Elements of Music

Modern-day symphony orchestras include which four groups of instruments?

Brass Percussion Woodwinds Strings

What is the simultaneous sounding of three or more tones, or pitches, called?

Chord

In harmony, a combination of tones that is stable and whose sound has a sense of arrival, or resolution, is referred to as which of the following?

Consonance

Select all the voice types that are typically male voices.

Baritone Bass Tenor

A combination of tones that feels unstable and demands onward motion toward a stable chord is described as being what?

Dissonant

True or false: Knowing the characteristics of each style is not useful in identifying music, because every composer writes music that sounds different.

False

True or false: The beat in music is always clearly emphasized and strongly felt.

False

Select all the characteristics of key or tonality.

Familiar melodies generally end with the tonic chord. The keynote is the root of the tonic triad. Pieces of music often end on the tonic chord.

What is the technique of combining several melodic lines into a meaningful whole?

Counterpoint

What is the term for a set of treble and bass staves used to notate keyboard music?

Grand staff

What term refers to simultaneous tones in music that add support and richness to a melody?

Harmony

What texture describes a main melody accompanied by chords?

Homophonic

What is the function of a key signature?

It indicates the key of a piece of music.

In a musical composition in the key of F, what role does the note F have in that key?

It is the note that typically ends the piece of music.

On which musical element is the attention focused in a homophonic texture?

Melody

Select all the following that help us develop awareness and understanding of the form of a piece of music from its various parts.

Memory of the parts and how they relate to each other Repeated listening to recall the parts Perceiving how the parts produce a sense of shape and structure

When there is only one melody with no accompaniment, what is the texture?

Monophonic

Select all the following that are elements that interact in a musical composition to produce a sense of shape and structure.

Pitch Rhythm Tone color Texture

Select all the following statements about pitch that are true.

Pitch is related to how fast something vibrates.In general, plucking longer strings plays a lower-pitch sound than plucking shorter strings

Select all the characteristics of the A and B sections in binary form.

Section A will begin in the tonic key. The conclusion of each section is signaled by a cadence or a brief pause. Section B may start in a different key but will conclude in the tonic key.

What is the term that describes the different layers of musical sound and how they relate to each other?

Texture

Forward motion, conflict, and change in mood are all aspects of ______ in musical form.

contrast

What is the brass instrument shown in the image?

Trombone

In creating musical form, ______ provides variety.

contrast

Which of the following are appropriate descriptions of texture?

Thick Dense Light

The xylophone belongs to which primary category of percussion instruments?

definite pitch

Listen to the audio clip. Wagner changes the ______ when the soft, solo ends and the full orchestra returns to loudly play the main melody.

dynamics

Listen to the audio clip. True or false: As in this Chopin piece, dissonant harmonies can add tension and a sense of longing and melancholy to the music.

True

True or false: Musical style refers to the way rhythms, melodies, harmonies, texture, and form are used in a specific period in history, in a geographical location, or within a composer's work.

True

True or false: Sound is created when an object vibrates.

True

True or false: Before the twentieth century, a basic principle of music composition was that a composition would begin in the home, or tonic key, and would end in a different key.

false

What which element is the do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do scale associated?

key

A smooth, connected style of playing or singing a melody is called ______.

legato

What term is used to refer to the organization of beats into regular groups of strong and weak ones?

meter

Listen to the audio clip. The sections where the march theme is heard played by the strings with no accompaniment is an example of ______ texture.

monophonic

What are the three basic musical textures?

monophonic, polyphonic, homophonic

What are two ways of lengthening the value of a note?

