Test 2 Flashcards
Enharmonic tone
Two different names for the same pitch
Diatonic scale
A seven note scale plus the octave
WWHWWWH
Staff
5 lines and 4 spaces on which musical notes are written
Clef
A French word meaning clue; specifies a certain line on the staff to be a certain pitch
Treble clef, or G clef space and line notes
F A C E
E G B D F
Bass clef, or F clef space and line notes
A C E G
G B D F A
Ledger lines
Additional short lines added above or below the staff
Key signature
A collection of sharps or flats at the beginning of a piece of music
Accidental
Cancels the key signature temporarily
Tune
A shorter part of a melody
Phrase
A series of musical pitches that seem to naturally belong together
Cadence
A stopping or settling place in music
Motive
A musical fragment
Imitative polyphony
Two or more melodies being sung or played simultaneously at different times, with melodies being the same
Non-imitative polyphony
Two or more melodies being played or sung simultaneously at different times, with melodies being different
Climax
Usually a note made most important through its length, volume, or pitch
Theme
A melody serves as the primary horizontal building material for a piece of music
Harmony
Produced whenever two or more pitches sound at the same time
Chords
Three or more notes sounded together
Dissonance
Sounds (intervals or chords) that are unpleasant to the ear
Consonance
Pleasing sounds
Monophonic
A single melody
Polyphonic
Made up exclusively of interwoven melodies
Homophonic
A prominent melody supported by chords
Form
Overall design of a musical work that can be heard by the listener
Sonata form
A generalized, variable three part formal design
- Exposition
- Development
- Recapitulation (restate the beginning)
Variation technique
An original idea is stated and then repeated a number of times, but each repetition is in some way a variation of the original material
Style
A distinctive quality that arises from and expresses the need and customs of who wrote it
Genre
Kind of piece
Opera
Sung drama in which singers play the roles of characters on a suitable decorated stage
Libretto
Text of the opera (storyline)
Overture
Orchestral number played before the curtain goes up, it contains many of the main themes of the act and serves as a musical introduction to the opera
Symphony
A work for orchestra that is usually in four movements and focuses on ensemble playing rather than soloists
Program music
Some kind of description or story that was intended to be included in the concert program
Sonata
Piece of music for a solo instrument, or for a solo instrument and a piano accompaniment
Concerto
A three movement work for a soloist and an orchestra
Cantata
Sung; sacred vocal music
Chamber music
Instrumental music written for a small number of players with one player on a part and the emphasis on ensemble rather than solo playing
Toccata
A free style form; different for every person that plays it
Fugue
A musical procedure in which successive entrances of the same theme are heard in different instruments while the earlier entrants play free melodic material
