Music Vocabulary

Front 1

Melody
chapter 1

Back 1

any series of musical pitches

Front 2

pitch
chapter 1

Back 2

the relative height of a sound

Front 3

staff
chapter 4

Back 3

consisting of five lines and four spaces

Front 4

clef
chapter 4

Back 4

a symbol that designates the location of note names

Front 5

treble clef
chapter 4

Back 5

stylized G and is sometimes known as the G clef

Front 6

octave
chapter 4

Back 6

distance between two notes having the same letter

Front 7

ledger lines
chapter 4

Back 7

short lines placed above or below the staff to expand the range of the clef

Front 8

bass clef
chapter 4

Back 8

stylized F and is sometimes known as the F clef

Front 9

grand staff
chapter 4

Back 9

the bass and treble clef together - indicated with a vertical bracket

Front 10

accidentals
chapter 4

Back 10

raise and lower the pitch of a note by one half step

Front 11

half step
chapter 4

Back 11

smallest distance between two different pitches on the piano

Front 12

sharp
chapter 4

Back 12

raises a pitch by a half step

Front 13

flat
chapter 4

Back 13

lowers the pitch by a half step

Front 14

natural
chapter 4

Back 14

cancels a sharp or flat - no alterations

Front 15

enharmonic equivalents
chapter 4

Back 15

example: G flat and F sharp - same note, different names

Front 16

Major scale
chapter 5

Back 16

W W H W W W H

Front 17

minor scale
chapter 5

Back 17

W H W W H W W

Front 18

melodic minor
chapter 5

Back 18

changes up and down

Front 19

harmonic minor
chapter 5

Back 19

adds an extra sharp on 7

Front 20

chromatic scale
chapter 5

Back 20

contains all twelve different pitches in an octave

Front 21

consonant intervals
chapter 6

Back 21

pleasant sounding combinations of two or more notes

Front 22

dissonant intervals
chapter 6

Back 22

harsh sounding combinations of notes

Front 23

perfect intervals
chapter 6

Back 23

fit in the major key signature of the bottom note

Front 24

major intervals
chapter 6

Back 24

seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths

Front 25

minor intervals
chapter 6

Back 25

when a major interval is decreased

Front 26

chords
chapter 6

Back 26

formed by two or more notes sounding at the same time

Front 27

diads
chapter 6

Back 27

chords containing two notes

Front 28

triads
chapter 6

Back 28

chords containing three notes

Front 29

blocked chord
chapter 6

Back 29

the chord played simultaneously

Front 30

arpeggiated chord
chapter 6

Back 30

each note of the chord sounding at a different time

Front 31

root position
chapter 6

Back 31

when the root of the chord is the lowest sounding note

Front 32

inversion
chapter 6

Back 32

stacking a chord in a different order

Front 33

first inversion
chapter 6

Back 33

if the third of the chord is on the bottom

Front 34

second inversion
chapter 6

Back 34

if the fifthe of the chord is on the bottom

Front 35

closed position
chapter 6

Back 35

wen notated on three successive lines or spaces

Front 36

open position
chapter 6

Back 36

when written in a different range more than a fifthe

Front 37

functional harmony
chapter 6

Back 37

system of western music built on major and minor scales

Front 38

cadences
chapter 6

Back 38

important ending or pausing points in music

Front 39

tonic chord
chapter 6

Back 39

I (I, IV, V)

Front 40

subdominant chord
chapter 6

Back 40

IV (I, IV, V)

Front 41

dominant chord
chapter 6

Back 41

V (I, IV, V)

Front 42

Duration
chapter 1

Back 42

length of time a sound endures

Front 43

Volume
chapter 1

Back 43

relative loudness or softness of a sound

Front 44

Rhythm
chapter 1

Back 44

the way music is organized

Front 45

Harmony
chapter 1

Back 45

the vertical element of music that results from the combination of two or more pitches

Front 46

Timbre
chapter 1

Back 46

the quality of the sound produced by an instrument or voice

Front 47

Dynamics
chapter 1

Back 47

the loudness or softness of musical sound (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff)

