Music Appreciation Exam 1

Front 1

Melody

Back 1

Meaningful succession of pitches

Front 2

Phrase

Back 2

Section of melody, comparable to a section or phrase of a sentence.

Front 3

Cadence

Back 3

Stopping point.

Front 4

Sequence

Back 4

Melodic phrase repeated at different levels of pitch.

Front 5

Tune

Back 5

Melody that is easy to recognize, memorize, and sing.

Front 6

Theme

Back 6

Melody that recurs throughout a section, a movement, or an entire composition.

Front 7

Motive, Motivic Melody

Back 7

Short melodic phrase that may be effectively developed.

Front 8

Lyrical melody

Back 8

Relatively long, song like melody.

Front 9

Scale

Back 9

Ascending or descending pattern of half steps, whole steps, or both.

Front 10

Major Scale

Back 10

Ascending pattern of steps as follows: whole, whole , half, whole, whole, whole, half.

Front 11

Minor Scale

Back 11

Ascending pattern of steps as follows: whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole.

Front 12

Tonic

Back 12

First and most important note of the major or minor scale, to which all other notes in the scale are subordinate.

Front 13

Key

Back 13

The major or minor scale on which a composition is based.

Front 14

Chromatic Scale

Back 14

Twelve consecutive half steps within the range of octave.

Front 15

Whole-Tone Scale

Back 15

Six consecutive whole steps within the range of an octave.

Front 16

Pentatonic Scale

Back 16

Five-note scale.

Front 17

Pitch

Back 17

Highness or lowness of sound.

Front 18

Dynamic Level

Back 18

Level of volume.

Front 19

Frequency

Back 19

Rate of a sound wave's vibration.

Front 20

Register

Back 20

A particular range of pitches.

Front 21

Tone

Back 21

Sound with specific pitch, produced by a constant rate of vibration of the sound-producing medium.

Front 22

Sharp

Back 22

Sign (#) angled in the left direction. It indicates that tone is to be performed one-half step higher that notated.

Front 23

Flat

Back 23

Sign (b) indicating that a tone is to be performed one-half step lower than notated.

Front 24

Staff

Back 24

Five lines and four spaces on which the music is notated.

Front 25

Interval

Back 25

Distance between two pitches.

Front 26

Octave

Back 26

Interval of an eight, as from C to C.

Front 27

Forte

Back 27

Loud.

Front 28

Piano

Back 28

Soft.

Front 29

Crescendo

Back 29

Becoming louder.

Front 30

Decrescendo, Diminuendo

Back 30

Becoming softer.

Front 31

Rhythm

Back 31

Arrangement of time in music.

Front 32

Elements of Music

Back 32

Basic materials of which music is composed: rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre.

Front 33

Tempo

Back 33

Rate of speed at which a musical piece is performed.

Front 34

Rest

Back 34

Sign that indicates silence, or the cessation of musical sound.

Front 35

Beat

Back 35

Basic underlying pulse of music.

Front 36

Accent

Back 36

Strong sound. Accents may be achieved by stress, duration, or position of tone.

Front 37

Meter

Back 37

Organization of rhythm into patterns of strong and weak beats.

Front 38

Measure (bar)

Back 38

Unit containing a number of beats.

Front 39

Duple Meter

Back 39

Two beats per measure.

Front 40

Triple Meter

Back 40

Three beats per measure.

Front 41

Quadruple Meter

Back 41

Four beats per measure.

Front 42

Downbeat

Back 42

First beat of measure.

Front 43

Upbeat

Back 43

Last beat of measure.

Front 44

Harmony

Back 44

Simultaneous sounding of two or more different tones.

Front 45

Chord

Back 45

Meaningful (as opposed to random) combination of three or more tones.

Front 46

Triad

Back 46

Chords with three tones, consisting of two superimposed thirds.

Front 47

Tonality, Tonal System

Back 47

System of harmony, based on the major and minor scales, that has dominated Western Music since the seventeenth century.

