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Music Appreciation Terms

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Question
Answer
Rhythm   the "surface" activity of music, based upon duration of musical sounds  
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Beat   they underlying pulse of music  
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Tempo   refers to the rate of speed of beats  
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Metronome   a mechanical device used to give precise speeds of beats (Metzel) 1800's (Beethoven was the 1st one to use it.)  
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Meter   ThHe organization of beats into groups or patterns  
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Duple Meter   l>ul>u (polka)  
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Triple Meter   l>uul>uul (waltz's)  
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Quadruple Meter   l>u>ul>u>ul  
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Measure   the length of a pattern(meter ) of beats  
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Bar Lines   the vertical lines that show where beat patterns begin and end  
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Non Metric   refers to the music that has no strong sense of beat or meter  
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Syncopation   the stressing of normally unstressed beats  
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melody   the succession of single pitches set to rhythm  
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Interval   the distance between two piitches  
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Melodic Structure   melodies often mirror linguistic structure, where phrases combine to create sentences  
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Phrase   a more or less incomplete melodic idea that ends with a cadence  
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Cadence   a resting point in music that occursat the ends of phrases (long notes...)  
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Incomplete Cadence   a resting point where the music feels like it must continue on-- similar to a comma  
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Complete Cadence   a resting point that gives the listener a feeling of completeion-- similar to a period  
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Musical Sentence   a complete musical thought(made up of two or more phrases) that ends with a complete cadence  
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Sequence   refers to repeating a melodic fragment at different pitch levels (the melodic pattern begins on successively lower or higher notes.)  
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Harmony   the sounding together of two or more notes  
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Chord   three or more notes sounded together; the basic building block of harmony(triad)  
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Broken Chord   refers to playing the notes of a chord seperately  
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Progression   the movement from one chord to another chord  
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Scale   a series of pitches arranged in order (Scala=ladder)  
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Tonic   the first and most important note of a scale, often referred to as the key or keynote  
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Mode   generally refers to "major" and "minor" scales  
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Major Scale   generally thought of as "happy"  
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Minor Scale   generally thought of as "Sad"  
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Modulation   the movement from one key to another key  
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Consonance   refers to combinations of pitches that sound pleasing  
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Dissonance   refers to combinations of pitches that sounds harsh or unpleasant  
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Musical Texture   refers to how musical layers are heard at onceand how they relate to eachother  
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Monophonic Texture   created by a single unaccompained melodic line (most ancient)  
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Polyphonic Texture   created by the layering of melodies 1. two or more different melodies sounding together 2. the same melody accompanies itself, as in a "round" or "canon"  
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Imitation   a type of polyphonic texture where a melodic idea is presented in one part and is then restated in other parts  
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Counterpoint   another word commonly used to refer to polyphonic texture  
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Homophonic Texture   created by primary melody accompianed by secondary harmony  
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Contrapuntal Devices   ways in which composers explored all possibilities of a melodic idea  
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inversion   a melody upside down  
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retrograde   a melody backwards  
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retrograde-inversion   backwards and upside down  
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augmentation   making note values longer  
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dimunution   making note values shorter  
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Musical Form   refers to the arrangement of musical ideas, based upon the concepts of repitition, contrats and variation  
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repitition   the restatement of a musical idea or section; provides sense of unity  
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Contrast   change in the music; provides sense of variety  
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Variation   a modified or changed version of something that was heard before; combines both repitition and contrats  
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Binary Form   (two part form) A-B  
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Ternary form   (3-part form) A-B-A  
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Theme   a melodic idea that serves as a building block of a composition  
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Motive   the smallest building block of music; takes on significance through repitition  
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Movement   a complete musical unit in a multimovement work  
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Dynamics   refers to levels of loudness or softness  
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Transition   section of music that connects two larger units of form  
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Coda   section of music that brings a piece of music or a movement to a more satisfactory close (coda=tail)  
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pitch   (psychological) refers to how high or low a sound is  
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Frequency   (physical) 20-20,000 cps(cycles per second)  
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Loudness   (psychological) experience of loudness is a "personal thing"  
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Intensity   (physical) measured in decibels (dB) 0+ - 140dB  
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Tone Color   (psychological) the quality of a sound; often referes to as "timbre"  
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Overtones   (physical) faint tones that sound higher than the note played  
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Duration   (psychological) long or short notes, or silences; psychological time  
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Clock Time   (physical) actual clock time  
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Pizzicato   plucking the strin with a finger  
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Double Stop   playing two strings at the same time  
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Vibrato   rocking the finger on the string to produce slight changes in pitch (frequency)  
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Tremolo   the rapid bowing of the same note  
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Harmonies   delicate high pitches produced by lightly touching the string when playing  
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Mute   a device that softens the tone  
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Single-Reed Instruments   clarinets, saxaphones  
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Double-reed instruments   oboe, english horn, bassoon  
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Articulation   the manner in which notes are played  
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legato   notes smoothly connected  
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Stacatto   notes are sperated/detached  
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Genre   a term used to define a broad category of works. The following are examp0le of the use of the word genres: concertos, symphonies, sacred music...  
