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| Highest to lowest note of a melody or instrument |
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| Frequency of a sound wave expressed by vibrations per second |
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| Distance between two pitches |
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| Interval obtained by doubling or halving a frequency |
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| Sound incapable of being defined by a specific frequency |
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| The change from one key (or tonic) to another |
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| Three or more notes sounded together |
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| Standard Range of Human Voice: Highest to Lowest |
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| Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass |
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| The element that describes the musical fabric or the relationship of musical lines within a work |
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| The quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another |
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| Placement of accents away from their normal stresses in the meter (i.e. on the weak beats) |
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| A composition for two or more solo instruments and orchestra |
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| Addition of fast notes (such as trills) to a melody, making it more virtuosic and expressive |
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| A composition for orchestra and solo instrument |
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| An improvised passage for the soloist in a concerto |
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| A melodic and/o rhythmic motive repeated over and over again in the bass |
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| A composition written systematically in imitative polyphony, usually with a single main theme presented in each voice |
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| Sudden change of dynamics with no gradiation |
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| The element of music that organizes movement in time |
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| The moments at the ends of phrases where a melody pauses or stops altogether |
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| The portion of the Mass that remains the same in every celebration of the service |
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| The technique whereby some aspects of the music are changed yet the whole work remains recognizable |
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| The movements of the Ordinary of the Mass |
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| Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei |
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| The early polyphonic genre that resulted from the addition of texts to all voices |
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| The expressive device used by Renaissance composers to pictorialize words musically |
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| The singing style characterized by fast runs and scales, a large pitch range, cadenzas, and virtuosic displays of all sorts |
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A periodic return of a central, musical theme by the orchestra
The initial orchestral melody in a concerto grosso that returns from time to time |
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| The section of a fugue in which all subject entries first occur |
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The technique of declaiming words and plot musically in a heightened, theatrical manner
Portion of an opera that is more speech-like, usually describing plot or action |
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| A recitative in which only continuo instruments play the accompaniment |
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| A recitative with full orchestral accompaniment |
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| A setting of Gregorian chant with one note per syllable |
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| The earliest type of polyphony |
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| The process by which Renaissance composers freely embellished plainchant melodies for use in their compositions |
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| A song-like opera solo that describes the character’s emotional state |
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| Opera about common people in every-day situations |
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| Three or more singers in an opera singing at the same time |
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| Opera in Italian derived mostly from ancient history, about ancient heroes |
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| The concept of a total artwork in which all the arts–music, poetry, drama, visual spectacle–are fused together |
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| A piece of program music on a grandiose scale for orchestra in one movement which, through several contrasting sections, develops a poetic idea or suggests a scene or mood |
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| A German-texted song with piano accompaniment that sets a short lyric poem |
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| The principle themes in Wagner’s operas, which recur throughout a work and carry specific meanings to represent characters, moods, symbols, or emotions |
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| A song structure that is composed from beginning to end without repetition of whole sections |
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| A group of Lieder unified by some narrative thread or a descriptive or expressive theme |
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The free treatment of meter in performance
Flexibility in rhythm
“Robbed Time” |
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| Using all twelve notes of the scale liberally |
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| The technique of having the same theme fragment reappear with some sort of variation at loosely recurring intervals |
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| The striking of the wood of a violin bow on the strings |
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| A style of opera developed by early Italian Romantic composers |
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| The trend that inspired composers to write music evoking scenes or sounds of far off lands |
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| An early 19th-century genre of program music resembling an opera overture-but without any following opera |
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| A fixed idea, an obsession; the term used by Berlioz for a recurring theme used in all the movements of one of his program symphonies |
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| A musical form consisting of one main theme or tune alternating with other themes or sections (ABACA, ABACABA, etc.) |
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| The baseline that chords are built upon in Baroque music |
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The standard form of the Baroque Italian opera aria, ABA
