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
2
Q
What is the term for the process where composition and performance happen simultaneously?
A
improvisation
3
Q
How is sound described in the abstract?
A
as a wave of energy
4
Q
What are the two kinds of musical sounds?
A
pitched and non-pitched
5
Q
Which type of instruments provide most of the non-pitched sounds in music?
A
percussion
6
Q
What does a pure sine wave at 440 Hz sound like?
A
the A above middle C
7
Q
What are the four categories of instruments created by Curt Sachs and Erich Von Hornbostel?
A
chordophones, aerophones, membranophones, and idiophones
8
Q
What fifth category was later added to Sachs and Hornbostel’s original instrument categories?
A
electrophones
9
Q
What are the five “families” of instruments
A
string, brass, woodwind, percussion, and keyboard
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
11
Q
What four properties does a single isolated sound have?
A
pitch, duration, volume, and timbre
12
Q
When musicians refer to pitch, how many tones are they referring to?
A
one
13
Q
What is the term for the distance between two pitches
A
an interval
14
Q
What is the highness or lowness of a sound called?
A
pitch
15
Q
What is the musical term for the distance between the A and the next highest A
A
an octave
16
Q
By what factor does pitch increase if you double its Hz?
A
Twice
17
Q
What is a semitone?
A
the distance between any two adjacent keys on a keyboard
18
Q
What is a whole step?
A
the distance between every other key on a keyboard, regardless of color
19
Q
What do sharps and flats mean?
A
To raise or lower, respectively, any given pitch by a half step/semitone
20
Q
Where does the term ‘clef’ come from?
A
From the French word for ‘key’
21
Q
What is another name for the bass clef?
A
the F-clef
22
Q
What is indicated by the treble clef?
A
That the second line from the bottom fo the staff is the pitch “G”
23
Q
What is another name for the treble clef?
A
the G-clef
24
Q
What is indicated by the bass clef?
A
That the fourth line from the bottom of the staff is the pitch “F”
25
What is the alto clef?
a C-clef centered in the middle of the staff
26
What is the tenor clef?
a C-clef centered on the fourth line from the bottom of the staff
27
What is the grand staff?
two bracketed staves used in piano music
28
What is the lowest frequency of a pitch called?
the fundamental
29
What is the loudest and strongest pitch
the fundamental
30
What are partials (or overtones)?
higher pitches that "color" a note's fundamental
31
When did equal temperament tuning become dominant in Western tradition
after about 1750
32
How many parts does equal temperament tuning divide an octave?
twelve
33
What is the chromatic scale?
The twelve different pitches in equal temperament are organized in ascending order
34
What is it called when there are two names for the same piano key?
enharmonic pitches
35
What is a diatonic scale?
The set of seven pitches (in Western tradition) organized in ascending order that serves as the basis for a piece of music
36
What is the 7th scale degree called?
the leading tone
37
What is the 5th scale degree called?
the dominant pitch
38
What tone begs to resolve upward to the note above it in the scale?
the leading tone
39
What are the first and last scale degrees called?
the tonic pitch
40
What pitch acts as the anchor and point of repose and completion
the tonic pitch
41
What is the dominant pitch in the key of C?
G
42
What pitch functions as the second gravitational center and may appear more frequently than the tonic?
the dominant pitch
43
What is the interval comprising one half step?
minor second (m2)
44
What is the interval comprising one whole step
Major second (M2)
45
What is the interval comprising three half steps
minor third (m3)
46
What is the interval comprising four half steps?
Major third (M3)
47
What is the interval comprising five half steps?
Perfect fourth (M4)
48
What is the interval comprising six half steps?
Augmented 4th (aug4), diminished 5th (d5), or Tritone (TT)
49
What is the interval comprising seven half steps
Perfect fifth (M5)
50
What is the interval comprising eight half steps?
minor sixth (m6)
51
What is the interval comprising nine half steps?
Major sixth (M6)
52
What is the interval comprising ten half steps?
minor seventh (m7)
53
What is the interval comprising eleven half steps?
Major seventh (M7)
54
What is the interval comprising twelve half steps?
Octave (P8)
55
What is the interval that spans from C natural to E natural called?
a major third
56
What is a harmonic interval
when two pitches occur simultaneously
57
What is a melodic interval?
when two pitches occur in succession
58
What is a major tenth?
an octave plus a major third
59
What is the interval pattern for a major scale
W-W-H-W-W-W-H (T-T-S-T-T-T-S for tone and semitones)
60
What is a scale?
a succession of whole and half steps
61
How many types of minor scales are there?
three
62
What is common to all minor scales
lowered third scale degree
63
How does harmonic minor differ from the regular minor scale?
adds a lowered 7th degree
64
How does melodic minor differ from the regular minor scale?
raises the 6th and 7th degrees when only ascending
65
What does it mean for two scales to be relative?
Scales that share the same key but different tonics
66
What does it mean for two scales to be parallel?
Scales that share the same tonic note but different keys
67
Which are closer: relative scales or parallel scales?
relative scales are closer
68
What is a characteristic of a blues scale?
the third and seventh scale degrees can be played in major or minor
69
What is a melody?
a series of successive pitches perceived by the ear to form a whole
70
What is created when two pitches occur together?
harmony or counterpoint
71
What does it mean to transpose a melody?