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Medium   refers to the instruments or groups that perform a piece. Ex. string quartet, orchestra, piano solo  
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Medieval Period   (450-1450) ofter referres to as the middle ages.  
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Secular   music refers to non-religious music  
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Sacred   music is used in worship or other activities of religious ritual  
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3 classes of people   nobility-powerful and illiterate, clegy-powerful and literate, peasants- powerless and illiterate  
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Gregorian Chant   the officail liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church (modified by Pope Gregory I ("the Great")  
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Charecteristics of a Gregorian Chant   monophonic texture, nonmetric, based on scales known as old church modes, use a latin text, text settings:syllabic or melismatic, and sung "a capella"  
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syllabic   a text set with one syllable per note  
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Melismatic   a text set with one syllable per note  
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Old Church Modes   scales used in the Medieval and Renaissance Periods, having different arrangements of half and whole steps that the scales we use today.  
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The Mass   the official liturgical rite of the Roman Catholic Church  
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Organum   refers to the 1st examples of polyphonic music,originating around 1000 A.D.  
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Ordinary of the Mass   Kyrie(Mercy3x3x3), Gloria (praise), Credo(belief System), Sanctus(3x praise), Agnus Dei(mercy 3x)  
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Motet   a sacred vocal composition in polyphonic texture with a latin text, sung in a capella  
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a capella   meaning "in the church style" refers to vocal music without instrumental accompaniant  
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Traveling Minstrels   (Medieval Period) of various social classes, sang songs and played dance music  
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Troubadours & Trouveres   higher-class poet-singers-composer musicians (france)  
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Jongleurs   rather seedy, despicable charecters of lower social order  
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Machaut   the most important composer of the 14th century. most famous for writing the 1st complete setting of the ordinary of the Mass("notre Dame" mass). wrote many chansons(songs) based on poems of "courtly love" and chivalry  
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Renaissance Period   (1450-1600) historical time of Columbus and Da Vinci... the printing press one of the most significant inventions of all history. rise of humanism- a philosophical attitude rooted in human experience and aligned with reason and scientific inquiry  
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Musical Charecteristics of the16th century   vocal music reigns supreme. imatative polyphonic predominates. Rise in instrumental music. Harmonies based on chords  
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Josquin   the most significant somposer of the Renaissance, who flourished about 1500( was as significant on future generations as Beethoven)  
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"Ave Maria"   an example of a motet polyphonic, sacred vocal work with a latin text, and sung a capella  
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Pope Marcellus Mass   believed to have been composed to show that Mass texts could be understood in polyphonic texts  
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Kyrie Eleison   downward (bowing before God the Father) melodies  
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Christe Eleison   greater intamacy (christ as human) with descending melodic lines.  
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Kyrie Eleison   asks holy spirit for mercy; optimism with belief in mercy being granted  
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Gloria   hymn of praise; palestrina sets the text often in homophonic texture so that words can be easily understood  
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Madrigal   the secular counterpart of the motet; composed as a source of entertainment, with tests dealing with pastoral or amorous subjects  
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Word Painting   refers to the use of musical gestures to depict particular words of text  
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