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Academic Decathlon > Music - Section 1 > Flashcards

Music - Section 1 Flashcards

Deals with the basis of music theory.

1
Q

What is the broadest definition of music?

A

sound organized in time

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2
Q

What is the term for the process where composition and performance happen simultaneously?

A

improvisation

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3
Q

How is sound described in the abstract?

A

as a wave of energy

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4
Q

What are the two kinds of musical sounds?

A

pitched and non-pitched

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5
Q

Which type of instruments provide most of the non-pitched sounds in music?

A

percussion

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6
Q

What does a pure sine wave at 440 Hz sound like?

A

the A above middle C

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7
Q

What are the four categories of instruments created by Curt Sachs and Erich Von Hornbostel?

A

chordophones, aerophones, membranophones, and idiophones

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8
Q

What fifth category was later added to Sachs and Hornbostel’s original instrument categories?

A

electrophones

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9
Q

What are the five “families” of instruments

A

string, brass, woodwind, percussion, and keyboard

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10
Q

How is a theremin played?

A

The performer regulates frequency with one hand and amplitude with the other via distributing the electrical fields surrounding a pair of protruding bars

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11
Q

What four properties does a single isolated sound have?

A

pitch, duration, volume, and timbre

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12
Q

When musicians refer to pitch, how many tones are they referring to?

A

one

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13
Q

What is the term for the distance between two pitches

A

an interval

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14
Q

What is the highness or lowness of a sound called?

A

pitch

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15
Q

What is the musical term for the distance between the A and the next highest A

A

an octave

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16
Q

By what factor does pitch increase if you double its Hz?

A

Twice

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17
Q

What is a semitone?

A

the distance between any two adjacent keys on a keyboard

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18
Q

What is a whole step?

A

the distance between every other key on a keyboard, regardless of color

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19
Q

What do sharps and flats mean?

A

To raise or lower, respectively, any given pitch by a half step/semitone

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20
Q

Where does the term ‘clef’ come from?

A

From the French word for ‘key’

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21
Q

What is another name for the bass clef?

A

the F-clef

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22
Q

What is indicated by the treble clef?

A

That the second line from the bottom fo the staff is the pitch “G”

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23
Q

What is another name for the treble clef?

A

the G-clef

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24
Q

What is indicated by the bass clef?

A

That the fourth line from the bottom of the staff is the pitch “F”

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25
Q

What is the alto clef?

A

a C-clef centered in the middle of the staff

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26
Q

What is the tenor clef?

A

a C-clef centered on the fourth line from the bottom of the staff

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27
Q

What is the grand staff?

A

two bracketed staves used in piano music

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28
Q

What is the lowest frequency of a pitch called?

A

the fundamental

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29
Q

What is the loudest and strongest pitch

A

the fundamental

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30
Q

What are partials (or overtones)?

A

higher pitches that “color” a note’s fundamental

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31
Q

When did equal temperament tuning become dominant in Western tradition

A

after about 1750

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32
Q

How many parts does equal temperament tuning divide an octave?

A

twelve

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33
Q

What is the chromatic scale?

A

The twelve different pitches in equal temperament are organized in ascending order

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34
Q

What is it called when there are two names for the same piano key?

A

enharmonic pitches

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35
Q

What is a diatonic scale?

A

The set of seven pitches (in Western tradition) organized in ascending order that serves as the basis for a piece of music

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36
Q

What is the 7th scale degree called?

A

the leading tone

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37
Q

What is the 5th scale degree called?

A

the dominant pitch

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38
Q

What tone begs to resolve upward to the note above it in the scale?

A

the leading tone

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39
Q

What are the first and last scale degrees called?

A

the tonic pitch

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40
Q

What pitch acts as the anchor and point of repose and completion

A

the tonic pitch

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41
Q

What is the dominant pitch in the key of C?

A

G

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42
Q

What pitch functions as the second gravitational center and may appear more frequently than the tonic?

A

the dominant pitch

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43
Q

What is the interval comprising one half step?

A

minor second (m2)

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44
Q

What is the interval comprising one whole step

A

Major second (M2)

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45
Q

What is the interval comprising three half steps

A

minor third (m3)

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46
Q

What is the interval comprising four half steps?

