brief improvised flourish in between phrases.
Filtering
Masking out some components of an electronic signal.
Flanger
Electronic effect - sometimes on electric guitars - to give a 'sweeping' sound.
Flutter-tonguing
On wind instruments, rolling an 'r' with the tongue while blowing to produce rapid repetitions of the same notes.
Four-on-the-floor
Dance music (eg. disco/house) characterised by four accented beats per bar on the bass drum.
Funk
American music in 60s and 70s - developed from soul, but is more rhythmic and less mellow.
Gamak
N. India, approaching a note by sliding to it from above or below.
Gankogui
African double bell.
Garage
Electronic dance music in mid-90s. Combined deep bass of jungle with drum loops and rap-like vocals.
Gat
Indian music - instrumental composition.
Gating
In recording, only letting sounds through if they are above a certain dynamic level.
Gharana
N. Indian music - an extended family of musicians learning from a particular master and often living under the same roof.
Graphic score
Uses pictoral rater than conventional notation to indicate pitch and duration etc.
Griot
W. African poet and musician who travels around singing traditional stories.
Groove
Repeating rhythm to create 'feel' of a piece.
Ground bass
Melody in bass part of a composition repeated many times and which forms basis from melodic/harmonic variations.
Hammer on
Electric guitar technique - note is sounded by bringing finger down firmly on string, not by plucking.
Harmonium
Reed organ.
Harpsichord
Keyboard instrument with one, 2 or 3 manuals contolling jacks - pieces of plastic/quill which pluck a string when key is depressed.
Heterophonic
Texture made of a simple tune and a more elaborate version of it played/sung together.
Hexachord
Set of 6 pitches.
Hip-hop
Culture evolved in urban black America in 70s. Features : uses of rap by MC with accompaniment of looped drum breaks from other songs and created by a DJ.
Highlife
African pop music genre - fusion of African percussion and drum rhythms with Western guitars and dance-band instruments.
Hocket
Breaking up notes of a melody with short rests and sometimes distributinng them between different voices/instruments.
Homophonic
One part has all melodic interest and other parts provide simple accompaniment.
Hook
In pop music, a short melodic idea designed to be instantly memorable.
Hosho
A rattle made from a gourd with seeds inside (or beads around) often used to accompany mbira in African music.
House
Style of electronic dance music, often sequenced. Fast four-on-the-floor beat (often on drum machine), continuous bass patterns, samples and synthesisers.
Idiophone
Produce sound by their own vibration, eg shakers and xylophones.
Imperfect cadence
Almost any chord plus chord 5 at the end of a phrase.
Interlocking phrases
The result of using phase shifting in minimalism.
Interlude
Music played between sections of a longer piece.
Interrupted cadence
Chord V to chord VI.
Isicathamiya
'On tiptoes' - style of unaccompanied choral singing, originated from Zulu people.
Jamaican Dub
Pops style originated in 70s, where an instrumental track was assembled from fragments of an existing song - added percussion, low, loud bass and effects such as reverb. Ofter formed backing for toasting.
Jhala
N. Indian music - lively, rhythmical, improvised section in fast tempo following the jhor. Ofter contains gat, where tabla enters.
Jhor
N. Indian music - improvisatory section with a strong pulse but no set metre. It is in medium tempo and follows the alap.
Jungle
An early name for drum and bass.
Khali
Indian music, an unaccented vibhag in which the 1st beat is indicated by a wave rather than a clap.
Khayal
Indian traditional style of singing, more decorated and improvisatory than dhrupad.
Kora
Long-necked harp in West-African music.
Leitmotif
A musical idea used in opera and musicals as a reminder of a particular character, setting or situation.
Libretto
The words of an opera or musical. In musicals, it contains the book (spoken words) and the lyrics.
Lick
Short solo phrase in pop and jazz.
Lute
Fretted plucked-string instrument popular in the renaissance and baroque eras.
Matra
'Measure' or 'count' in which a tal is performed.
Mbira
African 'thumb piano' consisting of metal strings attached to a resonator that are twanged by both thumbs (and sometimes index fingers).
MC
Microhone Controller or Master of Ceremonies - raps over the breakbeats in hip-hop.
