Term II Flashcards
Melody
a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity
Interval
a difference in pitch between two sounds, The smallest of these intervals is a
semitone
Harmony
the simultaneous occurrence of tones, especially when blended into chords
pleasing to the ear
It’s often said to refer to the VERTICAL aspect of music, as distinguished from melody, or the HORIZONTAL aspect
Chords definition
a group of three or more pitches sounded together, chords are most often used as an accompaniment to melodies
Chords theory
A series of chords is called a chord progression or chord changes. Chord progressions are
the foundation of Western popular music styles.
Range of a musical instrument
is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it
can play. For a singing voice, the equivalent is vocal range. The range of a musical part is
the distance between its lowest and highest note.
Metre (beat & time signature)
Metre can be thought of as a regular, reoccurring STRONG and WEAK beat. This reoccurring pattern of durations is defined at the beginning of a composition by a time signature.
tempo
is the speed or pace of a given piece and is usually measured in beats per
minute (bpm)
Articulation
tells us HOW a single note is to be played: long/short, with more attack,
“connected” (slurred), etc.
Timbre (tone colour)
timbre is what makes a
particular musical instrument or human voice have a different sound from another, even
when they play or sing the same note.
the combination of qualities of a sound that distinguishes it from
other sounds of the same pitch and volume.
Texture definition
the fabric of sound created by the interaction of all the parts of a piece of music.
Texture involves everything that is going on – melody, harmony, and rhythm – and
considers how the separate strands of activity relate to each other
Spatial location
represents the perceived placement of a sound in an environmental
context
Definition of music
Music is an intentionally organised art form which uses sound and silence, with core elements or parameters of PITCH, RHYTHM, DYNAMICS, ARTICULATION, and the qualities of timbre, texture and spatial location.
