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Music Theory > Unit 1 Vocabulary > Flashcards

Unit 1 Vocabulary Flashcards

(84 cards)

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1
Q

Score

A

Musical notation

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2
Q
A
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3
Q

Octave equivalence

A

Concept that two pitches an octave apart are functionally equivalent

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4
Q

C clef

A

A movable clef that may be placed on a staff to identify any 1 of the 5 lines as middle C

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5
Q

Alto clef

A

A C clef positioned on a staff so that the middle line indicates the middle C (C4)

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6
Q

Tenor clef

A

A C clef positioned on a staff so that the fourth line from the bottom indicates the middle C (C4)

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7
Q

Choral tenor clef

A

A treble clef with a small 8 added to the bottom of the clef’s lowest curve; Indicate transposition down 1 octave from the notated treble clef pitches

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8
Q

Enharmonic equivalence

A

2 or more possible names for the same pitch

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9
Q

Enharmonic spelling

A

Pitches with the same sound but different letter names - the way a pitch is written / spelled within a given musical context; Depend on key / harmonic function

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10
Q

Semitone

A

Half step

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11
Q

Whole tone

A

Whole step

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12
Q

Octave equivalence

A

When notes 2 octaves apart sound similar / functionally equivalent

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13
Q

Ottava

A

8va (up an octave from notated pitch) + 8vb (down an octave from notated pitch)

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14
Q

Pitch class

A

Set of all pitches that share the same name (regardless of octave)

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15
Q

Simple meters

A

Meters that subdivide the beat into 2s; 2/4 + 3/4 + 4/4; *Not 2 beats in a measure

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16
Q

Compound meters

A

Meters that divides the beats into 3s; 6/8 + 9/8 + 12/8; *Not 3 beats in a measure

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17
Q

Breve

A

2 lines on each side of a note that extends its duration

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18
Q

Beat unit

A

Note value that gets 1 beat

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19
Q

Alla breve

A

Cut time

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20
Q

Anacrusis

A

Pickup

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21
Q

Rhythm clef

A

2 short + thick vertical lines that go across a single line instead of a staff; Show rhythm, not pitches

