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Music > General knowledge > Flashcards

General knowledge Flashcards

1
Q

Homophonic – Texture

A

all parts move at same time or melody with accompaniment – same rhythms at the same time.

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2
Q

Polyphonic – Texture

A

2 or more parts with different rhythms - weave independently of each other. Like Contrapuntal

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3
Q

Legato

A

Notes played long and smooth

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4
Q

Staccato

A

Notes played short and detached

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5
Q

Ostinato/Riff

A

Repeated pattern of notes

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6
Q

Sequence

A

Pattern of notes repeated higher or lower

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7
Q

Repetition

A

Musical idea heard more than once.

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8
Q

Imitation

A

The melody is immediately copied in
another part.

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9
Q

Unison

A

Same notes at the same time

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10
Q

Harmony

A

The same notes are played in a different octave at the same time

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11
Q

Anacrusis

A

Tune starts before the first beat of the bar.
Think “happy” in happy birthday.

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12
Q

Syncopation

A

Strongly accented notes playing off or
against the beat. Will sound more jumpy.

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13
Q

Symphony

A

Piece for whole orchestra, no main solo
instrument.

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14
Q

Concerto

A

Piece for soloist and orchestra

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15
Q

Cadenza

A

passage for soloist to show off, sounds
made up – improvised.

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16
Q

A capella

A

Unaccompanied – no accompanying
instruments.

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17
Q

Melismatic

A

More than one note per syllable.

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18
Q

Syllabic

A

One note per syllable.

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19
Q

Major

A

Happy, positive sounding.

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20
Q

Minor

A

Sad, scary, tense sounding

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21
Q

Atonal

A

Not major or minor – uses dissonance –
doesn’t sound nice.

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22
Q

Forms

A

Binary – 2 sections – A & B, Ternary – 3 sections
A B A, Rondo – Lots of sections with A repeated eg. A – B – A –
C–A – D

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23
Q

Theme & Variations

A

Main theme is played and then changed in a different way each variation eg. put into minor key, notes added to tune, different beats in a bar.

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24
Q

Minuet & Trio

A

dance with 3 beats in a bar.

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25
Q

Alberti bass

A

Broken chords played by the left hand on
the piano. Low - high – middle – high.

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26
Q

Walking Bass

A

Notes move on every beat.

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27
Q

Ground Bass

A

A theme in the bass which is repeated many times while the higher parts change.

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28
Q

Broken chord

A

Notes of the chord played separately.

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29
Q

Vamp

A

Boom cha accompaniment. Bass note then chord.

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30
Q

Simple time

A

– Each beat splits into 2 equal parts –
TAN-GO

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31
Q

Compound time

A

Each beat splits into 3 equal parts –
JIGG-I-TY.

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32
Q

Aria

A

Main song in an opera. Shows off the singers ability-tuneful.

33
Q

Cadence

A

Last 2 chords in a phrase.

34
Q

Perfect Cadence

A

sounds finished

35
Q

Imperfect Cadence

A

sounds unfinished.

36
Q

Tierce De Picardi

A

Minor piece last chord major.

37
Q

Pedal

A

Low note held on or repeated while other parts change.

38
Q

Inverted Pedal

A

High note held on/repeated while
other parts change

39
Q

Modulation

A

Change of key

40
Q

Voices – Highest to lowest, Female

A

Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Alto

41
Q

Voices – Highest to lowest, Male

A

Tenor, Baritone, Bass

42
Q

Allegro

A

Fast

43
Q

Moderato

A

Moderate tempo

44
Q

Andante

A

Walking Pace

45
Q

Adagio

A

Slow

46
Q

Accelerando

A

getting faster

47
Q

Rallentando

A

getting slower

48
Q

Rubato

A

robbed time – speeding up or slowing down to suit the mood of the piece.

49
Q

pp

A

Pianissimo, very quiet

50
Q

p

A

Piano, quiet

51
Q

mp

A

Mezzo-piano, moderately quiet

52
Q

mf

A

Mezzo-forte, moderately loud

53
Q

f

A

Forte, loudly

54
Q

ff

A

Fortissimo, very loudly

55
Q

cresc. <

A

Crescendo, Gradually getting louder

56
Q

dim. >

A

Diminuendo, Gradually getting
softer

57
Q

Arco

A

Bowed. On strung instruments

58
Q

Pizzicato

A

Plucked. On strung instruments

59
Q

Blown

A

Air is blown through instrument to produce sound

60
Q

Flutter Tonguing

A

Rolling your Rs while
blowing a note.

61
Q

Con Sordino

A

Muted - creating a different sound than normally expected.

62
Q

Orchestra

A

Strings, Brass, Woodwind, Percussion

63
Q

Brass Band

A

Brass & Percussion

64
Q

Wind Band

A

Brass, Woodwind, Percussion

65
Q

Folk Group

A

Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals, Accordion, Whistle, Bass, Flute, Drum kit, Bodhran

66
Q

Scottish dance band

A

fiddle, accordion, piano, drums.

67
Q

Celtic Rock

A

Mixes folk music with rock music

68
Q

Reggae

A

Off beat guitar, vocals, drums, organ, bass.

69
Q

Impressionist

A

Sounds dreamy or blurry. Whole tone scale

70
Q

Minimalist

A

Simple and repetitive ostinatos.

71
Q

Ragtime

A

Piano. Syncopated melody & vamp accomp.

72
Q

Blues

A

Jazz style, developed from black American folk songs. Tells a story. Flattened notes.

73
Q

Swing

A

A jazz style performed by a big band

74
Q

Waltz

A

Speed=Medium. Beats=3. Other features= Only dance with 3 beats.

75
Q

Jig

A

Speed=Fast.
Beats=2 6/8 time.
Other features= STRAWBERRY, compound time, TANGO, simple time, flowing.

76
Q

Reel

A

Speed=Fast.
Beats=4.
Other features=STRAWBERRY, compound time, TANGO, simple time, flowing.

77
Q

Strathspey

A

Speed=Medium.
Beats=4.
Other features=Jumpy, Scotch Snap.

78
Q

March

A

Speed=Marching speed.
Beats=2 or 4.
Other features=Steady, strong pulse.

Music (6 decks)

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