Meend
Indian music, a gamak involving a smooth glide between notes.
Melismatic
Vocal line when several notes are sung to the same syllable.
Melodrama
Speech which is accompanied by or interspersed with music to heighten its dramatic impact.
Membranophone
Produces sound by a vibrating skin - (drums).
Metallophone
Rows of tuned metal bars struck with mallets, eg. glockenspiel.
Microtone
An interval smaller than a semitone.
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface: system for exchanging music performance data between computers/electronic instruments.
Military Band
Wind band with woodwind, brass and percussion.
Minimalism
Late 20th century style. Characterised by varied repetition of simple rhythmic, harmonic or melodic ideas.
Minuet
Elegant dance in 3/4. Alternates with trio to produce a ternary structure.
Mix-in
Opening section of a dance track, which DJ mixes with the sound of the previous track.
Mix-out
Closing section of a dance track, which DJ mixes with the sound of the next track.
Mixing
Blending separate sources.
Modal music
Based on one of scales of seven pitch classes found in western music (not maj or min).
Modernism
Cultural movement of early 20th century which rejected tradition to create new forms of expression. Features include complexity and free use of dissonance.
Monophonic
Texture - single unaccompanied melody performed by soloist or many people singing in unison or in octaves.
Motif
A short idea which can be modified, manipulated and possibly combined with other motifs whilst retaining its own identity.
Motivic Development
Sustaining interest in longer musical structures by manipulating short motifs rather than just repeating and contrasting complete sections.
Multiphonics
An instrument or voice which usually is monophonic, produces two or more notes at one time.
Multi-tracking
Recording technique - Several tracks recorded independently are played together.
Music theatre
Involves some dramatic presentation, not necessarily fully staged like opera/musical.
Octave displacement
Moving notes of a tone row one or more octaves from their original pitches, therefore producing angular melodic lines.
Opera buffing
Opera of a comic nature usually with happy ending.
Operetta
Light opera - spoken dialogue, songs and dances. Shorter than operas.
Oral tradition
Music handed down through generations by speech and performance rather than notation and writing.
Orchestra
Large instrumental ensemble. Full sized symphony orchestra contains at least 60 performers.
Organ
Wind instrument with bellows that supplies compressed air to a set of pipes OR an electronic instrument with a wide selection of sounds and effects as well as pipe organ sound.
Ornamentation
Decorative notes to embellish main notes of a melody.
Ostinato
Rhythmic, melodic or harmonic pattern repeated many times in succession - in pop music = riff.
Outro
In pop and jazz, a closing section. Essentially same as coda.
Pakhawaj
Large wooden cylindrican Indian drum with skin at both ends, played with palms and fingers.
Palm muting
Guitar and bass technique which stops a sound by pressing the heel of the hand on a vibrating string.
Palta
Indian scalic melodic pattern practised to improve sitar technique.
Pan
Control determining position of a sound in the stereo field.
Passing note
Non-harmony note which moves by step between two harmony notes.
Pedal
Sustained/repeated note sounded against a changing harmony.
Pentatonic music
Based on a 5-note scale.
Perfect cadence
Chord V - Chord I.
Phrase structure
Length and pattern of melodic phrases making up a section of music.
Phasing/phase shifting
Minimalist technique - melody copied by another part in slightly extended version so the two parts phase in and out of sync.
Pitch bending
Detuning a note so it slides to another pitch.
Pitch class
A set of pitches all sharing same letter name.
Pizzicato
To pluck the strings on a usually bowed instrument.
Plagal cadence
Chord IV - Chord I.
Pointillism
20th-century style - selection of isolated notes are heard as points of sound.
Polyphonic
Texture - 2 or more different melodies sounding together.
Polyrhthym
2 or more distinctly different rhythms at the same time.
Portamento
Slide from one pitch to another.
Post-modernism
Reaction to complex dissonance of modernism. Characterised by simple, novel structures and a return to mainly diatonic harmony.
Power chord
Loud guitar chord - open 5th (tonic and dominant).
Pre-chorus
In pop song, bridge between verse and chorus.
Production number
Section in musical including singing and dancing from full company.
