Music Exam I

Beats

how one measures the time in music. In most music, the beats are regular pulses, though some beats often some strong than others while some sound weaker. (The stronger sounding beat is said to have an accent)

Texture

how various melodic lines in a piece of music interacts with one another

Whole step

interval of two half steps (meaning that one would play the two notes that are a half step higher and a half step lower than one common note)

monophony

just one unaccompanied melody- common in medieval music

Weelkes

madrigal composer

point of imitation

-imitative polyphony -Point of imitation = series of entries of the same motive in different parts in imitative polyphonic texture

Harmony

How different pitches are combined together in homophonic or polyphonic music ("harmony" can also refer to the rules one uses to combine different melodies)

non metrical meter

a lack of a meter, consistent beat

Reformation

age of great religious change. introduction of protestantism, Calvanism, etc

Tone color (or timbre)

- the quality of the sound - timbre ("tam-ber") -Different instruments =tone colors b/c different constructions (different materials, sizes) and played in different ways (ex: blowing, plucking, using a bow, hitting, etc.)

Chant Paraphrase

-Common in sacred Renaissance music -Plainchant serves as a basis for homophonic/ polyphonic compositions -Plainchant is "paraphrased," with extra notes added, some omitted -chant often in highest voice part, often passed from part to part. -Paraphrased chant often moves quickly

Plainchant (or simply "chant")

-Most important type of singing in medieval Christian liturgy -unaccompanied melodies (monophonic texture) -sacred latin texts -specific chants/ texts are prescribed for certain days -aka Gregorian Chant -some simple, some more complicated -non-metrical (free of rhythm and meter) -(based on medieval modes) 8 different types of diatonic scales

imitative polyphony

-common in renaissance at the end of the century -aka "imitative counterpoint" -two or more independent melodies simultaneously -each melody stars the same way with a "motive"

Provençal

-cross between old French and old Spanish -language of troubadour songs

Pitch

-describes how high/low sounds are in music -Low pitches are made of long vibrating elements -High pitches are made of short vibrating elements - change when length of the string or the air column is manipulated

Sequence

-duplication of a phrase or two or more different pitch levels -often occurs in music

Organum

-first type of polyphonic music. - ornamented plainchant w/ additional melodies. -early accompanying melodies were often the main melody on a different pitch. (interval=constant, pleasing to hear --> consonance)

Hildegard of Bingen

-german nun, composer, mystic, visionary, polymath -led her own convents -wrote a large body of plainchants (both music and text) -often complex and virtuosic (big ranges) -wrote one of the first musical plays -"colmba aspexit"- for sait maxim, "sequence"

Rhythm

-how music unfolds over time. Notes in a melody have different durations. refers to the combination of notes of various durations

Mass

-important service in the christian liturgy -every sunday at all churches, every day in major churches -service culminates in communion -kyrie, gloria, credo, sanctus, angus dei- latin -multiple voice types -polyphony and homophony in the late middle ages

Chromatic Scale

-octave divided into 12 pitches. - chromatic scale can start on any note, but the order and notes will always be the same. -Made up of consecutive half steps.

Diatonic Scale

-octave divided into 7 different pitches. -scales can begin on different notes, but if so, the other components of the scales will be changed. -made up of both half steps and whole steps

Scales

-pitches usually assembled together into collections called scales -Many compositions often use the pitches of a particular scale to form a piece. This is called a key.

Troubadour

-poet or composer in medieval era -secular, monophonic songs in provencal -texts often about courtly love -sometimes improvised instrumental accompanist was added to the troubadour songs

Renaissance

-rebirth -inspiration from antiquity -church is no longer sole authority -art was more realistic -introduction of homophonic texture, chant paraphrase, imitative polyphony

Madrigal

-secular vocal musical composition from the renaissance and early baroque eras

Palestrina

-singer/ choirmaster of roses churches, chapels -setting employs an enormous amount of homophony -rich, shifting tone colors and harmonies -dynamic swells

polyphony

-texture common in the renaissance. -multiple pitches pound at once but not as independent melodies - accompanying parts move together in the same or similar rhythms -series of chords moving together -harmony

homophony

-there are 2 or more independent melodies played or sung at the same time. Often one line can be isolated alone as the main melody. (ex: harmony) -high renaissance- focus on rich chordal quality -performances are often a cappella (no instruments)

