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UIL MM Terms
UIL Music Memory Terms 22-23
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 2/4 time | simple meter (the quarter note beat is evenly divided into two eighth notes), in which there are two beats per measure and a quarter note gets one beat. |
| 3/4 time | simple meter (the quarter note beat is evenly divided into two eighth notes), in which there are three beats per measure and a quarter note gets one beat. |
| A B A form | a form consisting of three sections, in which the third section is a repeat of the first. |
| a form consisting of three sections, all of which are different. | |
| Accent | indicates that a note should be played or sung with more emphasis than the other notes. |
| Alto | low female singing voice, abbreviated “A.” |
| Arch form | a musical form with the sections A B C B A. |
| Aria (“air” in Italian) | a song from an opera, for one voice, often sung with an orchestra. |
| Arpeggio (broken chord) | a group of notes from a chord that are sounded one after another. |
| Articulation | the way the notes are played. |
| Ballet | a story told through music and dancing, performed on a stage with costumes, sets, and lighting. |
| Band | a group of musicians who play woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. |
| Baritone | the most common male singing voice, lower than tenor and higher than bass. |
| Baroque motet | a musical composition for choir and soloists in several movements. |
| Bass | low male singing voice, abbreviated “B.” |
| Bass clef (“F clef”) | |
| Bel canto (“beautiful singing” in Italian) | an Italian vocal style in Europe during the 18 thand early 19 thcenturies. |
| Big Band | a group of 12-25 jazz musicians who play woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. Big Bands came to prominence in the 1930s. |
| Bridge | a contrasting section that prepares for the return of the main theme. Also, a term used in jazz and pop music for a connecting section within the form of the music. |
| Chamber ensemble | a small group of musicians who play in a room (chamber) or small hall. |
| Chamber orchestra | a few musicians who play in a room (chamber) or small hall. |
| Choir | a large group of singers associated with the church (sacred). The voices of an adult choir include soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T), and bass (B). |
| Chord | three or more notes sounded together. |
| Clef | a musical symbol that is used to indicate the pitch of musical notes. Three common clefs (treble clef, bass clef, and alto clef) are used by musicians today. Coda (“tail” in Italian): the ending of a piece of music. |
| Commission | to hire and pay a composer to compose a piece of music. Musical works may be commissioned by individuals or groups, such as a school or symphony orchestra. |
| Compound meter | In compound meter the beat is evenly divided into three parts (i.e., three eighth notes per quarter note beat: 6/8, 9/8, etc.). |
| Concert band | a large group of 20-60 musicians who play instruments from the woodwind, brass, and percussion families indoors in a concert setting. A concert band can also be called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind orchestra, wind symphony, symphonic band, symphonic wi |
| Concerto | a composition, usually in three parts or movements, for solo instrument(s) and orchestra. |
| Conductor | a person who leads an orchestra, band, chorus, opera, ballet or other musical group in the performance and interpretation of a musical work. |
| Development | second section of the Sonata form, in which the themes are changed and developed. |
| Dynamics | the volume (loudness or softness) of the music. |
| English Military Band | a group of musicians within the armed forces who play marching and military music. An English military band is made of brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. |
| Exposition | first section of the Sonata form, in which two themes are introduced or “exposed.” The section is usually repeated. |
| Expressive elements (tempo, dynamics, articulation, texture, tonality, and mood) | qualities that affect the emotions felt when music is heard. |
| Fanfare (“sounding of trumpets” in French) | a short, showy piece of music played for a special event or to announce the arrival of an important person. Fanfares are usually played by brass instruments, often with percussion. |
| Finale | the last, or final movement of a sonata, concerto, or symphony. |
| Folk song | a song that is not written down, but is passed on orally from person to person. Usually, the composer of a folk song is unknown. |
| Forte | a dynamic marking, abbreviated “f” that indicates that the music is to be performed loudly. |
