Harmony and Tonality

Question 1

triad

Answer 1

a chord of three notes

Question 2

What type of chord is G7?

Answer 2

dominant seventh

Question 3

concord

Answer 3

a chord where all the notes ‘agree’ with each other

Question 4

discord

Answer 4

a chord where some notes seem to ‘disagree’ or clash

Question 5

polyphony

Answer 5

chords formed from individual melody lines

Question 6

diatonic

Answer 6

using notes that belong to the key

Question 7

chromatic

Answer 7

using notes from outside the key

Question 8

false relation

Answer 8

a harmonic clash that occurs when a note in one part is chromatically altered in another part

Question 9

What forms a cadence?

Answer 9

two chords at the end of a passage of music

Question 10

perfect cadence

Answer 10

formed by the chords V - I, sound as though the music has come to an end

Question 11

interrupted cadence

Answer 11

formed by chord V followed by a minor chord, which comes as a surprise to the listener

Question 12

imperfect cadence

Answer 12

ending on chord V, sound unfinished and make the music want to carry on

Question 13

plagal cadence

Answer 13

formed by the chords IV - I, sound finished and often used at the end of hymns - “Amen”

Question 14

equal temperament

Answer 14

the tuning system in which an octave is divided into twelve equal semitones

Question 15

tonal music

Answer 15

music in a major or minor key

Question 16

atonal music

Answer 16

music not related to any tonic note, no sense of key

Question 17

modal music

Answer 17

music that is in a mode, such as dorian or mixolydian, commonly used in folk music, pop music and jazz

Question 18

modulation

Answer 18

when a piece of music changes key, commonly to the subdominant, dominant or relative minor

Question 19

drone

Answer 19

a held or repeated chord throughout a piece of music

Question 20

pedal

Answer 20

a single note that is held or repeated in the bass

Question 21

inverted pedal note

Answer 21

a sustained or repeated note in a high register

Question 22

ground bass

Answer 22

a bass part which is repeated throughout a piece, which can last many bars before repeating

Question 23

passacaglia

Answer 23

a type of composition which contains a ground bass

Question 24

exposition

Answer 24

the section in which the key ideas of the music are introduced
usually followed by a development section

Question 25

characteristics of harmony and tonality in the Renaissance period

Answer 25

usually come the combination of polyphonic melodies
tonality based on modes
mainly major or minor chords, but occasionally missing a third
dissonant notes had to be prepared and resolved
false relations were used to create harmonic interest
drones were used as basic accompaniment

Question 26

characteristics of harmony and tonality in the Baroque period

Answer 26

early to mid Baroque music used modes, but moved towards the 12-key system in the late part of the Baroque period
diatonic chords with occasional chromaticism
ground bass was common

Question 27

characteristics of harmony and tonality in the Classical period

Answer 27

diatonic tonality
diatonic chords with occasional chromaticism
regular cadences to punctuate balanced phrases
focused on the tonic and dominant chords
often modulated to closely related keys

Question 28

characteristics of harmony and tonality in the early 20th century

Answer 28

harmonic clusters

micro-tonality including quarter-tones

Question 29

characteristics of harmony and tonality in the Romantic period

Answer 29

more chromatic harmony than in earlier periods
wider use of extended chords
dissonance used to make music more expressive
modulation to more distant keys than in the Classical period
tonal ambiguation