Musical Terminology Flashcards
Accent
A stress on a particular beat, note, or chord
Allegro
A fast tempo faster then alegretto
Andante
a moderately slow tempo literally a walking pace
Arpeggio
A “broken Chord” in which the tones are played one after another in a rapid succession rather then simultaneously
Beat
Regularly occurring pulsations that create the basic units of musical time
crescendo
music a gradual increase in loudness
decrescendo
gradually softer
diminuendo
gradually softer
Dynamics
relitive degrees in of loudness and softness
Fermata
a notational symbol indicating that a note is to be sounded longer then its normal time value, the exact length being left to the discretion the performer
forte
a loud dynamic level
fortissimo
a very loud dynamic level
Grave
a slow and solemn tempo
largo
A very slow and broad tempo
Legato
linked tied indicating a smooth, even style of performance with each note connected to the next
lento
a slow tempo
measures
units of time organizations consisting of a fixed number of beats. Measures are separated from one another by vertical bar lines on the staff.
meter
the organization of rhythmic pulses or beats into a equal, recurring groups.
mezzo piano
a moderately soft dynamic level
minor scale
scale having a pattern of whole and half steps, with the half steps falling between the second, and third and between the sixth and seventh tones of the scale
Moderato
moderate tempo
pianissimo
a very soft dynamic level
piano
a soft dynamic level
prestissimo
a tempo that is as fast as possible
presto
a very fast tempo
rubato
Robbed A term indicating that a performer may treat the tempo with a certain amount of freedom, shortening the duration of some beats and correspondingly lengthening others
Staccato
detached indicating a style performance in which each note is played in a short crisp manner
Syncopation
a deliberate disturbance of the normal metrical pulse, produced by shifting the accent from a normally strong beat to a weak beat
Tempo
the speed at which a piece of music moves
timbre
the characteristic tone quality of of a musical sound as produced by a certain instrument or voice, or by a combination of instruments or voice
Unison
two notes that are the same pitch, or two or more instruments or voices producing the same pitch at the same time
vivace
A fast and vivacious tempo
canon
A contrapuntal technique in which a melody in one part is strictly imitated by a voice or another voices
Homophony
Music in which a single melody predominates, while the other voices or instruments provide harmonic accompaniment
ternary
having three parts. In particular, referring to a three-part musical form with the parts represented by letters: ABA, musical form that consists of 3 sections ABA, in which the A’s stay the same and the B contrasts with A
Cadence
A point of rest at the end of the passage , section, or a complet work that gives the music a sense of convincing conclusion, also, a melodic or harmonic progression that gives the feeling of conclusion
Chord progression-
A particularly distinctive series of harmonies, or chords
Consonance
a quality of interval , chord or harmony that imparts a sense of stability, response or finality
Dissonance
a quality of a interval , chord or harmony that gives a sense of tension and movement
Downbeat
the first, and often stressed beat of a metric pattern of beats
Harmony
a composite sound made up of two or more notes of different pitch and sound simultaneously
Interval
the distance in pitch between any two tones
Major scale
scale consisting of a series of whole steps except for half steps between the third and fourth and seventh and eighth degrees.
Melody
a basic musical element consisting of a series of pitchs of particular duration that sound one after another
Note
a symbol used to notate a pitch and its duration, note its also it also used to identify a pitch or tone
Octave
a tone on the eighth degree from a given tone.
Phrase
a division of a composition, commonly a passage of four or eight measures, forming part of a period.
Pitch
the degree of height or depth of a tone or of sound, depending upon the relative rapidity of the vibrations by which it is produced.
Pitch range
A value between 0 and 100. A pitch range of 0 produces a flat, monotone voice. A pitch range of 50 produces normal inflexion. Pitch ranges greater than 50 produce animated voices.
Quadruple meter
4 quick beats
Quintuple
5 quick beats
Rhythm-
the pattern of regular or irregular pulses caused in music by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats.
Septuple
Seven quick beats
Sextuple meter
contains six rather quick beats to the measure.
Staff
is a set of five horizontal lines and four spaces that each represent a different musical pitch—or, in the case of a percussion staff, different percussion instruments.
Theme-
a principal melodic subject in a musical composition.
Tonic
The first degree of the scale; the keynote.
Triad
A chord of three tones, especially one consisting of a given tone with its major or minor third and its perfect, augmented, or diminished fifth.
Triple meter
3 quick beats
Upbeat
an unaccented beat, especially immediately preceding a downbeat.
Binary form
a basic musical form having two closely related sections.
Chromatic scale
a scale progressing entirely by semitones.
Counterpoint
the art of combining melodies.
Form
omething that gives or determines shape
Imitation
a counterfeit; copy.
Key
to regulate the key or pitch of.
Key signature
of a piece of music is the sharps or flats listed after the clef
Major scale-
scale consisting of a series of whole steps except for half steps between the third and fourth and seventh and eighth degrees.
Minor scale
a scale having half steps between the second and third, fifth and sixth, and seventh and eighth degrees, with whole steps for the other intervals.
Modulation
transition from one key to another.
Monophony
a musical style employing a single melodic
Polyphony-
- polyphonic composition; counterpoint.
Repetition
something made by or resulting from repeating.
Round
having a flat, circular surface, as a disk.
Texture-
the characteristic visual and tactile quality of the surface of a work of art resulting from the way in which the materials are used.
Theme and variations
Is a musical form from resulting from the consistent application of variation techniques so that a musical theme is followed by a varying number of modified restatements each being a variation.
Tonality
- the sum of relations, melodic and harmonic, existing between the tones of a scale or musical system.
Variation-
the transformation of a melody or theme with changes or elaborations in harmony, rhythm, and melody.
Adagio
Very slow
allegretto
a little lively, moderately fast
