Flashcards For Music Appreciation Test 1

Front 1

Pitch

Back 1

Is the relative highness or lowness that we hear in a sound.

Front 2

Interval

Back 2

The "distance" in pitch between any two tones.

Front 3

Octave

Back 3

Interval between two tones in which the higher tone has twice the frequency of the lower tone.

Front 4

Piano/Mezzo Piano

Back 4

Soft/Very soft

Front 5

Forte/Mezzo Forte

Back 5

Loud/Very loud

Front 6

Decrescendo (diminuendo)

Back 6

Gradually softer

Front 7

Crescendo

Back 7

Gradually louder

Front 8

Accent

Back 8

Emphasis of a note, which may result from its being louder, longer, or higher in pitch than the notes near it.

Front 9

Timbre (tone color)

Back 9

Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another.

Front 10

Soprano

Back 10

Female voice of high range.

Front 11

Mezzo-soprano

Back 11

Female voice of fairy low range, through not so low as alto.

Front 12

Alto (contralto)

Back 12

Female voice of low range.

Front 13

Tenor

Back 13

Male voice of high range.

Front 14

Baritone

Back 14

Male voice range lower than a tenor and higher than a bass.

Front 15

Bass

Back 15

Male voice of low range.

Front 16

Woodwind Instruments

Back 16

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

Front 17

Brass Instruments

Back 17

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. Ex. trumpet, trombone

Front 18

String Instruments

Back 18

Instrument whose sound is produced by the vibration of strings. Ex. guitar, violin

Front 19

Percussion Instruments

Back 19

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. Ex. bass drums, cymbals

Front 20

Keyboard Instruments

Back 20

Instruments- such as the piano, organ, or harpsichord - played by pressing a series of keys with the fingers.

Front 21

Conductor

Back 21

Leader of a performing group of musicians.

Front 22

Baton

Back 22

Thin stick used by many conductors to beat time and indicate pulse and tempo.

Front 23

Concert master

Back 23

Principal first violinist in a symphony orchestra.

Front 24

Pizzicato

Back 24

Means of playing a string instrument by which the strings are plucked, usually with a finger of the right hand.

Front 25

Double Stop

Back 25

Means of playing a string instrument by which the bow is drawn across two strings at the same time or almost the same time.

Front 26

Single-reed Instruments

Back 26

Instruments whose sound is produced by a single piece of cane, or reed, fastened over a hole in the mouthpiece. The reed vibrates when the player blows into the mouthpiece.

Front 27

Double-reed Instruments

Back 27

Instruments whose sound is produced by two narrow pieces of cane held between the player's lips; these pieces vibrate when the player blows between them.

Front 28

Definite Pitch

Back 28

Timpani, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Celesta and Chimes.

Front 29

Indefinite Pitch

Back 29

Snare drum, Bass drum, Tambourine, Triangle, Cymbals and Gong.

Front 30

Rhythm

Back 30

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

Front 31

Meter

Back 31

Organization of beats into regular groups.

Front 32

Beat

Back 32

Regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal unites of time.

Front 33

Syncopation

Back 33

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

Front 34

Accelerando

Back 34

Becoming faster

Front 35

Ritardando

Back 35

Becoming slower

Front 36

Tempo

Back 36

Basic pace of the music.

Front 37

Melody

Back 37

Series of single tones that add up to a recognizable whole.

Front 38

Step

Back 38

Interval between two adjacent tones in the scale.

Front 39

Leap

Back 39

Interval larger than that between two adjacent tones in the scale.

Front 40

Complete Cadence

Back 40

Definite resting place, giving a sense of finality, at the end of a phrase in a melody.

Front 41

Incomplete Cadence

Back 41

Inconclusive resting point at the end of a phrase, which sets up expectations for the following phrase.

Front 42

Phrase

Back 42

Part of a melody.

Front 43

Cadence

Back 43

1. Resting place at the end of a phrase in a melody. 2. Progression giving a sense of conclusion, often from the dominant chord to the tonic chord.

Front 44

Theme

Back 44

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

Front 45

Harmony

Back 45

How chords are constructed and how they follow each other.

Front 46

Chords

Back 46

Combination of three or more tones sounded at once.

Front 47

Chord Progression

Back 47

A series - Chord progressions enrich a melody by adding emphasis, surprise, suspense, or finality.

Front 48

Tempo Markings

Back 48

See page 51 - On test, you will need to know which one is not a tempo marking.

Front 49

Consonance

Back 49

Tone combination that is stable and restful.

Front 50

Dissonance

Back 50

Tone combination that is unstable and tense.

Front 51

Resolution

Back 51

when a dissonance moves to a consonance. When resolution is delayed or accomplished in unexpected ways, a feeling of drama, suspense, or surprise is created.

Front 52

Triad

Back 52

Most basic of chords, consisting of three alternate tones of the scale, such as do, mi, sol.

Front 53

Key (tonality)

Back 53

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

Front 54

Tonic (Keynote)

Back 54

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

Front 55

Scale

Back 55

Series of pitches arranged in order from low to high or high to low.

Front 56

Modulation

Back 56

Shift from one key to another within the same piece.

Front 57

Monophonic Texture

Back 57

Single melodic line without accompaniment.

Front 58

Polyphonic Texture

Back 58

Performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest at the same time.

Front 59

Homophonic Texture

Back 59

Term describing music in which one main melody is accompanied by chords.

Front 60

Counterpoint

Back 60

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

Front 61

Form

Back 61

Organization of musical ideas in time.

Front 62

Ternary

Back 62

ABA Three-part form

Front 63

Binary

Back 63

AB Two-part form

Front 64

Humanism

Back 64

The dominant intellectual movement of the Renaissance, focusing on human life and its accomplishments.

Front 65

Gregorian Chant

Back 65

Melodies set to sacred Latin texts, sung without accompaniment; Gregorian chant was the official music of the Roman Catholic church.

Front 66

Church Modes

Back 66

Scales containing seven tones with eight tone duplicating the first an octave higher, but with patterns of whole and half steps different from major and minor scales.

Front 67

What are the five parts of mass?

Back 67

Kyrie, Gloria, Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei.

Front 68

Organum

Back 68

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

Front 69

Word Painting

Back 69

Music representation of specific poetic images. Ex. A falling melodic line to accompany the word descending - often found in Renaissance and baroque music.

Front 70

Motet

Back 70

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

Front 71

A Capella

Back 71

Choral music without instrumental accompaniment.

Front 72

Madrigal

Back 72

Composition for several voices set to a short secular poem, usually about love, combining homophonic and polyphonic textures and often using word paining.

Front 73

Recitative

Back 73

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 74

Aria

Back 74

Song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, usually expressing an emotional state through its outpouring of melody.

Front 75

Overture (prelude)

Back 75

Short music composition, purely orchestral, which opens an opera and sets the overall dramatic mood.

Front 76

Ensemble

Back 76

In opera, a piece performed by three or more solo singers.

Front 77

Ars Nova (new art)

Back 77

A term used by music theorists to describe the profound stylistic changes of Italian and French music in the fourteenth century.

Front 78

Dates of the Medieval Era

Back 78

(450-1450)

Front 79

Dates of the Renaissance Era

Back 79

(1450-1600)