Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Music Concepts
The Six Concepts of Music
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Structure | The way the piece is constructed. eg verse chorus |
| Binary Form | Refers to a composition with two main section, called Section A and Section B. |
| Ternary Form | Has three sections, Section A, Section B, then a return to Section A. |
| Rondo Form | Has many sections. It starts with a main theme or statement Section A, followed by a number of new sections. This form is ABACADAE etc. |
| Theme & Variations | Is similar to rondo form. The main theme is usually a distinctive melody, which is then changed and adapted in subsequent sections. |
| Through Composed | The piece does not repeat any material. |
| Strophic Form | A form where there are several verses, each with different words but the same basic musical accompaniment. |
| Verse Chorus Form | Used in popular music. This form uses verses, choruses, bridges, solo's, into's and outgo's. |
| 12 Bar BLues | Uses chords 1, 4 and 5in the following format: I I I I used in blues and Jazz stules IV IV I I V IV I V |
| Tone Colour | The quality of sound. The unique sond of an instrument eg Trumpet Bright and Brassy: Don't use emotional words like happy and sad. |
| Change of Instrumentation | The tone colour (Timbre) changes every time the line up of instruments change. |
| Change of Dynamics | The tone colour may change depending on the dynamic level it is played at. |
| Western Instruments | Woodwind, Brass, Percussion, Strings |
| Woodwind (No Reed) | Piccolo, Flute |
| Woodwind (Single Reed) | Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone |
| Woodwind (Double Reed) | Oboe, Cor Anglis, Clarinet, Bassoon |
| Strings | Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Harp, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Banjo, Ukulele |
| Brass | Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Trombone, French Horn, Tuba |
| Percussion (Drums) | Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Conga's, Bongo's, Timpani |
| Percussion (Keyboard) | Piano, Xylophone, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Tubula Bells, Vibraphone |
| Percussion (Auxiliary) | Slide Whistle, Kazoo, Triangle, Tambourine, Wood Blocks, Gong, Egg Shakers, Ratchet, Vibraslap, Anvil, Agogo Bells, Bell Tree, Guiro |
| Non-Western Instruments | Aerophones, Membranophones, Chordophones, Idiophones, Electric Sounds. |
| Aerophones | Any instrument which uses a vibrating column of air. |
| Membranophones | Any instrument which uses a vibrating membrane stretched across a hollow body. |
| Chordophones | Any instrument which uses a vibrating string. |
| Idiophones | Percussion Instruments. |
| Electric Sounds | Any sound created by electronic means. |
| Concepts of Music | Structure, Tone Colour, Dynamic and Expressive Techniques, Pitch, Duration, Texture |
| Dynamics | Volume Level (Eg Forte Loud, Mezzo Forte Medium volume, Soft Piano) |
| Pianissimo (pp) | Very Soft |
| Piano (p) | Soft |
| Mezzo Piano (mp) | Moderately Soft |
| Mezzo Forte (mf) | Moderately Loud |
| Forte (f) | Loud |
| Fortissimo (ff) | Very Loud |
| Sforzando (sfz) | Loud and Forcefully |
| Crescendo | To gradually get louder. |
| Decrescendo | To gradually get softer |
| Expressive Techniques | Legato, Staccato, Accent, Vibrato, Tremolo, Tenuto, Glissando |
| Legato | Smoothly and well connected. |
| Staccato | Short and detached. |
| Accent | Stressing or emphasising the note or chord. |
| Vibrato | vibrating or slightly shaking the sound, creating a tiny variation in pitch. |
| Tremolo | The quick repetition of the same note. |
| Tenuto | Play the note for the full value. |
| Glissando | A rapid scale played in a sliding motion. |
| Texture | The layers of sound in a piece. Eg Thick, Many Layers: Eg Orchestra , Medium Rock Band, Thin Solo |
| Monophonic Texture | A single layer, one melodic line, unison. |
| Homophonic Texture | Two layers, a melody line with a chordal accompaniment. |
| Polyphonic Texture | Multiple layers, many melodic lines playing at the same time, complex melodies and counter melodies. |
| Unison | When two or more instruments play the same note at the same pitch. |
| Doubling | Occurs when the same melody is played by more than one instrument an octave apart. |
| Imitation | Occurs when a melody or melodic fragment is copied with another instrument. |
| Call and Response | Occurs when a solo instrument makes a melodic statement or "call" and a larger group replies with a different statement. |
| Similar Motion | Occurs when melodic contour of two melodies is the same. |
| Contrary Motion | Means that melodies move in opposite directions. |
| Duration | The different lengths of times. |
| Rhythm | Patterns of long and short sounds. |
| Polyrhythm | Refers to the uses of two or more conflicting rhythm patterns or accents at the same time. |
| Cross rhythm | A type of polyrhythm where two metres are played at the same time. Mostly cross rhythms are used when 3/4 is played against 6/8. |
| Ostinato | A repeated rhythmic pattern |
| Riff | A short repeated phrase. ONLY used in popular music. |
