All-State Music Vocabulary 2019-2020 Flashcards
Medium loud
Mezzo forte
Slowing of tempo, usually with increasing volume; most frequently occurs toward the end of a piece
Allargando
Performers singing the same part are divided to sing different parts
Divisi
Lively; briskly
Vivace
A short musical idea or melodic theme, usually shorter than a musical phrase
Motif
“beautiful singing”; an Italian Opera term
Bel canto
Motion by half steps; also describes harmony or melody that employs some of the sequential 12 pitches (semi-tones) in an octave
Chromatic
To perform in a relaxed tempo
Tranquillo
Becoming gradually faster
Accelerando
A high obligato part above the melody
Descant
A rapid fluctuation of pitch slightly higher or lower than the main pitch
Vibrato
Grand, majestic
Grandioso
A pause or hold
Fermata
AB-form of a composition that has two distinct sections
Binary form
Making the established pulse flexible by accelerating and slowing down the tempo; an expressive device
Rubato
A system used for teaching sight-singing (Do-Re-Mi)
Solfege
Without
Senza
Rather slow, at a moderate walking speed
Andante
The notes of the chord played in succession to one another, rather than simultaneously; a broken chord
Arpeggio
To change key within a composition
Modulation
Return to the original tempo after some deviation
A tempo
Short horizontal lines used to extend a staff either higher or lower
Ledger lines
Suddenly; quickly
Subito
Very slow and broad
Largo
Strongly accented; forced
Sforzano
An unaccompanied homophonic choral composition for three or more voices
Part song
Dying away to nothing
Niente
Softly; with subdued sound; performed in an undertone
Sotto voce
A major vocal work that involves theatrical elements
Opera
Very fast; faster than allegro
Presto
In a singing style; singable
Cantabile
The relationship between two pitches, the distance between an upper and a lower pitch
Interval
Large scale musical composition on a sacred subject
Oratorio
Indicated by a time signature, can be simple or compound
Meter
Type of vocal phonation that enables the singer to sing notes beyond the normal vocal range
Falsetto
To play or sing in a smooth, connected manner
Legato
To play or sing with expression
Espressivo
The organization and structure of a composition
Form
Gradually slowing down
Rallentando
Sweetly, usually also softly
Dolce
Describes a song where the stanzas are all sung to the same music
Strophic
Music that is created spontaneously
Improvisation
Upbeat of pickup
Anacrusis
Three note chord consisting of the root, third, and fifth
Triad
Most widely used range of pitches in a piece of music
Tessitura
The beat remains constant when the meter changes
L’istesso
Repeat from the beginning of the composition
D. C. or Da Capo
Less motion
Meno mosso
A little more motion
Poco pio mosso
Fast tempo with spirit
Allegro con spirito