Programme music
Music which suggests visual images or a story.
Prose score
Experimental music - when the music is described rather than notated.
Pull off
Guitar technique - finger is lifted from fretboard while string is vibrating, therefore pitch drops.
Pulse
Beat.
Pulsing
Numerous rapid repetitions of the same chord.
Relative major/minor
Keys which share the same key signature (eg. C major and A minor).
Reprise
Return of a section of music.
Residual tone
Breathy sound resulting from blowing down a flute without producing a note.
Retrograde
A series of note values, pitches or chords played backwards.
Retrograde Inversion
A series of notes played backwards and upside down.
Reverb
Reverberation. Series of reflections which occurs when sound is made in an enclosed space.
Revue
Theatrical entertainment that includes music, dance, comedy and satire.
Riff
In jazz or pop music - a short pattern designed to be instantly memorable.
Ritornello
Instrumental section in a baroque aria or a section for a large string ensemble in a baroque concerto.
Romantic
1825-1900, musical era.
Rondo
Composition in which a passage at the start is repeated at intervals throughout the piece. The repeates are separated by contrasting passages called episodes.
Root
In tonal music, the fundamental pitch of a chord built of superimposed thirds.
Rubato
Freedom with tempo. Expressive slight speeding up and slowing down.
Sam
Indian music - 1st beat of a tal.
Sampler
Device for recording sections of sounds as digital information - they can then be played back with various modifications.
Sarangi
Indian fretless bowed instrument with 3 main strings and a range or sympathetic strings.
Sargam
Indian system for naming notes (like sol-fa) - SA RE GA MA PA DHA NI SA.
Sarod
Indian plucked-string instrument with melody, drone and sympathetic strings. It has a metal fingerboard and no frets.
Scherzo
Fast movement in triple-time, usually found in 19th century instrumental music. (Alternates with trio to give ternary form).
Score
Written document representing how a piece of music should be played.
Scotch snap
Two-not rhythm consisting of a short on-beat note and a long off-beat note.
Scratching
Manipulating vinyl record to repeat passage of music several times - move disc back and forwards.
Sequence
Immediate repetion of a motif or phrase of a same melody in the same part but at different pitch OR performance data saved by sequencer.
Sequencer
Computer sofware for the input, editing and playback or music performance data using MIDI.
Serialism
Music based on manipulations of a 12-note series including every pitch of a chromatic scale.
Setting
Music added to a text so that the words are sung instead of spoken.
Seventh chord
A triad plus a 7th above the root.
Sforzando
Strongly accented.
Simple metre
Each beat can be divided into two shorter notes of equal length.
Sitar
Indian fretted, plucked-string instrument - melody, drone and symathetic strings.
Solo
Piece written for or performed by a single musician.
Soprano
High female or unbroken boy's voice.
Soul music
Pop music - 50s America. Combination of r&b, gospel and places emphasis on vocalists.
Sound card
Internal/external devise connected to computer which records and plays back digital audio signals.
Sound module
Device without a keyboard that can play synthesised or sampled sound under control of computer, sequencer or remote keyboard.
Sprechstimme (sometimes Sprechgesang)
Vocal production - half-way between singing and speaking.
Stab
Pop music, a single accented chord, played staccato by brass or an orchestral sample.
Step
In GB, a semitone or tone, in USA, a tone (semitone is half-step).
String quartet
2 violins, a viola and a cello.
Strophic song
Same music is used for every verse.
Subdominant
4th degree of a scale.
Subito
Suddenly.
Suite
Collection of pieces intended to be performed together.
Syllabic
Each syllable is set to its own note.
Sympathetic strings
Not played, but produces sound 'in sympathy' with strings that are being played.
Symphony
Orchestral composition, usually of 4 movements.
Syncopation
Accentuation of notes sounded off the beat or on a weak beat.
Synthesiser
Electronic instrument that can produce and modify sound. Can imitate other instruments or make non-musical sounds.
Tabla
Indian pair of drums played with hands and fingers of 1 performer.
Tal/Tala/Talam
Cyclic rhythmic pattern in Indian music which forms the basis of improvisation.
Tan
Indian music - improvised fast variations expanding basic notes of the rag.
Talking drums
African music - drums on which a variety of sounds similar to elements of speech can be played.
Tanpura/Tanbura
Indian plucked-string instrument with four drone strings.
Tape loop
Section of magnetic tape fixed end to end so that the same music can be repeated indefinitely.
Tintal
Indian music - most common rag with 16 beats shaped as 4 patterns of 4.
Ternary form
3-part structure (ABA) where B is a contrasting section.
Tessitura
Pitch range in which a passage of music mainly lies.
Texture
Number and timbres of parts in a composition and how they relate to each other.
Theka
Indian - pattern of drum strokes which make up tal.
Theme
Main idea in a conception eg. the melody.
Through-composed
In musicals, no dialogue, just music.
Tierce de Picardie
Major 3rd in final tonic chord of a minor-key passage.
Tihai
Tabla pattern played 3 times (usually ending on sam) to mark end of a section.
Timbre
Tone colour.
Time line
In W. African drumming, a short repeated rhythm guiding the other players - usually played on a bell.
Tonal language
A language where pitch can also determine the meaning of the words. (Many African languages are tonal).
Tonal music
In a clearly defined key.
Tone row
Series of 12 different pitch classes. In strict serialism, none of these pitch classes is repeated until all 12 have been used.
Tonic
1st degree of a scale.
Trance
90s dance music evolved from techno, with more harmonic and melodic content.
Transformation
Melody, rhythm or chord progression is changed to take on a new character, while still retaining original pitches.
Transposition
Performance or noteation is lower or higher than the original.
Treble
Boy's unbroken voice.
Tremolo
Continuous rapid repetition of either a single pitch or 2 alternating pitches more than a tone apart.
Tripple stopping
3-note chord on a bowed string instrument.
Triplet
3 notes of equal length played in the time of 2 notes of same time value.
Tritone
Interval of 3 tones.
Turn
Step above, written note, step below, written note. An ornament.
Tutti
All (or most) of the emsemble are playing.
Twelve-bar blues
Also been widely adopted in jazz and pop. 12 bars with a chord progression based on I and V.
Unison
2 or more notes at same pitch.
Vari-speed
Control on turntable, tape recorder or CD player allows small adjustments to be made to speed of rotation.
Variations
Theme is repeated, each time with slight alterations.
Vaudeville
Theatrical entertainment popular in the USA in late-19th, early 20th century with variety of acts.
Velocity
Measure of how fast a key on a music keyboard has been pressed - used in MIDI to determine volume, timbre and attack.
Techno
1980s sequencer-based electronic dance music, with few/no vocals. Emphasis on drum tracks, samples and effects.
Verse and chorus
Standard form in popular song.
Verticalisation
Use of adjacent notes in tone row to form a chord.
Vibhag
Indian - group of beats making up a tal.
Virtual modelling
Synthesising sounds starting with a set of 'real sounds' - the model. Equations are used to make exact replica of the sound in the sunthesiser.
Virtuoso
Performer of outstanding technical ability.
Vocoder
Electronic device which can use the audio signal from pitches played on an instrument to modify sounds of words spoken - sounds robotic.
Wind Band
Large ensemble of woodwind, brass and percussion.
Word painting
Illustration in music of the meaning or suggestion of particular words in a text.
Xylophone
Percussion instrument in which beaters are used to strike a set of tuned wooden bars.
Quantisation
Sequencer, automatically adjusting data to fit within defined limits - eg. shifting notes to exact rhythmic positions.
Quarter tone
1/2 a semitone.
Rhythm and blues
Style of black American music combining jazz and blues in the 40s OR urban music - combination of soul and hip-jop originating in 80s.
Rag
Pattern of ascending and descending notes associated with particular moods, forms the basis of Indian improvisation.
Range
Distance between the highest and lowest note of a composition.
Rap
70s emerged - semi-spoken rhythms over backing tracks.
Rasa
Indian music - emotional character of a piece.
Recapitulation
Repetition of music heard earlier in same movement.
Refrain
Passage that is repeated at intervals throughout a work.
Register
Part of the range of a voice or instrument.