| Free Rhythm | Describe music where the beat is indefinite. |
| Beat | The main time of a unit of a composition. |
| Pulse | The underlying pattern of strong beats. |
| Metre/Time Signature | The way beats are grouped together and measured. |
| Bar | A group of beats or notes. Indicated by a bar line. |
| Anacrusis | A note(s) occurring before the first beat of the first bar of a composition. These notes together with the notes in the incomplete last bar add to create one complete bar of music. |
| Time Signature | Numbers used at the beginning of a composition to explain the metre, or how many beats are in each bar. |
| Simple Time | Based on simple, or whole beats lake crotchets or minims (e.g. 2/4, 3/4, 4/4) |
| Compound Time | Passed on dotted beats, such as dotted crotchets. (e.g. 6/8, 9/8, 12/8) |
| Multimetre | Where some pieces use numerous changes in time signature in quick succession. |
| Accent | Means emphasis or stress. Achieved by playing one note or chord louder than the others. |
| Syncopation | Occurs when the accent is on the weaker beats. Or Weaker beats are tied to strong beats. A sensation of pulling across the bar. |
| Backbeat | Is a feature of rock, popular and rhythm and blues music. The emphasis is on 2 and 4 |
| Pitch | The highness and lowness of sound. |
| Melody | Is a series of pitches, one after the other. (The Tune) |
| Scale | A series of pitches based on a main, or "home" pitch. Usually there are 8 pitches in a scale, ascending and descending by step. |
| Major Scale | Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone has a brighter sound |
| Minor Scale | Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone and a Half, Semitone. Has a more dull sound |
| Chromatic Scale | Consisting of all semitones |
| Pentatonic Scale | Consisting of 5 notes, usually scale degrees 1 2 4 5 6. Used in Jazz and Folk, Global music |
| Mode | Aeolian (Minor), Lydian, Phrygian, Ionian (major), Dorian, Mixolydian, Locrian |
| Aeolian (Minor) | Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone. |
| Lydian | Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone. |
| Phrygian | Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone. |
| Ionian (Major) | Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone. |
| Dorian | Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone. |
| Mixolydian | Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone |
| Locrian | Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone. |
| Raga | A type of scale used in Indian music, often with different patterns for ascending and descending parts. |
| Semitone | The distance between one pitch and he pitch closest to it. |
| Tone | The distance between notes = two semitones. |
| Imitation | Where a part of the melody or an entire melody is copied exactly by another instrument. |
| Repetition | The main melody of a composition is played more than once. |
| Ostinato | A repeated pattern of notes. |
| Sequence | A fragment or motif that is repeated at different pitches. |
| Onamentation | The frilly bits added to a melody to make it sound more interesting. Eg grace notes, mordents, melismas |
| Improvisation | To create music at the time of the performance based on the chords under. |
| Phrase | A musical sentence. Contains part or all of the melody. |
| Motif | A short part of the melody that has an important roll in a composition. Represents a character or theme eg Darth Vader Star Wars |
| Fragment | A section of the melody which is shorter than a phrase. |
| Range | The distance from the lowest note to the highest note. |
| Interval | The distance between two pitches. |
| Contour | The shape of the melody. It can be ascending or descending and it can move in steps, skips and leaps. This is a good one to draw. |
| Types of Melody | Counter Melody, Call and Response, Question and Answer, Cannon |
| Counter Melody | A second contrasting melody that is played at the same time and the main melody. |
| Call and Response | "Call" is a melodic phrase that changes and is followed by a "response" that is the same each time. |
| Question and Answer | "Question" is a melodic phrase that is not resolved, and ends with an interrupted or imperfect cadence. |
| Cannon | A melodic construction where the tune or theme is introduced, then a few bars later, another instrument or line plays the same (contrapuntal) melody, followed by another instrument and another etc. |
| Harmony (tonality) | Most compositions rebased on one pitch acts as a "home". |
| Harmony (modulation) | Modulation is temporarily changing the home key. |
| Harmony (chords) | Where three or more notes are played together. |
| Chord Progression | The name of a pattern of chords. |
| Rate of Harmonic Change | The rate the music moves from one chord to the next. |
| Harmony (Cadence) | Perfect Cadence, Plagal Cadence, Interrupted Cadence, Imperfect Cadence. |
| Consonant Harmony | Pleasant to the ear. |
| Dissonant Harmony | Unpleasant to hear. |
| W W W W | Where (locate) Who is playing What is playing Why is it important and how? |
Created by:
lacey.bowden1
Popular Music sets