Music Appreciation Chapter 1 Review Flashcards
Melody:
A melody is a succession of single tones or pitches.
Melody
A succession of single pitches or tones perceived as a meaningful unity.
scales, and tone rows to name a few. Melodies in contrasting styles can be described by such
characteristics as contour, range, and motion.
Contour
The contour of a melody contributes largely to the emotional effect
Ascending melodies can
portray soaring, uplifting feelings, while melodies with a wave-like contour may be
contemplative or relaxing.
Descending melodies produce the effect of decreasing energy and may
be used for a smooth landing.
Range
The range of a melody is the span between lowest and highest note
Melodies with a narrow range
may be more serene or smooth and are certainly easier to perform for amateur musicians.
Melodies with a wide range can be exciting, impressive, and may require virtuosic performance
ability for instrumentalists and singers.
Conjunct Movement:
A smooth, connected melody that moves principally by small intervals.
Conjunct movement describes melodies that move in steps, from pitch to nearby pitch.
Disjunct movement:
A disjointed or disconnected melody with many leaps.
Disjunct movement is melodic motion by large, disjointed intervals, or leaps, and may be very
dramatic and exciting
Cadence:
A resting place in a musical phrase.
Melodies are typically meaningful: they speak from the composer or performer to the listener.
Phrase:
A unit of meaning within a larger structure, like a musical sentence.
Rhyme scheme
Poetic phrases and musical phrases generally align.
When lyrics are present, there is a natural alignment of melodic phrase and rhyme scheme
Countermelody:
An added melody sounding against another melody.
Countermelody is an added melody that can be secondary in importance to main
melody,
or it can be of equal importance to another melody.
or it can be of equal importance to another melody.
Rhythm:
Length, or duration of individual notes.
Beat:
Regular pulsation
Accent
Beats that are stronger.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the movement of music in time and propels
music forward―
Metrical Patterns:
Simple recurring patterns, typically 2, 3, or 4 beats grouped in a measure.
Metrical patterns are established by regularly recurring patterns of beats.
Simple Meter
Musical compositions that present regularly recurring patterns of beats can be classified as duple,
triple, or quadruple meter.
duple
meter consists of two beats per measure;
triple
meter, three beats per measure;
quadruple
meter, four beats per measure. Naturally,
there exist other possibilities for rhythmic organization
Rhythm and Meter:
We speak of duple, triple, and quadruple meter when describing specific rhythms. Meters can be
defined as organized groups of beats.
Musical Time
Compound meter is the rhythm category that contrasts with simple meter. It is in the division of
the beat where simple and compound differ simple meters have two divisions per beat,
compound meter has three divisions per beat.
Strong-weak-weak, Strong-weak-weak beat
Syncopation:
Deliberate disruption of pattern; accent shifted to a weak beat or offbeat.
Syncopation is a deliberate disruption of regular patterns where the accent is shifted to a weak
beat or to a place in between beats―known as an offbeat.
Polyrhythm:
Simultaneous use of different rhythmic patterns.
example of polyrhythm―a technique where contrasting rhythmic patterns occur simultaneously.
Additive Meter
: Irregular grouping of beats in a larger pattern.
Interesting rhythms can be built by adding up irregular beat groupings to create a larger pattern,
Nonmetric:
Music without a strong sense of beat or meter
Interval
distance between two notes
Harmony is considered musical space in the sense that it has depth or dimension created by
multiple tones sounding simultaneously.
Scale:
A collection of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order.
Scales are pitch collections arranged in ascending or descending order and often sung in music
octave
is an important building block in music due to its consonant sound and mathematical
relationship. In many cases, harmonies are created by combining notes from the scale into a
“vertical sonority.”
Triad:
Three-note chord, do-mi-sol or 1-3-5
Triads are one of the most common harmonic structures in Western
music. When harmony is created by the motion of one chord to another, we call this movement a
progression or chord progression.
Tonic
note is the
first note of a scale, for example, “C” is the tonic of the C scale―and this note serves as a home
base for all the other notes of the scale
Tonality
is the resulting phenomenon when music is
organized around a tonic note; this can be major tonality or minor tonality depending on the
source scale. Most listeners agree that major tonality presents a brighter sound, while minor
tonality is perceived as darker or more emotional
Dissonance
is defined as discordant
combinations of tones, creating unstable sounds that need resolution.
Consonance
is defined as
having concordant, agreeable combinations of tones. Consonant music typically is associated
with resolution, relaxation, and fulfillment of expected tonal goals
drone
is a single
sustained note that serves as a simple underpinning of sound, which can be accompanied by
rhythm and melody
The Formation of Major and Minor Scales
On a keyboard the scale
is made of the white and black keys in the octave. Two half steps make one whole step.
White Keys: C D E F G A B C
On the keyboard, white keys are pitches C D E F G A B C.
The black keys are in between the white keys. Going up a scale, black keys are called sharp (#);
going down a scale, black keys are called flat (b).
The Major Scale
A major scale can be sung using the syllables do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do. The white keys on a
piano,
Major Scales Pattern
All major scales follow the same pattern of whole and half steps: w w h, w w w h
This collection of pitches creates a sense of gravity toward do.
The Minor Scale
The minor scale differs from the major mode in mood, coloring, and mode.
Chromaticism
The seven pitches contained in a major or minor scale are called diatonic tones―meaning they
are part of the key.
Aspects of the Major-Minor System
Music created from the major-minor system is called diatonic music and can have some
important general characteristics.
The Key as a Form-Building Element
Often composers build form by setting a work in a new key, or by temporarily shifting the tonal
center.
The Key as a Form-Building Element
The key is often used as a form-building element, for example, highlighting aspects of a key
provides musical unity.
