Key Terms Flashcards
(140 cards)
1
Q
Alap
A
The opening, unmetered and improvised section of a raga
2
Q
Anacrusis
A
A note or sequence of notes prior to the first strong beat
3
Q
Arpeggio
A
A type of broken chord, usually played in a rising/falling movement
4
Q
Atonal
A
Not in a key, or having any kind of tonal centre
5
Q
Binary form
A
A musical form consisting of two units (A and B)
6
Q
Cadence
A
A sequence of chords that ends a piece of music
7
Q
Cadenza
A
The virtuosic solo section of a concerto
8
Q
Chaal
A
The fundamental rhythm in bhangra music, often played on the dhol
9
Q
Chromatic
A
Using notes from outside the relevant chord or key as well as from inside
10
Q
Concertino
A
The group of soloists in a concerto grosso
11
Q
Concerto
A
A three movement work written for the soloist and orchestra
12
Q
Concerto grosso
A
An early form of the concerto which involved a group of soloists
13
Q
Consonance
A
Sounding good together - opposite of dissonance
14
Q
Countermelody
A
A second melody that supports the main melody
15
Q
Counterpoint/contrapuntal
A
Same as polyphonic
16
Q
Cross rhythms
A
A complex type of polyrhythm
17
Q
Dhol
A
A double headed barrel drum used in Bhangra
18
Q
Diatonic
A
Using notes from within the key
19
Q
Diminished chords
A
A chord made entirely of minor 3rd intervals
20
Q
Dissonance
A
Notes that clash - opposite of consonance
21
Q
Dominant
A
The 5th degree of a scale
22
Q
Drone
A
A note of chord that is continuously played throughout a section of music
Often used in folk and Indian classical music
23
Q
Ensemble
A
Group of performers
24
Q
Feedback
A
When an instruments out[it is fed into its input, creating a drone (common effect in electric guitars)
25
Fill
A short passage that helps link two sections together
26
Glissando
A slide up or down in pitch
27
Gat
The main, middle section of a piece of Indian classical music. It is a fixed composition
28
Harmonium
Portable pump organ. Smaller hand pump organs are used in Indian classical music
29
Hetrophony
A texture that includes multiple variations of the same melody simultaneously
30
Homophonic/chordal
Instruments moving together in rhythm
31
Hook
A short, catchy melody or riff
32
Imitation
A melody or phrase copied from one instrument to another
33
Improvisation
Making up music during the performance
34
Jhala
The fast climax piece of Indian classical music
35
Legato
Smooth playing
36
Leitmotif
A recurring musical phrase that refers to a specific character or emotion
37
Lick
A short melody, often played on guitar
38
Microtones
Intervals smaller than ha;f steps, created with bends
39
Modulation
A key change
40
Monophonic
Single line texture, or melody without accompaniment
41
Mordents
A type of ornamentation, like a short trill
42
Ornamentation
An embellishment of a melody or musical sound
43
Ostinato
A musical phrase repeated over and over during a composition
44
Overdrive
Turning the input so high on a guitar amplifier that it distorts the sound
45
Pan
The use of stereo space in recording
46
Passing note
A note placed between two chords which results in a stepwise movement
47
Pedal note
A sustained note, held whilst the harmony changes
48
Pentatonic scale
A five note scale found often in folk music
49
Phrase
A section of a melody often marked with a slur
50
Pizzicato
Plucked
51
Polyphonic
Multi melodic, fits together harmonically
52
Primary chords
Chords I, IV and V
53
Raga
a musical scale that forms the basis of a composition in Indian classical
54
Rallentado
Same as rit
55
Ripieno
The accompanying (not solo) instruments in a concerto grosso
56
Rit
A direction to slow down a piece of music
57
Ritornello
A recurring passage in a piece of baroque music
58
Rondo
Main theme alternates with one or more contrasting theme - a development on ritornello
59
Rubato
A fluid approach to tempo in response to how the performer feels
60
Sarod
A lute used in Indian classical music
61
Sequence
A melody or phrase repeated at a different pitch
62
Sitar
An Indian stringed instrument, used in Indian classical music
63
Stab
An accented staccato chord
64
Staccato
Detached notes
65
Stepwise
Movement in short steps (up or down a scale)
66
Strophic
The fancy way of saying verse-chorus structure, same music for different lyrics
67
Subdominant
