Structural Flashcards
AB
A piece with two sections - Binary
ABA
A piece with three sections - Ternary
Alberti Bass
Broken chords played as the accompaniment to a melody. Bottom, top, middle, top. This was a very common device in the Classical period used by composers such as Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart.
Arpeggio
Notes of a chord played one after each other in an ascending or descending order.
Binary
A piece of music with two distinct sections. AB. Double binary AABB or ABAB.
Cluster
A chord or series of chords where the notes are very close together. Sometimes in modern music, clusters are played on the piano using the whole arm on the keyboard.
Coda
A section added to the end of a movement or piece to bring it to a satisfactory and definite close. The opposite of an introduction.
Descant
A counter melody which is continually above the main melody in a vocal piece. Often used in the last verses of hymns.
Ensemble
A group of musicians playing and/or singing together.
Ground Bass
A bass line where the same few lines are repeated numerous times with different music over the top. Passacaglia and Chaconne which are exactly the same thing.
Harmony
The sound of two or more notes made at the same time. When chords, or a second line, are placed below a melody it is “harmonised”.
Homophony
Where numerous parts all have the same rhythm and move at the same time. The opposite of polyphony.
Inverted Pedal
A pedal point which is above the texture. i.e. a high note or repeated high note which is held whilst other music moves below.
Middle 8
An 8 bar section between the verse and chorus of a pop song which only comes once. It acts as a bridge passage , and sometimes includes modulation. Songs by the Beatles, Abba, Bee Gees etc. usually have a middle 8.
Minuet and Trio
A dance form, often used as the third movement of a classical symphony. Has the structure AABBCCDDAB. Always in triple time. A graceful and elegant dance.
Octave
The distance between a note and another note with the same letter name. A distance of 8 notes - starting and ending point in a scale.
Cadenza
A passage at the end of a concerto movement where the orchestra stops and the soloist plays a virtuoso passage alone. These are usually very difficult and demonstrate the technical skill of the player. They usually last for a few minutes.
Ostinato
When a musical pattern is repeated several times. There are three main types of ostinato;
rhythmic ostinato - a repeated rhythmic pattern
melodic ostinato - a repeated fragment of melody
harmonic ostinato - a repeated chord sequence
Pedal
Short for pedal point. A note which is held, or repeated, beneath other harmony and melody which move above it. Very often the note in question will be the tonic or dominant.
Polyphony
This is when the texture of a piece consists of several parts which are moving at different times and with different rhythms. The opposite of homophony. Pieces like this are described as polyphonic.
Polyphonic instrument
An instrument which can play more than one lie / pitch simultaneously. E.g. piano, guitar, harp, banjo, sitar.
Riff
A short, catchy repeated phrase (ostinato) in popular music, or jazz funk, or show songs. Often found in the bass part.
Rondo
A piece where the opening theme continually returns between contrasting material creating ABACADA structure.
Round
A piece where several parts have the same melody but start separately at a fixed distance. The correct word for this is Canon.
Canon
A piece in strict imitation, where the parts, or voices, enter one at a time, at a fixed distance, each playing/singing exactly the same as the previous one.
Strophic
When the structure of the music is organised into verses with music which repeats but the words are different, such as a hymn or folk song. Many pop songs and someLieder are strophic.
Ternary
A piece in ABA form.
Theme and Variations
A piece which is divided into sections, whereby a theme is heard at the beginning and each section of the piece varies, or develops the theme in a different way.
Unaccompanied
One instrument or voice only - no other accompanying instruments.
Unison
Two or more parts sounding at the same pitch, or at the distance of an octave.
Variation
Where a melody is developed in some way from its original, but is recognisable.
Verse and Chorus
A structure whereby the music and the words of the chorus repeat in between verses where the music is the same but the words change. A form very common in popular music of the late 20th century.
Walking Bass
A bass line which is constantly and regularly moving, both on and between the beats. It often moves by step, or up and down arpeggios. A feature of jazz music.
Basso Continuo
A keyboard instrument and a bass instrument played together as an accompaniment to a singer or solo instrument. Basso Continuo were only used in the Baroque period, where they were nearly always present in the orchestra.
Exposition
The opening section of a fugue, or a movement in sonata form, in which we hear the main themes for the first time. i.e. where the themes are ‘exposed’.
Obbligato
A prominent instrumental solo in a vocal or choral piece.
Ritornello
The name for a repeating motif / main theme in a Concerto Grosso. Also the 17th century name for an instrumental introduction / interlude in a vocal composition.
Through Composed
A piece of music which has no discernible repetition, or does not
fall into different recognisable sections, but just keeps going from
start to finish.
