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The Six Concepts of Music

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