The Fundamentals of Music
Polyphonic
-A combination of two or more melodic lines. -Ex.such as two singers in a duet. -This combination is also called counterpoint, or note against note.
Triad
-A common combination of chord. -Consisting of a root, third, and fifth pitches.
Syncopation
-A deliberate shift of the musical accents to a weak beat. -Used to create a rhythmic surprise in the music, or a certain kind of rhythmic pattern, such as in ragtime.
Phrase
-A series of notes that can stand alone as a musical idea or expression. -First developed in singing, do that the singer could take a breath in a appropriate place. -A musical sentence. -Often phrases are small, complete idea in themselves, or two are paired together ex. question and answer. -The overall structure of a piece of music can often be divided into sections, such as A and B.
Motive
-A short melodic or rhythmic fragment used in the building of a melody. -One of the most famous examples of a motive is the first three notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. -The famous "three shorts and a long" that open the symphony are developed and appear throughout the four movements of the work.
Ostinato
-A short rhythmic or melodic pattern repeated for an extended period. -Commonly used in boogie pieces.
Homophonic
-A single line of melody supported by a harmonic accompaniment. -Ex.such as a singer with a piano playing the chords.
Hemiola
-A temporary shift of the metric accents created by using two notes in the time of three or three notes in the time of two. -A common technique in Baroque music.
Cadence
-Consists of two chords at the end of a phrase. -A specific combination of two chords providing moments of rest, much like punctuation.
Rhythm
-Involves many elements, from the natural heat of the music to rhythmic surprises. -Gives music order on the page and helps performers to play in time together. -The actual time values of notes.
Music
-Is divided up into sections, in the same way that words are organized into sentences (often with commas), paragraphs, and then placed into categories such as poetry. -The melodic line need phrases so that there is a place for the music (and singers) to breath. -The overall structure of a piece of music can be divided into sections, such as A and B.
Melody
-Made up of different components which have names so that the musical line can be analyzed. -The most memorable part of a song. -Allows us to identify a piece. -Most melodies are sung using a comfortable range of 10 notes or less.
Measures
-Music is divided into measures, which are marked by bar lines. -Are divided into beats and each measure has the same amount of beats.
Downbeat
-The first beat of the measure. -Generally has the strongest accent.
Meter
-The fixed patterns of strong and weak beats, which creates the rhythm in the music. -The basic pulse of the beats.
Time signature
-The number of beats in each measure. -The top number indicates how many beats are in a bar. -The bottom number indicates which kind of notes receives one beat.
Harmony
-Used to support the melody and is viewed vertically, whereas a melody is a horizontal line. -Think of a cake, where the icing is the melody, but the actual cake that supports the decorations and flavored is the harmony. - Provides the structure in music, changing when the melody does.
Anacrusis
-When the music begins with an incomplete measure, or upbeat. -Anticipates the downbeat that will occur on the first note of the first complete measure.
Binary
A B
Ternary
A B A
Rondo
A B A C A (or other alternation of sections)
Rounded binary
A B+A
Consonance
A combination of tones that provides a sense of relaxation and stability.
Chord
A combination of two or more pitches which creates a unit of harmony.
Curved line
A curved line under or over the notes indicates the length of the phrase.
Monophonic
A single line of unaccompanied melody, such as apologist singing alone.
Musical sections in vocal pieces
Can be divided into verse and chorus.
Disjunct melody
Contains frequent leaps and changes in direction.
Harmonic rhythm
Describes the rate of chord changes per measure.
Text setting
Describes the relationship between the text and the music.
Strophic
Different verses of text which are sung to the same time.
Compound time
Each beat contains three subdivisions (such as the song Hickory Dickory Dock.)
Simple time
Each beat contains two subdivisions.
Chromatic
Includes all 12 notes available within the octave.
Through-composed
None of the music is repeated.
Modified strophic
Some of the music is repeated.
Range
The distance between the highest and lowest notes of a melody.
Interval
The distance between two notes.
Diatonic
The music is built from the notes of a major or minor scale.
Dissonance
Tones that sound discordant, creating restlessness and tension in the music.
Notes
Used to convey the different pitches.
Conjunct melody
Used to describe melodies that move mostly in steps (such as a melody going up a scale.)
Pitch
Used to describe the placement of a sound; high, medium or low.
Melismatic
When the word is stretched out over many notes ex.such as the aria "Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion" from Handel's Messiah.
Syllabic
When there is one syllable or word per note ex.such as when singing "Happy Birthday" or "Jingle Bells".
Neumatic
When there is two or three notes per word/syllable.