Monophony:
Single-line texture, or melody without accompaniment.
Heterophony:
Texture in which two or more voices (or parts) elaborate the same melody
simultaneously
Heterophony is a texture often found in folk music, jazz, gospel, and music outside of the
Western culture,
Polyphony:
Two or more melodic lines combined into a multi-voiced texture.
Polyphony literally means “many-voiced” texture. In polyphony, two or more melodic lines of
equal interest are combined. Two types of polyphony are: non-imitative and imitative:
Non-imitative polyphony
is the combination of two or more distinctly different melodic lines
mitative polyphony,
a melodic idea is presented in one voice then restated in
the others in succession
Homophony:
Texture with principal melody and accompanying harmony.
Homophony has a single melodic line that naturally draws your attention. All of the other
parts provide accompaniment or simply a background of harmony. S
Contrapuntal Devices
When the imitation is strict and lasts for an entire work, this is called a canon. One common
type of canon is a round. In a round, each voice enters in succession with the same melody,
which may then be repeated endlessly.
Form.
refers to the structure or shape of a musical work. Musical form may be determined by
taking notice of the instances of repeating or contrasting sections within a movement.
improvisation,
pieces are created
spontaneously in performance. The performers rely on the three main principles of form
(repetition, contrast, and variation
Variation
is another principle of form (in addition to repetition and contrast) where some aspects
of the music are altered but the original is still recognizable. In improvisation, pieces are created
spontaneously in performance. The performers rely on the three main principles of form
(repetition, contrast, and variation)
Two-Part and Three-Part Form
Two-part and three-part forms are important structural patterns found in music. Two-part form,
known as binary form,
Theme:
A melodic idea used as a building block in music.
A theme is a melodic idea that is used in the construction of a larger musical work
ternary form,
is based upon a
statement, a contrasting departure, and then a return to the original statement, labeled A-B-A.
Thematic Development
is the expansion of a theme by varying its rhythm, outline, or harmony. This
Thematic transformation
occurs when these same
aspects of a theme are altered in such a way that although the theme is recognizable, the
character is completely different.
sequence
When a musical idea is restated at a higher or lower pitch level, the restatement is called a
sequence
motive
is the smallest fragment of a theme that forms a melodic unit. Motives may
be repeated in sequence (i.e., at higher or lower pitch levels after their original statement)
call-and response
which is based on the principle of repetition.
It is also known as responsorial music
Ostinato
is another widely used structural procedure. It is a short musical
pattern―either melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic―that is repeated throughout a work, or at least a
large section of the composition
Tempo
is the rate of speed or pace of music. The tempo of a piece conveys its character:
Allegro
means fast or cheerful
Moderato
is a
moderate tempo―not too quickly, not too slowly
; Adagio
; Adagio is very slow
accelerando
(beats get faster and faster), which generates
excitement;
ritardando
(getting slower), which often leads to a pause in the action.
Dynamics
refer to the volume of a sound or a note in music. They are effective in shaping the
character of music because the degree of volume has a direct effect on our emotional response to
a piece of music.
forte
loud
mezzo forte
mezzo forte (moderately loud)
mezzo piano
(moderately soft).
crescendo
is indicated by a symbol placed directly under the musical staff that
resembles the shape of the sound.
decrescendo or diminuendo
(growing
softer) that shows a graph of the sound going from large to small. The musician will begin at a
louder volume and gradually decrease to a softer volume.
metronome
is a device to measure exact number of beats per minute. It helps a
performer maintain a steady beat and is usually used during rehearsal rather than performance.
interpret
a musical work in this regard.
Rubato
literally “robbed time” ―is expressive technique performers
use to speed up and slow down, enhancing the emotional impact of the performance.
timbre .
tone color.
The factors that determine the timbre or tone color include size, shape, material from which it is
made and the manner in which sound is produced. A musician’s physique and approach to an
instrument will also affect the timbre. As a result, no two musicians will sound exactly
alike―even performing the same piece on an identical instrument.
The Voice as a Model for Instrumental Sound
soprano, mezzo soprano, and alto (which is short for contralto) are the most
common voice designations for women. For men, they are tenor, baritone, and bass.
Aerophones
which produce sound
through the use of air
Chordophones
which produce sound from a vibrating string stretched
between two points that is set into motion by plucking, bowing, or striking
Idiophones
which
produce sound from the substance of the instrument itself by striking, rubbing, shaking, or
scraping
Membranophones
which produce sound from tightly stretched membranes set into
motion by striking, rubbing, plucking, or singing into it.
Western Musical Instruments
strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion. The string family, which is all
chordophones, consists of two categories of instruments: bowed and plucked. The bowed string
family includes: the violin, the viola, the violoncello (also known as the cello), and the double
bass. They are often called the “Heart of the Orchestra”
Special Effects of the Bowed String Family
The most common style of playing is the legato style,
which is when the notes are smoothly connected. A short and detached style of playing is called
staccato. Other effects include pizzicato where the player tucks the bow under his hand and
plucks the strings, double- triple- or quadruple-stopping, which is the playing of two, three, or
four strings together
Plucked String Instruments
Two very popular plucked string instruments are the harp and the guitar. The harp is one of the
oldest musical instruments.
Woodwind Instruments (Aerophones)
aerophones and were formerly made of wood
The flute is the earliest known musical instrument
Brass Instruments (Aerophones)
The primary instruments of the brass family (also aerophones) are the trumpet, French horn (or
horn), trombone, and tuba. The sound is produced by buzzing into a cone-shaped mouthpiece
attached to a length of tubing that flares out at the end into a bell. Trumpets and horns were first
made from animal horns or tusks and used mainly for religious ceremonies and for military
signals
