Texture and Melody Flashcards
Melody
The tune
Pitch
How high or low the note is
Interval
The gap in between two notes
Scale
A group of notes in ascending or descending order
Arpeggio
Playing the notes of a chord in order
Conjunct
Move mainly in steps, sounds smooth
Disjunct
Use leaps and sound jagged
Triadic
Melodies that use notes from a triad
Scalic
Melodies that follow the pattern of a scale
Pentatonic scale
A scale using five notes
Whole tone scale
A scale moving in whole tones, sounds mysterious
Chromatic scale
Uses every note, semitones
Augmentation
Doubling the note values of the original tune
Diminution
Halving the note lengths/values
Modes
Came before scales, e.g. D-D using white notes
Passing notes
Notes between the notes of the harmony
Blue notes
The flattened notes in a blues scale, often slide up and down to them
Sequence
Repeating a tune a step higher (ascending) or a step lower (descending)
Glissando/portamento
Sliding between two notes
Pitch bend
Bending a note on guitar, vocals, string instruments or keyboards/synthesisers
Ornamentation
Decoration in the melody
Trill
Two adjacent notes played rapidly
Mordants (upper and lower)
Note-Note Above-Note
Note-Note Below-Note
Ostinato/Riff
A short repeated rhythm or tune, riff is used in a popular context
Phrase
The end of the curved line above the stave, like a musical sentence, typically 2, 4 or 8 bars long
Articulation - Staccato, legato, accent
How to play the notes
Staccato - detached, short notes
Legato - smooth, indicated by slur
Accent - play with force
Improvisation
Making music up on the spot
Often solos in jazz, blues and pop
Commonly on saxophone, guitar, trumpet, keyboard
Monophonic
Single melody line with no harmony, may be played on more than one instrument
Unison
When everyone sings/plays the same part together, monophonic
Octaves
When music is played an octave apart, not unison
Homophonic
When all parts move in more or less the same rhythm, creating a chordal effect. The clear melody is supported by accompaniment
Broken chords
Playing each note of the chord separately to give a more flowing feel than block chords
Polyphonic/contrapuntal
2 or more equally important melodies weave in and out of each other
Imitation
A phrase is imitated (not exact repeat) either by the same instrument/voice or in a different part
Canon
Particular type of imitation where the whole melody is repeated like a round
Antiphonal effect
Stereo effect as the phrase is passed from one group to another, used in early vocal religious music
