Quiz I Flashcards
Pitch
The number of times per second that on instrument is vibrating or the relative highness or lowness of a musical note. From A to G
Tone color/Timbre
The unique sound of a particular instrument caused by the harmonics 
Harmonics/Overtones
Vibrations of an instrument that occur over a fraction of its length
Frequency
The speed at which a pitch oscillates, measured in cycles per second (hertz)
Dynamics
The loudness or softness of a specific portion of music
Crescendo
To gradually get louder
Decrescendo
To gradually get softer
Duration
The length of a sound, measured in beats
Rhythm
The organization of musical beats
Beat
The underlying pulse of music
Accent
A beat that is stressed
Syncopation
An accented beat that is not normally accented
Meter
The specific way beats are grouped
i.e. By two’s, three’s, four’s, etc
Tempo
The speed at which music is played, measured in beats per minute
Metronome
A device that produces an audible beat to help musicians keep a steady tempo
Interval
The distance between two notes
Half step
The smallest distance between two notes: on a keyboard, the very next key above or below a given note
Scale
A collection of fixed pitches; the major and minor scales have seven different pitches
Melody
A series of notes characterized by a vocal, singable quality, moving most often by steps, with few large intervals between notes
Piano (p)
Soft
Forte (f)
Loud
Mezzo (m)
Moderately
Pianissimo (pp)
Very soft
Mezzo piano (mp)
Moderately soft
Mezzo forte (mf)
Moderately loud
Fortissimo (ff)
Very loud
