Music Midterm

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Melody

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A tune; a succession of tones comprised of mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged as to achieve musical shape, being perceived as a unity by the mind. I

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key

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start on any note and create a major scale on top of that

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scale

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A series of notes in ascending or descending order that presents the pitches of a key or mode, beginning and ending on the tonic of that key or mode.

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major scale

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the difference between third and fourth note and between the seventh and the eighth note is half

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minor scale

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is only a half step between the second and third tones

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chord

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is any harmonic set of usually three or more notes (also called "pitches") that is heard as if sounding simultaneously

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triad

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a set of three notes that can be stacked in thirds

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texture

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Term which refers to the vertical structure of a composition. That is to say, how many parts or voices there are, what the configuration (close, open, etc.) of the voices happens to be, how the voices interact, etc.

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monophony

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(most basic texture) one melodic line (one sound) (solo voice)

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polyphony

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many sounds (counterpoint) (same melody happening at different times)

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counterpoint

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The art of combining two or more melodies to be performed simultaneously and musically. the melody is supported by another melody rather than by chords.

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flat

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lower in pitch

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sharp

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higher in pitch

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chromatic

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Any music or chord that contains notes not belonging to the diatonic scale, proceeds in half steps

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diatonic

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Proceeding in the order of the octave based on five tones (steps) and two semitones (half steps). The major and natural minor scales and the modes are this

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color

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The quality of a sound; that component of a tone that causes different instruments (for example a guitar and a violin) to sound different from each other while they are both playing the same note.

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timbre

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(tone color)- all instruments can convey different feelings (left to the imagination of the composer) Can convey extra musical meaning (culturally based) (national anthems)

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homophony

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same sounds

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forte

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loud

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piano

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quiet

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repetition

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recurring musical gestures (when melodies, rythm come back)

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contrast

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new and dramatically different musical gestures

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opera

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secular entertainment, theater, fully dramatized, classical mythology, recitative aria, orchestra

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rhythm

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can be variable, length and accent given to a series of notes in a piece

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meter

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Measure of time; arrangement of poetical feet; the grouping of beats into regular patterns

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measure (bar)

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signifying the smallest metrical divisions of a composition, containing a fixed number of beats , marked off by vertical lines on the staff.

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tempo

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speed of a given piece (fast tempo is associated with a feeling of energy and drive) (slow tempos contribute to solemn, lyrical, or calm moods) how fast or slow the beats are

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ritard

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a gradual slowing of the tempo, or to gradually delay the tempo.

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accent

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A stress or special emphasis on a beat to mark its position in the measure;

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libretto

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A printed copy of the words to an oratorio or an opera; also, the words of the text themselves.

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recitative

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is a narrative song that describes some action, thought, or emotion. speaking rather than singing

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aria

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Originally an air; a song; a tune; sung by a single voice with or without accompaniment. Now taken to mean a lyric song for solo voice generally having two contrasting parts (I and II), ending with a literal or elaborated repeat of part I.

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cantata

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church service, at church, concert style, gospel, recitative, da capo aria chorus, orchestra

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oratorio

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sacred entertainment, at the theater, concert style, biblical subjects, recitative, da papa aria chorus, orchestra

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syncopation

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Deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse of a composition by means of a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an off-beat.

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dynamics

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hook (melody), instruments used to create different colors of sounds

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harmony

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The combination of notes sounded simultaneously to produce chords. Usually, this term is used to describe consonance, however, it can also be used to describe dissonance.

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tonic, (tonality)- The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord

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is thus the most significant chord, idea that every melody has a most important note

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dominant

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the fifth tone of a scale

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variation

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A deviation from a theme that uses the same bass pattern or harmonic progression that the theme used, and usually having the same number of measures as the theme.

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strophic

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Song structure in which every verse (strophe) of the text is sung to the same musical tune.

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imitation

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The repetition in a second voice or part of a theme, motif, or phrase presented by a first voice or part.

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rondo

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referring to a form of composition in which the first section recurs after the second section is performed in an A-B-A style.

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theme and variation

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A style of composition that first presents a basic theme and then develops and alters that theme in successive statements.

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suspension

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a situation in which a single note of one chord is held over into another chord, thus creating a dissonance, which is resolved by step in the following chord.

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seventh

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An interval that is one step smaller than an octave.

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tonality

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The principal of organization of a composition around a tonic based upon a major or minor scale.

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dissonance

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Two or more notes sounded together which are discordant, and, in the prevailing harmonic system, require resolution to a consonance.

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consonance

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An accord of sounds sweet and pleasing to the ear as opposed to dissonance.

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modulation

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The shifting from one meter to another in the middle of a composition.

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concerto

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This term was originally applied to almost any kind of concerted music for voices and instruments of the Baroque era. Today it is taken to mean a composition that shows off a specific instrument (or instruments) with the orchestra used as accompaniment.

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program music

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Compositions with extra-musical content that directs the attention of the listener to a literary or pictoral association.was especially popular in the 1800s

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absolute music

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Music that has no literary, dramatic, or pictorial program; also, pure music; music expressively self-sufficient and intelligible without the aid of a text or a program.

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tone cluster

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An effect (typically on a piano) that is comprised of a dissonant group of notes that are very close together.

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atonal

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Music without tonality, or music that is centered around no central key or scale