Glossary of Key Words Flashcards
(185 cards)
AABA song form
A form consisting of four eight-bar phrases that are built on two melodic ideas (‘A’ and ‘B’). Sometimes known as 32-bar song form.
Add chord
An abbreviation for ‘added note chord’, where an extra note is added to a basic chord. The most common add chord is the added sixth where a sixth is added to a major triad.
Alap
In North Indian classical music a slow introductory section which helps to set the mood. It has a free rhythm with no regular pulse and is unaccompanied apart from the drone. It usually moves from the lower notes to the higher notes.
Appoggiatura
A dissonant note approached by a leap that usually resolves by step onto a harmony note. Appoggiaturas may be written as ornamental grace notes in small notes or as full-sized notes.
Archlute
A type of lute often used as a continuo instrument from the end of the 16th century to the early 18th century. It has an extended neck with long bass strings running beside the normal strings.
Aria
A solo song with accompaniment usually found on an opera or oratorio.
Arpeggiation
Where the notes of a chord are spread out, each one being played in turn, usually from the bottom note upwards.
Augmentation
An increase in the note lengths of a melody, usually proportionate.
Ballad
Originally a form of verse, often a narrative, set to music. From the late 19th century used to describe a slow popular love song and now commonly used to describe a slow and usually romantic song with a wide, expressive melody and vocal delivery.
Bansuri
An indian bamboo flute with no keys and six or seven finger holes.
Baroque period
Music in the Western Classical tradition from about 1600 to about 1750.
Bebop
A virtuosic style of jazz which developed in the 1940s in the US. Characterised by fast tempos, intricate melodies, and the use of complex chords and chord progressions.
Bend
Where the pitch of a note is changed slightly.
Block chords
Chords built in rhythmic unison with the melody (homorhythmic) i.e. all parts move together in the same rhythm.
Bolero (Cuban)
A slow, sentimental Cuban song in duple time, often with chromatic harmonies.
Bollywood
The name given to the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai (once known as Bombay), combining the words Bombay and Hollywood. The music integrates Indian and Western instruments and musical styles.
Bongos
A pair of small Afro-Cuban single-headed drums with conical or cylindrical hardwood shells, often fixed together by a bar of metal. Bongos are usually played with the bare hands and have a loud, penetrating sound.
Bridge
In popular music, see middle eight (A contrasting section [not necessarily eight bars long] in a popular song, often with a different arrangement of instruments, and/or different chords. Sometimes the middle eight is referred to as the bridge).
Bridge passage
In classical music, a transition section leading from one theme to another.
Cadence
The chords that conclude a musical phrase (e.g. a perfect cadence uses chords V-I and an imperfect cadence uses I or other non-dominant chord and V). Cadences are used to punctuate music, either bringing a melody to a point of repose before going on, or bringing it to a close.
Cadenza
An extended unaccompanied solo passage based on a cadence and featuring brilliant passage work.
Call and response
A solo that is heard and then immediately responded to by another (usually larger) group with an answering phrase.
Calypso
A type of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago fusing European and West African influences. It is characterised by improvised lyrics on topical or broadly humorous subjects.
Canon
The adjective is canonic. In a canon, two or more parts engage in imitation for some time, perhaps even throughout a complete section or piece.