Mid Term Flashcards
Art Music
Music that is artistic in intent. Classical music from the Middle Ages through the present day is considered art music.
Chord
Two or more notes played at the same time.
Chord Progression
The order in which series of chords occurs.
Cadence
The last few chords in a chord progression, ending on the tonic chord provides a sense of completeness.
Chromatic Scale
a chromatic scale is created by playing only half steps - NO WHOLE STEPS
Dynamics
descriptive markings or words printed in music that indicate volume.
Classical Music Ensambles
Orchestra, Baroque Orchestra, Classical Orchestra
Form
refers to the way a particular piece of music is laid out - a “roadmap” or “blueprint” that the composer users.
Genre
music category
Harmony
musical material that enhances or supports the melody
Homophony
Texture found in music in which a melody line is enhanced or supported by other musical material, usually chords.
Interval
The distance between two pitches
Key
an organizing principle within a composition, determined by the first not in a scale.
Toneality
when a piece of music has a distinct tonic.
Atonality
when a piece of music avoids maintaining a tonic. Atonal music is fairly dissonant.
Major Scale
a succession of whole steps and half steps
W W H W W W H
Measure / bar
a unit of musical time
Melody
a succession of notes - any succession of notes.
Meter
a pattern of regularly recurring accented beats and unaccented beats.
Duple Meter
one accented beats followed by one unaccented beat. heavy-light, heavy-light
Triple Meter
one accented beat followed by two unaccented beats. Heavy-light-light
Quadruple Meter
Heavy-light-somewhat heavy-light
Compound Meter
reccuring pattern of accented beats and unaccented beats
Minor Scale
playing a different succession of whole and half steps
W H W W H W W
Modulation
when music moves from one key to another
Monophony
most basic texture - single melody line - no harmony.
Motive
short succession of notes that is used throughout a piece of music to create a sense of unity within a piece.
Movement
a self-contained portion of music that is part of a larger work.
Note
a single pitch
phrase
a short melody, that if you were singing would feel natural to take a breath at the end.
Pitch
a sound created by vibrations
Polyphony
texture found in music two or more melodic lines that are equal in importance.
Pop Music
music that is popular, rock, theature, film music, and jazz
Repeat Signs
shows when to repeat a section of music
Rythem
how music occurs within time. The most basic is the succession of durations of notes
Score
word used to describe the printed music of a piece of music.
Song/peice
Songs are sung - everything else is a “Piece”
Tempo
the speed of the music
Texture
the means by which melody, harmony, and rhythm are combined in a composition
Theme
similar to a motive but longer
Tone Color / Timbre
the quality of sound of an instrument or voice.
Tonic
First note in each scale
a cappella
singing not accompanied by musical instruments.
Anonymos
they don’t know who composed it
Church Modes
scales approved by the church
drone
a sustained continuous pitch
Hildegard of Bingen
Tithed to church as tenth child, wrote books ar varoius subjects, reffered to as saint, Best known for Plainchant composition Ordo Virtutum Middle Ages
Mass
most important church service catholic
Proper - text that change from day to day
Ordinary - the text is the same every-time you go
Organa / Organum (Singular)
Composers took pre-existing chant and wrote a new melodic line to be sung at the same time as the existing chant.
Plainchant
the main type of music heard in the first half of the middle ages in the catholic church.
Plainchant - Recitation
on pitch dominant with small variations
Plainchant - Responsory
Call and response heard between one signer and a group of singers.
Plainchant - Non-Repsonsory
no call and response effect
Plainchant - Symabic
one tone per syllable - text setting
Plainchant - Neumatic
Text setting - a few notes per syllable
Plainchant - Melismatic
text setting - lots of notes per syllable
Troubadour
any composer working on non-secular music
Troubadour Songs
non-secular songs in the middle ages
Dance Music of Renaaissance
many different types
High Renaissance Style
a style in which the textures used in any particular piece of music alternated between polyphony (mainly imitative) and homophony.
Madrigal
a song in high renaissance style for a cappella multiple voices.
Palestrina, Giovanni
Renaissance - mostly secular music masses and motets wrote over 100 masses
Paraphrase Mass
pre-existing melody was reworked by adding rhythm or extra notes to make it more interesting.
