Musical Elements and Key Words Flashcards

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1
Q

Accompaniment

A

Musical background to the main part

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2
Q

Allegro di molto e con brio (Beethoven)

A

Very lively and fast

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3
Q

Arpeggiation / arpeggios

A

Notes of the chords are spread out from bottom to top and played quickly

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4
Q

Break

A

Where most instruments stop playing for a short time with one instrument or singer continuing alone

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6
Q

Cantabile (Brandenburg)

A

In a singing style

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7
Q

Bossa Nova (SeP)

A

Brazilian music derived from Samba, but slower and more subdued, placing more emphasis on melody and less on percussion

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8
Q

Chord

A

Simultaneous sounding of two or more notes

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9
Q

Classical period (Beethoven)

A

1750-1820ish

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10
Q

Colla voce (Defying Gravity)

A

Following the solo voice (defying gravity)

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11
Q

Baroque period (Purcell, Bach)

A

1600-1750 ish

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12
Q

Chorus (structure)

A

The refrain, where the title is often sung. Often the catchiest and loudest part of the song.

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13
Q

Lament

A

Sad song

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14
Q

Compound time

A

3/8, 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 - where the quavers are counted in the bar, not the crotchet (6/8 is 6 quavers in a bar) and they are grouped in threes, as opposed to twos.

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15
Q

Concertino (Bach)

A

Group of soloists in a concerto grosso

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16
Q

Concerto grosso (Brandenburg)

A

Popular during the Baroque period, a set of works written for a group of solo instruments (concertino) and a larger ensemble accompaniment (ripieno)

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17
Q

Concerto

A

Large scale composition for orchestra plus a soloist

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18
Q

Continuo (Bach)

A

Continuous - the group of instruments (usually harpsichord or organ, plus a cello, double bass, bass viol or bassoon etc.) used to provide the bass or the notated bass line (basso continuo)

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19
Q

Counterpoint

A

Two or more largely independent melodic lines are combined (TEXTURE)

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20
Q

Contrapuntal

A

Two or more largely independent melodic lines

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21
Q

Development (Beethoven)

A

Second section in sonata form, where the material from the exposition is transformed, going through several modulations.

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22
Q

Cue

A

Each piece of music in a film score

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23
Q

Dissonant

A

Dissonant chords sound and feel unstable, clashing.

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24
Q

Drone

A

Notes held or repeated through a passage of music

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25
Q

Dynamics

A

Volume - pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff etc.

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26
Q

Exposition (Beethoven)

A

The first section in sonata form where the musical material is first heard. First subject is in the tonic key and the second subject is usually in a different key, such as the dominant

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27
Q

Extended Chord

A

Chords with added notes such as 7th or 9ths

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28
Q

Fanfare (Star Wars)

A

A loud flourish usually played by brass

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29
Q

Gigue

A

A lively type of dance

30
Q

Grave (Beethoven)

A

Very slow and solemn

31
Q

Ground Bass (Purcell)

A

A repeating bass line

32
Q

Harpsichord (Purcell, Brandenburg)

A

Early keyboard instrument where the strings are plucked instead of hammered.

33
Q

Instrumentation

A

The instruments or voices used in the piece

34
Q

Key

A

A piece tends to be in a major or minor key… _Major or _Minor (tonality)

35
Q

Leitmotif (Star Wars)

A

Recurring musical idea associated with a character, emotion, place etc

36
Q

Loop (Release)

A

A section or sample repeated over and over again

37
Q

Modulation

A

Key change

38
Q

Mordent (SeP, Purcell)

A

Upper or Lower, an ornament made up of the main note, the note above/below and then the main note again (played quickly)

39
Q

Multi-Tracking

A

A recording technique where two or more tracks are recorded independently and then played back together

40
Q

Orchestration

A

The instruments used in an arrangement

41
Q

Ornamentation

A

Added notes to decorate the music (usually the melody). EG trill, turn, mordent

42
Q

Overdubbing

A

Where a recorded sound is added to a previously taped recording

43
Q

Patronage

A

When people used to commission songs to be written for them, thus paying the composer

44
Q

Pedal Notes

A

Sustained or repeated note sounding against the changing harmony, sometimes resulting in dissonance. Usually in the bass and is generally the tonic or dominant note

45
Q

Inverted Pedal (Star Wars)

A

Where the pedal note is at the top of the texture

46
Q

Polyphonic

A

Lots of different musical lines being played at the same time

47
Q

Range

A

The distance from the lowest note to the highest note

48
Q

Recapitulation

A

The third and final section in sonata form where the music from the exposition is recapped

49
Q

Ripieno

A

The larger group of players in the concerto grosso

50
Q

Seventh Chord

A

Seventh chords are made by adding a seventh note to the triad

51
Q

Simple time

A

2/4, 3/4, 4/4 - when crotchets are counted in the bar, and the notes are usually paired

52
Q

Slide

A

When the pitch slides from one note to the next

53
Q

Sonata Form (Beethoven)

A

A form based on three sections: exposition, development and recapitulation. The musical ideas from the exposition are known as the first and second subject

54
Q

Staccato

A

Short, detached notes

55
Q

Legato

A

Sustained, slurred notes

56
Q

Syncopation

A

The effect created when offbeat notes are accented

57
Q

Anacrusis

A

Where the tune starts before the 1st beat of the bar

58
Q

Tempo

A

The speed of the song

59
Q

Metre

A

The time signature of the song

60
Q

Texture

A

The number of layers in a piece of music and how they relate to one another

61
Q

Monophonic

A

One musical line

62
Q

Homophonic

A

Melody and accompaniment (melody-dominated homophony), or chordal

63
Q

Tonality

A

Essentially the key of the piece, major, minor, modal, atonal etc

64
Q

Tremolo

A

An effect produced by the rapid performing of one note

65
Q

Triplet

A

Three notes played in the time of two

66
Q

Verse

A

A section of a song which is repeated, each time with different words

67
Q

Strophic

A

A song structure where there are no choruses

68
Q

Viol

A

A bowed string instruments during the Baroque era

69
Q

Word Painting

A

Where the music reflects the meaning of the texts