A

Major third (M3)

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47
Q

What is the interval comprising five half steps?

A

Perfect fourth (M4)

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48
Q

What is the interval comprising six half steps?

A

Augmented 4th (aug4), diminished 5th (d5), or Tritone (TT)

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49
Q

What is the interval comprising seven half steps

A

Perfect fifth (M5)

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50
Q

What is the interval comprising eight half steps?

A

minor sixth (m6)

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51
Q

What is the interval comprising nine half steps?

A

Major sixth (M6)

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52
Q

What is the interval comprising ten half steps?

A

minor seventh (m7)

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53
Q

What is the interval comprising eleven half steps?

A

Major seventh (M7)

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54
Q

What is the interval comprising twelve half steps?

A

Octave (P8)

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55
Q

What is the interval that spans from C natural to E natural called?

A

a major third

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56
Q

What is a harmonic interval

A

when two pitches occur simultaneously

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57
Q

What is a melodic interval?

A

when two pitches occur in succession

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58
Q

What is a major tenth?

A

an octave plus a major third

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59
Q

What is the interval pattern for a major scale

A

W-W-H-W-W-W-H (T-T-S-T-T-T-S for tone and semitones)

60
Q

What is a scale?

A

a succession of whole and half steps

61
Q

How many types of minor scales are there?

A

three

62
Q

What is common to all minor scales

A

lowered third scale degree

63
Q

How does harmonic minor differ from the regular minor scale?

A

adds a lowered 7th degree

64
Q

How does melodic minor differ from the regular minor scale?

A

raises the 6th and 7th degrees when only ascending

65
Q

What does it mean for two scales to be relative?

A

Scales that share the same key but different tonics

66
Q

What does it mean for two scales to be parallel?

A

Scales that share the same tonic note but different keys

67
Q

Which are closer: relative scales or parallel scales?

A

relative scales are closer

68
Q

What is a characteristic of a blues scale?

A

the third and seventh scale degrees can be played in major or minor

69
Q

What is a melody?

A

a series of successive pitches perceived by the ear to form a whole

70
Q

What is created when two pitches occur together?

A

harmony or counterpoint

71
Q

What does it mean to transpose a melody?

A

To change its key

72
Q

What is the profile of a melody called?

A

the contour

73
Q

Which type of melody moves smoothly and in stepwise motion?

A

a conjunct melody

74
Q

Which type of melody moves more in intervals larger than whole and half steps?

A

a disjunct melody

75
Q

“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” is a tune using what type of motion?

A

conjunct

76
Q

What three movement types can be used to describe a melody’s contour?

A

ascending, descending, or in wavelike manner

77
Q

What is a low-register male voice called?

A

bass

78
Q

What is a high-register male voice called?

A

tenor

79
Q

What is a low-register female voice called?

A

alto

80
Q

What is a high-register female voice called?

A

soprano

81
Q

What does a melody with a high tessitura call for?

A

more pitches in the performer’s high register

82
Q

What is the register of an instrument referring to?

A

Whether an instrument is playing in its high, middle, or low-frequency pitches

83
Q

What type of music is the term “tessitura” most often applied to?

A

vocal music

84
Q

What is rhythm?

A

the way music is organized in time

85
Q

What is the beat?

A

The steady pulse that underlies most music

86
Q

What is the speed of the beat called?

A

tempo

87
Q

What is the lowest tempo referred to as?

A

Lento (or Grave)

88
Q

What is the fastest referred to as?

A

Presto

89
Q

What does “allegro” mean?

A

cheerful, lively, or fast

90
Q

What is a ritardando?

A

To slow down the tempo

91
Q

What is an accelerando?

A

To hasten the tempo

92
Q

What is rubato?

A

When a perceived beat exists, but the player slows down and speeds up for expressive effect

93
Q

What is music with no discernible beat called?

A

unmetered

94
Q

What beat is usually the strongest?

A

The first beat (AKA downbeat)

95
Q

What is a triple meter?

A

Music with groups of beats arranged as STRONG-weak-weak

96
Q

What are the four types of meters?

A

Duple, triple, quadruple, and irregular

97
Q

What are the two most common irregular meters?

A

five-beat or seven-beat measures

98
Q

What separates music into measures?

A

bar lines

99
Q

What is the term for when the first word falls before the downbeat?