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22
Q

Dot

A

Dot behind a note; Adds ½ more of the note’s own value

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23
Q

Double dots

A

2 dots behind a note; Adds ½ + ¼ more of the note’s own value

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24
Q

Metric accents

A

Strongest beats in a meter

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25
Syncopation
Accents on off-beats (due to dots, ties, dynamic / accent markings, rests)
26
Pitch-class collection
A group of pitch classes that are unordered and don’t duplicate (usually 5 notes or more)
27
Chromatic
Pitches outside the diatonic collection; 12 in total
28
Diatonic
Scale consists of 7 different notes; Patterns of whole + half steps of a major scale
29
Major scale pattern
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
30
Natural minor scale pattern
W-H-W-W-H-W-W
31
Descending major scale pattern
Backwards of W-W-H-W-W-W-H = H-W-W-W-H-W-W
32
Solfège
Do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti
33
Tetrachords
4 note segment of a scale with specific patterns of whole and half steps
34
Major tetrachord
Appears 2 times in major scales - 1 whole step apart; Pattern: W-W-H
35
Natural minor tetrachord
H-W-W
36
Harmonic minor tetrachord
H-A2-H
37
Melodic minor tetrachord
W-W-H
38
Chromatic half step
Semitone between 2 pitches with same letter name
39
Diatonic half step
Semitone between 2 pitches with different letter name
40
Circle of fifths
Shows relationship between all keys; Sharps go right (each key 5 steps higher) + Flats go left (each key 5 steps lower); Bottom 3 can be either flats / sharps
41
Supertonic
Scale degree ^2
42
Mediant
Scale degree ^3
43
Subdominant
Scale degree ^4
44
Submediant
Scale degree ^6
45
Pentatonic
A scale of 5 pitches; No semitones
46
Major pentatonic
Major scale with scale degree ^1 + ^2 + ^3 + ^5 + ^6; Doesn’t have ^4 or ^7
47
Major pentachord
First 5 notes of a major scale; W-W-H-W
48
Minor pentachord
First 5 notes of a minor scale; W-H-W-W; ^3 is 1/2 step lower than major
49
Order of notation at very beginning
Clef → Key → Meter
50
Order of all sharps
F-C-G-D-A-E-B; Positioned on the staff alternating “down-up”
51
Order of all flats
B-E-A-D-G-C-F; Positioned on the staff alternating “up-down”
52
Typical pattern of melody at ending
^2 → ^1 or 7^ → ^1
53
Typical pattern of bass at ending
^5 → ^1
54
Top number of compound meters
Represents type of meter; Usually 6 (duple) / 9 (triple) / 12 (quadruple); Divide # by 3 to get the number of beats per measure (2, 3 or 4)
55
Top number of simple meters
Represent the type of meters
56
Bottom number of simple meters
Represent the type of note representing beat unit
57
Bottom number of compound meters
Shows type of note that represents the division of the beat; 3 of these notes → Dotted (half note) = Beat unit
58
Compound meter accents
Duple: Strong → Weak Triple: Strong → Weaker → Weakest Quadruple: Strongest → Weak → Strong → Weak
59
Compound duple
Meter with 2 beats in a measure where each beat is divided into 3; 6/8 + 6/4 meter signature
60
Compound triple
Meter with 3 beats in a measure where each beat is divided into 3; 9/8 + 9/4 meter signature
61
Compound quadruple
Any meter with 4 beats in a measure where each beat is divided into 3; 12/8 + 12/4 meter signature
62
Beaming in compound meters
Rhythms should be beamed to reflect the beat unit
63
Triplet
Only occurs in simple meters - Division of a beat into three equal parts instead of the usual two
64
Duplet
Only occurs in compound meters; Subdivide beat into two
65
Quadruplet
Only occurs in compound meters; Subdivide beat into 4 parts
66
Tuplets
Duplets + triplets + quadruplets
67
Polyrhythm
Different subdivisions of the beat occurring simultaneously in different voices
68
Rubato
Transition of tempo fluctuation; Slightly speeding up / down depending on context
69
Syncopations in compound meters
Ties on weak beats; Accent on weak beats; Weak beat after rest on strong beats
70
Counting beat pattern
1 ta la ta li ta
71
Parallel minor
Minor key with same tonic as major key = Lower ^3 + ^6 + ^7 major key
72
Parallel major
Major key with same tonic as minor key = Raise ^3 + ^6 + ^7 major key
73
Parallel keys
Major + minor scales with same letter name + tonic; Dif. key signature; Dif. order of whole / half steps
74
Relative keys
Major + minor keys with same key signature but different tonic
75
Relative major
Major key with same key signature + pitch class as minor; Start on ^3 of minor
76
Relative minor
Minor key with same key signature + pitch class as major; Start on ^6 of major
77
Natural minor scale pattern
W-H-W-W-H-W-W
78
Harmonic minor scale
Natural minor scale with ^7 raised by half a step
79
Melodic minor scale
Natural minor scale with ^6 + ^7 raised by half a step ascending; Regular natural minor descending
80
Modal scale degrees
Scale degrees that differ between major and natural minor scales = ^3 + ^6 + ^7
81
Minor pentatonic
Version of the natural minor scale that leaves out ^2 + ^6; Same as starting with ^6 in the major pentatonic; ^1, ^b3, ^4, ^5, ^b7
82
Modal
Music that’s in neither major / minor; Contains notes from diatonic collection
83
Parallel-key pentachords
Share 4 scale degrees (^1 + ^2 + ^4 + ^5)
84
Accidentals in harmonic minors
Can be mixed; Can have double sharps

Music Theory (11 decks)

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