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Classical Music > Basic Terms > Flashcards

Basic Terms Flashcards

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0
Q

Bel canto

A

“Beautiful singing”; style that emphasizes the beauty of sound throughout the entire range, great agility, and smoothness

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1
Q

Aria

A

Lyric operatic number for solo voice, usually expressing intense emotion

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2
Q

Cadence

A

A musical punctuation mark that occurs at the end of a phrase, section, or composition. A harmonic or melodic formula that conveys a momentary conclusion

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3
Q

Cantata

A

Poem set to music. Usually with several movements, airs, recitatives, and choruses

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4
Q

Chord

A

Three or more notes played simultaneously

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5
Q

Closed cadence

A

Ends on the tonic

Gives a sense of resolution; “a period or exclamation mark”

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6
Q

Coda

A

A closing theme that is not part of the main thematic groups

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7
Q

Concert overture

A

Music preceding an opera or play

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8
Q

Conjunct

A

Smooth melodic contour

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9
Q

Deceptive/False cadence

A

Resolves, but not to the tonic

“A semi-colon”

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10
Q

Disjunct

A

Jagged melodic contour

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11
Q

Dominant

A

Note and the chord based on the note a fifth above

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12
Q

Duplum

A

(In a 12th c. Organum) the part immediately above the tenor

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13
Q

Fugue

A

Baroque musical procedure based on a subject; developed by contrapuntal techniques

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14
Q

Gesamtkunstwerke

A

Wagner’s projected all-inclusive art form

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15
Q

Hocket

A

Medieval practice of dividing up a melody in one or two-note phrases that are traded back and forth between two voices

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16
Q

Homophonic

A

One melodic line predominates; other material is secondary

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17
Q

Idée fixe

A

A recurring theme that appear in many movements of the same composition

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18
Q

Intermezzi

A
  1. An instrumental interlude between the acts of a performance
  2. A comic play with music performed between acts
  3. A short lyric composition, often for the piano
  4. In the old dance suite, two to four dance movements between the sarabande and the gigue
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19
Q

Isorhythm

A

Repeating rhythmic pattern of one or more voices, often in medieval motets

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20
Q

Kanon

A

Strict counterpoint in which each voice exactly imitates the previous voice

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21
Q

Klangfarbenmelodie

A

Schoenberg’s technique of using different tone colors (different instruments) for a single pitch or melody

22
Q

Leitmotif

A

A recurring motif in a composition (usually an opera) that represents a specific person, idea, or emotion

23
Q

Madrigal

A

Renaissance vocal piece set to love poem. A Capella, word painting. Each line has its own tune.

24
Q

Melisma

A

A group of several notes sung melodically to a single syllable. Especially found in liturgical chant

25
Q

Minuet

A

A dance (17th and 18th c.). Graceful and dignified in moderately slow 3/4 time

26
Q

Monophony

A

Single, unaccompanied melody line

Example: Gregorian chant

27
Q

Motet

A

Polyphonic vocal composition style popular in Middle Ages. It evolved from disparate texts to a more unified form in the Renaissance

28
Q

Motif

A

A brief succession of notes; building block of a melody.

29
Q

Musica reservata

A

“Serious music”; clearly articulated words

30
Q

Octatonic scale

A

A scale of eight pitches per octave arranged by alternating half steps and whole steps

31
Q

Open cadence

A

Pauses on the dominant
Like a comma
Creates tension and the need to continue

32
Q

Oratorio

A

Similar to opera, but without costumes, scenery, or action

33
Q

Organum

A

First polyphonic music (12-13th c). A voice was added a fifth above plainchant.

34
Q

Pentatonic scale

A

A scale of five tones.

African, Far East, Native American
Also, some 20th century music

35
Q

Pitch

A

A single fundamental frequency with timbre

36
Q

Plagal cadence

A

“Amen cadence”. Usually in a musical postscript following a closed cadence.

37
Q

Plainchant

A

Monophonic melodies and unmeasured vocal lines

38
Q

Polyphony

A

Two or more simultaneous melody lines of equal importance

39
Q

Schmerz

A

Pain or sorrow

40
Q

Singspiel

A

German language musical comedy with spoken dialogue. (Type of opera) popular in 18th century. Usually romantic or farcical.

Example: Mozart’s The Magic Flute

41
Q

Sonata

A

piece in 3 or 4 movements. Piano or piano plus one instrument.

Features one repeated exposition

42
Q

Sprechstimme

A

A vocal style in which the melody is spoken at approximate pitches rather than sung at exact pitches.

Developed by Schoenberg

43
Q

Sturm und Drang

A

“Storm and Stress”

Pre-Romantic movement bent on expressing great personal feelings and emotions

44
Q

Texture

A

The number of melodies present and the relationship between them

Monophony, polyphony, homophony

45
Q

Theme

A

Primary musical subject matter

46
Q

Timbre

A

Tone color

47
Q

Tonality

A

The sense that one pitch is central to a section of music

48
Q

Tone poem

A

One-movement orchestral genre from Romantic era that develops a poem or mood

49
Q

Tonic

A

The home note

50
Q

Trio

A
  1. Ensemble of 3 instruments
  2. Composition for 3 instruments
  3. Type of minuet, paired with another minuet “ Minuet and trio”
51
Q

Tune

A

Singable, memorable melody with a clear sense of beginning, middle, and end

52
Q

Double Exposition form

A

Two separately composed expositions, neither of which is repeated, followed by development, recapitulation, and coda.

Example: Mozart piano concerto No. 1 in G Major

53
Q

Cadenza

A

Extended solo that “interrupts” the final cadence

This practice was derived from opera singers who paused and added some vocal fluff before the end of an aria

Mozart would often improvise his cadenzas and never notated them. Other performers would carefully practice them to show off their virtuosic prowess

Classical Music (1 decks)

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