Melody Flashcards
Melody
a succession of pitches that form a distinctive, coherent musical unit
Madrigal
main secular vocal genre of 16th century
Phrase
a self contained portion of a melody
Antecedent , consequent
2 musical phrases, the 2nd one is a concluding response or resolution of the first (1st rises and 2nd one falls)
motive
a short fragment of a melody or rhythm used in constructing a long section of music [smaller than phrase]
Tonality
the organization of music around a central pitch, and the scale built on that pitch [way of organizing melody]
Pitch
he relative position of a musical sound
Staff
a group of five equidistant lines horizontally used to indicate pitch
Interval
the distance between any two pitches
two types
1) half step (smallest interval in western music)
2) whole step (twice the size of the half step)
Note
indicates specific pitch (1st 7 letters of alphabet)
Octave
an interval; 2 pitches with same note the higher frequency is twice the lower
Unison
an interval formed by two statements of the same pitch (example; men and women sing same note but two diff f statements)
Scale
a collection of pitches arranged in an ascending and descending group ; the overall sound of collection is the result of the pattern of half steps and whole steps tha make up the scale
Major Scale
1-1-1/2-1-1-1-1/2 [7 note scale that ascends in following order]
Minor Scale
1-1/2-1-1-1/2-1-1 [ascends ]
Chromatic Scale
the scale that includes all of the 12 pitches within that octave [is not used by itself, imported in major and minor]
Chromatisicm
the frequent presence in melodies of intervals only a half step apart; in a scale, the use of notes that are not part of the diatonic major or minor pattern
Whole-Tone-Step
a six note scale comprised entirely of whole steps
Harmony
more than one pitch sounding together
Chord
more than three pitches sounding together
Cadence
a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of resolution
consonance
an interval that sounds pleasing and stable
dissonance
interval that sounds unpleasing and stable
Atonality
The absence of any feeling of tonality [no scale, no chromatisim, only pitches]
