Lesson 2

Dissonance

A combination of notes that seem unrelated or harsh. Too many dissonant sounds make listeners uncomfortable.

Consonance

A combination of notes that sounds pleasing, stable, and does not create tension or dissonance.

Ensemble

A group of instruments or singers. Usually implies a smaller group.

Synthesizer

A tone generator, often a keyboard. Sounds imitating either acoustic instruments or new and unique waveforms are created using a synthesizer.

Intonation

Accuracy of pitch. Good intonation, or being "in tune" is the exact sounding of a specific pitch, without being slightly above or below the standard.

Instrument family

Instruments in the modern symphony orchestra that share the same means of creating sound (strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion).

Sequenced

Music that is the product of electronic processing of the musical parts of a composition. The parts are played separately and stored as data in a computer. The data is combined and organized by the computer to be played together later.

Sampling

Recording and digitally re-creating existing wave forms. Any sound can be recorded and its waveform digitally plotted.

MIDI

The acronym for musical instrument digital interface. This process transmits data between two or more electronic instruments, allowing them to communicate and play together.

Overtone series

The combination of pitches that are based on the same fundamental pitch. Every note has several related pitches, or overtones, that vibrate at the same time that the fundamental pitch is sounded. The notes in this "harmonic series" are always in the same sequence, though the characteristic sound of an instrument is influenced by the presence or absence of particular tones in the series.

Frequency

The length of a sound wave; the number of vibrations per second. Every pitch has a specific frequency.

Fundamental pitch

The lowest and main pitch heard in an overtone series. The fundamental pitch is also the loudest.

Tuning up

The process of bringing two or more instruments in agreement on pitch. Once instruments are tuned, the music can be better controlled by the musicians.

Pizzicato

The technique of plucking a stringed instrument rather than bowing it.

Amplitude

The volume of a sound. Amplitude is measured by the height and depth of its waveform.