Art Music
music that is formal, sophisticated, urban, and appreciated by an educated elite
Dynamics
the level of loudness
Form
shape or structure of a piece of music
Binary
two-part musical form as in a b form

Ternary

three-part musical form as in a b a form

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Scale

an ascending or descending series of tones organized according to a specific pattern of intervals

Intervals 

the difference in pitch between two musical tones

Diatonic

 the eight tones if a standard major or minor scale

Chromatic 

proceeding by ½ steps, using sharps or flats

Tempo

the speed at which music is performed

Unity

music that is not ramble ans is cohesive, with an exact or a modified repetition of themes and patterns

Variety

music that departs from previously stated themes and creates points of contrast

Sonata

in the Baroque pd, a multi-movement work written for a solo instrument and continuo

Symphony

 a multi-movement work for symphony orchestra. The typical order of movements is fast-slow-dance-fast

Concerto

 a three-movement work for solo instrument and orchestra that emerged during the Baroque pd
Chamber music
works for solo instruments performing together in small ensembles

Cadenza

an unaccompanied passage in free rhythm in which the soloist displays his or her virtuosity

Sonata form

 a multi-movement work written for 2 solo instrument and continuo

Theme and variations

an instrumental form in which a stated theme is followed by a series of  variations on that theme

Minuet and trio

a stately dance movement in triple meter in a b a form.

Rondo

a musical form consisting of two or more contrasting theme areas, each followed by a return to the opening theme

Exposition

 presented the primary theme in the tonic key, followed by a secondary theme in a contrasting key, sometimes in contrasting mood

Development

based on prior material, such as a melodic fragment of the first theme or perhaps the second theme or even both themes.

Recapitulation

provided the return to stability: a return to the tonic key, the primary theme of the exposition

 

Coda

concluding section, in effect serving as an extension of the tonic ending but building up to and creating anticipation of the final cadence
Patronage
– a common source of income for composers
Nationalistic music –
concert art music that reflects national or regional rather than universal characteristics

Program music

music that depicts images, moods, stories, characters, and other nonmusical associations
Homophonic –
has one note/melody

Chromaticism

proceeding by ½ steps using sharps/flats

Dissonance

an active, unstable sound

 

Tension

a perception of instability in traditional Western music that suggests the need for release of tension or resolution

Tonality

the key of the music
Cadence –
a point of repose at the ending of a musical phrase

Symphonic poem – .

a programmatic, one-movement work for symphony orchestra with contrasting moods

Opera

 

a dramatic stage production that involves soloists who sing arias and recitatives, solo ensembles, choruses, dancing, dramatic action, costumes, staging, and orchestral accompaniment
ibretto
the words to an opera or other musical stage production

Ballet

stage production featuring formal, stylized dance performances with a story or a unified theme

 

Miniatures

a small-scale composition

Lieder

art songs

Strophic

 a musical structure in which the same music is used for each stanza of a ballad, song or hymn

Word painting

a technique common in the Baroque period of conveying in the music the moods, emotions, images and meanings suggested by a text

Rubato

a flexible pulse/rhythm

 

Fugue

an imitative polyphonic composition that originated as a keyboard genre during the Baroque pd

 

Tone clusters
three or more adjacent tones sounding simultaneously

Disjunct

moving in wide intervals or skips rather than in the smooth

Conjunct

relating to successive tones of the scale, moving step by step

Impressionism

a style of music, exemplified in the works of Debussy, that avoids explicit statement and literal description but instead emphasizes suggestion and atmosphere, evokes moods and conveys impressions of images and feelings

Avant-garde composers

experimental composers who are in the forefront of musical developments and are leaders in the development of new and unconventional musical styles. They experiment with untried techniques, forms, timbres, and concepts in devising new approaches to composition, new aesthetic notions, or a new language for expressing music

 

Neoclassical

a style of modern composition that is based on established forms and structures of the past and particularly on the aesthetics and musical values of the classic era

Atonality

 

the avoidance of tonal centers and tonal relationships in music. It results in high chromatic, dissonant music without traditional, functional chord progressions, modulations and tuneful melodies

Serial composition (12 tone technique)

a set of non-repeated pitches – a tone row – used as the basis for organizing the vertical and horizontal arrangement of pitches throughout a composition

Totally controlled music

when several factors are serialized

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) – .

a means for providing electronic communication between synthesizers and computers or other synthesizers. It enables sounds to be stored in memory until needed

Chance music (indeterminate music)

a compositional technique whereby a composer does not control all the details of a composition, allowing the performer to make creative choices through improvisation or other means of selecting sounds within the structure of the composition
Americanist music
concert art music written in a style immediately recognizable as American

Ethnomusicologist

a scholar of music  in culture – of world music; one who researches the music of a culture, writes about it, and teaches others about it

 

Minimalism –
a style of composition whose creator attempts to achieve the greatest effect from the least amount of material. It is typically based on many repetitions of simple patterns , creating slow, subtle changes in rhythm, chord movement, or other musical elements