The 4th note of a scale
68
Syncopation
When a rhythm emphasises the off-betas
69
Swing rhythm
The first quaver in a pair is lengthened and the second shortened
70
Tabla
A pair of Indian drums, capable of creating a wide variety of sounds and pitches
71
Tala
A rhythm cycle in a piece of Indian classical music with a set number of beats
72
Tempura
A stringed instrument, used to create the drone in Indian classical
73
Tempo
Speed of music
74
Ternary form
A three part form that’s runs A BA
75
Terraced dynamics
Sudden shifts in dynamics
76
Timbre
The specific quality of an instrument
77
Tonic
The 1st degree of a scale, home note/chord
78
Tremolo
The rapid playing of a single repeated note. Usually on stringed instruments
79
Triad
3 note pattern/chord
80
Trill
A melodic ornamentation consisting of the rapid alternation of two notes
81
Punjab
A high pitched, single instrument form Punjab
82
Tutti
An instruction for the whole ensemble to play
83
12 bar blues
12 bar sequence based on the chords I-IV-V
84
Virtuoso
Highly skilled artist
85
Walking bass
A bass line where a note is played on every crotchet beat and the pitches regularly ascend and descend
86
Turn
Playing of the note above the note on the score, the note itself, the note below the not on the score and the note itself again
87
Chaal
8 note, repeated rhythmic pattern with swung quavers
88
Imperfect cadence
I to V (or any other chord than V)
89
Plagal cadence
IV - I, used in churches
90
Interrupted cadence
V - VI - surprise cadence
91
Comping
Playing the chord sequence to an interesting rhythm
92
Primary triad
3 most important chords in a key, I, IV, V
93
Simple harmony
Harmony using only basic chords
94
Harmonic progression
The sequence of chords in a piece
95
Harmonic rhythm
The speed of the chord changes
96
Largo
Very slow
97
Andante
Walking pace
98
Moderato
Moderately fast
99
Allegro
Fast
100
Vivace
Lively
101
Presto
Very fast
102
Accelerando
Getting faster
103
Allargando
Getting slower and playing more broadly
104
Pianissimo (pp)
Very quiet
105
Piano (p)
Quiet
106
Mezzo piano (mp)
Quite quiet
107
Mezzo forte (mf)
Quite loud
108
Forte (f)
Loud
109
Fortissimo (ff)
Very loud
110
Crescendo
Gradually getting louder
111
Diminuendo
Gradually getting quieter
112
Tongued
The way in which wind instrumentalists sound a note
113
Arco
Playing string instruments with a bow
114
Sforzando
Suddenly getting louder
115
Continuo
Provide rhythmic or harmonic backing and don’t have melodic function
116
Sitar
Indian music
Plays melody on 7 strings
Remaining 13 create drone
117
Tanpura
Indian music
Smaller than sitar
Used for backing
118
Tabla
Pair of drums
119
Sarod
Indian music, small fret-less sitar
120
Sarangi
Small bowed string instrument with no frets
121
Bansuri
Bamboo flute
122
Sheena I
Double receded instrument like an oboe
123
Harmonium
Keyboard instrument powered by air pumped by hand
124
Female voices
Soprano, mezzo soprano, alto
125
Make voices
Treble, counter tenor,tenor, baritone, bass
126
Syllabic
Every syllable of text is sung to a single note
127
Melisa tic
A single syllable sung over a series of different notes
128
Scat
Jazz nonsense to give the voice more of an instrumental quality
129
Inversion
A melodic phrase is turned ‘upside down’
130
Retrograde
Where a musical piece is played backwards to vary and contrast the original phrase
131
Descant
A harmonising tune sung at the same time as the melody but at a higher pitch
132
Round
Same tune played by two or more parts, each starting before the previous part has finished
133
Fugue
Where 2 or more parts develop the same main theme
134
Coda
Ending that’s different to the rest
135
Symphony
A large scale work for the orchestra usually in 4 movements sometimes feature a choir
136
Baroque
1600-1750
Lot of imitation, ornaments and dynamic contrast
Bach and Vivaldi
137
Romantic
1820-1900
Wider range of instruments and orchestral expansion
Used to tell stories and express emotions
Wider range of harmony
Mahler + Tchaikovsky
138
Classical
1750-1820
Fewer ornaments and explores more regular and balanced phrases
Beethoven and Mozart
139
Conjunct
The difference in pitch between two consecutive notes of a scale
140
Disjunct
A melodic line that moves by leaps and skips rather than in steps
