Music Appreciation Midterm

Front 1

Pitch

Back 1

Relative highness or lowness of a sound

Front 2

Dynamics

Back 2

Degrees of loudness or softness in music

Front 3

Crescendo/decrescendo

Back 3

Gradually louder/ gradually softer

Front 4

Rhythm

Back 4

Ordered flow of music through time; the pattern of durations of notes and silences in music

Front 5

Beat

Back 5

Regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time

Front 6

Meter

Back 6

Organization of beats into regular groups

Front 7

Syncopation

Back 7

Accenting of a note at an unexpected time, as between two beats or on a weak beat. A major characteristic of jazz.

Front 8

Tempo

Back 8

Basic pace of the music

Front 9

Melody/tune

Back 9

Series of single notes that add up to a recognizable whole

Front 10

Key

Back 10

Central note, scale and chord within a piece; in relationship to which all other tones in the composition are heard

Front 11

Motive

Back 11

Fragment of a theme, or a short musical idea that is developed within a composition

Front 12

Theme

Back 12

Melody that serves as the starting point for an extended piece of music

Front 13

Harmony

Back 13

How chords are constructed and how they follow each other

Front 14

Dissonance/ consonance

Back 14

Tone combination that is unstable and tense/ stable and restful

Front 15

Chord

Back 15

Combination of three or more tones sounded at once

Front 16

Texture

Back 16

Number of layers of sound that are heard at once, what kinds of layers they are, and how they are related to each other

Front 17

Monophonic/
homophonic/
polyphonic

Back 17

Single melodic line without accompaniment/
One main melody is accompanied by chords/
Two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest at the same time

Front 18

Counterpoint

Back 18

Technique of combining two or more melodic lines into a meaningful whole

Front 19

Timbre

Back 19

Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another

Front 20

Orchestra

Back 20

An instrumental ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind and percussion sections

Front 21

String

Back 21

Instrument whose sound is produced by the vibration of strings

Front 22

Brass

Back 22

Instrument, made of brass or silver, whose sound is produced by the vibrations of the player's lips as he or she blows into a cup- or funnel- shaped mouthpiece. The vibrations are amplified and colored in a tube that is flared at the end

Front 23

woodwind

Back 23

Instrument whose sound is produced by vibrations of air in a tube; holes along the length of tube are opened and closed by the fingers, or by pads, to control the pitch.

Front 24

Percussion

Back 24

Instrument of definite or indefinite pitch whose sound is produced by striking by hand, or with a stick or hammer, or by shaking or rubbing.

Front 25

Improvisation

Back 25

Creation of music at the same time as it is performed

Front 26

Medieval period

Back 26

Period from 450-1450 AD

Front 27

Unison

Back 27

Performance of a single melodic line by more than one instrument or voice at the same pitch or in different octaves

Front 28

Modes

Back 28

Scales containing seven tones with an eight tone duplicating the first an octave higher, but with patterns of whole and half steps different from major and minor scales; used in medieval, Renaissance, and twentieth-century music and in folk music

Front 29

Plainsong, plainchant, Gregorian Chant

Back 29

melodies set to sacred Latin texts, sung without accompaniment; the official music of the Roman Catholic church

Front 30

Mass

Back 30

Sacred choral composition made up of five sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei

Front 31

Requiem

Back 31

Mass for the dead

Front 32

Troubadours, trouveres, Meistersingers, Goliards, jongleurs

Back 32

Various groups of traveling musicians during the Middle Ages

Front 33

Organum

Back 33

Medieval polyphony that consists of Gregorian chant and one or more additional melodic lines

Front 34

A cappella

Back 34

Choral music without instrumental accompaniment

Front 35

Motet

Back 35

Polyphonic choral work set to a sacred Latin text other than that of the mass; one of the two main form of sacred Renaissance music

Front 36

Cantus firmus

Back 36

A pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition, often set apart by being played in long notes.

Front 37

Recorder

Back 37

Family of woodwind instruments whose sounds is produced by blowing into a "whistle" mouthpiece, usually made of wood or plastic

Front 38

Chorale

Back 38

Hymn tune sung to a German religious text

Front 39

Madrigal

Back 39

Composition for several voices set to a short secular poem, usually about love, combining homophonic and polyphonic textures and often using word painting, common in renaissance music

Front 40

Word painting

Back 40

Musical representation of specific poetic images-- for example, a falling melodic line to accompany the word descending-- often found in Renaissance and Baroque music

Front 41

Consort

Back 41

A group of instruments, smaller than an orchestra, popular during the Renaissance

Front 42

Baroque

Back 42

Time period from 1600-1750

Front 43

Opera

Back 43

Drama that is sung to orchestral accompaniment, usually a large-scale composition involving vocal soloists, chorus, orchestra, costumes, and scenery

Front 44

Libretto

Back 44

Text of an opera

Front 45

Recitative

Back 45

Vocal line in an opera, oratorio, or cantata that imitates the rhythms and pitch fluctuations of speech, often serving to lead into an aria.

Front 46

Aria

Back 46

Song for a solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, usually expressing an emotional state through its outpouring of melody; found in operas, oratorios, and cantatas

Front 47

Camerata

Back 47

In Italian, fellowship of society, a group of nobles, poets, and composers who began to meet regularly in Florence around 1575 and whose musical discussions prepared the way for the beginning of opera

Front 48

Oratorio

Back 48

Large-scale composition for chorus, vocal soloists, and orchestra, usually set to a narrative text, but without acting, scenery, or costumes; often based on biblical stories.

Front 49

Cantata

Back 49

Composition in several movements, usually written for chorus, one or more vocal soloists, and instrumental ensemble.

Front 50

Terraced dynamics

Back 50

Abrupt alternation between loud and soft dynamic levels; characteristic of baroque music

Front 51

Harpsichord

Back 51

Keyboard instrument, widely used from about 1500 to 1775, whose sound is produced by plectra which pluck its wire strings. The instrument was revived during the twentieth century.

Front 52

Fugue

Back 52

Polyphonic composition based on one main theme, or subject

Front 53

Chorale prelude

Back 53

Short composition for organ, based on a hymn tune and often used to remind the congregation of the melody before the hymn is sung.

Front 54

Basso continuo

Back 54

Baroque accompaniment made up of a base part usually played by two instruments: a keyboard plus a low melodic instrument

Front 55

Suite

Back 55

In baroque music, a set of dance-inspired movements all written in the same key but differing in tempo, meter, and character

Front 56

Concerto grosso

Back 56

Composition for several instrumental soloists and small orchestra; common in late baroque music

Front 57

Concerto

Back 57

Extended composition for instrumental soloist and orchestra, usually in three movements: (1) fast, (2) slow, (3) fast