Chapter 2 - Rhythm, Melody, Harmony

Representative Composer and works:

None: sound bites contained within power points

Scale

The arrangement of pitches within the octave that ascends and descends according to a fixed pattern of whole and half steps

staff

a horizontal grid from which musicians read the symbols of musical notation

chord progression

a purposeful movement of chords; ends with a cadence

Melody

a recognizable and memorable series of notes that form a cohesive musical line; the tune; consists of pitches combined with durations, can be staccato (detached) or legato (connected), conjunct (move by step) or disjunct (move by skip)

dissonance

adds tension and anxiety to the music, pitches are momentarily "disagreeable and unstable"

Ostinato

any element of music rhythm, melody, harmony that continually repeats

Meter

beats are gathered into regular groups, such as group of 2, 3, 4 beats, common meters are duple, triple, and quadruple

Grand (great) staff

includes both treble and bass cleff is used for two handed music with a large range

Chromatic scale

made up of twelve pitches all a half step apart, adds color and richness/intensity to a melody

resolution

moving from dissonance to a consonance

meter signature/time signature

numerical musical symbol; the top number tells the number of beats in each measure; the bottom number tells what kind of note gets the beat; normally occurs at the beginning of the score, but may change in the middle of a piece

Upbeat

occurs before the downbeat, usually only a note or two

Consonance

pitches that sound agreeable and stable

Syncopation

placing an accent on a weak beat or between the beats, prominent in Jazz

Accelerando

speeding up the tempo gradually

Rubato

subtle speeding up and slowing down of the beat

Treble Clef

symbol which indicates the range used for higher sounding instruments and female voices

Bass Clef

symbol which indicates the range used for lower sounding instruments and male voices

Tempo

term which means the speed at which beats progress

Triad

the basic chord of Western harmony, a unit of three or more pitches that sound at the same time; uses every other note of a scale, can be built on any note of a scale, labeled with Roman Numerals

interval

the distance between two pitches in music

Harmony

the element that adds depth and dimension to music as well as providing support and accompaniment to the melody; usually consists of chords: three or pitches sounding simultaneously

tonic

the name for the central pitch around which melodies gravitate and on which they generally end, the first and last pitch of a scale

Mode

the pattern of pitches determined by the whole and half steps that form a scale (major minor); major scale associated with joy, confidence, tranquility, minor scale associated with fear, anxiety, sorrow, and despair

Pitch

the relative position , high or low, of a musical sound, identified by letter names (A,B,C,D,E,F,G) based on vibrations per second (frequency) of sound waves

Modulation

the term describing the change in tonal center from key to another within a piece

Beat

the term for the even pulse that divides the passing of musical time into equal segments, often creates a physical response, can be strongly felt or barely perceptible

Downbeat

the term for the first beat in each metrical unit

Octave

the term for the interval that comprises the first and eighth tones of the major and minor scales, these tones are quite similar because the frequency of vibration of the higher pitch is exactly twice that of the lower

Cadence

the term that describes simultaneously the end of a chord progression as well as the conclusion of a musical phrase

Ritardando (Ritard)

the term that means to slow the tempo of the music gradually

rhythm

the term that refers to the organization of time in music; it is what gives shape to the pitches of the melody

Rest

the term used in music notation to indicated the absence of sound

Key/Tonality

two terms musicians use interchangeably when referring to the organization of music around a central pitch, describes the tonal center and tonic note for a piece