Front 48

Form
chapter1

Back 48

the structure of a piece of music

Front 49

Texture
chapter 1

Back 49

the relationship of lines in a piece of music

Front 50

Music
chapter 1

Back 50

humanly organized sound and silence

Front 51

Transmission
chapter 1

Back 51

the process of passing on musical

Front 52

Sound
chapter 1

Back 52

physical phenomenon cause by a vibrating object transmitting energy through some medium and perceived by listeners

Front 53

Silence
chapter 1

Back 53

the absence of sound

Front 54

Instrumental Capacity
chapter 1

Back 54

ability an instrument has to play different types of sounds

Front 55

Graphic Notation
chapter 1

Back 55

a picture of sound where all three parameters of sound are displayed

Front 56

Associative Response
chapter 1

Back 56

where music is heard and then associated with something else

Front 57

Affective Response
chapter 1

Back 57

the feelings, emotions, and states of mind that are created

Front 58

Musical Term Responses
chapter 1

Back 58

descriptions based on the seven musical elements

Front 59

Beat
chapter 2

Back 59

steady pulse that keeps a constant, steady rhythem

Front 60

Tempo
chapter 2

Back 60

rate of the beat in music

Front 61

Metronome
chapter 2

Back 61

a mechanical device that sounds or displays a steady pulse at varying rates of speed as an aid while practicing

Front 62

Notes
chapter 2

Back 62

the way sound is written

Front 63

Rests
chapter 2

Back 63

the way silence is written

Front 64

Measures
chapter 2

Back 64

the units of time in which rhythms are written

Front 65

Triplet
chapter 2

Back 65

a group of three notes of equal value

Front 66

Rhythmic Counting
chapter 2

Back 66

conventional method of indicating rhythms in Western music using numbers and syllables

Front 67

Meter
chapter 3

Back 67

the way the pulses are organized in a piece of music

Front 68

Ostinato
chapter 3

Back 68

recurring pattern that adds a constant, repeated part to a composition

Front 69

Polyrhythms
chapter 3

Back 69

created by multiple rhythms played on different kinds of percussion instruments

Front 70

Dot
chapter 3

Back 70

makes any note lengthened by one-half of its value

Front 71

Time Signature
chapter 3

Back 71

musical fraction that indicates the metric organization of a whole measure in a piece of music

Front 72

Simple Time Signatures
chapter 3

Back 72

have beats that are divided into multiples of 2 equal parts

Front 73

Compound Time Signatures
chapter 3

Back 73

have beats that are divided into multiples 3 equal parts

Front 74

Backbeat
chapter 3

Back 74

when the weak beats are stressed

Front 75

Syncopated
chapter 3

Back 75

when the weak part of the beat is stressed

Front 76

Transposition
chapter 4

Back 76

the process of playing the same melody in another key

Front 77

Relative Major/Minor
chapter 4

Back 77

each major key has a minor key with the same key signature, vice versa, Circle of Fifths

Front 78

Melodic Minor Scale
chapter 4

Back 78

the 6th and 7th notes are raised one half step only in the ascending scale the descending scale is natural

Front 79

Solfege
chapter 4

Back 79

system of assigning syllables to the notes of a major scale

Front 80

Monophony
chapter 5

Back 80

where only one pitch is heard at a time, usually as a single line of melody

Front 81

Polyphony
chapter 5

Back 81

characterized by two or more independent melodic lines sounding at the same time

Front 82

Homophony
chapter 5

Back 82

musical texture containing one melody along with supporting harmonies

Front 83

Heterophony
chapter 5

Back 83

musical texture created by one melody being echoed or shadowed by two or more different performers

Front 84

Interval
chapter 5

Back 84

the distance between any two notes

Front 85

Augmented
chapter 5

Back 85

when the size of a perfect interval is increased by a half step

Front 86

Diminished
chapter 5

Back 86

when the size of a perfect interval is decreased by a half step

Front 87

Brass Family
chapter 7

Back 87

includes instruments made of metal and producing sound when the musician vibrates or "buzzes" his/her lips in a cup shaped mouth piece

Front 88

Woodwind Family
chapter 7

Back 88

includes instruments that use a vibrating wooden reed or column of air to produce sound

Front 89

String Family
chapter 7

Back 89

produce sound by bowing or plucking a string

Front 90

Percussion Family
chapter 7

Back 90

includes instruments that are struck to produce a sound

Front 91

Aerophones
chapter 7

Back 91

instruments that produce sound from a vibrating air stream (includes brass and woodwinds)

