Music 101 Terms

Question 1

Crescendo

Answer 1

Gradually growing louder

Question 2

Melody

Answer 2

A lline, or the tune, in music

a succession of pitches

Question 3

Contour

Answer 3

How it makes up and down

Question 4

Range

Answer 4

Span of pitches

Question 5

interval

Answer 5

distance between any two pitches

Question 6

conjunct

Answer 6

melody that moves in small connected intervals

Question 7

disjunct

Answer 7

melody that moves in “leaps” or large intervals

Question 8

phrases

Answer 8

units that make up a melody (like a sentence)

Question 9

cadences

Answer 9

the resting place or end of a phrase (like punctuation)

Makes it sound complete

Question 10

Countermelody

Answer 10

a secondary melody

“against a melody”

Question 11

Pitch

Answer 11

the highness or lowness of a sound
determined by frequency
represented by notes

Question 12

frequency

Answer 12

the number of vibrations per second

Question 13

Duration

Answer 13

length of time

Question 14

volume

Answer 14

loudness or softness

Question 15

timbre

Answer 15

the character or quality of a musical sound or voice

also known as tone color

Question 16

Range

Answer 16

the distance between the lowest and highest notes

Question 17

tessitura

Answer 17

the range in which most of the melody comfortably lies

Question 18

contour

Answer 18

overall share of the melody as it turns upward, downward, or remains static
use to visual melody

Question 19

Rhyme Scheme

Answer 19

The last syllables in each line rhyme

A B A B is an example

Question 20

Climax

Answer 20

the high pint in a melodic line

peak of intensity

Question 21

Rhythm

Answer 21

the movement of music in time

a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement or sound

Question 22

meter

Answer 22

organizes the beats in music
marked off in measures (or bars)
contains fixed number of beats

Question 23

simple meters

Answer 23

each beat divided into 2

Duple, triple, and quadruple

Question 24

Compound meters

Answer 24

each beat divided into 3

Question 25

Non-metric

Answer 25

Obscured beat

Question 26

Beat

Answer 26

the basic unit of rhythm

Question 27

accented beats

Answer 27

stronger beat

Question 28

Downbeat

Answer 28

the first accented beat of a pattern | first down stroke for a conductor

Question 29

Duple meter

Answer 29

alternates a strong downbeat with a weak beat most basic ONE two ONE two

Question 30

triple meter

Answer 30

three beats to a measure one strong two weak also basic ONE two three ONE two three

Question 31

Quadruple meter

Answer 31

four beats to a measure primary accent on first beat, secondary accent on third can be difficult to distinguish from duple

Question 32

Sextuple meter

Answer 32

six beats to a measure two main beats that divide into three ONE and a TWO and a used in nursery rhymes

Question 33

Upbeat

Answer 33

when the first beat is not the accented beat

Question 34

Syncopation

Answer 34

the deliberate upsetting of the normal pattern of accents keeps things interesting accent shifted to the beat

Question 35

offbeat

Answer 35

the beat in-between the strong beat

Question 36

Polyrhythm

Answer 36

many rhythms | ex; your left hand playing a different beat on the piano than your right hand

Question 37

Additive rhythms

Answer 37

large patterns are built from combinations of smaller patterns

Question 38

Harmony

Answer 38

``` the simultaneous combination of sounds, the vertical aspect of music how pitches (notes) sounds together ```

Question 39

chord

Answer 39

the simultaneous sound of three or more pitches

Question 40

scale

Answer 40

sequence of pitches

Question 41

triad

Answer 41

three alternate pitches of a scale

Question 42

Tonic

Answer 42

the central pitch around which a melody and it harmonies are built

Question 43

tonality

Answer 43

the principle of this organization

Question 44

dissonance

Answer 44

created by unstable, or discordant, combination of pitches

Question 45

consonance

Answer 45

occurs with a resolution of dissonance, producing a stable sound

Question 46

Intervals

Answer 46

the distance between any two notes | can occur successively or simultaneously

Question 47

octave

Answer 47

interval spanning 8 notes

Question 48

Drone

Answer 48

single sustained pitch

Question 49

Chromatic scale

Answer 49

made up of all twelve half steps

Question 50

Diatonic scale

Answer 50

consists of seven whole and half steps whose patterns from major or minor scales

Question 51

sharp

Answer 51

symbol that raises the pitch by a step a half step

Question 52

flat

Answer 52

symbol that lowers the pitch by a half step

Question 53

microtones

Answer 53

intervals smaller than half steps

Question 54

tonic chord

Answer 54

built on the first scale note, the home base which active chords need to resolve

Question 55

key

Answer 55

pitch level

Question 56

transposition

Answer 56

changing the key of an entire work

Question 57

modulation

Answer 57

changing the key during a work

Question 58

half steps

Answer 58

twelve equal semitones

Question 59

major scale

Answer 59

most familiar sequence of pitches

Question 60

pentatonic

Answer 60

five note scale

Question 61

tritonic

Answer 61

three note scale

Question 62

The tonic (I) or rest chord

Answer 62

the three note chord or triad built on the first scale step

Question 63

active chord

Answer 63

seek to be complete or resolved in the rest chord dominant (V) subdominant (IV)

Question 64

Dominant (V)

Answer 64

the fifth scale step that forms the chief active chord which brings a feeling or restlessness and seeks to resolve the tonic

Question 65

Subdominant (IV)

Answer 65

the triad built on the fourth scale up