Music Appreciation Unit 1-Elements
What is a combination of tones that feels unstable and demands onward motion toward a stable chord?
Dissonant
What are some examples of syncopation in a series of 4 beats, where the underlined number in bold indicates the beat that is accented?
1-*2*-3-4 and 1-2-3-*4*
What is the structure of a minor scale?
7 different tones and an eighth tone that duplicates the first
The piano is an exceptionally versatile instrument because it has how many keys, which span more than 7 octaves?
88
What are present in a key?
A chord, central tone, and central scale
What is the type of scale that uses the 12 tones of the octave?
A chromatic scale
Which gives the composer the largest variety of musical sounds and noises, including control over the pitch, tone color, dynamics, and duration of a musical sound?
A synthesizer
What are 2 methods to add rhythmic variety to music?
A triplet and dotted note
What is when a note is emphasized more than others, usually by being played louder?
Accent
A musical piece that has 2 contrasting sections has what kind of form?
Binary
What is the resting place or point of arrival at the end of a melodic phrase?
Cadence
Which people lead choruses, orchestras, and bands and have the responsibility of keeping everybody together and helping to shape the musical composition?
Conductors
In harmony, what is a combination of tones that are stable and whose sound has a sense of arrival, or resolution?
Consonance
Forward motion, conflict, and change in mood are aspects of what in musical form?
Contrast
In creating musical form, what provides variety?
Contrast
The xylophone belongs to which primary category of percussion instruments?
Definite pitch
Timpani, or kettledrums, belong to which primary category of percussion instruments?
Definite pitch
What describes texture?
Dense, thick, and light
Which type of chord is built on the fifth note of the scale?
Dominant
What concerns the duration of rests?
Eighth and whole rests
What are often produced by variation in tone color?
Emotional impact and expressive effects
What elements can form part of the key signature?
Flats and sharps
Which 2 woodwind instruments don't use reeds?
Flue and piccolo
How are the basic pitches of a piece of music arranged in a scale?
From low to high
What term refers to simultaneous tones in music that add support and richness to a melody?
Harmony
A hymn usually has what kind of texture?
Homophonic
Which texture describes a main melody accompanied by chords?
Homophonic
What are the 3 basic musical textures?
Homophonic, monophonic, and polyphonic
What is a collection of sharps and flats placed at the beginning of the piece of music?
Key signature
When a melody moves from one tone to a tone that isn't adjacent, what is it?
Leap
If you play the white notes of the piano from C to C, you are playing what kind of scale?
Major
What term is used to refer to the organization of beats into regular groups of strong and weak ones?
Meter
What are all the voice types that are typically female voices?
-Alto -Mezzo soprano -Soprano
What is the order describing how sound is created and heard, with the first step at the top?
-An object, such as a string, is made to vibrate -Vibrations are transmitted through the air to our ears -The eardrums vibrate and signals are carried to the brain -Signals are interpreted in the brain as sound
Which can establish the musical style of a piece?
-Being issued by a single composer -Belonging to a specific country -Belonging to a specific period in history
What attributes do outstanding performers share with athletes in the role of presenting a musical composition?
-Coordination -Strength -Competitive Drive
What are a couple of things to note about modulation?
-It usually changes the central tone -It's the shifting from 1 key to another key
Western musicians usually classify instruments in which 6 broad categories?
-Keyboard -Electronic -String -Brass -Percussion -Woodwind
What are all of the talents that a performer draws upon in a performance of a composer's work?
-Manual dexterity -A keen memory -A good ear for pitch
What are some basic melodic principles?
-Many melodies are made up of phrases -A melody moves by steps or leaps
What elements are present in polyphonic or contrapuntal music?
-Melodies that are woven together -2 or more combined melodies -The inclusion of imitation
What can be considered the instruments that conductors use in their conducting role?
-Orchestra -Band -Chorus
What helps us develop awareness and understanding of the form of a piece of music from its various parts?
-Repeated listening to recall the rhythms -Perceiving how the parts produce a sense of shape and structure -Memory of the parts and how they relate to each other
What are elements that interact in a musical composition to produce a sense of shape and structure?
-Rhythm -Texture -Pitch -Tone Color
In general, how does the voice in singing differ from speaking?
-Singing typically uses a wider range of pitches than speaking -Vowel sounds are often held for longer durations when singing -Singing typically uses a wider range of expressive dynamics than speaking
What are the primary differences between a major and minor scale?
