Musical Keywords

Question 1

Natural

Answer 1

Natural notes in music refer to a note that is neither sharp nor flat. Typically a natural note symbol is used to tell the musician that the note is natural despite the key signature.

Question 2

Ostinato

Answer 2

an ostinato is a rhythmic pattern that repeats throughout a piece of music.

Question 3

Staccato

Answer 3

performed with each note sharply detached or separated from the others.

Question 4

Pizzicato

Answer 4

Pizzicato means plucked in Italian, it instructs string sections to pluck their instruments instead of bowing them.

Question 5

Trill

Answer 5

Trill is an instruction to sustain rapid alternation between two different pitches.

Question 6

Arpeggio

Answer 6

A type of broken chord, the notes of the chord are played one by one in ascending or descending order.

Question 7

Cadence

Answer 7

A short progression used at the end of a musical phrase to create a resting point in the music.

Question 8

Block chord

Answer 8

A chord in which the notes are played simultaneously

Question 9

Canon

Answer 9

A form of strict imitation where one part leads and the other parts follow with the same or closely related notes, at a distance. (Pachelbel’s Canon in D)

Question 10

Concerto

Answer 10

A piece of music for solo instrument with orchestra.

Question 11

Diminuendo

Answer 11

Becoming quieter, or a dynamic marking instructing performers to play gradually quieter

Question 12

Dialogue

Answer 12

Music which is suggestive of a conversation taking place between instruments.

Question 13

Fugue

Answer 13

A short melody or melodic phrase heard in one part and successively taken up by other parts.