Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Yr 11 ATAR Contemp. Unit 1 & 2 > Music Terminologies > Flashcards

Music Terminologies Flashcards

To learn the terms that are listed in the ATAR syllabus, including tempo, expressive elements, texture, form and structure.

1
Q

What does mp mean?

A

Mezzo Piano, moderately soft

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What does bpm stand for?

A

Beats per minute

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What is the term for music to be played at the liberty of the performer?

A

ad lib ‘ad libitum’

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What does Adagio mean?

A

To play the music slowly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is the term for the music to be played very quick?

A

Vivace

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

The term for the music to gradually become slower.

A

Rall or Rallentando

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What does accelerando mean?

A

For the music to gradually get faster.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is the term for the music to return to the original tempo?

A

a tempo

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is a moderate tempo?

A

In moderate tempo that is slower than allegretto but faster than andante.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What does pianissimo mean?

A

Very soft, pp

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

When the music gradually gets softer we?

A

Decrescendo (decresc.) or Diminuendo (dim.)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What does ff stand for?

A

Fortissimo, very loud

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Crescendo (cresc) means?

A

Gradually getting louder

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What does the following symbol mean? >

A

Accent - is an emphasis, stress, or stronger attack placed on a particular note, it is literally accented.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What does a staccato do to a note and what does it look like?

A

It means to play the note short and detached and is indicated by a dot above or below the note head.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

To hold a note for its full value is called what?

A

Tenuto and indicated by a straight line above or below the note head.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

To hold a note for longer than it’s value is called?

A

Pause or Fermata

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is sforzando (sfz)?

A

Sforzando sfz is an indication to make a strong, sudden accent on a note or chord. Sforzando literally means subito forzando (fz), which translates to “suddenly with force.”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

When you glide from one pitch to another it’s called?

A

A glissando (Italian: [ɡlisˈsando]; plural: glissandi, abbreviated gliss.) It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, “to glide”.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is a scoop?

A

A scoop is a vocal technique in which the vocalist sings a note just a little below the desired pitch right before sliding up to it.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What is a bend?

A

Sliding down half a step and returning to the original pitch or sliding up half a step from the original note.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What does mezzo forte mean?

A

Moderately loud, mf

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What does p stand for?

A

Piano, meaning soft

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What does f stand for?

A

Forte, meaning loud

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

What is Binary form?

A

Two sections to the music, AB

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What is the 12 bar Blues structure?

A

I, I, I, I, IV, IV, I, I, V, IV, I, I. You can have slight variations to this but the structure needs to be based of this structure.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What is name for the following structure; ABA?

A

Ternary Form

28
Q

What is the structure for Song Form?

A

AABA

29
Q

What is a ‘bridge’ in music?

A

Lyrically, the bridge is typically used to pause and reflect on the earlier portions of the song or to prepare the listener for the climax. The term may also refer to the section between the verse and the chorus, though this is more commonly called the pre-chorus or link.

30
Q

What is the difference between a verse and a chorus in a contemporary piece of music?

A

A song’s verse is generally a recurring section— usually 16 or 32 bars in length—that serves as the main body of the song. In music with lyrics, the verse often tells the “story.” The chorus is usually also recurring, and of comparable length to the verse. The lyrics in the chorus are generally the same each time it is sung.

31
Q

What is the function on an ‘intro’?

A

The introduction establishes melodic, harmonic or rhythmic material related to the main body of a piece.

32
Q

What is an ‘outro’?

A

An outro is the opposite of an intro. The term is typically used only in the realm of popular music.

33
Q

What is a hook in contemporary music?

A

A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to “catch the ear of the listener”. The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock, R&B, hip hop, dance, and pop.

34
Q

What is a pre-chorus?

A

Within a verse, there may also be a pre-chorus; a two or four line section, rarely exceeding four bars musically, immediately preceeding the chorus. It is crafted to propel the listener, both melodically and lyrically, into the chorus. The pre-chorus is optional.

35
Q

What is a ‘middle 8’?

A

A middle 8 is so called because it is a section in a song that tends to happen towards the middle of the song, and tends to be eight bars in length. The purpose of this section is to break up the simple repetition of a verse/chorus/verse/chorus structure by introducing new elements into the song.

36
Q

What does D.S or Dal Segno mean?

A

It directs the player to return to a spot earlier in the score that’s marked by the symbol. If the marking says D.S. al Coda, then the player is supposed to play from the to a “To Coda” marking, then jump to a coda section at the end of the music.

37
Q

What is the word to indicate to a performer to continue onto the next section of the music without pausing?

A

Segue - For written music it implies a transition from one section to the next without any break.

38
Q

What does D.C al coda mean?

A

D.C. al coda, or da capo al coda, literally means “from the head [beginning] to the coda.” D.C. al coda is an indication to repeat from the beginning of the music, play until you encounter a coda, then skip to the next coda sign to continue.

39
Q

What does fine mean?

A

The Italian musical term fine (pronounced fee’-nay) marks the end of a composition or movement, usually following a repeat command such as D.C. al fine or D.S. al fine.

