terms and definitions

Question 1

monophonic texture

Answer 1

a single unaccompanied melody

Question 2

dissonance

Answer 2

notes that ‘clash’ (opposite of consonance)

Question 3

parallel motion

Answer 3

two melodies moving in sync

Question 4

cadence

Answer 4

the sequence of chords that ends a musical phrase

Question 5

antiphony

Answer 5

call and response but with an overlap (mainly in baroque)

Question 6

polyrhythm

Answer 6

texture involving multiple independent melodies played together

Question 7

acciaccatura

Answer 7

ornament - one little note before main note

Question 8

turn

Answer 8

ornament - home note, goes up one note and back to home note

Question 9

mordent

Answer 9

ornament - up, down repeated and back to home note

Question 10

trill

Answer 10

ornamentation (imagine a squiggly line)

Question 11

triad

Answer 11

a 3-note chord

Question 12

tonic

Answer 12

home note

Question 13

timbre

Answer 13

specific quality of a musical sounds and particularly the instrument playing it

Question 14

walking bass

Answer 14

a note is played on every crotchet beat & pitches regularly ascend & descend

Question 15

rubato

Answer 15

fluid tempo

Question 16

diatonic

Answer 16

using notes inside the key

Question 17

homophonic texture

Answer 17

instruments moving together in rhythm

Question 18

consonance

Answer 18

flows ish (opposite of dissonance)

Question 19

atonal

Answer 19

not in key, doesn’t have a home note (tonal centre)

Question 20

leitmotif

Answer 20

recurring musical phrase - referring to a specific emotion or character

Question 21

lick

Answer 21

short melody played on guitar

Question 22

legato

Answer 22

smooth playing (opposite of staccato)

Question 23

staccato

Answer 23

detached notes (opposite of legato)

Question 24

collage

Answer 24

rich texture of sounds, rhythms & melodies played on different instruments

Question 25

melisma

Answer 25

singing more than one note to one syllable of text

Question 26

hook

Answer 26

short, catchy melody or riff

Question 27

glissando

Answer 27

a slide up or down in pitch

Question 28

modulation

Answer 28

a key change

Question 29

microtones

Answer 29

intervals smaller than semitones

Question 30

syllabic

Answer 30

each syllable sung to a different note

Question 31

syncopation

Answer 31

rhythm emphasises off beats

Question 32

stepwise

Answer 32

movement in short steps