Music Terms Flashcards
What are the properties of sound?
Pitch, Dynamic, Tone Colour, Duration
What is Pitch?
The highness or lowness of a sound
What are the two kinds of pitch?
Definite (notes) and indefinite (noise)
What is Dynamic?
The loudness of a sound. Levels in classical music use italian terms.
What is Tone Colour?
(Also known as timbre)
Related to what/who makes the sound.
What are the five families of instruments?
String, Percussion, Woodwind, Keyboard, and Brass.
What is Duration?
(Also known as length)
Classical symbols that indicate how long notes should be held for
What are the properties of Rhythm?
Beat, Meter, and Tempo
What is Beat?
Individual pulses
What is Meter?
Grouping pulses into units. Pulses can be regular or iregular.
What is Tempo?
The rate of speed of the music. Usually described in italitan words (Moderate, Prestissimo).
What is Melody?
“What the song is about.” Combinations of notes and rhythm. Can be Conjunct (side by side notes) or Disjunct (large steps between notes)
What is Harmony?
Combination of two or more notes. Major and minor notes
What is Texture?
The relationship of musical line/parts.
Define Monophony
One signal line of music
Define Polyphony
Multiple lines of music
Define Homophony
Many lines of music played at the same time.
What is Motiff?
A short melodic or rhythmic idea