Front 92

Idiophones
chapter 7

Back 92

when the instrument itself vibrates to make sound (includes percussion family)

Front 93

Membranophones
chapter 7

Back 93

when percussion instruments have a vibrating head or membrane to make a sound

Front 94

Chordophones
chapter 7

Back 94

instruments that produce sound made from a vibrating string (includes woodwinds and acoustic piano)

Front 95

Mechanical and electrical instruments
chapter 7

Back 95

instruments that require electricity or mechanical parts to produce sound

Front 96

Corpophones
chapter 7

Back 96

sounds made by the human body without any external instruments

Front 97

A cappella
chapter 7

Back 97

vocal music without any accompaniment

Front 98

Accents
chapter 7

Back 98

symbols indicating that a given note receives more emphasis (>)

Front 99

Binary
chapter 7

Back 99

music consists of two parts; an initial theme and a contrasting theme (ABA)

Front 100

Ternary
chapter 7

Back 100

music that consists of three different sections of music the make up the form (ABACA)

Front 101

Coda
chapter 7

Back 101

a short concluding segment

Front 102

Songs
chapter 7

Back 102

pieces of music with lyrics that often have a form including verses and a chorus

Front 103

Strophic
chapter 7

Back 103

songs having verses and a chorus

Front 104

Verses
chapter 7

Back 104

repeated sections of music with different words

Front 105

Chorus
chapter 7

Back 105

section of words and music that is repeated periodically throughout the song

Front 106

Ballads
chapter 7

Back 106

songs that tell stories

Front 107

Through-composed
chapter 7

Back 107

musical material that changes during a piece, so that the listener encounters new musical material, but in which there is no substantial repitition

Front 108

Measure Repeats
chapter 7

Back 108

indicate to the musician that one or more measure are to be played again

Front 109

Single Measure Repeats
chapter 7

Back 109

apply to the measure immediately proceeding the symbol

Front 110

Capo
chapter 7

Back 110

designates the beginning of a piece of music

Front 111

Segno
chapter 7

Back 111

used to indicate a point of reference in the piece of music

Front 112

Fine
chapter 7

Back 112

designates the final measure of a piece of music

Front 113

Middle Ages
chapter 8

Back 113

the rise of a civilization occurring between 500 and 1450, aka medieval times

Front 114

Chant
chapter 8

Back 114

a type of a cappella vocal music, based on religious texts

Front 115

Modes
chapter 8

Back 115

precursors of major and minor scales

Front 116

Sacred Music
chapter 8

Back 116

music for religious purposes

Front 117

Secular Music
chapter 8

Back 117

music for other purposes

Front 118

Renaissance
chapter 8

Back 118

a period of great cultural re-awakening and achievement in the arts, literature, and sciences throughout Europe (1450-1600)

Front 119

Baroque Age
chapter 8

Back 119

during this age, many European monarchies employed composers to write music to celebrate their pageantry and ceremonies

Front 120

Opera
chapter 8

Back 120

form of performance, originating in the theater, and using music from the western classical tradition

Front 121

Terraced Dynamics
chapter 8

Back 121

sudden changes between loud and soft volumes without the use of crescendo or decrescendo

Front 122

Classical Period
chapter 8

Back 122

characterized by a cleaner and less ornamented style (1750-1820)

Front 123

Romantic Era
chapter 8

Back 123

characterized by a subjective, personal, and introspective approach, creates a more emotional impact (1820-1900)

Front 124

Nationalism
chapter 8

Back 124

creation of much instrumental music celebrating the traditional musical harmonies and melodies from their respective homelands

Front 125

Rubato
chapter 8

Back 125

slight speeding up or slowing down

Front 126

Twentieth Century
chapter 8

Back 126

includes 21st century, composers pursue a variety of directions to create groundbreaking and revolutionary sounds

Front 127

Atonal
chapter 8

Back 127

music without tonal center

Front 128

Serialism
chapter 8

Back 128

composers explored atonal music

Front 129

Minimalism
chapter 8

Back 129

uses many repetitions of very few phrases or elements

Front 130

Aleatoric
chapter 8

Back 130

aka "indeterminate music", further expanded modern definitions of music to include element of chance