Fine Arts - Music Terms

Question 1

Song that is written to capture the essence of a scene, paint a picture by sound, and help the listener create a visual image

Answer 1

Art song

Question 2

The liturgy of the Roman Catholic Eucharist. In music, a mass is a choral setting of the mass that contains five sections: Kyrie, Gloria, credo, Sanctus, and Angus Die.

Answer 2

Mass

Question 3

A composition in several movements for orchestra and chorus often with a sacred text, and utilizing recitatives, arias, and choruses.

Answer 3

Cantata

Question 4

A polyphonic composition for choir based on a sacred Latin text and typically sung without accompaniment.

Answer 4

Motet

Question 5

A theatrical presentation with drama set to music.

Answer 5

Opera

Question 6

Also called opera seria (serious opera) grand in scale and tragic in tone. Highly stylized treatment of heroic subjects such as gods and heroes.

Answer 6

Grand opera

Question 7

Comic opera that usually does not have a spoken dialogue and typically uses satire to treat a serious topic with humor.

Answer 7

Opera buffa

Question 8

A semi-dramatic work, without acting, scenery or costumes, often on a religious theme, for orchestra, choir and soloists.

Answer 8

Oratorio

Question 9

An independent composition for orchestra, in one movement, typically in sonata form and from the romantic period.

Answer 9

Concert overture

Question 10

An extended composition for orchestra and one or more soloist, typically in three movements, fast-slow-fast.

Answer 10

Concerto

Question 11

Music written for one musician, with or without accompaniment

Answer 11

Solo

Question 12

Music written for two musicians, with or without accompaniment

Answer 12

Duet

Question 13

Music written for three musicians, with or without accompaniment

Answer 13

Trio

Question 14

Music written for four musicians, with or without accompaniment

Answer 14

Quartet

Question 15

Music written for five musicians, with or without accompaniment

Answer 15

Quintet

Question 16

Music written for six musicians, with or without accompaniment

Answer 16

Sextet

Question 17

Music written for seven musicians, with or without accompaniment.

Answer 17

Septet

Question 18

Music written for eight musicians, with or without accompaniment

Answer 18

Octet

Question 19

Any arrangement of musicians usually more than four

Answer 19

Ensemble

Question 20

A large instrumental ensemble divided into sections such as strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. In theater, the section of seats on the ground floor of the auditorium directly in front of the stage.

Answer 20

Orchestra

Question 21

An instrumental piece, usually in three or four movements and usually for one or two players.

Answer 21

Sonata

Question 22

An instrumental composition, typically in two parts arising from the baroque period and comprising a set of dance- inspired movements written in the same key but differing in tempo, meter, and character.

Answer 22

Suite

Question 23

An extended musical composition for orchestra usually consisting of three or four movements.

Answer 23

Symphony

Question 24

A polyphonic composition in which a theme or themes are stated successively in all voices.

Answer 24

Fugue

Question 25

The dominant idea of a work of art, music, film, dance, and literature. In music, a principal melodic phrase in a composition.

Answer 25

Theme

Question 26

Vibrations that travel through the atmosphere and cause the eardrum to vibrate.

Answer 26

Sound

Question 27

The highness or lowness of the sound. Short wavelengths create a higher pitch, whereas, long wavelengths create lower ones.

Answer 27

Pitch

Question 28

The loudness of the sound.

Answer 28

Dynamics

Question 29

The timbre of a voice or instrument.

Answer 29

Tone color

Question 30

The quality of a tone that distinguishes it from other tones of the same pitch

Answer 30

Timbre

Question 31

How many beats the pitch or note is being held.

Answer 31

Duration

Question 32

Equal parts into which the measure is divided.

Answer 32

Beat

Question 33

On written music, a measure is the distance between two bar lines.

Answer 33

Measure

Question 34

On written music, a vertical line that lies perpendicular to the staff or grand staff.

Answer 34

Bar line

Question 35

Five horizontal, parallel lines

Answer 35

Staff

Question 36

Two sets of five horizontal, parallel lines, connect by a grand bar line, with the upper staff usually being treble clef and the bottom staff being bass clef.