| French horn | a brass instrument made from ca. 17 feet of coiled metal tubing. It developed from the post horn, hunting horn, and natural horn, to a modern horn that uses valves and valve keys. |
| Fugue | a composition with two or more voices or parts. The melody is played in one part, and then played and modified by the other parts. |
| Gloria | a celebratory passage in a mass that praises God; divided into sections according to the text. |
| Gregorian chant | a simple vocal line with free rhythm, performed without instruments. Gregorian chant was developed in the Middle Ages for use in the church. The Latin text is religious. |
| Harmony | two or more tones that sound at the same time. Improvisation: creating music in real time without preparation. Interlude: a short section of music between parts of a longer composition. |
| Interval | the inclusive distance between two pitches, labeled with an ordinal number (i.e., the interval from C to F is a 4 thbecause C-D-E-F is four pitches). |
| Introduction | the beginning of a piece of music. |
| Jazz | music that was created by African Americans in the late 19 thand early 20 thcenturies. It uses improvisation and syncopation. |
| King Ludwig of Bavaria (1845-1886) | King of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886. He was so fond of Wagner and his music that he built a fairy tale castle, “Neuschwanstein” (“New Swan-on-the-Rock”) in honor of Wagner. It has been seen in many movies, and inspired Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle. |
| King Solomon | king of Israel and the son of David; reigned from 970 to 931 B.C. Solomon was great in wisdom, wealth, and power. |
| Laudamus te (“we praise you” in Latin) | the second of six sections of the Gloria. |
| Legato | an articulation that means “tied together” (notes are smooth and connected). |
| “Les Six” | the famous group of French composers (Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Arthur Honegger, Georges Auric, Louis Durey, and Germaine Tailleferre) who embraced Satie’s artistic ideal of extreme simplicity. |
| Libretto (“book” in Italian) | the text used in an extended musical composition such as an opera, oratorio, cantata, or musical. |
| Lyricist | a person who writes the words of a song. |
| Lyrics | the words of a song. Marionette: a type of puppet with jointed limbs that is controlled from above by strings. |
| Mass | a choral composition that sets the Latin words of a Catholic church service to music. Sections of the ordinary Mass are: I. Kyrie, II. Gloria, III. Credo, IV. Sanctus and Benedictus, V. Agnus Dei. |
| Melody | a line of single pitches that move up, down, or repeat. |
| Meter | the way beats of music are grouped, usually in sets of two, three, or four beats. |
| Mood | the way a piece of music makes you feel, determined by expressive elements: tempo (speed of the beat), dynamics (volume), articulation (the way the notes are performed), texture (the way sounds are combined), and major/minor tonality. |
| Motif | a distinctive and recurring musical theme. |
| Musical form | the overall structure of a piece of music. |
| Musical prodigy | a child who can perform or compose music at the level of a highly-trained adult. |
| Opera | a story told completely through music. The characters sing with an orchestra accompanying them and act out the story on a stage with costumes, scenery, and props. |
| Opera buffa | comic opera, written for and about ordinary people with common problems, in everyday settings, using local dialects, and simple vocal writing. Singer must have clear diction and be able to sing “patter” (fast singing). |
| Oratorio | a large composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists with a religious theme. Oratorios are usually performed in a concert setting, without special costumes, stage sets, and staging. |
| Organ Symphony | a large-scale piece of music in several movements for solo pipe organ, in which the full range, power, and musical color of the organ is used to imitate the sound of the orchestra. |
| Ospedale della Pietà | an orphanage for girls in Venice. |
| Ostinato | |
| a dynamic marking, abbreviated “p” that indicates that the music is to be performed softly. | |
| Pipe organ (nicknamed the “King of Instruments”) | a keyboard instrument, often with multiple keyboards and many metal and wooden pipes. When an organ key is pressed, air rushes into a corresponding pipe. The vibration of the air in the pipe creates the sound. Parts of a pipe organ include the pipes, manu |
| Pizzicato | a type of articulation that indicates that the strings of a stringed instrument are to be plucked. |
