sound
vibrations transmitted, usually through air, to the eardrum which sends impulses to the brain
Music
an art based on the organization of sounds in time.
Pitch
the relative highness or lowness of a sound
tone
a sound that has a definate pitch
interval
the “distance” in pitchbetween any two tones
octave
interval between two tones in which the higher tone has twice the frequency of the lower tone
scale
a series of pitches arranged in order from low to high or high to low
pitch range or range
the distance between the lowest and highest tones that a voice or an instrument can produce
dynamics
the degrees of loudness or softness in music
accent
emphasis of a note, which may result from its being louder, longer or higher in pitch than the notes near it
pianissimo
pp very soft
piano
p soft
mezzo piano
mp moderately soft
mezzo forte
mf moderately loud
forte
f loud
fortissimo
ff very loud
decrescendo or diminuendo
gradually softer
crescendo
gradually louder
tone color/timbre
quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another
women voices?
SMAC: soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, contralto
men voices?
TBB: Tenor, baritone, bass
how many musical instrument groups?
6
how many orchestra groups?
4
pizzicato
plucked string
double stop
two notes at once
vibrato
vibrating tone
mute
muffle or vieled tone
tremolo
rapidly repeated tones
harmonics
whistle-like
trill
bird sound
when did piano come into being?
1700s
when was the piano perfected?
1850
what is the king of instruments?
pipe organ
when was harpsichord made?
1500s
when did harpsichord disapear?
1775
when did harpsichord reappear?
Romantic Period, mid 20th century
Rhythm
1. the flow of music through time
2. the particular arrangement of note lengths in a piece of music
beat
a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time
meter
organization of beats into regular groups
measure
group containing a fixed number of beats
down-beat
the first, or stressed, beat of the measure
simple meter
any group of music that is divisble by 2, the stress is made on the first beat. duple meter, triple meter, quadruple meter
compound meter
any group that is divisible by 3. sextuple meter, stress on beat one and four
quintuple meter
5 beats to a measure
septuple meter
7 beats to a measure
accent
note played louder than those around it
syncopation
accenting of a note at an unexpected time, as between two beats or on a weak beat. Ex: jazz
tempo
the speed of the beat
tempo indication
words, usually at the beginning of a piece of music, often in Italian, which specify the pace at which the music should be played
largo
very slow, broad
grave
very slow, solemn
adagio
slow
andante
moderately slow, a walking pace
moderato
moderately
allegretto
moderately fast
allegro
fast
vivace
lively
presto
very fast
prestissimo
as fast as possible
accelerando
becoming faster
ritardando
becoming slower
notation
a system of writing music so that specific pitches and rhythms can be communicated
staff
set of 5 horizontal lines on which notes are positioned
sharp sign
# makes pitch a half step higher
flat sign
b makes pitch half step lower
natural sign
wierd square. cancels previous sharp or flat sign
clef
symbol placed at the beginning of the staff to whoe the exact pitch of notes placed on each line and space
treble clef
used for relativel high ranges or pitches
bass clef
used for relatively low range of pitches
alto clef
middle range pitches
grand staff
used by keyboard instruments that cover a wide range of pitches
beam
horizontal line connecting the flags of several eighth notes or sixteenth notes in succession, to facilitate reading these notes
dotted note
long-short rhythmic pattern in which a dotted note is followed by a note that is much shorter
tie
in notation of rhythm, an arc between two notes of the same pitch indicating that the second note should not be played but should be added to the duration of the first
triplet
in notation of rhythm, three notes of equal duration grouped within a curved line with the number 3, lasting only as long as two notes of the same length would normally last
time signature
shows the meter of the piece
score
notation showing all the parts of a musical ensemble with a seperate staff for each part, and with simultaeneously sounded notes aligned vertically; used by the conductor.
the smaller the instrument, the ____ the sound. the larger the instrument, the ____ the sound
higher, lower
the orchestra has over ___ musiscians
100
4 families in orchestra
brass, string, percussion, woodwinds
the instrument the orchestra tunes to
oboe
woodwind family includes
flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon
made in more differnet shapes and sizes than any other instrument
clarinet
only instrument that come in kids sizes
string
vary more in size and shape more than any string
double bass
string family includes
violin, viola, cello, bass
harp has special effect called
glisando
horn would be this long if uncoiled
16 ft
number of positions on trombone slide
7
does not have def. pitch
drums, cymbals
has def. pitch
xylophone, tympani
melody
series of single notes that add up to a recognizable whole. usually 8 measures long
step
interval between two adjacent tones in the western scale
leap
any interval larger than a step
climax
highest tone of a melody, or focal point
legato
tones that are sung or performed in smooth, connected style
staccato
tones that are sung or performed on a shirt or detached style
phrase
part of a melody. usually 4 measures long
sequence
repetition of amelodic pattern at a higher or lower pitch
cadence
resting place or point of arrival at the end of the phrase
incomplete
impartial feeling, setting up expectations
complete
sense of finality
theme
melody that serves as the starting point for an extended piece of music
harmony
refers to the way chords are constructed and how they follow eachother
chord
combination of three or more tones sounded at once
progression
a specific series of chords
consonance
stable tone combination
dissonance
unstable tone combination
resolution
dissonance moving to consonance
triad
simplest, most basic chord in western music. 3 notes.
western scale
7 tones with the first tone repeated at a higher pitch
cannot have ___ without ____
harmony, melody
tonic
first degree of the scale
dominant
triad built on the fifth or dominant not eof the scale. always comes back to tonic.
cadence
progression from the dominant to the tonic chord that is often used at the end of a piece
arpeggio
broken chord. the individual tones of a chord are sounded one after another
key or tonality
central note, scale, and chord within a piece, in relationship to which all other tones in the composition are heard
tonic or keytone
central tone of a melody or larger piece of music. when a piece is in the key of C major, C is the keynote or tonic.
scale
series of pitches arranged in order from low to high and high to low.
major scale
step between the second and third tones is characteristic
major key
sad
minor key
happy
chromatic scale
all the twelve tones of the octave- all the black and white keys that are all the same distance apart by one half step each
modulation
shift from one key to another within the same piece
tonic key or home key
key around which the whole piece is organized
musical texture
number of differnet layers of sound that are heard at once, whether they are melody or harmony, and how they are related to eachother
monophonic
single unaccompanied line
polyphonic
simultaneous performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest.
counterpoint
technique of combining several melodic lines into a meaningful whole
contra
contrapunctal texture
another word for polyphonic texture
imitation
a melodic idea is presented by one voice or instrument and then restated immediately by another
round
row row row your boat
homophonic
one main melody accompanied by chords
form
the organization of musical elements in time
contrast
striking differneces
variation
changing some features while keeping others
3 part or ternary form
A B A
2 part or binary form
A A B, B B A, A A B B,
style
the characteristic way of treating the various musical elements
musical elements
melody, rhythm, tone color, dynamics, harmony, texture, form
melody
tune
rhythm
beat
tone color
what the different instruments and voices sound like
dynamics
volume
harmony
music behind the melody
texture
number of lines of music happening at the same time
form
strucutre of song or piece, organization
Middle Ages
450-1450 no scales, nodes
Renaissance
1450-1600 no scales, nodes
Baroque
1600-1750
classical
1750-1820
romantic
1820-1900
20th century
1900-1945 dissonance. 1945-present