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Elements of Music
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Sound | Begins with the vibration of an object. Vibrations are transmitted through a medium to our ears. The eardrums vibrate, and impulses/signals are sent to the brain where they are interpreted. |
| pitch | The relative highness or lowness that we hear in a sound. |
| Tone | A sound that has a definite pitch |
| Interval | The "distance" in pitch between any two tones. |
| Octave | When the tones are separated by an interval. |
| Range | The distance between the lowest and highest tones that a voice or instrument can produce |
| Dynamics | The loudness or softness in music |
| Accent | Playing a tone louder than other tones around the loud tone |
| Timbre (Tone Color) | The quality that distinguishes a musical sound. Described by words such as bright, dark, brilliant, mellow, rich, etc. |
| Pianissimo (pp) | very soft |
| Piano (p) | soft |
| Mezzo piano (mp) | moderately soft |
| Mezzo forte (mf) | moderately loud |
| Forte (f) | loud |
| Fortissimo (ff) | very loud |
| Decrescendo | gradually getting softer |
| Crescendo | gradually getting louder |
| soprano | highest female voice |
| mezzo soprano | medium female voice |
| contralto/alto | lowest female voice |
| tenor | highest male voice |
| baritone | medium male voice |
| bass | lowest male voice |
| register | part of a total range |
| definite pitch | recession instruments that produce a tone (guitar, piano, violin) |
| indefinite pitch | percussion instruments that produce a noise like sound (drum, triangle, cymbals) |
| instrument families, | brass, woodwinds, percussion, strings, keyboard, electric |
| rhythm | flow of music through time |
| beat | a regular recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time |
| meter | the organization of beats into regular groups |
| measure | a group containing a fixed number of beats |
| duple meter | when a measure has 2 beats |
| downbeat | the first beat in a measure |
| syncopation | when the accent is offbeat |
| tempo | the speed of the beat |
| largo | very slow, broad |
| grave | very slow, solemn |
| adagio | slow |
| andante | a walking pace |
| moderato | a jogging pace |
| allegro | fast |
| vivace | lively |
| presto | very fast |
| prestissimo | as fast as possible |
| accelerando | getting faster |
| ritardando | getting slower |
| notation | a system for writing down musical sounds, or the process of writing down music |
| staff | 5 lines a 4 spaces used for writing music |
| clef | placed at the beginning of the staff to show the pitch of each line and space |
| grand staff | a combination of the treble and bass staves |
| time signature | shows the meter of a piece |
| melody | a series of single notes that add up to a recognizable whole |
| legato | tones of a melody played or sung in a smooth, connected style |
| staccato | tones of a melody played or sung in a short, detached style |
| phrases | shorter parts of melodies that make whole melodies |
| cadence | the ending or resolution of a musical phrase |
| sequence | a repetition of a melodic pattern on a higher or lower pitch |
| theme | the melodic line the piece of music is structured around |
| harmony | the way chords are constructed and how they follow each other |
| chord | a combination of three or more toned around sounded at once |
| consonance | a tone combination that is stable |
| dissonance | a tone combination that is unstable |
| resolution | a dissonance has its resolution when it comes to a consonance |
| triad | simplest, most basic chord, contains 3 notes |
| arpeggio | a broken chord |
| key | Involves not only a central note but a central scale and chord. Another term for “___” is tonality. |
| scale | Made up of the basic pitches of a piece of music arranged in order from low to high or from high to low. Western music uses major and minor scales. |
| chromatic scale | All the white and black keys in one octave on the piano. Moves by half steps. |
| modulation | Shifting from one key to another within the same piece. |
| tonic key | The main key of a piece. The central key around which the whole piece is organized. Also may be referenced as home key. |
| musical texture | refers to how many different layers of sound are heard at once |
| monophonic | single melodic line without accompaniment, meaning literally, having one sound |
| homophonic | a main melody accompanied by chords |
| polyphonic | having many sounds. simultaneous performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest |
| counterpoint | the technique of combining several melodic lines into a meaningful whole |
| imitation | when a melodic idea is presented by one voice or instrument and is them restated immediately by another voice or instrument |
| 3 part form (ternary) | A B A |
| 2 part form (binary) | A B |
| repetition | creates a sense of unity that is widely used for binding a composition together |
| contrast | Provides variety in music through use of opposing ideas that propels and develops musical ideas. (Could be by using dynamics, choice of instruments or voices, etc.) |
| variation | some features of a musical idea will be retained while others are changed |
Created by:
ajeffery
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