Exam Flashcards
Key Signature def
sharps and flats after clef at the beginning of a piece of music that indicates which notes will be sharped or flatted each time you play them in a piece
Whole steps vs half steps notes
Whole steps means there is a black key between the 2 keys. Half steps include 3/4 and 7/8 notes.
Intervals def
distance between 2 notes
Harmonic Interval def
when 2 notes of an interval are played together
Melodic Interval def
when 2 notes of an interval are played 1 after another
Determining Intervals
- count bottom and top notes + notes in between for the #
- use perfect or major/minor
How to know if it’s major or minor?
Look at bottom note for key signature. If top note is in the scale, it’s major. If not, it’s minor.
Perfect?
Unison, 4th, 5th, 8ve
Major/Minor?
2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th
Show relation between the perfects/major/minor and the augmented/diminished.
Diminished - Perfect - Augmented
Diminished - Minor - Major - Augmented
- means 1 semitone
Accidental Sibito Meno mosso Piu Interval Chord Fermata Caesura Marcato Tenuto Staccatto Forte piano Sforzando Da capo Dal segno Accent Crescendo Decrescendo: Natural
- sharp/flat/natural not part of key signiture
- suddenly
- less motion
- more
- difference between 2 pitches
- 3+ notes played simutaneously
- hold note longer than its value
- full stop (//)
- strong detached accent (^ on top of note)
- play for full value (_ under note)
- short, detached
- loud, then soft (fp)
- suddenly loud (sfz)
- go to beginning (DC)
- go to the symbol (DS)
- with emphasis (> under or on top of note)
- gradually get louder
- gradually get softer
- an accidental; cancels out sharp/flat for the bar
Elements of Music: Rhythm
Time
- Duration
- Tempo: speed of a piece that should be played
- Largo, lento, andante, moderato, allegro/vivace - Meter
- Numerator is number of beats per bar and denominator is the value of each beat
- Syncopation, ritardando/rallentando, accelerando
Elements of Music: Dynamics
Relative loudness or volume
- Pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo-forte, forte, fortissimo
- Accents to emphasize notes (1st and 3rd)
Elements of Music: Melody
Linear series of pitches
- Pitch: highness or lowness of a sound
- Conjunct: smooth
- Disjunct: Disjunct - Range: wide, narrow, intermediate
Elements of Music: Harmony
Agreement to the melody
- Dissonance: harsh sounding harmonic combination
- Consonance: smooth sounding harmonic combination
Elements of Music: Timbre
Character of musical sound
- Instruments
Elements of Music: Texture
Relationship of musical lines
- Monophonic: 1 melody, no harmony
- Homophonic: 1 melody, harmony
- Polyphonic: 2+ melodies (eg. canons)
Elements of Music: Form
Structure
- Binary: AB
- Ternary: ABA
Medieval: date, context, types
- Date: 400-1400
- Context: Nobility, clergy, peasants
Types:
- Plain Song: sacred music
- Gregorian Chant: type of plain song
- Secular Music: sang by minstrels about love; simple; faster
Medieval: timbre, melody, texture, rhythm
- Timbre: Latin men’s vocals
- Melody: Narrow range, stepwise
- Texture: Monophonic
- Rhythm: Free rhythm (no meter)
Renaissance: date, context, types, composers
- Date: 1400-1600
- Context: Rise of the middle class, advances
- Composers: Josquin de Prez, Giovanni Palestrina
Types:
- Secular Music: about love
- Madrigals: songs for small groups of vocies without instruments
Renaissance: timbre, harmony, texture
Timbre:
- Basic valveless instruments
- Motet: 4 different vocal parts of equal importance
- Harmony: Consonance
- Texture: Polyphonic
Baroque: date, context, composers
- Date: 1600-1750
- Context: Patronage system
- Composers: JS Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, G.F. Handel
Baroque: timbre, melody, harmony, texture, rhythm, form
- Timbre: Harpsichord, strings
- Melody: Elaborate, trills
- Harmony: Minor/major
- Texture: Polyphonic
- Rhythm: Quick chord changes
- Form: Asymmetrical
Classical: date, context, composers, types
- Date: 1750-1820
- Context: Absolute Music
- Composers: Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven
Types:
- Symphony: Orchestra
- Concerto: Solo + orchestra
- Sonata: Solo
Classical: timbre, melody, texture, rhythm, form
- Timbre: No harpsichord, valveless horns/trumpets. clarinets + bassoons
- Melody: Simple, clear, use of cadences
- Texture: Homophonic
- Rhythm: Simple meters, constant tempos
- Form: Symmetrical. ABA
Romantic: date, context, composers, types
- Date: 1820-1900
- Context: individual expression, nationalism, change, program music (music that tells a story)
- Composers: Richard Wagner, Antonin Dvorjak, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms
Types:
- Tone poem: long one-movement works that tell a story
- Concert overtures: operas that set mood
- Romantic symphony: more instruments, flexible movements
Romantic: timbre, melody, harmony, texture, rhythm, form
- Timbre: piano (solo), rise of the brass
- Melody: memorable, disjunct
- Harmony: Dissonance, chromaticism
- Rhythm: Rubato (robbed time), stretched (rit/accel)
- Form/Texture: varied
