Rythmic

Question 1

A tempo

Answer 1

Return to the original speed.

Question 2

Accelerando

Answer 2

Getting gradually faster. A speeding up of the beat.

Question 3

Accents / Accented

Answer 3

Notes which sound louder than others. Usually marked with a >

Question 4

Anacrucis

Answer 4

Where a melody, ot a phrase within a melody, begins with an upbeat.

Question 5

Andante

Answer 5

A tempo marking which means at a medium walking speed.

Question 6

Bar lines

Answer 6

Vertical lines, which separate the music into bars usually of equal length according to the time signatures. The end of a piece or a section is usually marked with a double bar line.

Question 7

Beat

Answer 7

The pulse which is heard in music. The beat, or pulse, is usually supposed to be consistent. The first beat of each bar is often louder.

Question 8

Compound time

Answer 8

Dotted Crotchets

A time signature where the beat is dotted and subdivides into 3 not 2.
6/8, 9/8, 12/16

Question 9

Crotchet

Answer 9

A note or rest worth 1 beat in simple time. Filled in and with a stem.

Question 10

Cross Rhythm

Answer 10

When the accents in the music are different from that suggested by the time signature, or when different parts have rhythmic patterns which work against each other. E.g. 2 against 3.

Question 11

Dotted Crotchet

Answer 11

Note worth one and a half beats in simple time. Filled in note with a stem and a dot.

Question 12

Dotted Minim

Answer 12

Note worth 3 beats in simple time. Clear note, with a stem and a dot.

Question 13

Dotted Quaver

Answer 13

Note worth three-quarters of a beat in simple time. Filled in note with a stem, and a tail and a dot.

Question 14

Dotted Rhythm

Answer 14

Where a note is increased by half its value, and followed by a note worth half of its original value. Leading to a 3/4 + 1/4 relatioship.

Question 15

Double Bar Line

Answer 15

The end of a section, or the end of a piece is usually marked with a double bar line - two vertical lines across the stave(s) close together.

Question 16

Down Beat

Answer 16

The first beat of any baar is known as a down beat, because this is the motion a conductor makes on the first beat of the bar.

Question 17

Drumfill

Answer 17

A rhythmic decoration played on a drum kit, often at cadences, or regular intervals. The player usually uses most part of the kit for this.

Question 18

Minim

Answer 18

Note worth 2 beats in simple time. Clear note with a stem.

Question 19

Moderato

Answer 19

A tempo marking which means at a moderate or medium speed.

Question 20

Off the beat

Answer 20

When the main accents of a passage of music fall off the beat.

Question 21

On the beat

Answer 21

When the main accents of a passage of music fall on the beat.

Question 22

Pause

Answer 22

A device which allows a performer to wait on a note or a rest for as long as they choose for dramatic effect.

Question 23

Pulse

Answer 23

The sense of forward movement given regularly spaced beats in a piece of music.

Question 24

Rallentando

Answer 24

A direction to a performer to get gradually slower.

Question 25

Repetition

Answer 25

The repetition of a musical pattern - Properly called an ostinato.

Question 26

Rests

Answer 26

Signs which mean a fixed period of silence.

Question 27

Ritardando

Answer 27

A tempo marking which means to become gradually slower.

Question 28

Rubato

Answer 28

This is where the pulse of a piece is varied in order to be expressive.

Question 29

Scotch Snap

Answer 29

A reverse dotted rhythm (semiquaver followed by dotted quaver) found in Scottish folk music - especially the Strathspey.

Question 30

Semibreve

Answer 30

A note worth 4 beats in simple time. A clear note with no stem.

Question 31

Semiquaver

Answer 31

Note worth one quarter of a beat in simple time. Filled in note with a stem and double tail - can be grouped together with a beam in groups of 2,3,4,6.

Question 32

Simple Time

Answer 32

Crotchets Where the beat is not dotted and divides into 2, 4, 8 etc. E.g. 3/4, 4/4, 3/8, 3/2 etc.

Question 33

Syncopation

Answer 33

Strongly accented notes played off or between the beats.

Question 34

Triplet

Answer 34

Where the beat, ora number of even beats, are divided into 3 in simple time.

Question 35

Up Beat

Answer 35

The last beat of any bar is known as the up beat, because this is the motion a conductor makes on the last beat of the bar.

Question 36

Augmentation

Answer 36

When a phrase is repeated with notes of double the value. This causes the music to sound twice as slow.

Question 37

Diminution

Answer 37

When a phrase is repeated with notes of half the value. This causes the music to sound twice as fast.

Question 38

Irregular Metres

Answer 38

A technique found in modern music or some ethnic music whereby composers try to destroy the feeling of a down beat by changing the grouping of the notes, and / or changing the time signature regularly.

Question 39

Three against two

Answer 39

Music where the beat is divided into two in one or more parts and into three in other parts at the same time.

Question 40

Time Changes

Answer 40

When the time signature of a piece changes without the music stopping. (Often more than once.)