To change its key
72
What is the profile of a melody called?
the contour
73
Which type of melody moves smoothly and in stepwise motion?
a conjunct melody
74
Which type of melody moves more in intervals larger than whole and half steps?
a disjunct melody
75
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat" is a tune using what type of motion?
conjunct
76
What three movement types can be used to describe a melody's contour?
ascending, descending, or in wavelike manner
77
What is a low-register male voice called?
bass
78
What is a high-register male voice called?
tenor
79
What is a low-register female voice called?
alto
80
What is a high-register female voice called?
soprano
81
What does a melody with a high tessitura call for?
more pitches in the performer's high register
82
What is the register of an instrument referring to?
Whether an instrument is playing in its high, middle, or low-frequency pitches
83
What type of music is the term "tessitura" most often applied to?
vocal music
84
What is rhythm?
the way music is organized in time
85
What is the beat?
The steady pulse that underlies most music
86
What is the speed of the beat called?
tempo
87
What is the lowest tempo referred to as?
Lento (or Grave)
88
What is the fastest referred to as?
Presto
89
What does "allegro" mean?
cheerful, lively, or fast
90
What is a ritardando?
To slow down the tempo
91
What is an accelerando?
To hasten the tempo
92
What is rubato?
When a perceived beat exists, but the player slows down and speeds up for expressive effect
93
What is music with no discernible beat called?
unmetered
94
What beat is usually the strongest?
The first beat (AKA downbeat)
95
What is a triple meter?
Music with groups of beats arranged as STRONG-weak-weak
96
What are the four types of meters?
Duple, triple, quadruple, and irregular
97
What are the two most common irregular meters?
five-beat or seven-beat measures
98
What separates music into measures?
bar lines
99
What is the term for when the first word falls before the downbeat?
an anacrusis or "pickup"
100
What is the function of the dot in rhythmic notation
adds half the original value of a note
101
What is the alternate notation for multiple flagged notes called?
beams
102
What is a whole note?
clear oval symbol representing twice the length of a half note or x4 quarter note
103
What is syncopation?
when emphasized notes fall on weak beats or in between beats
104
What is polyrhythm?
when two conflicting rhythmic patterns are played simultaneously
105
What is another name for polyrhythm?
cross-rhythm
106
What is a chord?
three or more pitches sounding simultaneously
107
What is a triad?
a three-note chord consisting of two thirds
108
What intervals make up a major triad?
a major third interval below a minor third interval
109
What intervals make up a diminished triad?
a minor third interval below another minor third interval
110
What intervals make up an augmented triad?
a major third interval below another major third interval
111
What intervals make up a minor triad?
a minor third interval below a major third interval
112
What are chromatic pitches?
pitches that occur outside a specified key
113
What is a key signature?
a set of sharps or flats at the beginning of every staff indicating the key of music
114
What scale is at the top of the circle of fifths for major scales?
C major
115
What is the tonic triad?
a diatonic triad built on the tonic pitch
116
What is considered the most stable chord in a key?
the tonic triad
117
What is a diminished triad
a triad built on the seventh scale degree; consists of two minor thirds
118
Aside from the tonic chord, which chord is most important?
the dominant chord
119
What is a chain of triads, each pulling to the next, called?
a chord progression
120
What is simple harmony?
harmony diatonic in nature and consisting mainly of triads
121
What is modulation?
Changing of keys by methods such as using accidentals to create a new dominant seventh and resolve into a new key
122
What is a modal mixture?
The result of when one or two pitches of the basic triad are altered
123
Who wrote the "Emancipation of Dissonance?"
Arnold Schoenberg
124
When was the "Emancipation of Dissonance" written?
1910
125
What is the twelve-tone method?
a system for determining pitch relationships
126
Who developed the twelve-tone method?
Arthur Schoenberg
127
When was the twelve-tone method developed?
1925
128
What are the four types of texture in Western music?
monophony, homophony, polyphony, and heterophony
129
What is monophony?
music consisting of only a single unaccompanied melodic line
130
What is homophony?
music consisting of a melodic line accompanied by supporting harmony
131
What is polyphony?
music where two independent melodies unfold simultaneously
132
What are the two types of polyphony?
counterpoint and imitative polyphony
133
What is heterophony?
music involving multiple performers playing the same melodic line simultaneously but with slight variations
134
What is counterpoint?
two different melodies playing simultaneously to the same beat?
135
What is imitative polyphony?
a single melody is introduced by one voice/instrument and repeated by others in staggered entrances
136
What is ornamentation in music?
localized embellishments, which may or may not be written down
137
What are the four building blocks of form?
motives, phrases, cadences, themes
138
What is the smallest unit of form?
motifs
139
What are the most basic formal processes in music?
repetition, variation, and contrast
140
What are three different variation structures?
theme and variation, twelve-bar blues, and improvisation
141
What are the three different forms of contrast?
ternary and rondo forms, 32-bar form, and verse-chorus form
142
What is the form structure of ternary/rondo form?
ABA
143
What are two means of development in music?
fugue and sonata form
144
What three components makeup sonata form?
exposition, development, and recapitulation
145
What is the term for a time signature of 2/2?
"alla breve" or cut time
146
How many different major scales are there?
15
147
What makes the quality of a pitch, interval, or chord "unstable" or tense?
dissonance
