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Glossary of Terms Flashcards

1
Q

a capella

A

unaccompanied

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2
Q

accelerando

A

to increase speed

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3
Q

acciacatura

A

Crushed note linked to a note of a certain duration

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4
Q

Absolute music

A

Instrumental music that exists for it’s own sake

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5
Q

Alberti Bass

A

Broken chords which form an accompaniment to a melody; a series of chords treated as arpeggios

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6
Q

Aleatoric

A

Music that depends on chance

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7
Q

Allagrando

A

Becoming slower and “broader” often with accompanying crescendo

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8
Q

antiphony

A

Music performed by two separate groups interacting with each other, often singing alternate musical phrases

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9
Q

Appogatura

A

A dissonant note-usually a step above or below-that “leans” on a harmony note taking part of it’s time value

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10
Q

Arco

A

Playing with the bow

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11
Q

Aria

A

A self-contained song for solo voice, usually part of an opera

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12
Q

Arpeggio

A

Chord where notes are played or sung in succession rather than simultaneously.

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13
Q

Atonality

A

No adherence to any system of key or mode

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14
Q

Augmented Interval

A

A major, or perfect interval, raised by a semitone

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15
Q

Auxiliary Note

A

A passing note that, instead of proceeding to another note, returns to the one it has just left.

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16
Q

Bitonality

A

The use of two different keys at the same time

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17
Q

Broken Chords

A

Playing a chord as individual notes rather than simultaneously, usually an accompaniment

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18
Q

Cadence

A

Melodic or Harmonic motion usually at the end of a phrase, section or movement

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19
Q

Cadenza

A

A decorated or embellished section, usually towards the end of a solo concerto

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20
Q

Canon

A

A device in counterpoint where a melody in one voice or part is imitated note by note by other voices or instruments, often overlapping the original

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21
Q

Chanting

A

Simple melody, usually unaccompanied, for singing unmetrical texts

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22
Q

Close Harmony

A

Where notes of the chord are all fairly closely spaced, not extending beyond the interval of about a 12th

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23
Q

Chromatic

A

The use of sharps and flats, music containing many notes from outside the given key