Front 48

Dominant (V)

Back 48

Fifth note of the major or minor scale.

Front 49

Subdominant (IV)

Back 49

Fourth note of the major or minor scale.

Front 50

Dissonance

Back 50

Active, unsettled sound.

Front 51

Consonance

Back 51

Passive sound that seems to be at rest.

Front 52

Texture

Back 52

Manner in which melodic lines are used in music.

Front 53

Monophonic Texture (Monophony)

Back 53

One unaccompanied melodic line.

Front 54

Polyphonic Texture (Polyphony)

Back 54

Combination of two or more simultaneous melodic lines.

Front 55

Round

Back 55

Melody that may be performed by two or more voices entering at different times, producing meaningful harmony.

Front 56

Homophonic Texture (homophony)

Back 56

Melodic line accompanied by chordal harmony.

Front 57

Timbre

Back 57

The characteristic quality of the sound of a voice or instrument.

Front 58

Soprano

Back 58

High female singing voice.

Front 59

Mezzo-Soprano

Back 59

Medium-range female voice.

Front 60

Alto (Contralto)

Back 60

Low Female Voice

Front 61

Tenor

Back 61

High Male Voice

Front 62

Baritone

Back 62

Medium-range male voice.

Front 63

Bass

Back 63

Low male voice.

Front 64

Orchestra

Back 64

Mixed ensemble of string, wind, and percussion instruments.

Front 65

Symphony Orchestra

Back 65

An instrumental ensemble consisting of member of four families of instruments, dominated by strings.

Front 66

String Instruments

Back 66

Instruments that may be bowed, strummed, struck, or plucked. Orchestral string instruments include the violin, viola, cello, string bass (or double bass), and harp.

Front 67

Pizzicato

Back 67

The technique of plucking bowed string instruments.

Front 68

Woodwinds

Back 68

Wind instruments that included the piccolo, flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone.

Front 69

Brass

Back 69

Wind instruments that included the trumpet, trombone, (French) horn, and tuba.

Front 70

Percussion

Back 70

All instrument that may be played by shaking the instrument itself. These include the timpani (tuned kettledrums), other, chimes tambourine, triangle, cymbals, and various mallet instruments, such as the xylophone.

Front 71

Keyboard Instruments

Back 71

Instruments on which sound is produced by pressing keys on a keyboard.

Front 72

Stops

Back 72

Levers, handles, or buttons that allow an organist to change timbres at will.

Front 73

Electronic Synthesizer

Back 73

A highly versatile electronic sound generator capable of producing and altering an infinite variety of sounds.

Front 74

MIDI

Back 74

A system allowing composers to manage quantities of complex information, and making it possible for unrelated electronic devices to communicate with each other .

Front 75

Concert

Back 75

Any music performance, but usually one by an orchestra, band, or choral ensemble.

Front 76

Recital

Back 76

Performance by a soloist or small ensemble.

Front 77

Concertmaster, Concertmistress

Back 77

Conductor's assistant, who is also the orchestra's first, or principal, violinist.

Front 78

Genre

Back 78

The type of musical piece, determined partly by instrumentation and form, and partly by intended function.

Front 79

Form

Back 79

The design, organization, or "shape" of a musical piece.

Front 80

Score

Back 80

The notated parts for all the voices and instruments of a music composition.

Front 81

Symphony

Back 81

Multimovement orchestral form.

Front 82

Movement

Back 82

Section of a large work, such as a symphony or concerto.

Front 83

Concerto

Back 83

A multimovement work for orchestra and an instrumental soloist.

Front 84

Program Music

Back 84

Instrumental music that purports to tell a story or describe a scene, idea, or event.

Front 85

Opus

Back 85

"Work." An opus number indicates the chronological order in which a piece was composed or published.

Front 86

Band

Back 86

Instrumental ensemble consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion sections. A concert or symphonic band may include a few string instruments as well.

Front 87

Chamber Music

Back 87

Music for a small instrumental ensemble with one instrument per line of music.