| Prelude | a piece of music that introduces something important, such as an orchestral opening to an act of an opera, the first movement of a suite, or a piece preceding a fugue. In his operas, Wagner used the word “prelude” in place of “overture.” |
| Presto | a tempo mark that indicates that the music is very fast. |
| Pulitzer Prize | a yearly American award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature, and musical composition. Winners receive a $10,000 award. |
| Queen of Sheba | ruler of a kingdom in southwestern Arabia. She visited King Solomon’s court at the head of a camel caravan bearing gold, jewels, and spices. The purpose of her visit was to test Solomon’s wisdom by asking him to solve a series of riddles. |
| Ragtime | a style of early jazz music composed for the piano, with a bouncy, syncopated melody. It was called “ragtime” at first because if sounded as ragged as a torn piece of cloth. |
| Recapitulation | third section of the Sonata form, in which the themes are restated. |
| Rondo form | a musical form in which the main theme returns after each contrasting section: A B A C A. Rondo can also refer to music that is fast and vivacious. |
| Sabre | a sharp, heavy sword with a curved blade and a single cutting edge. |
| Sabre dance | a traditional folk dance in which dancers display their skill with sabres. |
| SATB choir | a group of male and female singers (S |
| Scherzo (“joke” in Italian) | the third movement of a symphony, in 3/4 time, usually quick and light-hearted. It is often played with a trio, followed by a repeat of the scherzo. |
| Seville | a large city in southern Spain. |
| Simple meter | In simple meter the beat is evenly divided into two parts (i.e., two eighth notes per quarter note beat: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4). |
| Sinfonia (“symphony” in Italian) | a 17 th - or 18 th -century orchestra piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite. |
| Solo | a piece or part of a piece of music that is played or sung by one performer. |
| Sonata form | a musical form developed in the Classical period by Haydn and Mozart. It is used mostly for the first movement of symphonies and concertos. Its sections include: Exposition (themes are introduced or “exposed”), Development (themes are explored and develop |
| Song cycle | as group of songs with a common theme or that tell a story, designed to be performed in sequence without a break. |
| Soprano | high female singing voice, abbreviated “S.” |
| Staccato | a type of articulation that indicates that the notes are to be detached, separated. |
| Stinger | an accented single note at the end of an introduction and/or the end of a piece of music. |
| Suite | a musical form made up of a collection of short pieces. |
| The Swing Era (“Big Band Era”) | the period of time (around 1935-1946) when Big Band swing music was the most popular music in the United States. |
| Symphony | a musical composition in three or more movements for orchestra. |
| Syncopation | a rhythm where important tomes begin on weak beats or weak parts of beats, giving an “off-balance” feeling to the music. |
| Tam-tam | a type of gong. |
| Tenor | high male singing voice, abbreviated “T.” |
| Texture | the way the sounds are combined, or the way layers of sound interact in a musical composition. |
| Theme | the main melody of a section or composition. The theme is used repeatedly to represent an idea, emotion, or character. |
| The “Three B’s” | the group of German composers (Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms). |
| The “Three Titans of Soviet Music” | a group of three Soviet composers of the early 20 thcentury (Aram Khachaturian, Sergei Prokofiev, and Dmitri Shostakovich). |
| Toccata: (“touch” or “play a musical instrument” in Italian) | a piece of music for solo keyboard instrument, often difficult, with a lot of fast notes to show off how well the performer can play. |
| Treble clef (“G clef”) | a musical symbol that indicates G above middle C (line 2 on the staff). Instruments that use the treble clef include the violin, flute, oboe, English horn, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, trumpet, cornet, French horn, vibraphone, xylophone, guitar, mandoli |
| Trio | a middle contrasting section of a three-part form, named “trio” because it was originally written for three instruments. Trio sections usually have a light, simple texture. |
| Two Step | a form of popular music that was performed with ragtime music, until about 1911. |
| Variation | a technique where music is repeated with alterations to the melody, harmony, rhythm, meter, dynamics, tempo, timbre, or texture. |
| Virtuoso | a musician who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability on a musical instrument. |
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