Rythym

 

the ‘surface” activity of music, based upon duration of musical sounds
Beat
the underlying pulse of music
Tempo
refers to the rate of the speed of beats

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meter

 

duple meter

triple meter

quadruple meter

the organization of beats into groups or patterns

 

/>u/>u/

/>uu/>uu/

/>u>u/>u>u/

 

> = stressed or accented

u = softer

measure
the length of a pattern(meter) of beats
bar lines
the vertical lines that show where beat patterns begin and end
non metric
refers to music that has no strong sense of beat or meter
Syncopation
the stressing of single pitches set to rythym
pitch
a single note in musical space
phrase
a more or less incomplete melodic idea thatt ends with a cadence

cadence

 

“incomplete”

 

“complete”

a resting point in music that occurs ar the end of phrases

 

similiar to a comma

 

similiar to a period

musical sentence
a complete musical thought ( made up of two or more phrases) that ends with a complete cadence
Sequence
refers to repeating a melodic ragment at different pitch levels ( the melodic pattern begins on successively lower or higher notes)
harmony
the sounding together of two or more notes
chord
three or more notes sounded together, the basic building block of harmony
broken chord
refers to playing the notes of a chord seperately
progression
the movement from one chord to another chord. like like a house with 7 rooms. moving from room to room
scale
a series of pitches arranged on order
Tonic
the first and most important note of a scale, often referred to as the key or keynote
Major Mode
Generally thought of as “happy” sounding
Minor mode
generally thougt of as “sad” sounding
modulation
the movement from one key to another key. like moving from the house with 7 rooms to another house.
consonance
refers to combinations of pitches that sound pleasing
dissonance
refers to a combination of pitches that sounds unpleasant

Musical texture

 

 

refers to how musical layers are heard at once, and how they relate to one another
Monophonic Texture
created by a single, unaccompanied melodic line. ( it is the most ancient of all musical textures)

Polyphonic texture

 

 

created by the layering of melodies

 

1. Two or more different melodies sounding together

2. The same melody accompanies itself, as in a round

Imitation
a type of polyphonic texture where a melodic idea is presented in one part and is then repeated in other parts
Counterpoint
another word commonly used to refer to polyphonic texture
Homophonic Texture
created by a primary melody accomapnied by a secondary harmony (chords)

Contrapuntal devices

 

inversion

retrograde

retrograde inversion

augmentation

diminutation

ways in which composers explored all possibilities of a melodic idea

 

a melody upside down

a melody backwards

upside down and backwards

making note value longer

making note value shorter

Musical Form

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

refers to the arrangement of musical ideas, based upon the concepts of repitition, contrast, and variation
Repitition
the restatement of of a musical idea or section provides sense of unity
contrast
change in the music; provides sense of variety
Variation
a modified or changed version of something that heard before; combines both repitition and contrast
Binary form
two part form–A-B
Ternary Form
three part form–A-B-A
Theme
a melodic idea that serves as a longer building block of composition
Motive
the smallest building block of music; takes on significance through repetition
Movement
a complete musical unit in a multi movement work
Dynamics
refers to levels of loudness or softness
pizzicato
plucking the string with a finger
double stop
playing two strings at a time
vibrato
rocking the finger on the string to produce slight changes in pitch ( frequency)
tremolo
the rapid bowing of the same note
harmonics
delicate high pitches produced by lightly touching the string while playing
mute
a device that softens the tone
single reed instruments
clarinets, saxophone
double reed instruments
oboe, english horn, bassoon
articulation
legato
staccato
the manner in which notes are played
notes smoothly connected
notes are seperated/detached
genre
a term used to define a broad category of works. the following examples of the word: concertos, symphonies, sacred musioc
medium
refers to the instrument(s) or group(s) that perform a piece
medieval period/middle ages
450-1450 A.D.
secular music
non-religious music
sacred music
used in worship or other religious rituals
gregorian chant
the officail liturgaical music of the catholic church. codified by Pope Gregory I about 600 A.D.
Sylllabic
a text set with one syllable per note
mellismatic
a text set with many notes on one syllable
Old Church Modes
scales used in the medieval and rennaissance periods, having differetnarrangements of half and whole steps than we use today
organum
refers to the first examples of polyphonic music, originatiingaround 1000 A.D.
Motet
a sacred vocal compostion in polyphonic texture with a latintext, sung a capella
A capella
meaning in the church style. vocal music without instrumental accompaniement
Traveling Minstrels
of various socail classses, sang songs and played dance music
troubadours and trouveres
higher class poet/singer/composer/musicians
jongleurs
seedy, despicable,characters oflower social order
Machaut
the most important composer of the 14th century. most famous for writing the first complete setting of the Ordinary of the Mass ( Notre Dame Mass) wrote many songs based on poems of courtly love and chivalry
Chanson
song
Renaissance Period
1450-1600
Josquin
the most significant composer of the renaissance, who flourished about 1500, was as significant to future generations as Beethoven.
Ordinary of the MASS
Kyrie Eleison-prayer for mercy
Gloria-praise
Credo-statement of beliefs
Sanctus(3x)-praise
Agnus dei-mercy
Madrigal
the secular counterpart of the motet; composed as a source of entertainment, with texts sealing with patoral or amourous subjects
word painting
refers to the use of musical gesture to depict particular words of text
Palestrina
active last half of 1500s