Exam Flashcards
2 things needed to make sound
Vibration + buzzing
Largest + smallest instrument
Tuba and flute
Woodwinds
- Flute
- Oboe
- Bassoon
- Clarinet
- Saxophone
Brass
- Trumpet
- Trombone
- Baritone
- French horn
- Tuba
Double reeds?
Oboe + bassoon
Tuned percussion + def?
- Xylophone
- Tubular chimes
- Timpani
can hit different notes and have pitch
Untuned percussion + def
- Triangle
- Gong
- Crash cymbals
can only sound 1 note
Embouchure?
- Say the word “Pooh” to get basic form
- Don’t puff out cheecks
How to take care of Trombone?
- Don’t jam mouthpiece in
2. Turn the knob to ensure the slide unit and bell unit stay together
Rhythm
- Tempo (fast, slow, changing?)
- Meter (time signature - 2/4, 3/4, etc., on the beat or off)
Syncopation: rhythm places emphasis on weak beat
Length of notes/tempo (musical time)
Melody
- Shape (ascending, descending)
- Range (narrow - 1 to 5, medium - 6 to 9, wide - 10+)
- Contour (wave, arch)
- Movement (conjunct - stepwise, or disjunct - leaps)
The main tune
Harmony
Consonance (agreeable notes) or dissonance (unpleasant sounding, needs resolution)
2 or more pitches sounding together
Timbre
- Type of instruments
2. Dynamics
Texture
Monophonic - one line + percussion
Polyphonic - two or more melodic lines
Homophonic - melody with harmonic accompaniment
of parts happening at once
Form
Strophic form - one part, AA
Binary form - two parts, AB or AABB or ABAB
Ternary form - three parts, ABA
Structure/organization of a piece of music
Baroque: style
ornate (trills, grace notes)
Baroque: harmony
- busy
- major/minor
Baroque: timbre
- harpsichord
- organ
- strings
- timpani
- minimal woodwinds and brass
Baroque: rhythm
- busy
- quick chord changes
Baroque: form
Assymetrical
Baroque: texture
polyphonic
Baroque: Patronage system
musicians were hired for their services; often times by a person, royalty, or churches
Baroque: orchestra
- smaller than modern
- focused around strings
- flutes, oboes, bassoon, and natural horns (no valves) were added
- timpani was only percussion
- harpsichord + organ = harmonies
Baroque: basso continuo
a bass line; an improvised harmoney
Baroque: composers
Johann Sebastian Bach
Antonio Vivaldi
Goerge Frideric Handel
Baroque era: when?
1600-1750
Classical: when?
1750-1820
bach died
Classical: composers
- F.J Haydn
- W.A Mozart
- L. Beethoven
Classical: social + history
- Vienna was musical centre
- Industrial revolution = more $
- French Revolution + Napoleonic Wars = more freedom for public to enjoy leisure activities
- Patronage died out
- Composers were self-employed and wrote for public = simpler
Classical: style
- simpler, less busy than baroque
- absolute music
Classical: absolute music
“music for music’s sake” (not for dancing, storytelling or to celebrate anything)
Classical: melody
- simple melody
- balanced phrases (8 or 4 bars)
- symmetrical question + answer structures
Classical: texture
homophonic
Classical: timbre
- piano
- strings
- timpani
- more use of woodwinds and brass
Classical: harmony
- slower chord changes
- cadences resolved the end of a song
- simpler, less busy
- major/minor
Classical: form
- symmetrical
- structured forms (concerto, symphony, sonata)
Classical: forms of this era
- Classical concerto (featured soloist + orchestra)
- Symphony (just orchestra)
- Sonata (1 or 2 solo instruments only, especially piano)
Classical: orchestra
- instrumental more important than vocal
- key solo instrument: piano bc it could produce different dynamics
- flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon were added as sections to orchestra
- strings still used for flavour
Romantic: when?
1820-1900
Romantic: composers
Richard Wagner, Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms
Romantic: social + history
- Personal expression, emotion, wonder, and mystery in supernatural
- Revolutions throughout Europe lead to the rise of NATIONALISM, leading composers to incorporate nationalist feelings in their pieces
- EXOTICISM: composers wrote music inspired by exotic lands
- Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art)
- More woman performers tho they struggles to be taken seriously as composers
Romantic: style
- emotional
- extreme dynamics (crescendos/decrescendos)
- programme music
Romantic: harmony
- dissonance
- chromatic
Romantic: timbre
- piano
- more percussion
- huge orchestra
Romantic: texture
- homophonic
Romantic: rhythm
- accelerado
- ritardando
- rubato = rob time
Romantic: form
- structured forms (tone poems, lieders/art songs)
Romantic: orchestra
- piano became common household instrument
- valves were added to brass instruments
- new key systems of woodwind instruments made them easier to play
Romantic: programme music
music that tells a story or has a narrative
Romantic: leitmotif
a musical theme attached to a character (ex. Star Wars Imperial March = Darth Vader)
Accelerando
Increase of tempo in music
Adagio
Slow
Allegretto
Moderately fast
Allegro
Really fast
Andante
Moderately slow
Diminuendo
Gradually growing softer. Decrescendo.
Legato
Smooth, flowing
Largo
Large, broad, slow and stately
Legato
Smooth and connected
Lento
Slow
Piano
Soft
Pianissimo
Very soft
Ritardando
Gradually growing slower
Staccato
Separate. Sounded in a short, detached manner
Syncopation
The rhythmic result produced when a regularly accented beat is displaced onto an unaccented beat
Tempo
The rate of speed at which a musical composition is performed
Mezzo
m, Medium
Forte
f, loud
Fortissimo
ff, very loud
Mezzo-forte
mf, medium loud
Mezzo-piano
mp, medium quiet
Pianissimo
pp, very quiet
Sharp
Raise pitch half a semi-tone
Flat
Lower pitch half a semi-tone
Nationalism
Pride in one’s country
Instruments in Basso Continuo?
Harpsichord
String bass
Harpsichord def
Keyboard instrument, precursor to piano in baroque era
Time signiture
Number of beats
What type of note represents 1 beat
Exercises to warm up?
- Scales: learn pitches/fingering
- Long tones for good tones
- Tonguing: staccato
