Music Appreciation

Question 1

Rhythm

Answer 1

movement of music in time

Question 2

Beat

Answer 2

basic unit of rhythm

Question 3

Meter

Answer 3

organizes groups of beats

Question 4

Syncopation

Answer 4

accents shifted to offbeats

Question 5

Polyrhythm

Answer 5

simultaneous conflicting rhythmic patterns

Question 6

additive rhythms

Answer 6

grouping of irregular numbers of beats

Question 7

Nonmetric

Answer 7

no strong sense of beat or meter

Question 8

Harmony

Answer 8

Simultaneous combination of sounds

Question 9

Chord

Answer 9

three or more notes sounded together

Question 10

Theme

Answer 10

main melodic idea used as building block in construction of a larger work

Question 11

Vocal ranges: highest to lowest

Answer 11

soprano
mezzo-soprano
alto (contralto)
tenor
baritone
bass

Question 12

Aaron Copland’s three planes of listening

Answer 12

sensuous: music washes over the listener
expressive: emotional power at forefront
musical: delve into the inner workings of music

Question 13

Analyzing Music

Answer 13

determine genre and performing forces
place within a historical period
note prominent moments, “signposts”
identify organizational features
overall sound: consonant or dissonant, major or minor?
describe the musical conversation
describe overall mood: objectively and subjectively
research the work, consider ideas of others

Question 14

Liturgy

Answer 14

set order of church service

Question 15

Plainchant

Answer 15

single-line melody: monophonic texture
follows inflections of Latin text; free-flowing, non-metric
avoids wide leaps; gentle contours
text settings: syllabic, neumatic, melismatic
early chant: oral tradition
early notation: neumes suggest melodic contour
modal: modes lack pull to tonic; predecessors of major and minor scales

Question 16

Gothic era (c. 1150–1450)

Answer 16

individual composers recognized: mostly clerics in religious communities
extended works, varied textures and forms