Fundamentals of Western Music I and II Flashcards
What is dynamics?
Amplitude. (Not fixed-varies from artist to artist)
How loud or soft.
What is pitch?
Frequency.
How low or how high a note is.
What is piano?
Part of dynamics.
Soft.
What is forte?
Part of dynamics.
Loud.
How does duration play a role in music?
Music has a set time. And happens in time.
What is a beat?
It is a pulse that underlies the structure of the piece.
What is an accent?
It implies meter. An accent is added to the beat.
Meter
Duple Meter. (2-2, 4-4) Triple Meter (3-3)
What is rhythm?
An arrangement of long and short notes.
It is the surface element (instruments are playing)
What is syncopation?
The accent is between beats or on the weak beats. Very common in funk music.
What is tempo?
It is the speed. (Depends on the artist and is not fixed).
What is Adagio?
Slow - a type of tempo
What is andante?
Walking tempo- a type of tempo
What is allegro?
Fast - a type of tempo.
What is presto?
Very fast- a type of tempo.
What is melody?
Melodies are usually organized into phrases.
Each phrase is marked with a cadence.
Think of contour.
What is a cadence?
It is like a period used to end the phrases of melody. It is musical punctuation.
What is harmony?
Vertical alignment of pitches. It changes how you hear the melody and adds dimension.
What is consonance?
It is a type of harmony that is pleasant sounding to the ear.
What is dissonance?
A harmony that sounds harsh and makes the ear crave resolution.
What is modality?
A subcategory of harmony.
Major
Minor
- still has elements of either.
What is texture?
How different parts of the music interact with each other.
Monophony
One line (or melody) only.
What is homophony?
One line plus accompaniment. -accompaniment is less important than melody.
What is polyphony?
2 or more line of equal importance.
What is imitation?
A type of polyphony. 2 or more lines if equal importance that are melodically similar.
Name two forms in music.
Repetition and contrast.
Name the 4 (5) instrument families.
Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion (Keyboard)
Name some string instruments.
Violin, guitar, cello, bass, double bass, viola, harp.
Name some woodwinds instruments.
Flute, Saxophone, clarinet, oboe, English horn, tuba
Name some percussion instruments.
Piano, drums, triangle, xylophone
Name some keyboard instruments.
Piano, accordion.