Josquin

1450-1521 Based on plainchant

Ars Nova

(new art)- French 14th- century polyphonic secular music (chansons, motets) with highly flexible and complex rhythms and meters. The composers at this time increased the complexity of the rhythms, and often made the movements less repetitive (ex: Guillaume de Machaut)

Strophic

- Each stanza of poem has the same music (modern day verses) -not common in the religious songs

Consonance

Chords/Intervals that sound pleasing, though there can be a slight sense of tension. The chords seem to go well with each other (an octave is the most consonant interval because there is not a clash between the notes)

Machaut

French composer/ poet composed mostly polyphonic secular compositions in french (chansons) ars nova style Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient

triple meter

The beats are grouped in sets of three's

Duple meter

The beats are grouped in sets of two's or four's (divisible by 2)

Interval

The distance between two pitches (small intervals contain pitches that are close together, large intervals contain pitches that are far apart (one note is often significantly higher than the other)).

simple meter

The main beat is divisible by two

compound meter

The main beats are divided into three ONE TWO (one two three) (four five six)

Liturgy

a form of public worship, a collection of formularies for public worship much of medieval liturgy was devoted to singing the mass was a key service in Christian liturgy

Meter

a recurring pattern of strong and weak beats. The basic, repeating time structure of a piece of rhythm. However, the rhythm of the melody often varies from the repeating pulse of the meter.

Tempo

absolute duration of music o Adagio- slow o Andante- on the slow side o Moderato- moderate o Allegretto- on the fast side o Allegro- fast o Presto - very fast

Mode

alternative tonalities (scales) that can be derived from the familiar major scale by starting on a different scale tone. Music that uses the traditional major scale can be said to be in the Ionian mode

Dissonance

chords/intervals that sound intense. The different pitches clash with one another. (The half step is the most dissonant because it sounds very harsh and unpleasant)

Chord

common in homophonic or polyphonic music. A collection of two or more different pitches played or sung at the same time. (can be both in a major key or a minor key (harsher sounding))

Dynamics

describes how loud or quiet a piece of music is ♣ Piano (P) - soft ♣ Forte (F) - strong (loud) ♣ Pianissimo (Pp) - very soft ♣ Fortissimo (Ff) - very loud ♣ Mezzo piano (Mp) - moderately soft (between piano and mezzo forte) ♣ Mezzo forte (Mf) - moderately strong (between mezzo piano and forte) ♣ Crescendo (Cresc)- get louder gradually ♣ Diminuendo (Dim)- get softer gradually

Dufay

early renaissance composer "Ave maris stella"- hymn for virgin mary, alternates between verses in plainchant and homophonically paraphrased

Word painting

musical illustration of texts (use of lyrics to emote texts or emphasize notes) (ex: up and heaven were high notes)

Pérotin

polyphonic composer in the medieval era -"alleluia, Diffusa est gratia"- for mass service - contrast between chant and organum section

Chanson

polyphony with french texts ex: Machaut's "Dame, de qui toute ma joie vient."

Bernart de Ventadorn

prominent troubadour composer La douse votz- recording stresses secular, includes instrumental accompaniment wrote about courtly love in the vernacular. Strophic form (each stanza of the poem has the same music)

Melody

refers to an organized series of pitches. There are various examples of melody

Accent

the emphasis that is placed on certain notes or phrases

Half step

the smallest possible interval between two notes (each note on a chromatic scale is divided with one have step)

Octave

two pitches that have the same name. The two pitches duplicate each other, though one is higher than the other. The pitches are 8 white keys apart on a piano

Declamation

words are sung to rhythm and melodies the approximated normal speech

Middle Ages (know "medieval" too)

o From the collapse of Western Roman Empire (5th cent. AD) to around 1400 AD o Difficult times: many wars, Crusades, famine, plague, low life expectancy o Christianity of central importance in western Europe to give people a sense of hope, solace, and purpose