Front 88

Chorus

Back 88

A group of singers, also called a choir. A choral composition.

Front 89

Dance

Back 89

Movement organized and usually accompanied by music.

Front 90

Musical Theater

Back 90

Dramatic performances including instrumental and vocal music, and sometimes dance.

Front 91

Improvisation

Back 91

Process of simultaneously composing and performing music.

Front 92

Ethos

Back 92

Moral and ethical qualities of music.

Front 93

Acoustics

Back 93

Science of sound.

Front 94

Modes

Back 94

Seven-note scales within the range of an octave.

Front 95

Classical Style

Back 95

Restrained, objective style of art.

Front 96

Romantic Style

Back 96

Emotional, subjective style of art.

Front 97

Medieval Period, Middle Ages

Back 97

The period from about 500 to 1450 ce.

Front 98

Liturgy

Back 98

The text and formal arrangement of a religious service.

Front 99

Linear polyphony

Back 99

Polyphonic music conceived without an intention that the combined melody lines should form chordal or harmonic combinations.

Front 100

Unison

Back 100

Production of music by several voices or instruments at the same pitch, performed at the same octave or at different octaves.

Front 101

A Cappella

Back 101

Unaccompanied group singing.

Front 102

Plainsong, Plainchant, Chant, Gregorian Chant

Back 102

Music to which portions of the Catholic service are sung. The texture is monophonic, the timbre that of unaccompanied voices.

Front 103

Drone

Back 103

A sustained or repeated tone.

Front 104

Age of Humanism

Back 104

A period, characterized by a new optimism, that began in fourteenth-century Italy and spread throughout western Europe during the Renaissance.

Front 105

Canon

Back 105

A polyphonic composition in which all the voices perform the same melody, beginning at different times.

Front 106

Ostinato

Back 106

A persistently repeated melodic or rhythmic pattern.

Front 107

Mass

Back 107

Roman Catholic worship service.

Front 108

Renaissance

Back 108

The word means "rebirth." Spelled with a capital letter, it refers to the period of renewed interest in the classical arts of ancient Greece and Rome that began in the early fifteenth century and dominated the style of Western music from 1450 to 1600.

Front 109

Protestant Reformation

Back 109

Protest movement, led by Martin Luther, against certain tenants of the Catholic church.

Front 110

Counter Reformation

Back 110

Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation; it proposed certain reforms, including some related to church music.

Front 111

Golden Age of Polyphony

Back 111

Term for the Renaissance, when polyphonic texture was prevalent and particularly beautiful.

Front 112

Renaissance Motet

Back 112

Religious vocal composition that is through-composed, polyphonic in texture, sung in Latin, and invariably serene and worshipful.

Front 113

Word Painting

Back 113

Musical illustrations of verbal concepts.

Front 114

Through-Composed

Back 114

A form containing new music throughout.

Front 115

Imitative Polyphony

Back 115

Technique in which each phrase of a composition is addressed by all the voices, which enter successively in imitation of each other.

Front 116

Hymn

Back 116

Religious song, strophic in form, with freely written text, appropriate for congregational singing.

Front 117

Chorale

Back 117

Characteristics hymn introduced by Martin Luther.

Front 118

Strophic Form

Back 118

The most popular song form, having two or more stanzas all set to the same music.

Front 119

Psalm Tunes

Back 119

Tuneful settings for the 150 psalms in versions suitable for congregational singing.

Front 120

Madrigal

Back 120

Secular song introduced in Italy that became in England as well. Polyphonic in texture and expressive in mood, madrigals are written in the vernacular.

Front 121

Lute

Back 121

Plucked string instrument; the instrument most widely used in the sixteenth century.

Front 122

Viol

Back 122

Most popular bowed string instrument of the Renaissance.

Front 123

Clavichord

Back 123

Keyboard instrument capable of producing subtle changes of volume and even slight vibrato.