A

an anacrusis or “pickup”

100
Q

What is the function of the dot in rhythmic notation

A

adds half the original value of a note

101
Q

What is the alternate notation for multiple flagged notes called?

A

beams

102
Q

What is a whole note?

A

clear oval symbol representing twice the length of a half note or x4 quarter note

103
Q

What is syncopation?

A

when emphasized notes fall on weak beats or in between beats

104
Q

What is polyrhythm?

A

when two conflicting rhythmic patterns are played simultaneously

105
Q

What is another name for polyrhythm?

A

cross-rhythm

106
Q

What is a chord?

A

three or more pitches sounding simultaneously

107
Q

What is a triad?

A

a three-note chord consisting of two thirds

108
Q

What intervals make up a major triad?

A

a major third interval below a minor third interval

109
Q

What intervals make up a diminished triad?

A

a minor third interval below another minor third interval

110
Q

What intervals make up an augmented triad?

A

a major third interval below another major third interval

111
Q

What intervals make up a minor triad?

A

a minor third interval below a major third interval

112
Q

What are chromatic pitches?

A

pitches that occur outside a specified key

113
Q

What is a key signature?

A

a set of sharps or flats at the beginning of every staff indicating the key of music

114
Q

What scale is at the top of the circle of fifths for major scales?

A

C major

115
Q

What is the tonic triad?

A

a diatonic triad built on the tonic pitch

116
Q

What is considered the most stable chord in a key?

A

the tonic triad

117
Q

What is a diminished triad

A

a triad built on the seventh scale degree; consists of two minor thirds

118
Q

Aside from the tonic chord, which chord is most important?

A

the dominant chord

119
Q

What is a chain of triads, each pulling to the next, called?

A

a chord progression

120
Q

What is simple harmony?

A

harmony diatonic in nature and consisting mainly of triads

121
Q

What is modulation?

A

Changing of keys by methods such as using accidentals to create a new dominant seventh and resolve into a new key

122
Q

What is a modal mixture?

A

The result of when one or two pitches of the basic triad are altered

123
Q

Who wrote the “Emancipation of Dissonance?”

A

Arnold Schoenberg

124
Q

When was the “Emancipation of Dissonance” written?

A

1910

125
Q

What is the twelve-tone method?

A

a system for determining pitch relationships

126
Q

Who developed the twelve-tone method?

A

Arthur Schoenberg

127
Q

When was the twelve-tone method developed?

A

1925

128
Q

What are the four types of texture in Western music?

A

monophony, homophony, polyphony, and heterophony

129
Q

What is monophony?

A

music consisting of only a single unaccompanied melodic line

130
Q

What is homophony?

A

music consisting of a melodic line accompanied by supporting harmony

131
Q

What is polyphony?

A

music where two independent melodies unfold simultaneously

132
Q

What are the two types of polyphony?

A

counterpoint and imitative polyphony

133
Q

What is heterophony?

A

music involving multiple performers playing the same melodic line simultaneously but with slight variations

134
Q

What is counterpoint?

A

two different melodies playing simultaneously to the same beat?

135
Q

What is imitative polyphony?

A

a single melody is introduced by one voice/instrument and repeated by others in staggered entrances

136
Q

What is ornamentation in music?

A

localized embellishments, which may or may not be written down

137
Q

What are the four building blocks of form?

A

motives, phrases, cadences, themes

138
Q

What is the smallest unit of form?

A

motifs

139
Q

What are the most basic formal processes in music?

A

repetition, variation, and contrast

140
Q

What are three different variation structures?

A

theme and variation, twelve-bar blues, and improvisation

141
Q

What are the three different forms of contrast?

A

ternary and rondo forms, 32-bar form, and verse-chorus form

142
Q

What is the form structure of ternary/rondo form?

A

ABA

143
Q

What are two means of development in music?

A

fugue and sonata form

144
Q

What three components makeup sonata form?

A

exposition, development, and recapitulation

145
Q

What is the term for a time signature of 2/2?

A

“alla breve” or cut time

146
Q

How many different major scales are there?

A

15

147
Q

What makes the quality of a pitch, interval, or chord “unstable” or tense?

A

dissonance

Academic Decathlon (3 decks)

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