modern era terms

Question 1

expanded tonality

Answer 1

the use of extremely chromatic harmony while still maintaining allegiance to a tonal centre

Question 2

modal scales

Answer 2

• the use of scales (modes) in which the pattern of whole and half steps is different from conventional major and minor scales; for example, Dorian, Lydian, Mixolydian
• common in music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance
• rediscovered by 20th-century composers

Question 3

whole-tone scales

Answer 3

• a non-traditional scale employed by composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
• consists of six different pitches, all spaced a whole tone (whole step) apart
• for example, C – D – E – F sharp – G sharp – A sharp – C

Question 4

pentatonic scale

Answer 4

• a scale consisting of five different pitches
• for example, C – D – F – G – A
• easily rendered by playing the five black keys on the piano
• common to the folk music of many European and Asian cultures

Question 5

polytonality

Answer 5

• the simultaneous use of two or more tonal centres

Question 6

atonality

Answer 6

• the total absence of any tonal centre
• characterized by unresolved dissonances

Question 7

changing meter

Answer 7

• shift of metrical groupings
• manifested through changes of time signature

Question 8

polyrhythm

Answer 8

• the simultaneous use of two or more conflicting rhythms