Front 124

Recorder

Back 124

End-blown wind instrument, sometimes called a whistle flute, developed in the Middle Ages and every popular in the Renaissance.

Front 125

Consort

Back 125

Ensemble of several members of the same instrument family.

Front 126

Affections

Back 126

Baroque term for human emotions or states of the soul.

Front 127

Polychoral Music

Back 127

Music for two or more choirs, vocal, instrumental, or both, performed antiphonally. A characteristic feature of music of the Venetian school.

Front 128

Concertato Principle

Back 128

Principle of contrasting the sonorities of large and small vocal and instrumental ensembles.

Front 129

Sonata

Back 129

In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, an instrumental composition to be "sounded" on instruments rather than sung.

Front 130

Baroque

Back 130

The term, originally meaning irregular, now applies to the dramatic, emotional style of seventeenth and early eighteenth-century art.

Front 131

Movement

Back 131

Section of complete work that has its won formal design and a degree of independence but is conceived as part of the whole; usually separated from other movements by a pause.

Front 132

Tonal System

Back 132

System of harmony based on the major and the minor scales.

Front 133

First Practice, Stile Antico

Back 133

Polyphonic, conservative style of the late Renaissance.

Front 134

Second Practice, Stile Moderno

Back 134

Homophonic, expressive style introduced by Monteverdi.

Front 135

Chromaticism

Back 135

Use of tones not in the key on which a composition is based.

Front 136

Opera

Back 136

Dramatic vocal form blending visual, literary, and musical arts, performed in a theater or opera house.

Front 137

Libretto

Back 137

Text of a dramatic vocal work.

Front 138

Recitative

Back 138

Speechlike setting of a text, with homophonic accompaniment by a keyboard (dry recitative) or an orchestra (accompanies recitative).

Front 139

Aria

Back 139

Songlike setting of a text, musically expressive, accompanied by orchestra; generally homophonic in texture..

Front 140

Da Capo Aria

Back 140

An aria with an ABA design.

Front 141

Bel Canto

Back 141

Eighteenth-century Italian singing style that emphasized the beauty and virtuosity of the voice.

Front 142

Castrato

Back 142

Castrated male singer.

Front 143

Oratorio

Back 143

Dramatic vocal work on a religious subject, performed in a concert hall or church.

Front 144

Cantata

Back 144

Multimovement dramatic vocal work on a religious or secular subject, performed in concert style.

Front 145

Terraced Dynamics

Back 145

Abrupt changes of dynamic level.

Front 146

Prelude

Back 146

Short Independent or introductory piece for keyboard.

Front 147

Choral Prelude

Back 147

Prelude based on a Lutheran chorale melody.

Front 148

Fugue

Back 148

Imitative polyphonic composition.

Front 149

Toccata

Back 149

Rhapsodic, virtuosic keyboard form.

Front 150

Suite

Back 150

Collection of stylized dance pieces.

Front 151

Basso Continuo

Back 151

The continuous, supporting bass line of a Baroque composition. Also, the instruments accompanying Baroque ensemble compositions, consisting of one ore more sustaining instruments and a lute or keyboard.

Front 152

Figured Bass

Back 152

System of musical shorthand by which composers indicated intervals above the bass line with numbers (figures) rather than with notated pitches.

Front 153

Chamber Music

Back 153

Music for a small instrumental ensemble with one instrument per line of music.

Front 154

Sonata

Back 154

In the Baroque, the multimovement composition for one or more solo instruments, accompanied by continuo.

Front 155

Orchestra

Back 155

Mixed ensemble of string, wind, and percussion instruments, conceived during the Baroque.

Front 156

Solo Concerto

Back 156

Multimovement composition for orchestra and one solo instrument.

Front 157

Concerto Grosso

Back 157

A multimovement composition for orchestra plus a small group of solo instruments.

Front 158

Ritornello

Back 158

A thematic section, most often played by the orchestra, that begins a concerto movement, serves to divide the solo sections, and often returns in its original form at the end of the movement.