Parody Mass
a mass in which each ordinary portion of the mass began with the exact same notes in all voice parts as pre-existing piece of music.
Thomas Weelkes
Renaissance - works include both a considerable amount of church and secular music. Best known for Madgrigals.
Word Painting
illustrate words being sung. ascending into heaven the notes would go up.
aria
section in opera in which singer reflected reflected on a particular plot point,usually their emotions
Bach
Baroque Era - mostly lutheran church - not famous in his lifetime - lutheran cantatas and Masses
Basso Continuo
technique in which improvised chords were added to the bass line in a piece of music.
Cadenza
moment during concerto orchestra arrived at cadence chord and stopped playing while soloist improvised unaccompanied solo for as long as they deem appropriate
Cantata
relatively short, sacred, dramatic musical presentation that was performed in lutheran church service.
Castrati
men castrated before puberty to prevent their voices from dropping
Chamber Music
refers to ensembles of a smaller size than an orchestra, usually a group between 2 and 20 performers
choir
a vocal emsemble usually focusing on sacred music
choral
same thing as a hymn, similar to those sung in most christian churches - four part harmony
Choral Prelude
was an arrangement of a chorale for solo organ.
Chorus
a vocal ensemble that generally specializes in secular music
concerto / concerto grosso
concerto with more than one soloist
concertino
small group of soloist that would sing concerto grosso.
ripieno
group of accompany instruments for concerto grosso
Da Capo Aria
song in 3 sections ABA
ensemble
was any aria-like section in which there was more than one singer - mainly duos and trios
figured bass
a set of symbols written above or below the bass line to help keyboardists realize the bass line.
French Overture
one of the more popular forms of composing Baroque Era - 2 Sections 1. Slow opening section 2. faster section
ground bass
bass line in which the succession of pitches repeat over and over again.
Handel
Baroque Era - worked mostly in secular operas and oratoria - Messiah
opera
genre in which story was told through singing and acting, complete with sets and costumes
oratoria
similar to opera, but told secular story and no sets and costumes
Purcell, Henry
organist at west minister abbey, court composer for English royalty mostly composed operas
recitative
a section within an opera in which narration was sung by a solo singer or dialogue was sung between multiple singers
ritornello form
began with musical played by a large group of instruments usually orchestra.
Sonata
all purely instrumental music, intended to be played at home.
suite
a multi-movement work in which the first movement was an introduction of sorts and the following movements were based on dances
Trio Sonota
type of chamber music, intended to be performed in a home.
Antonio Vivaldi
Baroque Era - orphanage school for girls - wrote 40 operas - Genre Concerti
walking bass
technique in which every note in the bass line was the same length
Beethoven
Classical Era - Pushing boundaries - went deaf around 30 - critics criticized him - GenreSymphony - Sympony No. 5 in c minor Op 67
Chamber Music
Music meant to be played in someones home. string quartets common in classical era
concerto - classical
meant for soloist with orchestra, not as popular as they were in baroque era
ensembles (opera)
each singer sang their own thoughts, allowed emotions to change
Hayden
classical era - symphony - symphony no 94 in G Major “The Surprise”
Mass - Classical Era
was still the vital music genre, style changed from baroque era
Minuet
evolved from baroque era dance called the minuet, triple meter, contrasting middle section called trio A B A
Mozart
Classical Era - opera - The Marriage of Figaro
Piano Trio
multi-movement chamber work for piano and 2 other orchestral instruments, usually violin and a cello
Rondo Form
classical era - allowed the composer the most freedom.
ABABA
ABACA
ABACABA and so on
sherzo
replaced minuet form - much faster - more freedom than minuet
singspiel
German opera - spoken dialogue takes the place of the typical recitative numbers
Sonota - Classical
mulit-movement solo for piano or duo for piano and one other classical instrument
Sonota - Rondo Form
hybrid of sonota & Rondo form
string quartet
chamber genre - 2 violins 1 viola 1 cello
Symphony
multi movement work for orchestra usually 4 movements
Variation form
on form then variations on it.
A A’ A’’ A’’’ A’’’’ A’’’’’
Wind Quintet
multi-chamber work for five wind instruments classical era.
flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn
