General knowledge Flashcards
Homophonic – Texture
all parts move at same time or melody with accompaniment – same rhythms at the same time.
Polyphonic – Texture
2 or more parts with different rhythms - weave independently of each other. Like Contrapuntal
Legato
Notes played long and smooth
Staccato
Notes played short and detached
Ostinato/Riff
Repeated pattern of notes
Sequence
Pattern of notes repeated higher or lower
Repetition
Musical idea heard more than once.
Imitation
The melody is immediately copied in
another part.
Unison
Same notes at the same time
Harmony
The same notes are played in a different octave at the same time
Anacrusis
Tune starts before the first beat of the bar.
Think “happy” in happy birthday.
Syncopation
Strongly accented notes playing off or
against the beat. Will sound more jumpy.
Symphony
Piece for whole orchestra, no main solo
instrument.
Concerto
Piece for soloist and orchestra
Cadenza
passage for soloist to show off, sounds
made up – improvised.
A capella
Unaccompanied – no accompanying
instruments.
Melismatic
More than one note per syllable.
Syllabic
One note per syllable.
Major
Happy, positive sounding.
Minor
Sad, scary, tense sounding
Atonal
Not major or minor – uses dissonance –
doesn’t sound nice.
Forms
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
Theme & Variations
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.
Minuet & Trio
dance with 3 beats in a bar.
Alberti bass
Broken chords played by the left hand on
the piano. Low - high – middle – high.
Walking Bass
Notes move on every beat.
Ground Bass
A theme in the bass which is repeated many times while the higher parts change.
Broken chord
Notes of the chord played separately.
Vamp
Boom cha accompaniment. Bass note then chord.
Simple time
– Each beat splits into 2 equal parts –
TAN-GO
Compound time
Each beat splits into 3 equal parts –
JIGG-I-TY.
Aria
Main song in an opera. Shows off the singers ability-tuneful.
Cadence
Last 2 chords in a phrase.
Perfect Cadence
sounds finished
Imperfect Cadence
sounds unfinished.
Tierce De Picardi
Minor piece last chord major.
Pedal
Low note held on or repeated while other parts change.
Inverted Pedal
High note held on/repeated while
other parts change
Modulation
Change of key
Voices – Highest to lowest, Female
Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Alto
Voices – Highest to lowest, Male
Tenor, Baritone, Bass
Allegro
Fast
Moderato
Moderate tempo
Andante
Walking Pace
Adagio
Slow
Accelerando
getting faster
Rallentando
getting slower
Rubato
robbed time – speeding up or slowing down to suit the mood of the piece.
pp
Pianissimo, very quiet
p
Piano, quiet
mp
Mezzo-piano, moderately quiet
mf
Mezzo-forte, moderately loud
f
Forte, loudly
ff
Fortissimo, very loudly
cresc. <
Crescendo, Gradually getting louder
dim. >
Diminuendo, Gradually getting
softer
Arco
Bowed. On strung instruments
Pizzicato
Plucked. On strung instruments
Blown
Air is blown through instrument to produce sound
Flutter Tonguing
Rolling your Rs while
blowing a note.
Con Sordino
Muted - creating a different sound than normally expected.
Orchestra
Strings, Brass, Woodwind, Percussion
Brass Band
Brass & Percussion
Wind Band
Brass, Woodwind, Percussion
Folk Group
Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals, Accordion, Whistle, Bass, Flute, Drum kit, Bodhran
Scottish dance band
fiddle, accordion, piano, drums.
Celtic Rock
Mixes folk music with rock music
Reggae
Off beat guitar, vocals, drums, organ, bass.
Impressionist
Sounds dreamy or blurry. Whole tone scale
Minimalist
Simple and repetitive ostinatos.
Ragtime
Piano. Syncopated melody & vamp accomp.
Blues
Jazz style, developed from black American folk songs. Tells a story. Flattened notes.
Swing
A jazz style performed by a big band
Waltz
Speed=Medium. Beats=3. Other features= Only dance with 3 beats.
Jig
Speed=Fast.
Beats=2 6/8 time.
Other features= STRAWBERRY, compound time, TANGO, simple time, flowing.
Reel
Speed=Fast.
Beats=4.
Other features=STRAWBERRY, compound time, TANGO, simple time, flowing.
Strathspey
Speed=Medium.
Beats=4.
Other features=Jumpy, Scotch Snap.
March
Speed=Marching speed.
Beats=2 or 4.
Other features=Steady, strong pulse.
