10. Melodic Compostion Flashcards
Anacrusis
-melody begins before the beat
+ pickup note(s)
Augmentation
Form of rhythmic variation where the pitches remain the same but the rhythms are lengthened
-note values are made longer
Conjunct
Stepwise motion
Diminution
Note values are shortened
Opposite of augmentation
Disjunct
Skip-wise motion
Elision
Occurs when one phrase ends and the next begins simultaneously with one note or chord functioning to overlap the phrase
Expansion
- internal
- cadential
Phrase expansion is when the phrase is expanded beyond normal phrase length by adding material to the beginning, middle, or end.
- introduction- added at beginning (prefix)
- cadential- added at the end (suffix)
Fragmentation
Division of a musical idea (motive, theme, etc.) into segments.
Imitation
a melody repeats in a different voice but varied a bit
Leitmotif
A motive thematically associated with a person, place, or idea
Literal Repetition
Exact Repetition in the same voice
Melody
Logical progression of pitches and rhythms.
Linear succession of notes that form a recognizable unit
Mode Mixture, Modal Borrowing
Combining chords from parallel major or minor mode to increase harmonic resources.
Provides more variation in harmonies by occasionally borrowing a chord from the parallel minor or major mode.
Non-Chord Tones
- notes that don’t belong in the chord
- create a temporary dissonance
Non-Harmonic Tones
Not part of the harmony
Appoggiatura
Specific type of incomplete neighbor that leaves the preparation by a leap up and then resolves down by a step.
- this is an accented nct bc it occurs on the beat
Anticipation tone
Tone that leaves early from the preparation chord by step to become part of the resolution chord. It anticipates the pitch to come in the next chord.
Escape Tone (échappée)
Form of incomplete neighbor that leaves the chord tome by step them resolves in the opposite direction by a leap
Incomplete Neighbor (Cambiata)
Non harmonic tone appeared by a skip or leap in one direction and resolved by stepwise motion in the opposite direction. (Occurs in a weak rhythmic position)
Passing Tones
- accented
- unaccented
- chromatic
- accented passing time occurs when the passing time is not a part of the chord OCCURS ON THE BEAt
- chromatic passing tone is a non-diatonic note (requiring an accidental) connecting two chord tones, one whole step a part
PT are melodic embellishments that fill in between the preparation and resolution by stepwise motion
Neighbor Tones
-upper and lower
NCT that decorate a line by moving from one pitch to another one step above (upper neighbor) or below (lower neighbor) and then returning to the original pitch
Suspension
When a note in the preparation of the chord is HELD over, suspended, creating a momentary accented dissonance (on the beat) then resolved downward by step to the resolution.
Retardation
Suspended note that resolves upward
Octave Designation
Octave designations provide a method to correctly identfy every possible musical note from the lowest to highest pitches.
Middle C= C4
Phrase
Coherent musical thoughts that move toward a goal: the cadence.
Phrase Structure
Phrases typically occur in pairs
Symmetrical and Asymmetrical
Same or different length
Periodic Structure
How phrases are grouped
Antecedent- Consequent
When the first phrase of a pair ends with a weaker cadence and the second ends with a stronger harmonic conclusion (pac)
Parallel Period
When the two phrases making up the period begin identically or the second is a variation of the first
Contrasting Period
When the two phrases are different from each other
Double Period
Group of four phrases in which the only pac occurs at the conclusion of the fourth phrase. The first two and last two phrases are paired to form an antecedent- consequent relationship
Repeated Period
Two phrases that form a parallel Period exactly. (Same melodic structure, different cadence, harmonized different)
Modulating Period
The modulating period starts the same as the ordinary period and the consequent phrase finishes with a perfect cadence in a new key, usually the relative major or dominant.
Retrograde
Melody is played backwards
Retrograde inversion plays the pitches of the original theme exactly backward and inverted
Rhythmic Displacement
Keeps the original Structure intact but moves to a different place in the measure
Sequence
Melodic sequence refers to repeating the original motive, starting on a different pitch
Transposition
Musical transposition is a type of repetition where the starting point (or pitch) of a chord or melody is restated at a different level than the original segment. This restatement may be higher or lower and may occur as many times at different levels as a composer thinks is appropriate.
Variation
The original motive is used as the basis for related musical ideas
Tonic
Tonal center of the melody
Mediant
Defines the harmonic nature, (major or minor) (3rd)
Dominant
Fifth scale degree, sol
Seventh
Positions your melody to return to the tonic. Leading tone adds tension to the melody
Sub-phrase
Melodic unit smaller than a phrase, doesn’t end with a cadence
Theme
Compatible melodic phrase anywhere from 2-8 measures
Inversion or melodic inversion
Mirror inversion
Imitation of melody upside down from original melody.
If inverted intervals are exact mirror inversion
Ornamentation or Embellishment
Technique of adding or decorating the melody with ncts such as passing tones, neighboring tones, and suspensions
