Midterm

Question 1

a tempo

Answer 1

An directive to return to the original tempo after a deliberate deviation

Question 2

accelerando

Answer 2

Gradually accelerating or getting faster. Abbreviated by accel.

Question 3

adagio

Answer 3

A slow tempo marking between largo and andante

Question 4

al fine

Answer 4

An indication to the performer to repeat sections of a composition either from the beginning (da capo), or from the dal segno symbol, to the place marked fine (the end of the composition)

Question 5

allegro

Answer 5

A fast tempo marking between allegretto and vivace

Question 6

andante

Answer 6

A moderate tempo marking between largo and moderato. This tempo typically has between 76 and 108 beats per minute.

Question 7

animato

Answer 7

A directive to a musician to perform a selected passage of a composition in an animated or spirited manner.

Question 8

arpeggio

Answer 8

Playing the notes of a chord consecutively (harp style). A broken chord in which the individual notes are sounded one after the other instead of simultaneously.

Question 9

attack

Answer 9

The method or clearness of beginning a phrase; important part of articulation

Question 10

break strain

Answer 10

A device used in marches and piano rags to introduce a contrast in style and break the flow of the composition with a loud and intense musical statement.

Question 11

caesura

Answer 11

1. Break or interruption in music, notated by two diagonal lines often refered to as railroad tracks. The break can be of any length at the discretion of the conductor.

Question 12

cantabile

Answer 12

Singing or performing in a melodious and graceful style, full of expression.

Question 13

chant

Answer 13

1. A sacred song, usually harmonized in four parts to which scripture passages are set, part of the words being recited ad libitum, and part sung in strict tempo.

Question 14

chorale

Answer 14

A hymn of the Lutheran church, usually written for four voice harmony.

Question 15

coda

Answer 15

1. The closing few measures of a composition, usually not a part of the main theme groups of the standard form of a composition, but a finishing theme added to the end to give the composition closure; in sonata form, the coda is anything that occurs after the recapitulation

Question 16

con brio

Answer 16

A directive to perform the indicated passage with vivacity or spirit

Question 17

con fuoco

Answer 17

A musical directive to the performer to play a particular passage with vehement energy, fire or fervid emotion.

Question 18

concert band

Answer 18

An instrumental ensemble ranging from forty to eighty musicians or more, consisting of woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.

Question 19

conducting patterns

Answer 19

Arm and hand movements by the conductor that create patterns to communicate to the performers the specific beat and meter of the music.

Question 20

da capo

Answer 20

A directive to the performer to go back to the beginning of the composition. This directive is abbreviated: D.C.

Question 21

dal segno

Answer 21

A mark in a composition which informs the performer to repeat a specific section of the composition marked by a dal segno sign. This directive is abbreviated: D.S.

Question 22

embouchure

Answer 22

1. The position of the lips and mouth when playing a wind instrument.

Question 23

etude

Answer 23

A study or an exercise (typically a short composition) designed to train a musician technically as well as musically (1).

Question 24

fermata

Answer 24

A notation marking directing the performer or ensemble to sustain the note of a composition affecting all parts and lasting as long as the artistic interpretation of the conductor allows. The fermata is marked above the note or rest to be held.

Question 25

fine

Answer 25

An indication of where a composition ends when there is a repeat of some section of the composition in such a way as to make locating the ending confusing.

Question 26

forte

Answer 26

A directive in music to perform the indicated passage loudly. Forte is typically notated by the letter “f”.

Question 27

F clef (bass clef)

Answer 27

F clef is used to indicate pitches below middle C. The pitch “f” is indicated by placing a note on the 4th line.

Question 28

G clef (treble clef)

Answer 28

A symbol located at the beginning of a staff to indicate the pitches of the notes placed on the lines and spaces of the staff.

Question 29

grand/general pause

Answer 29

The general pause or the long pause serve the same function, and are identical in function to the fermata when used over a rest or barline. The function of these pauses is to create a silence for a period of time at the discretion of the performer (or conductor with an ensemble).

Question 30

ictus

Answer 30

In music, the term ictus is used in conducting to denote the specific point in a visible pattern of beat points that articulates the pulse of the music to the ensemble. This is typically the lowest point in the conducting patterns.

Question 31

interval

Answer 31

The distance between two pitches.

Question 32

key signature

Answer 32

The sharp, flat, or natural signs placed at the beginning of a staff indicating the tonality of the composition.

Question 33

key

Answer 33

A specific scale or series of notes defining a particular tonality. Keys may be defined as major or minor, and are named after their tonic or keynote. T

Question 34

l’istesso tempo

Answer 34

The same tempo. An indication in a composition that directs that the beat remains constant when the meter changes.

Question 35

largo

Answer 35

A slow and solemn tempo marking, having between 40 and 60 beats per minute.

Question 36

legato

Answer 36

A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition in a smooth, graceful, connected style, as opposed to staccato.

Question 37

leger lines

Answer 37

The short, horizontal lines added to the top or the bottom of a staff for the indication of notes too high or too low to be represented on the staff proper.

Question 38

maestoso

Answer 38

A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition in a stately, dignified, majestic fashion.

Question 39

march

Answer 39

A processional or military air especially suited to parades, processions, or martial affairs. It is generally written in 2/4, 6/8, or 4/4 time.

Question 40

meno mosso

Answer 40

Less motion or with a slower tempo.

Question 41

moderato

Answer 41

A directive to perform the designated passage of a composition in a moderate tempo; moderately, restrained.

Question 42

non troppo

Answer 42

A directive to perform a certain passage of a composition “moderately” or combined with other directives to mean “not too much.”

Question 43

octave

Answer 43

An interval spanning seven diatonic degrees, eleven semitones. An octave above C would be C. The frequency of a note one octave above another will have exactly twice as many Hertz as the frequency of the note an octave below it.

Question 44

passacaglia

Answer 44

A continuous variation form. The basis for the form is a four bar ostinato over which variations are written in the other voices. It is similar to the chaconne and is moderately slow in triple meter.

Question 45

pesante

Answer 45

A directive to a musician to perform a certain passage in a heavy, ponderous fashion, with importance and weight, impressively.

Question 46

piu

Answer 46

Italian term for more. Typically used to modify tempo markings as in “più mosso” meaning “more motion.”

Question 47

presto

Answer 47

A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition very quickly.

Question 48

rallentando

Answer 48

A directive to perform a certain passage of a composition with a gradual slowing of the tempo. The abbreviation is rall.