Exam technique and vocabulary

Question 1

Describing tonality

Answer 1

• Major
• Minor
• Modal
• Atonal or no key
• Any modulations: does it go from major to minor?
• Indian Classical- raga
• Middle Eastern- maqam

Question 2

Describing melodies

Answer 2

• Stepwise or leaping
• Comment on range (wide/narrow)
• Ornamented? Mordents, turns etc
• Any motifs, repeats or sequences
• Lyrical or fragmented (short or long phrases)
• Countermelodies?
• Legato or staccato
• Syncopated or regular
• Fast or slow notes
• Cadence at end (perfect, imperfect, plagal or interrupted)
• Do different instruments take over the melody?

Question 3

Describing singing

Answer 3

• Syllabic or melisma
• Timbre e.g. Harsh or smooth
• Soprano, alto, tenor or bass
• Solo or soli
• Backing vocals in harmony or unison
• Ornamentation e.g. scoops or grace notes, slides
• Use of vibrato
• Scatting (jazz)
• Falsetto

Question 4

Describing metre

Answer 4

• X beats per bar
• Simple or compound
• Duple, triple or quadruple
• Regular (e.g. 4 4) or irregular (e.g. 7 8)
• No beat: free rhythm or tempo rubato

Question 5

Describing harmony

Answer 5

• Block or broken chords
• Diatonic, primary, dissonant or chromatic?
  -Is the harmony rich (usually Romantic)
• Polyphonic or homophonic
• Comment on differences in dynamics between the solo and accompaniment
• Chord progressions

Question 6

Describing technology

Answer 6

• Reverb, echo, delay
• Panning
• Mixing
• Multi-tracking
• Synthesisers and electric instruments
• Auto tune
• Sampling
• Microphone

Question 7

Describing rhythms

Answer 7

• Syncopated
• Cross rhythms and polyrhythms
• Ostinatos
• Triplets (NOT an ornament!)
• Dotted rhythms
• Anacrusis (upbeat) at the beginning
• Rubato
• Hemiola: When music moves briefly from triple time to duple time without changing the time signature. The effect is one of speeding up, despite the tempo being the same.

Question 8

Describing structure

Answer 8

• Intro and Outro/coda
• Verse chorus
• Bridges and middle eights
• 12 bar blues (1950s)

Question 9

Describing texture

Answer 9

• Thick or thin
• Monophonic, homophonic or polyphonic/contrapuntal
• The use of melody and an accompaniment

Question 10

Describing timbre

Answer 10

• Mellow
• Wooden
• Brassy
• Warm
• Smooth
• Tinny
• Metallic
• Harsh

Question 11

Describing tempo

Answer 11

Largo: very slow
Andante: Walking pace
Moderato
Allegro
Presto: very fast

Ritardando/Rallentando: slowing down
Accelerando: speeding up

Rubato: flexible tempo
BPM or MM=

Question 12

Describing how soloists interact with the orchestra

Answer 12

• Soloist starts unaccompanied or the orchestra plays an intro
• Is the soloist at the same pitch, higher pitch, or lower pitch than the orchestra?
• Orchestra tutti sections without soloist
• Orchestra may play chords
• Differences in dynamics–> orchestra may play quieter during solos.

Question 13

Monophonic

Answer 13

Single line, unaccompanied

Question 14

Homophonic

Answer 14

Different instrument play different notes but in the same rhythm- everything moves in blocks.

Question 15

Polyphonic

Answer 15

Different interweaving melodies. AKA contrapuntal

Question 16

Unison

Answer 16

All instruments play the same notes and rhythms, but may be in octaves