Soprano
highest female voice
Alto
lowest female voice
Tenor
highest male voice
Bass
lowest male voice
A Capella
without instrumental accompaniment
Chorus
large group of singers; also used to denote a refrain or choral segment of an oratorio
Accent
greater emphasis on note or chord
Articulation
way in which musical tones are attacked
Legato
connecting pitches smoothly
Staccato
short, detached notes
Tempo
the speed of a musical composition
Staff
graph of five horizontal lines on which musical notes are placed
Treble Clef
the symbol for the G clef
Bass Clef
symbol for the F clef
Grand Staff
the G and F clefs joined together
Interval
distance between two pitches
Half Step
interval from one pitch to the next adjacent pitch
Whole Step
interval formed by two half steps
Tonal Center
key center or home key of a piece
Tonality
how melodic and harmonic elements are organized around a tonal center
Chromatic Scale
scale entirely composed of half steps
Major Scale
seven-tone sclae composed of W-W-H-W-W-W-H steps
Minor Scale
seven tone scale composed of W-H-W-W-H-W-W
Pentatonic Scale
five note, whole tone scale
Relative major and minor
major and minor keys that have identical key signatures
Sharp
musical symbol that raises the pitch a half step
Flat
musical symbol that lowers the pitch half a step
Key Signature
the sharps or flats placed at the beginning of a musical composition to affect the entire composition
Solfege
system for identifying the pitches of the Western scale: DO RE MI FA SOL LA TI DO
Stepwise
a melodic progression of pitches ascending or descending without skips
Bar Line
vertical line drawn on the staff to divide music into measures
Measure
group of beats between the bar lines on the staff
Double Bar
vertical lines that signify the end of a composition
Meter Signature
numbers placed at the beginning of a composition
Downbeat
first beat of a measure
Upbeat
one or more notes that occur before the first measure of a musical composition
Recorder
small vertical, flutelike instrument whose pitch is determined by covering or uncovering holes with the fingers
Xylophone
pitched percussion instrument made from wooden bars mounted on a frame
Resonator Bells
tuned metal bars mounted individually on a block of wood or plastic that serves to enhance the sound
Glockenspiel
small instrument made of tuned metal bars mounted horizontally on a frame
Metallophone
medium to large diatonic instrument with tone bars made of aluminum and tuned for perfect pitch and harmonies
Unpitched Percussion Instruments
used primarily to provide rhythmic accompaniments to songs; divided into woods, metals, and skins
Does music make you smarter?
Increases spatial-temporal reasoning; can develop a vocabulary for music and movement on which to base future music studies; piano instruction significantly increases spatial; improvement is temporary
Howard Gardener’s Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic, Logical/Mathemtaical, Musical Rythmic, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Spatial, Naturalist, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Exsistential
Linguistic Intelligence
capacity to use language to express what’s on your mind – writer, orator, speaker, lawyer
Logical/Mathematical Intelligence
capacity to understand the underlying principles of some kind of causal system or to manipulate numbers, quantities, and operations
Musical Rhythmic Intelligence
capacity to think in music; to be able to hear patterns, recognize them, and perhaps manipulate them
Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence
capacity to use your whole body or parts of your body to solve a problem, make something, or put on some kind of production
Spatial Intelligence
abliity to represnet the spatial world internally in your mind; navigation of sailor or pilot
Naturalist Intelligence
ability to discriminate among living things and sensitivity to other features of the natural world
Intrapersonal Intelligence
having an understanding of yourslef; knowing who you are, what you can do, what you want to do, how you react to things, which things to avoid, and which things to gravitate toward
Interpersonal Intelligence
ability to understand other people
Exsistential Intelligence
ability and proclivit to pose questions about life, death, and ultimate realities
Dalcroze Approach
Emile Jacques-Dalcroz (pioneer of movement); includes eurhythmics (experienceing elements of music through body movement), soflege, and improvisation
Orff Approach
Carl Orff; includes active participation, movement, singing, instruments (Orff instruments), Improvisation; explore and experience first by imitation then creation; part then whole; simple then complex; individual then ensemble
Kodaly Approach
Zoltan Kodaly; vocal approach to music literacy (ability to read, hear and think music); focus on music reading, singing is foundation – believed musicianship began with voicel sequential – beginning with young children; folk songs in mother tongue and other music of the “highest” quality; child-developmental approach (taught from child’s point of view); tools: solfege, curnew hand signs, rhythm syllables
Folk Songs
1. Oral Tradition
2. Stood the test of time – staying power – variants
3. Anonymous Composer
Why are folk songs valuable?
Let kids bring out emotions dont always get to address through another medium; singable and appropriate for voices; memorable melodies; pure enjoyment; good tools for teaching musical elements
Thematic Approach
focus on topic and music used to supplemnt the curriculum
Parallel Concepts Approach
explore commonalities among other arts; focuses on common concepts found in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts
Cognitively Impaired
simplify, use repetition, revisit familiar songs
Learning Disabled
break into parts; focus on one thing at a time
Visually Impaired
tactile
Hearing Impaired
feel vibrations, tactile, seat next to strong singer
Physically Challenged
modify equipment
Gifted
don’t give extra work; use as leader
Behavioral Problem
pay attention to person; don’t change rules; separate student from behavior
Play Party
similar to sqaure dance; no caller; no instrumental accompaniment; no waist swings
Curnew hand signs
used to indicate solfege; fingers used = half step