The composer would leave space for the performer to improvise and ornament with runs, cadenzas, or so on |
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| A large, diverse section of music in a sonata-form movement in which the basic material of the movement is presented |
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| The second section of a sonata-form movement that heightens the tonal-thematic tension set up by contrasting themes and keys of the exposition |
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| In sonata-form, the repetition of the exposition elements but in the tonic key |
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| In sonata-form, the final wrapping-up of the main action |
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Absolute Pitch
Tone
Interval
Octave
Range
Indefinite Pitch |
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Accent
Piano (soft) – Forte (loud)
pp – ff
Crescendo
Decrescendo |
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Instrumentation
Performing Media |
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Range
Shape
Motion
Structure |
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Consonance/Dissonance
Chord
Arpeggio
Triad
Progression
Cadence |
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Tonic (tonality)
Scale
Sharps/Flats
Key Signature
Modulation
Non-Tonal
Modal |
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Beat
Meter
Simple or Compund:
–Duple
–Triple
–Quadruple
Additive
Beat Divisions
Syncopation
Polyrhythm |
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Thick/Thin
Monophonic
Homophonic
Polyphonic
-Counterpoint
-Imitation
-Round (canon) |
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Repetition, Contrast, Variation
Ternary
Binary
Da Capo |
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| Elements of Performing Media |
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Chordophones
Aerophones
Membranophones
Idiophones
Voice Ranges
Instruments |
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More “instrumental-like”
Virtuosic
Extravagant
Ornamented
Less Stepwise
Disjunct often |
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Tuneful, pleasing, singable
Stepwise (linear)
Easily understood/Not too long
Featured Themes and Motives
Addition of some folk melodies
More contrasts |
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Wider range of pitches/moods
Sweeping, lyrical, passionate
Structure often asymmetrical
Chromaticism
Thematic motives
Folk influences |
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Nationalistic melodies
Individual
Fragmented
New Scales
Eastern influences
Mathematical approaches |
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Functional
Based on bass line and built upwards
Use of harmonic sequences
Strong (V-I) cadences |
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More freedom in harmony
Vocabulary and use of
More use of mode changes & modulations
Larger harmonic climaxes |
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Expanded vocabulary
More dissonance
Resolutions more profound
Delayed resolutions
New chords
Less stability of key center
Long phrases
Obscured cadences |
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Neo-classic=stability
Otherwise-tonality questioned
Serialism
Atonal
Free use of sounds |
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Very Metrical
Regular
Continuous
Systematic
Orderly |
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Highly differentiated
More contrast
Less regularity
More dramatic contrasts
Longer phrases
More syncopation
Rhythmic motives more common |
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Wider range of pacing and motion
Preferences for extremes
Loosening of concept of regular pulse and tempo
Freedom/Rubato
Cross rhythms
Syncopation
Eastern influence |
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Additive and irregular meters
Cross rhythms
Polyrhythms
Ostinato
Eastern influence |
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Imitation
Polyphony
Balance between vertical and horizontal dimensions of music
SATB texture predominant |
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Mostly homophonic with integration of some polyphony interspersed
More contrasts |
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Essentially homophonic
Richer, fuller chords for enhanced accompaniment
Constantly changing textures
Some counterpoint |
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| Serialism=renewal of contrapuntal fabric (alterations of the row) |
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Continuo-based
Presence of harpsichord or organ
Wider variety of instrumental combinations |
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Classical Orchestra with pairs of winds, brass, timpani
Gradual decline of continuo
Greater contrast of full and light orchestral textures
GRADATION in dynamics
More idiomatic use of instruments |
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Expansion of orchestra
New instruments
Special effects (mutes, etc.)
Extended techniques
Experimentation with colors; combinations of instruments
More dynamics |
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Extremes and Contrasts
Unusual ranges for instruments
Electronic
Computer |
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Ritornello
Dance Suite
Short sections
Strophic
Binary, ternary |
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Sonata-Allegro
Minuet-Trio
Rondo
Theme and Variations
Fugues
Multi-Movement works |
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Program music
Expanded, grandiose, large-scale forms
Freedom
Breaking the rules |
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Structure and freedom at odds
New frontiers explored |
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Basso Continuo (B.C.)
Ostinato Bass (ground bass)
Concerto Grosso
Ritornello
Da Capo
Aria |
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| Classical Important Terms |
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Exposition, Development, Recapitulation
Coda
Cadenza
Scherzo |
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Rubato
Chromaticism
Leitmotiv
Thematic transformation
Nationalism, Exoticism
Program Symphony
Tone Poem
Nocturne |
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Impressionism, Expressionism
Sprechstimme, Klangfarbenmelodie
Neo-classicism
Retrograde serial music; musique-concrete
Serial
Retrograde
Inversion
Minimalism, aleatoric, atonal |
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| Alternation of very short melodic phrases (hiccup) |
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| Technique of repeating the identical rhythm for each section of a composition, while the melody is altered |
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| Contrapuntal style of composing |
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Monophonic
No rhythm/Non-metrical
Medieval (Church) modes
Recitation/Reciting Tone
Beginning of Notation
Syllabic/Neumatic/Melismatic
Chant: direct/Antiphonal/Responsorial |
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| Renaissance Style Features |
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Exploration of beautiful sounds, new emphasis on melody
Church=lesser influence
Homophony rises in importance
Careful blend of homophony and polyphony
Paraphrase: embellished chant, more melodious |
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