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24
Q

Coda

A

An addition, played after the main structure of a piece or melody has ended

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25
Codetta
a short coda: a passage added to the end of a composition to give a greater sense of finality
26
Concertino
Small group of instruments in a concerto grosso
27
Contrary Motion
When two "voices" or "parts" diverge and move in different directions
28
Countermelody
A sequence of notes to be played simultaneously with a more prominent melody. It is usually in a subordinate role and is heard in a texture consisting of a melody, plus accompaniment
29
Diatonic
The exclusive use of notes belonging to one key in the major minor tonal system
30
Diminished interval
A major or perfect interval decreased by a semitone
31
Discordant
Dissonant chord or interval
32
Dissonance
A clash between adjacent notes of the scale, creating the expectation of a resolution
33
da capo
Repeat from the beginning
34
Dominant
5th degree of the major/minor scale
35
Drone
A steady or constantly reiterated note or notes, usually on the tonic or dominant
36
Dynamic
Varying degrees of loudness and softness
37
Ensemble
A group of singers or instrumentalists of any size
38
Episode
A section of music heard between main subject entries in fugal writing or between main themes (e.g. in rondo form)
39
False Relation
Simultaneous appearance in different voices of two modally conflicting notes with the same letter name. Often major and minor 3rds of the same triads
40
Fanfare
Flourish of brass instruments
41
Finale
Last movement of a symphony, concerto or sonata or the closing act of an opera
42
Fugue
A composition where three or more voices enter one after another as if "chasing" the preceding voice; the first voice is known as the subject; the second as the answer, transposing to the dominant
43
Glissando
Sliding movement from one note to another
44
Harmonic (In string instruments)
Touching the string very lightly at it's centre or a third of its length, inhibiting the formation of the basic note, but creating an octave or a 12th higher
45
Hemiola
When two bars in triple metre are performed as if they were in duple metre or vice versa. Disguised time signature.
46
Imitation
The repetition of a motif or an idea in other voices
47
Improvisatory
To compose, play or sing on the spur of the moment; prominent in jazz and folk music in particular
48
Interval
The distance in pitch between two notes
49
Inversion
Turning a chord, interval, counterpoint or theme upside down. A chord is inverted if it is not in root position
50
Juxtaposition
Side by side
51
Melisma
A section of a song in which one syllable flowers out into a passage of several notes; sometimes called a slur
52
minimalism
Work which is stripped down to its most fundamental features and which often involve repetition
53
Minuet & Trio
Originally a stately dance in 3 and in ternary form often used in Baroque suite and Classical Symphony, sonata and string quartet
54
Modal Scale
Scales based on modes
55
Modulation
Changing Key
56
Monodic
Solo Song/Instrumental piece or unison chant; one line of texture
57
Monotonic
Single, unvaried tone
58
Motif
A melodic, rhythmic musical unit which brings unity to a composition; often repeated during the piece
59
Mute
A device for muffling the sound of an instrument; placed on the bridge of a string instrument or into the bell of a brass instrument
60
Obligato
Prominent instrumental counter-melodies e.g . an orchestral instrument with a semisolo role accompanying a voice
61
Orchestration
The art of combining instruments when composing for the orchestra, or scoring an existing work for orchestra
62
Ostinato
A fairly short melodic, rhythmic or chordal phase repeated continuously throughout a piece or section
63
Parallel chords
Chords moving in parallel motion
64
Pedal Note
One long sustaining note or a repetition of one note, usually in the bass
65
Pentatonic
A scale of five notes
66
Pivot note
A note belonging to more than one chord or key, often used to modulate
67
Pizzicato
Plucked rather than bowed
68
Polyrhythms
Use of different rhythms at the same time in separate parts of the music
69
Polytonality
The use of more than one key at the same time
70
Programmatic Music
Music expressing mood, a narrative or pictorial image, the opposite of absolute music
71
Recitative
Solo singing which sounds like the spoken word, free in rhythm with very little structured melody; sometimes imitated in instrumental music
72
Rhapsody
An instrumental piece in one movement, often based on popular, national or folk melodies, often having an improvisatory element
73
Ripeno
A passage of music played by the whole orchestra rather than a solo performer or a group of solo performers
74
Rondo Form
A form used in the classical period where the main melody returns between sections of music called "episodes"
75
Scherzo
A bright and lively passage of music, sometimes an independent piece but originally a movement in a sonata or symphony
76
Scotch Snap
A short note, on the beat, followed by a long one, occupying the rest of the bar
77
Sequences
The repetition of a melody at another level, higher or lowe
78
Sonata
A composition for solo instrument (with accompaniment)
79
Stretto
A fugal device where entries follow closely in succession, each entry overlapping the next
80
Superimposition
A compositional technique where on melody or motif is placed and played simultaneously with another
81
Suspension
A form of discord when a note in one chord is held over as a momentary part of the chord which follows, resolving by falling a degree to a note which is part of the second chord
82
Symphonic Poem
A piece of music, usually in one movement, which includes literary, dramatic and pictorial elements
83
Syncopation
The displacement of the normal musical accent from a strong beat to a weak one; important in jazz, ragtime and other popular music cultures
84
Tierce de picardie
A major 3rd in a tonic chord and the end of a piece which is otherwise in a minor key, changing the expected minor chord into a major one
85
Timbre
The very essence of a sound; the characteristics that differentiates one instrumental sound or voice from another
86
Tonal
An adherence to a certain key or mode
87
Tonal centre
A pull towards one note, usually pivotal, rather than a set of notes which form a scale or key
88
Triad
A chord of three notes, usually a "root" with the 3rd and 5th above it
89
Tritone
An interval of three whole tones (augmented 4th/diminished 5th)
90
Tutti
Whole orchestra
91
Whole tone scale
A scale of six whole tones

MU6 Music (4 decks)

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