Answer 36

Grand staff

Question 37

The regular succession of rhythmical impulses or beats

Answer 37

Meter

Question 38

The relationship, either of time or space, between recurring elements of a composition. The regular or ordered repetition of dominant and subordinate elements.

Answer 38

Rhythm

Question 39

The slowness or fastness of the rhythm

Answer 39

Tempo

Question 40

The succession of recognizable tones that create a whole

Answer 40

Melody

Question 41

The melodic and harmonic characteristics of a composition

Answer 41

Texture

Question 42

The scientific study of music, including aspects of physics of sound, chord, progression, and note development

Answer 42

Theory

Question 43

The study of the overall development of a piece of music: identifying which phrases repeat, and which phrases are new and all combinations within the piece of music.

Answer 43

Form and analysis

Question 44

A diverse artistic style taking place from the late 16th century to the early 18th century marked typically by complexity, elaborate form, and appeal to the emotions.

Answer 44

Baroque

Question 45

Adhering to traditional standards. In music, classical refers to a style of the 18th century that adhered to classical standards but had no known classical antecedents

Answer 45

Classical

Question 46

A philosophy as well as a style in all the arts and literature, dating to the late 18th through 19th centuries. Sought to reflect great diversity.

Answer 46

Romantic

Question 47

Music that reflects the style of the day

Answer 47

Contemporary

Question 48

Music that has a definite 2- beat feel and was first written for military purposes.

Answer 48

March

Question 49

A Caribbean island feel that reflects the laid- back lifestyles of those residents

Answer 49

Reggae

Question 50

A strong heaven drum beat that establishes the rhythmic feel with heavy and piano providing the melody and harmony

Answer 50

Rock

Question 51

Written to fully express the restrained emotions of the slaves and former slaves developing in the Mississippi delta

Answer 51

Rhythm and blues

Question 52

A highly vocalized, automatic, rhythmic beat that expresses the artists emotions usually of hatred and violence

Answer 52

Rap

Question 53

A sacred style of music that developed by African- Americans and was a spin - off rhythm and blue.

Answer 53

Gospel

Question 54

Similar to an opera but includes folk- music or music specifically written to carry the story

Answer 54

Musical

Question 55

The primary female singer in an opera

Answer 55

Prima Donna

Question 56

A classical or formal tradition resting heavily on a set of prescribed movements, actions, and positions

Answer 56

Ballet

Question 57

The primary female dancer in a ballet

Answer 57

Prima ballerina

Question 58

A form of concert dance relying on emotional us of the body, as opposed to formalized or conventional movement such as ballet, and stressing human emotion and the human condition

Answer 58

Modern dance

Question 59

A group of dances that perform some religious, moral, or ethical purpose in a society

Answer 59

Ritual dance

Question 60

A body or group of dances performed to traditional music that is stylistically identifiable with a specific culture, for which it serves as a necessary or informative part

Answer 60

Folk dance

Question 61

A form arising partly from African dance customs, and with a strong improvisational nature, that developed int American social and entertainment dances.

Answer 61

Jazz dance

Question 62

A serious of dances that have a prescribed style and set of steps that must be followed closely to express the customs of a particularly country.

Answer 62

Ballroom dance

Question 63

When dancers stand in a straight line and perform high kicks and alternate moves to follow a domino pattern

Answer 63

Line

Question 64

When a serious of motions are repeated to reiterate or capture a particular expression or mood

Answer 64

Form

Question 65

Reiteration of elements in a work so as to create a sene of unity

Answer 65

Repetition

Question 66

The arrangement and progression of chords

Answer 66

Harmony

Question 67

In theater, a type of greek and Roman farce: or a performance using only body movement and gestures, without the use of words. In dance or theatre, actions that initiate human or animal movements

Answer 67

Mime

Question 68

In dance, it is the transmission of emotions and meaning through gesture

Answer 68

Pantomime

Question 69

The complete visual environment of the production, including, scenery, lighting, properties, customs, and physical structure of the theatre

Answer 69

Miss-en-scene

Question 70

Using the hands and body to communicate, express, and translate thought and emotions

Answer 70

Sign language

Question 71

How the audience responds to what they have heard and/or seen

Answer 71

Reaction