Musical elements, Instruments of the Orchestra, Western Notation , Folk music and pentatonic scale

Question 1

What is pulse?

Answer 1

Pulse is the basic beats of the music, like heartbeat.

Question 2

What is rhythm?

Answer 2

Rhythm is long and short notes with gaps between them.

Question 3

What is texture?

Answer 3

Texture is how the layers of music interact.

Question 4

What is tempo?

Answer 4

The speed the music is going in.
e.g:Largo = slow, Adagio = Lesiurely, Andate = walking pace, Allergo = quick, Presto = very quick

Question 5

What is harmony?

Answer 5

Chords (two or more notes played together at the same time)

Question 6

What are dynamics?

Answer 6

The volume of what you are playing ( can change from time to time)
e.g: piano, crescendo and forte

Question 7

What is articulation?

Answer 7

The way a sound is played.
e.g : Legato = smooth and concentrated, Staccato = short and detached, accented = placing emphasise on a particular note, chord or rhythm.

Question 8

What is melody?

Answer 8

It is tune, this has the pitch as well as the rhythm.

Question 9

What is pitch?

Answer 9

How high or low the note sounds like, the pitch can ascend or descend (get higher or lower)

Question 10

What is an orchestra?

Answer 10

An orchestra is a group of professional instrument players or woodwind, brass, percussion and strings.

Question 11

Who leads/guides the orchestra?

Answer 11

A conductor

Question 12

What does a conductor do to help the orchestra perform?

Answer 12

The conductor uses a baton to lead/guide the group, adjust the dynamics, tempo and mood. Brings different instruments in and out.

Question 13

How many people are in a symphony orchestra?

Answer 13

80 - 100 people

Question 14

How is pitch related to an instrument?

Answer 14

The pitch defines how high or low and instruments ( high or low)
e.g: piccolo (small but high pitched), double bass (very large but low pitched)

Question 15

What is the largest group in the orchestra?

Answer 15

String family

Question 16

List all of the instruments in the string family.

Answer 16

violin, viola ,cello ,double-bass, harp

Question 17

Which instrument in the string family is the largest and most low-pitched?

Answer 17

Harp

Question 18

What are the two groups that violins are split into and what do they do?

Answer 18

1st violins = often play the main melody
2nd violins = provide harmonic depth and texture

Question 19

What is it called when a string instrument is played by bow?

Answer 19

Arco

Question 20

What does pizzicato mean?

Answer 20

When a string instrument is plucked.

Question 21

What family’s instruments are normally made by wood?

Answer 21

Woodwind family

Question 22

How do you play a woodwind instrument?

Answer 22

It has to be blown

Question 23

What instruments have to blown over a hole?

Answer 23

flute and a piccolo (a small version of a flute)

Question 24

What is a single reed?

Answer 24

A single reed is a small piece of bamboo in a mouth piece
e.g: Clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone

Question 25

What is a double reed?

Answer 25

When there are two reeds in a mouth piece e.g: oboe, cor anglais, bassoon, double bassoon

Question 26

How many instruments does a brass family?

Answer 26

4 instruments

Question 27

How is a brass instrument played?

Answer 27

It is blown ( buzzing their lips)

Question 28

What three instruments have 3 valves

Answer 28

trumpet, french horn and tuba

Question 29

What instrument in the brass family has a slide?

Answer 29

Trombone, it adjusts the length of tubing.

Question 30

What family is located at the very back of the orchestra because the instruments are very loud?

Answer 30

Percussion family

Question 31

How are most instruments are played in the percussion family?

Answer 31

Most instruments are hit, struck, scraped or shaken.

Question 32

What is tuned percussion?

Answer 32

When you are able to play different pitches/notes e.g: piano, xylophone, glockenspiel, timpani, celest, tubular bells

Question 33

What is untuned percussion?

Answer 33

When you are only able to produce "sound" e.g: base drums, snare drums, cymbals, woodblock, guiro, triangle, gong, tambourine, cabasa, maracas

Question 34

What is a semibreve?

Answer 34

A note that is played for 4 beats.

Question 35

What is a minim?

Answer 35

A note is played for 2 beats.

Question 36

What is a crotchet?

Answer 36

A note that is played for 1 beat

Question 37

What is a quaver?

Answer 37

A note that is played for 1/2 beat

Question 38

What does a dot after a note signify?

Answer 38

It means it adds on half of the note again.

Question 39

How are staves divided into bars ?

Answer 39

Staves are divided into bars by using bar lines.

Question 40

What is Binary structure?

Answer 40

Binary is when a piece has two contrasting sections.

Question 41

What is Strophic structure?

Answer 41

Strophic is when a piece has the same music each time but has different words.

Question 42

What is a Verse?

Answer 42

The lyrics change each time but the chorus stays the same.

Question 43

What is Accompaniment?

Answer 43

Music that accompanies either the lead singer or melody line, it can be an instrumental performance or vocal often know as the backing which is provided by a backing singer.

Question 44

What is harmony in folk music?

Answer 44

The effect made by two or more pitched notes played together at the same time like a chord.It can create harmony or by a lead singer and backing singers sing different melodies or parts in a harmony.

Question 45

What is a pentatonic in folk music?

Answer 45

The melodies in folk songs are mostly pentatonic meaning that there are only 5 different pitches. e.g : any five from a, b, c, d, e, f, g

Question 46

Name some instruments of folk music.

Answer 46

fiddle, bagpipes, accordian, acoustic guitar, drums, banjo, mouth organ, fife etc