Using a tie Adding a dot next to the note

Listen to the audio clip. The sections where the march and dance themes are presented simultaneously is an example of ______ texture.

polyphonic

Which type of rest is shown in the image?

quarter rest

In creating musical form, ______ creates a sense of unity.

repetition

In music notation, the symbol that indicates the duration of silence is called a ______.

rest

Beat, meter, accent, tempo, and syncopation are interrelated aspects of what musical element?

rhythm

A characteristic way of using melody, rhythm, tone color, dynamics, and other musical elements to produce a total sound that is distinctive or unique is called ______.

style

What is the speed of the beat or the basic pace of the music called?

tempo

What is used to indicate the meter of a piece at the beginning of the staff?

time signature

The ______ clef is used to indicate notes that are relatively high in pitch.

treble

Listen to the audio clip. True or false: As in this Bizet piece, changes in texture can add variety to the music.

true

Select all the examples of syncopation in a series of four beats, where the underlined number in bold indicates the beat that is accented.

1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4

Place the stylistic periods of western music in order, with the earliest period at the top and the most recent period at the bottom.

1. Middle Ages 2. Renaissance 3. Baroque 4. Classical 5. Romantic

In the chromatic scale, how many tones make up an octave?

12

What string instrument is shown in the image?

A cello

Select all the following that are present in a key.

A chord A central scale A central tone

What is the woodwind instrument shown in this image?

A clarinet

What is shown in the image of notating meter?

A time signature

What is a triad built on the first note of the scale called?

A tonic chord

What are two methods to add rhythmic variety to music?

A triplet A dotted note

In a music performance, what is the emphasis of a tone in relation to the other tones around it called?

Accent

Select all the terms that are suitable for referring to tone color.

Dark Brilliant Rich

Which of the following can establish the musical style of a piece?

Belonging to a specific period in history Being issued by a single composer Belonging to a specific country

Which type of chord is built on the fifth note of the scale?

Dominant

Select all the elements that can form part of the key signature.

Flats Sharps

What is the polyphonic texture when a melodic idea is presented by one voice or instrument and then is restated immediately by another voice or instrument?

Imitation

Select all the types of emotions that composers have invoked by using the chromatic scale.

Loss Sorrow Grief

What is the first stylistic period in the history of western music?

Middle Ages

Which type of scale contains both whole steps and half steps, with a half step between the second and third tones? (Remember that the whole and half steps are BETWEEN tones.)

Minor

Select all basic scales of western music from the late 1600s to 1900.

Minor Major

Listen to the audio clip. What is the texture of the music in this audio recording?

Monophonic

Listen to the audio clip. What texture is used by Bach in this selection?

Polyphonic

What is the name for a series, or sequence, of chords?

Progression

A composition in binary form usually does which of the following?

Repeats both parts, in the form A A B B.

Eighth note, quarter note, and half note are all used to notate what aspect of music?

Rhythm

Place the parts of ternary form (ABA) in the correct order, with the first part at the top.

Statement Contrast Return

When a melody moves from one tone to the one next to it, it is said to move by what?

Step

Which type of chord usually leads to the dominant chord?

Subdominant

Select all the characteristics of homophony.

Subordinate tones that add interest One main melody

In which type of musical form is there a musical statement (A), then a contrasting statement (B), then a return to the first musical statement (A)?

Ternary (three-part) form

Select all the primary differences between a major scale and a minor scale.

The half step in a minor scale is between the second and third tones. The pattern of intervals is different.

Select all the elements that can be present in polyphonic or contrapuntal music.

The inclusion of imitation Two or more combined melodies Melodies that are woven together

What is the term for the collection of sharps or flats placed at the beginning of the piece of music?

The key signature

In a time signature, the upper number indicates what?

The number of beats in a measure

No matter how often a work changes key, what is its main (home) key called?

Tonic key

What is the term for several voices or instruments singing or playing the same melody, adding richness to a monophonic texture?

Unison

Which of the following is a characteristic of ABA ternary form?

When A returns, it can be slightly different from the first statement.

Select all the correct terms concerning the duration of rests.

Whole rest Eighth rest

The ______ clef is used to indicate notation that is relatively low in pitch.

bass

A short, detached style of playing or singing a melody is called ______.

staccato