Quiz 2 Flashcards
Smallest Interval used in the Western System. Also the distance between two adjacent keys on a piano.
Half Step
Interval between two notes that are eight diatonic pitches apart.
Octave
An Interval consisting of two half steps.
Whole Step
Melody or Harmony built from many, if not all 12 pitches of the octave. Consists of an ascending or descending sequence of half steps.
Chromatic (Out of Key) Scale
Melody or Harmony built from the 7 pitches of a major or minor scale. Encompasses patterns of seven whole steps and half steps.
Diatonic (In the Key) Scale
Scale consisting of 7 different pitches that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps. It’s third degree is raised half a step.
Major Scale
Scale consisting of 7 different pitches that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps. It’s third degree is lowered half a step.
Minor Scale
Musical symbol that indicates raising a pitch by a half step.
Sharp (Up a Half Step)
Musical symbol that indicates lowering a pitch by a half step.
Flat (Down a Half Step)
Triad built on the first scale note, the I chord.
Tonic Chord
In the diatonic system, chords that need to resolve to the tonic chord. Includes the dominant and subdominant chords.
Active Chords
The interweaving of melodic (horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) elements in the musical fabric.
Texture
Single line texture, or melody without accompaniment. One sound, one melody.
Monophony
Two or more melodic lines combined into a multivoiced texture. Multiple sounds, not moving together.
Polyphony
Texture with a principal melody and accompanying harmony. More than one sound, all moving together.
Homophony
Melodic idea presented in one voice or part, and then restated in another.
Imitation
Texture in which all voices, or lines, move together in the same rhythm.
Homorhythm.
Structure and design in music, based on repetition, contrast, and variation; the organizing principle of music.
Form
Melodic idea used as a basic building block in the construction of a piece.
Theme
Musical expression of theme by varying its melodic outline, harmony, or rhythm.
Thematic Development
Short melodic or rhythmic idea; the smallest fragment of a theme that forms a melodic-harmonic-rhythmic unit.
Motive
Restatement of an idea or motive at a different pitch level.
Sequence
Performance style with a singing leader who is imitated by a chorus of followers.
Call and Response
Singing, especially in Gregorian chant, in which a soloist or a group of soloists alternates with the choir.
Responsorial Singing
The creation of music while it is being performed.
Improvisation
A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout a work or section.
Ostinato
Complete, self-contained part within a larger work.
Movement
The use of opposing musical elements to emphasize difference and variety.
Contrast
The compositional procedure of altering a pre-existing musical idea.
Variation
A scale which uses only FIVE notes, and contains NO HALF STEPS.
Pentatonic Scale
