Musical Terms For Test 1

Front 1

Bar Line

Back 1

a vertical line that organizes beats in groups

Front 2

Beat

Back 2

the regular pulse underlying music

Front 3

Form

Back 3

the arrangements of phrases or sections in a piece (Ex: ABAB1)

Front 4

Harmony

Back 4

two or more notes sounding at the same time; it supports a melody and is often made of chords

Front 5

Major Scale

Back 5

a series of eight pitches with "do" as the tonic, in the pattern of do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do

Front 6

Melody

Back 6

the tune; a series of notes that can be sung/played by one instrument

Front 7

Meter

Back 7

the organization of beats (simple/compound) and groups of beats (duple/triple/quadruple)

Front 8

Octave

Back 8

an interval of an 8th; the upper and ower note have the same letter name

Front 9

Phrase

Back 9

a complete musical thought or idea

Front 10

Pitch

Back 10

the lowness or highness of a sound
soprano- high
alto- medium high
tenor- medium low
bass- low

Front 11

Rhythm

Back 11

combinations of short and long sounds and silences that occur on top of a beat

Front 12

Staff

Back 12

the lines and spaces upon which music is notated

Front 13

Tempo

Back 13

the speed of the beat

Front 14

Texture

Back 14

the layers of sound created by different pitches, rhythms, and timbres played or sung together

Front 15

Timber

Back 15

the tone color that distinguishes instruments

Front 16

Time Signature

Back 16

the stacked numbers at the beginning of a piece of music, describes the meter

Front 17

Treble Clef

Back 17

a clef assigns letter names to the lines and spaces of the staff also called the G Clef; used for high pitches in the alto and soprano range

Front 18

Circle (right/left)

Back 18

dancers join in a ring and move either clockwise or counter clockwise

Front 19

Contradance

Back 19

two long lines of partners facing each other

Front 20

Do-Si-Do

Back 20

dancers face each other,pass right shoulders, and return to their original places; often done with arms crossed

Front 21

Forward and Back

Back 21

step forward 3 steps and stop, step back 3 steps and stop

Front 22

Grand (right/left)

Back 22

in a square dance (or circle), partners grab right hands and pull past the other's right shoulder; then the dancer take the next person's left hand and pull past left shoulders; cotinue in this fashion

Front 23

Hand Turn (right/left)

Back 23

one hand turn around your partner, with the right or left hand palms touching and the elbow bent

Front 24

Head Couple

Back 24

the couple at the front of the line, or in a square dance, the first and third couples

Front 25

Partner

Back 25

the person you dance with

Front 26

Peel the Orange

Back 26

in contradance formation, the head couople casts off; the others follow; the head couple makes an arch at the end of the lines and the other pass through; a new head couple emerges

Front 27

Sashay

Back 27

skipping sideways, with a partner, hands held

Front 28

Square Dance

Back 28

4 couples make a square, alternating ladies and gents; there are 2 head couples and 2 side couples