40
Q

Describe ‘palm mute’ for a guitar?

A

The palm mute is a playing technique for guitar and bass guitar, executed by placing the side of the picking hand below the little finger across the strings to be plucked, very close to the bridge, and then plucking the strings while the damping is in effect.

41
Q

What are ‘harmonics’ on guitar?

A

A guitar harmonic is a musical note played by preventing or amplifying vibration of certain overtones of a guitar string. … Music using harmonics can contain very high pitch notes difficult or impossible to reach by fretting.

42
Q

What is vibrato?

A

Vibrato (Italian, from past participle of “vibrare”, to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music.

43
Q

What is slapping ‘slap’ and popping ‘pop’ in guitar terms?

A

Slapping and popping are ways to produce percussive sounds on a double bass or bass guitar by bouncing strings against the fretboard. On bass guitar, slap and pop involves striking the strings with the bony part of the thumb or popping notes by pulling a string until it snaps against the fingerboard.

44
Q

Explain falsetto?

A

Falsetto is a male singing voice that’s unusually high. Falsetto is a musical term for a male voice that’s artificially high. Falsetto means “artificial voice” and comes from the Italian word falso for “false.” When men suddenly sing way up high above their speaking voices, it can sound almost fake.

45
Q

What is a rimshot?

A

Hitting the snare head and the snare drum rim at the same time. The effect is a louder, punchier sound or backbeat.

46
Q

What is the term for when a drummer holds the tip of the drumstick against the drum head and strikes the stick’s other end (the butt) against the rim, whilst using the hand to mute the head called?

A

Side Stick

47
Q

What is an enharmonic note?

A

Involves tones that are identical in pitch but are written differently according to the key in which they occur, as C sharp and D flat, for example.

48
Q

What does a double sharp do to a note?

A

It raises a note by two semitones.

49
Q

What does a double flat do to a note?

A

It lowers a note by two semitones.

50
Q

What does a natural do?

A

In music theory, a natural is an accidental which cancels previous accidentals and represents the unaltered pitch of a note. A note is natural when it is neither flat (♭) nor sharp (♯).

51
Q

A wavering effect in a musical tone, produced either by rapid reiteration of a note, by rapid repeated slight variation in the pitch of a note, or by sounding two notes of slightly different pitches to produce prominent overtones is called what?

A

Tremolo

52
Q

What is distortion or overdrive?

A

Distortion and overdrive are forms of audio signal processing used to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments, usually by increasing their gain, producing a “fuzzy”, “growling”, or “gritty” tone.

53
Q

What is feedback?

A

Audio feedback (also known as acoustic feedback, simply as feedback, or the Larsen effect) is a special kind of positive loop gain which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input (for example, a microphone or guitar pickup) and an audio output (for example, a power amplified loudspeaker).

54
Q

The effect of delay can be described how?

A

Delay is an audio effect and an effects unit which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.

55
Q

What is a ‘chorus’ effect?

A

In music, a chorus effect (sometimes chorusing, choruser or chorused effect) occurs when individual sounds with approximately the same time, and very similar pitches converge and are perceived as one. Used mainly on guitars for effects.

56
Q

What is reverb?

A

Reverberation (or ‘reverb’) effects are omnipresent, both in the real world and in music production. Judicious use of reverb can make the difference between a professional recording and something that sounds like it was recorded in a bedroom, adding depth and fullness to the sound.

57
Q

Describe the wah-wah effect for a guitar?

A

Wah-wah (or wa-wa) is an imitative word (or onomatopoeia) for the sound of altering the resonance of musical notes to extend expressiveness, sounding much like a human voice saying the syllable wah. The wah-wah effect is a spectral glide, a “modification of the vowel quality of a tone”.

58
Q

What is phasing?

A

Phasing can be defined as timing differences when combining identical (or nearly identical) signals. This can be a result of static delay between the signals, also called comb filtering, and can also come from extreme boosts when using non-linear phase EQs.

59
Q

What scale has the following scale degrees: 1 2 3 5 6 8?

A

Major Pentatonic

60
Q

What are the scale degrees of the Blues Scale?

A

1 3b 4 5b 5 7b 8

61
Q

What minor scale is the same as the Aeolian mode?

A

The natural minor scale

62
Q

What are the scale degrees of the Minor Pentatonic?

A

1 3b 4 5 7b 8

63
Q

What is a chromatic scale?

A

This is when all of the notes within an octave are played. The chromatic scale is a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone above or below its adjacent pitches.

64
Q

What are simple time signatures?

A

This is when the beat is divisible by two i.e. 2/4, 4/4, 3/4 etc.

65
Q

What are compound time signatures?

A

This is when the beat is divisible by three i.e. 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 etc.

66
Q

What does a tie do?

A

Ties two notes of the same pitch together by adding the value of the second note to the first. The second note is not played.

67
Q

What is syncopation?

A

Syncopation is the displacement of the regular beat and is caused by emphasising the weak beat or off beat.

Yr 11 ATAR Contemp. Unit 1 & 2 (3 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions