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128 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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pianissimo
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very soft
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piano
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soft
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mezzo piano
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moderately soft
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mezzo forte
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moderately loud
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forte
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loud
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fortissimo
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very loud
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rosin
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sticky substance made from tree sap used to coat the horsehair of a bow
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trill
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alternating adjacent notes rapidly
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tremolo
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repeating the same note
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glissandro
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sliding up or down the strings
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vebrato
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wiggling of the strings
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arpeggio
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broken chord
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sound
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the vibration of an object
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pitch
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the relative highness/lowness that we hear in a sound
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tone
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a sound that has a definite pitch
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interval
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the distance in pitch between any 2 tones
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octave
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distance of 8 pitches
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pitch range
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the distance between the lowest and highest pitches in song
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dynamics
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degrees of loudness/softness in music
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decrescendo
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gradually softer
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crescendo
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gradually louder
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accent
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emphasizing a tone by playing it more loudly than the tones around it
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tone color (timbre)
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the quality of sound an instrument produces
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soprano
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highest female range
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mezzo soprano
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middle female range
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contralto (alto)
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lowest female range
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tenor
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highest male range
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baritone
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middle male range
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bass
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lowest middle range
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pizzicato
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plucking the strings
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harpischord
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2 keyboards; reverse color keys; no pedals; looks like a piano
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cantabile
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in a singing style
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embouchure
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the position of the mouth, lips, teeth for playing an aerophone
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concertmaster
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1st violinist in an orchestra; honorable position
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slide
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piece of brass instruments that moves back and forth to make different sounds
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mute
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device for altering or muffling the sound
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membranophones
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anything that has a skin stretched over it and is struck
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idiophones
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anything you shake
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string quartet
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2 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello
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viola
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2nd highest string instrument
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trumpet
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highest tone brass instrument
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snare drum
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percussion instrument that doesn't have a definite pitch
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marimba
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tuned percussion instrument, usually found in Latin music, resembling a bass xylophone
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bells
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tuned percussion instrument made of metal and played with a mallet
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rhythm
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the flow of music through time
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metronome
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device used for measuring tempo
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tempo
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rate of speed
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meter
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organization of beats into groups
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measure
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1 unit meter
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syncopation
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shifting the accent from a strong beat to a weaker one
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downbeat
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first strong beat in a measure
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upbeat
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weak beat in a measure
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cue
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signal given by the conductor
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cutoff beat
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ends the tone
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largo
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very slow, broad
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grave
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very slow, solemn
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adagio
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slow
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andante
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moderately slow
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moderato
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moderate
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allegretto
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moderately fast
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allegro
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fast
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vivace
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lively
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presto
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very fast
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prestissimo
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as fast as possible
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melody
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series of single tones that add up to a recognizable whole
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step
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melody that moves by small intervals
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leap
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melody that moves by large intervals
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legato
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played in a smooth, connected style
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staccato
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played in a short, detached style
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phrase
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shorter parts of melodies
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cadence
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resting place at the end of a phrase
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incomplete cadence
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sets up expectations
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complete cadence
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gives an answer; finality
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climax
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highest tone of the melody; emotional focal point
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sequence
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repetition of a melodic pattern on a high or low pitch
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theme
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melody that serves as a starting point for a more extended piece of music that will go through changes
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notation
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system of writing music so that specific pitches and rhythms can be communicated
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note
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oval symbol with stems and flags
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staff
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set of 5 horizontal lines
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ledger lines
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short horizontal lines used when a pitch falls above or below the range indicated by the staff
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sharp sign
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#
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flat sign
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b
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natural sign
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used to cancel a previous sharp or flat sign
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clef
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placed at the beginning of a staff to show the pitch of each line and space
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treble clef
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used for high ranges
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bass clef
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used for low ranges
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grand staff
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a combination of the treble and bass staves
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middle C
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the C note nearest to the middle of the keyboard
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beam
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horizontal line that joins flag
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dotted note
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by adding a dot to the right of a note to increase its duration by half
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dotted rhythm
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a dotted note followed by one that is much shorter; emphasizes the beat
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triplet
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3 notes of equal duration
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rest
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duration of silence
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time signature
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numbers found at the beginning of a musical piece that indicate the meter
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score
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shows music for each instrumental or vocal category in a performing group
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harmony
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the way chords are constructed and how they follow each other
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chord
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a combination of 3 or more tones surrounded at once
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progression
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specific series
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consonance
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points of arrival, rest, and resolution
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dissonance
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unstable tone combination
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resolution
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creates drama or suspense
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triad
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simplest chord; consists of 3 tones
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tonic chord
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main chord, most stable and conclusive of the piece; built on 1st note of scale
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dominant chord
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triad built on 5th note of scale; sets up tension resolved by tonic chord
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cadence
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progression from dominant chord to tonic chord
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form
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organization of musical elements in time
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repetition
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repeating of a phrase, section, or entire movement; used to create unity
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contrast
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striking differences in pitch, dynamics, rhythm, and tempo that provide variety and change of mood
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variation
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changing some features while keeping others
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strophic
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same melody for each verse
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binary form
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AB; refrain
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ternary form
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ABA; 2 same melodies with B giving contrast
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theme and variation
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1 melody followed by a set of variations
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rondo form
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ABACA; original melody returns after new material is introduced
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gregorian chant
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official music of the roman catholic church; melody set to sacred latin texts and sung without accompaniment
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church modes
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scales; 7 different tunes
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drone
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1 melody or more long, sustained tones accompanying it
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ballata
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italian poetic and musical form that orginated as a dance song
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mass ordinary
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same day to day texts in the church
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organum
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harmony added to basic chant
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cantus firmus
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chant used as the basis for polyphony
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word painting
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musical representation of specific poetic images
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a cappella
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choral music without instrumental accompaniment
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motet
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vocal work for several voice parts based on a sacred text
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mass
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sacred choral composition made up of 5 sections
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5 song sections of the mass
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Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei
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madrigal
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several voices set to a short poem about love
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lute
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plucked string instrument and shaped like half a pear
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