PIANO NOTES

Question 1

Accent

Answer 1

An emphasis or “punch” at the beginning of a musical sound.

Question 2

Adagio (Italian)

Answer 2

Meaning a slow tempo or slow speed. Sometimes it is the name of a work like Mozart’s Adagio for Violin and Orchestra.

Question 3

Andante (Italian)

Answer 3

Meaning a walking tempo or walking pace; a moderate speed.

Question 4

Bar/Measure

Answer 4

A specific number of musical sounds that are organized within a measure, and that are contained within two solid lines called bar lines.

Question 5

Beat/Pulse

Answer 5

Regular pattern within a bar or measure.

Question 6

Cadenza (Italian)

Answer 6

An extended solo (played alone) for the soloist in a concerto. A cadenza can also be a solo in an orchestral work for one or a group of instruments.

Question 7

Chorale

Answer 7

Originally refers to a German Protestant hymn tune. In composition, it typically means a choral composition for voices or instruments, such as a Bach chorale. The word “Chorale” is also sometimes used as the name of a choir or chorus.

Question 8

Chord

Answer 8

When two or more notes or pitches are sounded simultaneously a chord is created.

Question 9

Concerto

Answer 9

A work for one performer or a group of performers with orchestral accompaniment.

Question 10

Crescendo (Italian)

Answer 10

Meaning growing, as in a swelling of sound, or becoming louder.

Question 11

Decrescendo/Diminuendo (Italian)

Answer 11

Getting softer; the opposite of crescendo.

Question 12

Dolce (Italian)

Answer 12

Meaning to be performed sweetly or delicately.

Question 13

Downbeat

Answer 13

The first beat in a measure as conducted by the leader of an ensemble is called the downbeat.

Question 14

Ensemble

Answer 14

1) A group of musicians playing together like an orchestra or a string quartet;
2) The actual act of playing as a unit, or performing together.

Question 15

Fanfare

Answer 15

A musical work used as an announcement, often played by the brass section of the orchestra or a single instrumentalist like a trumpet.

Question 16

Fermata

Answer 16

A symbol that tells the performer to hold the note as long as s/he would like, but certainly longer than the written note value.

Question 17

Flat

Answer 17

When a flat symbol ♭ is added to a note it lowers the note by a half-step. For example, if we have the note D and we add a flat to it the note now becomes D-flat or D♭.

Question 18

Form

Answer 18

The shape or organization of a musical composition.

Question 19

Forte (Italian)

Answer 19

Loud or strong.

Question 20

Fortissimo (Italian)

Answer 20

Louder than forte.

Question 21

Half-step

Answer 21

A musical interval (as E-F or B-C) equivalent to 1⁄12 of an octave.

Question 22

Harmony

Answer 22

The simultaneous combination of pitches, especially when blended into chords that are pleasing to the ear.

Question 23

Instrumentation

Answer 23

This can also be called orchestration when assigned to an orchestra. It is the way a composer or arranger takes musical sounds and assigns them to specific instruments.

Question 24

Key

Answer 24

A group of pitches based on a particular tonic, and comprising a scale, regarded as forming the tonal basis of a piece or section of music.

Question 25

Larghetto (Italian)

Answer 25

Usually slightly faster than largo.

Question 26

Largo (Italian)

Answer 26

Meaning wide, broad. In music a tempo marking meaning to be performed quite slowly.

Question 27

Major

Answer 27

This refers to a specific chord or key.
A. When it refers to a chord, then the chord has three musical pitches with the space between the first and second pitches being four half steps, and the distance between the second and third pitches being three half steps. A half step is the smallest interval (space or distance) in traditional western classical music. It is the distance from any key on the piano to the closest adjoining key (white or black).
B. When major refers to a key, it is the central tonality upon which a work or movement is constructed, and will usually use the same tonic chord as the central or “destination” chord of the composition. For example, the Schumann Symphony No. 3 is in the key of E-flat major, and the first and last movements begin and end in the key of E-flat. Of course many keys and chords are used throughout this five movement work, but the most prominent one is E-flat.

Question 28

Measure

Answer 28

A measurement of time in music that contains a specific number of pulses defined by a time signature, and that is contained within bar lines.

Question 29

Melody

Answer 29

An identifiable succession of musical sounds.

Question 30

Minor

Answer 30

This refers to a specific chord or key.
A. When it refers to a chord the chord will have three different pitches. From the first to the second pitch or note there are three half steps, and the distance between the second and third pitch there are four half steps.
B. When minor refers to a key, it is the central tonality upon which a work or movement is constructed, and will usually use the same tonic chord as the central chord. For example, the first movement of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is in c minor. The most prominent chord is a c minor chord and the central pitch is a C. Of course many keys and chords are used throughout the movement.