Music technical terms

Question 1

Acciaccatura

Answer 1

A crushed note, played as quickly as possible. Notated as a small quaver with a diagonal line running through it.

Question 2

Lip Trills

Answer 2

Using the lips to produce a trill effect on a brass instrument rather than using the valves

Question 3

Mordent

Answer 3

An ornament involving moving quickly from one note to another and back again.

Question 4

Portamento

Answer 4

Sliding from one pitch to another

Question 5

Tremolo

Answer 5

A rapidly repeated note or alteration between two different notes

Question 6

Marcato

Answer 6

marked, accented

Question 7

Legato

Answer 7

played smoothly

Question 8

Staccato

Answer 8

played crisply, detached

Question 9

Monophonic

Answer 9

A single melody line

Question 10

Homophonic

Answer 10

All parts moving similarly to create a chordal effect

Question 11

Polyphonic

Answer 11

Two or more parts moving independently of each other

Question 12

Contrapuntal

Answer 12

Two or more independent melodies played at the same time

Question 13

Antiphonal

Answer 13

Where a bar or phrase is alternated between two instruments or groups of instruments or singers

Question 14

Diminished seventh

Answer 14

A chord built up of minor thirds

Question 15

Dominant seventh

Answer 15

The dominant chord plus an extra note a minor seventh above the root of the chord.

Question 16

Imperfect cadence

Answer 16

I - V

Question 17

Inverted pedal

Answer 17

Where the pedal note is played at a higher pitch than the other parts

Question 18

Perfect cadence

Answer 18

V - I

Question 19

Tierce de Picardie

Answer 19

A major chord used to end a piece in a minor key

Question 20

Anacrusis

Answer 20

An upbeat to the first bar

Question 21

Augmentation

Answer 21

Extension of a musical idea (usually doubling the length of each note)

Question 22

Bi-rhythm

Answer 22

Two independent rhythms played simultaneously

Question 23

Cross rhythm

Answer 23

When two different rhythms are heard together with different accented beats

Question 24

Hemiola

Answer 24

a rhythmic device where two groups of three beats are performed as three groups of two beats

Question 25

Ostinato

Answer 25

A repeated musical idea

Question 26

Polyrhythm

Answer 26

Two different rhythms played together simultaneously

Question 27

Conjunct

Answer 27

A melody where each note is a step (a tone?) away from each other

Question 28

Disjunct

Answer 28

A melody where there are many leaps between notes

Question 29

Interval

Answer 29

Distance between pitches

Question 30

Inversion

Answer 30

When a melody is turned upside down, the intervals are the same but move in the opposite direction