Melodic Concepts Flashcards
stepwise
moving by step to the note directly above or below
leaping
moving between high and low notes
sequence
a pattern of notes repeated higher or lower
phrase theme
a clear recognisable melody which is the main idea of a composition
microtone
an interval smaller than a semitone
tritone
an interval made from three whole tones
variation
when the main theme is developed by adding extra notes of changing the speed or tonality
ornament
a decoration added to the melody using different or additional notes
turn
four notes turn around the main note
mordent
main note is played then the note above/below and back to the main
acciaccatura
grace note - short note played before the main note
appoggiatura
an ornament which sounds like a ‘leaning note’. takes half the volume of the main note that follows it
mode
key
harmonic minor
a scale sharing the same key signature at its relative major but raises the 7th note by one semitone (snake charmer)
melodic minor
a scale sharing the smae key signature at its relative major but raises the 6th and 7th note by one semitone when ascending and lowers them when descending (sounds like mayor scale but slightly off)
chromatic scale
a scale built entirely on semitones
pentatonic
a scale based on 5 notes (popular in folk and oriental music)
whole tone scale
a scale built entirely on tones (flashback)
relative major
a change from minor key to the major key with the same key signature. the major key is found 3 semitones higher (e.g. D minor to F major)
relative minor
a change from major key to the minor key with the same key signature. the minor key is found 3 semitones lower (e.g. C major to A minor)
tone row
the 12 notes found in a chromatic octave arranged in a particular order - appearing only once in each row. found in serialism
word painting
when music illustrates the sung phrase
