Baroque Music N5 U1 P4 Flashcards
Melody/harmony- tonality
There are two types of tonalities:
Major- cheerful sounding
Minor-sad sounding
Scales & arpeggios definition
Scales move by step
Arpeggios move by leap
Both in ascending or descending patterns
Ornamentation
Ornamentation decorates the main melody
Two types:
Trill- quick continuous alteration between two notes
Grace not- quick crushed notes before main melody
Repeition and sequence definition
Repetition is when a pattern of notes is repeated at the exact same pitch
Sequence is when a pattern of notes is repeated at higher or lower pitch
Cadence definition and types
A cadence is how a section of music finishes
A perfect cadence is when the ending sounds finished as it ends on chord I
An imperfect cadence is when the ending sounds unfinished as it ends on chord V
Word-setting
Word-setting describes how a piece of music is sung
There are two types of word setting:
Syllabic- each syllable is set to one note
Melismatic- each syllable set to more than one note
Vocals- descant
A descant is when a higher part is sung above the main melody
Baroque music can also be sung in harmony, octaves/unison
Tempo
Adagio-slow
Andante- walking pace
Moderato- moderate speed
Allegro- fast
Terms for tempo change
Accelerando- to speed up
Ritardando- to slow down
Timings
Simple time- when each beat can be divided into quavers- co-fee, cof-fee
Compound time- when each beat can be divided into triplets- straw-ber-ry
Anacrusis
When one or more notes are played before the first beat of the bar
Harpsichord
Keyboard instrument
Opposite colour to piano
Sounds stringy, not smooth like piano
Organ
Long notes and are played throughout a piece of music
String playing techniques
String players can play in either arco or pizzicato
Arco- instruction to string players to use bow
Pizzicato- instruction to string players to use plucking with fingers
String instruments
Violin
Viola
Cello- usually played as a bass instrument throughout the background of a piece of music
Woodwind instruments- oboe
Sounds like a duck
Barrie/ballerina
High pitched
Woodwind instruments- bassoon
Like the oboe
Lower pitch
Duck sound
Woodwind instruments- recorder
Higher pitch than flute
Squeaky
Woodwind instruments- flute
Fairly high pitch
Smooth
Brass instruments- trumpet
High pitch
Echo
Captain America
Brass instrument- french horn
Low pitch
Car horn extended
Brass instruments- trombone
High pitch
Lower pitch than trumpet
Smooth
Percussion
Timpani- drums
Timpani use a technique called a roll- quick, continuous repeated notes at one pitch
Vocal ranges- female
Soprano- highest, swan
Mezzo-soprano- middle, lower pitch
Alto- lowest, echoey, low pitch in background, from throat
Vocal ranges- male
Tenor- highest, posh, like alto with no echo, sounds flat
Baritone- middle, no echo, very flat, from throat
Bass- bass, low pitch all together, flat
Choirs
Soprano
Alto
Tenor
Bass
Accompanied and unaccompanied
Accompanied- with background instruments supporting the solo instruments
Unaccompanied- plain solo
Dynamics
Piano- p, soft
Mezzo-piano- mp, medium soft
Pianissimo-pp, very soft
Forte- f, loud
Mezzo-forte- mf, medium loud
Fortissimo- ff, very loud
Dynamics
Crescendo- music gradually gets louder
Diminuendo- music gradually slows down
Canon and imitation
Canon- instruments or voices played the exact same material in turn, overlapping
Imitation- similar material is played/sung, possibly at different pitches or with slight differences
Texture
Homophonic- all instruments move at same time with the same rhythms but at different pitches- like lasagne
Texture
Polyphonic- independent parts, using different rhythms and pitches, ‘weaving’- like spaghetti, can be described as contrapuntal
Texture
Ground bass- a bass line which is repeated all the way through a piece of music while the above changes
Form
Binary- music written in two sections, labelled AB, each section is normally repeated, sounds like AABB
Form
Ternary- music written in two sections, labelled A and B, sounding like ABA
Form
Rondo- A section returns after b, c, d, e…
Style
Chorus- features. Choir singing together
Aria- a solo singer, or a duet
Concerto
A piece of music accompanied by the orchestra, to show off what the solo player can do
Baroque is also a concept