-The half step in a minor scale is between the second and third tones -The pattern of intervals is different
What are a couple of things to note about major scale?
-The interval pattern of any major scale is always the same -The major scale is constructed of whole steps and half steps
What are the 3 chief elements that Stravinsky uses to create sharp musical contrasts in a section as the melody is repeated over and over?
-Tone color -Dynamics -Rhythm
What are the techniques used to control pitch in one or more kinds of brass instruments?
-Using a sliding tube to change the length of tube through which air vibrates -Using valves to change the length of tube through which air vibrates -Varying lip tension while blowing in a mouthpiece
If a piece of music changes key 4 times, how many main keys does the piece usually have?
1
What is a characteristic of ABA ternary form?
When A returns, it can be slightly different from the first statement
When is a measure in duple meter?
When it has 2 beats
Does musical style refer to the way rhythms, melodies, harmonies, texture, and form are used in a geographical location, or within a composer's work?
Yes
In western music, is changing key a way to strengthen listener interest in longer musical selections?
Yes
Like Bizet's piece, can changes in texture add variety to the music?
Yes
Does Western music use as many or more percussion instruments than those found in African and Asian styles of music?
No
Does knowing the characteristics of each style not useful in identifying music because every composer writes music that sounds different?
No
Is the beat in music always clearly emphasized and strongly felt?
No
What is the distance between the first and eighth tones of the major scale?
Octave
What categories of instruments are commonly found in both orchestras and marching bands?
Percussion and Brass
In which keyboard instrument are tones produced by felt-covered hammers that strike strings?
Piano
Which keyboard instrument are tones produced when air blows across or through openings in pipes?
Pipe organ
If march and dance themes are presented simultaneously in a song, what kind of texture is it?
Polyphonic
What texture does Bach use in his music?
Polyphonic
What is a series, or sequence of chords?
Progression
What is the distance between the lowest tone and the highest tone an instrument can play?
Range
A composition in binary form usually does what?
Repeats both parts, in the form A A B B
In music notation, what is the symbol that indicates the duration of silence?
Rest
Beat, meter, accent, tempo, and syncopation are interrelated aspects of what musical element?
Rhythm
Eighth note, quarter note, and half note are all used to notate what aspect of music?
Rhythm
What is the term for the particular arrangement of note lengths and silences in a piece of music?
Rhythm
What type of change in tempo does Puccini use?
Ritardando
What type of change in tempo does Berlioz use?
Sudden speeding up
What is the speed of the beat or the basic pace of the music?
Tempo
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
Which concerns the use of the chromatic scale?
The chromatic scale has been used as the basis for entire compositions
Describe the frequency at which an object vibrates.
The faster the vibrations, the higher the pitch
What source creates the vibrations that the brass instrument then amplifies?
The musician's lips
In a time signature, what does the upper number indicate?
The number of beats in a measure
Historically, what have been the main tools for composers of electronic music?
The tape studio, synthesizers, and computers
What is a chord made up of the 3 notes root, third, and fifth? (do, mi, sol)
Triad
What is the Italian term used to describe the small pitch fluctuations that give a tone expressive warmth?
Vibrato
What is used to indicate notation that is relatively low in pitch?
Bass
What is the regular, recurrent pulse that is subdivided and organized to create rhythms and metrical configurations?
Beat
What is the distance between any 2 tones?
Interval
In music notation, the higher a note is placed on the staff, how does it effect the pitch?
It's higher
In a musical composition in the key of F, what role does the note F have in that key?
It's the note that typically ends the piece of music
What is the first stylistic period in the history of Western music?
Middle Ages
What are the basic scales of western music from the late 1600s to 1900?
Minor and major
What is the musical texture of a single melodic line without accompaniment?
Monophonic
When there is only one melody with no accompaniment, what is the texture?
Monophonic
Why does a violinist press the string of a violin against the fingerboard?
To change the pitch
What ways have the percussion instruments been used?
To heighten climaxes and emphasize rhythm
What purpose does a complete cadence serve in music?
To provide a sense of conclusion and satisfaction
What is a sound that has a definite pitch?
Tone
What is the chief element that Ellington uses to create variety with the repeated-note melody?
Tone color
No matter how often a work changes key, what is its main (home) key?
Tonic key
