Basic Music Terms + Ch. 1

Question 1

The rate of speed in music

Answer 1

Tempo

Question 2

The flow of notes or music through time; built off of the underlying beat

Answer 2

Rhythm

Question 3

Highness or lowness of a musical sound

Answer 3

Pitch

Question 4

The unique sound of a musical instrument or voice

Answer 4

Timbre

Question 5

The most identifiable element of music; an organized sequence of single notes

Answer 5

Melody

Question 6

The sound of 2 or more pitches; supports the melody

Answer 6

Harmony

Question 7

The overall structure of a piece of music (beginning, middle, end)

Answer 7

Form

Question 8

The loudness or softness of a sound

Answer 8

Dynamics

Question 9

Element focusing on the number of simultaneous musical lines being sounded

Answer 9

Texture

Question 10

One melody

Answer 10

Monophonic

Question 11

More than one melody

Answer 11

Polyphonic

Question 12

Choral music with no instrumental accompaniment

Answer 12

A cappella

Question 13

Category or classification of music

Answer 13

Style/genre

Question 14

A system for writing down music so that critical aspects can be recreated

Answer 14

Notation

Question 15

A musical part that supports other parts/provides background

Answer 15

Accompaniment

Question 16

Translates to “walk softly”; this style of music derives from the work of South African mine workers

Answer 16

Isicathamiya

Question 17

A combination of musical elements that form one unit, no matter how the piece is preserved

Answer 17

Composition

Question 18

Why is “time” a tricky word to use to describe music?

Answer 18

Different regions/cultures conceptualize time differently (linear, circular, etc.)

Question 19

Why is “aesthetics” a tricky word to use to describe music?

Answer 19

Beauty in music is dependent on the different tastes of every culture, not universal

Question 20

A group of sounds

Answer 20

Bruno Nettl’s definition of music

Question 21

What are the components in the three-part model for studying music?

Answer 21

1: sound, 2: behavior, 3: conception

Question 22

Music classification: wind instruments (flutes, trumpets)

Answer 22

Aerophones

Question 23

Music classification: string instruments (lute, guitar)

Answer 23

Chordophones

Question 24

Music classification: self-vibrators (rattles, maracas)

Answer 24

Idiophones

Question 25

Music classification: sound produced by a vibrating stretched membrane (drums)

Answer 25

Membranophones

Question 26

Music classification: electronic (computers)

Answer 26

Electrophones

Question 27

Study of the world’s musics

Answer 27

Ethnomusicology

Question 28

Music, being a group of sounds, is what any social group consider it to be

Answer 28

Textbook’s definition of music