Docsity
Docsity

Prepare for your exams
Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity


Earn points to download
Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan


Guidelines and tips
Guidelines and tips

Music Theory Terms: Pitch, Meter, Rhythm, Tempo, Consonance, Polyphony, Tonality, Aria, Or, Quizzes of History of Music

Definitions for various terms related to music theory, including pitch, meter, rhythm, tempo, consonance, monophony, homophony, polyphony, tonality, recitative, aria, oratorio, opera, concerto, fugue, ornamentation, secco vs accompanied recitative, castrati, da capo aria, opera seria, symphony, sonata form, double-exposition form, rondo form, minuet and trio, ensemble, rubato, lied, song cycle, character piece, program music, bel canto, leitmotiv, gesamtkunstwerk, pentatonic scale, quarter-tone scale, neoclassicism, ballet, sprechstimme, 12-tone/serialism, musique concrete, synthesizer, chance music, minimalism, ragtime, swing/big band.

Typology: Quizzes

Pre 2010

Uploaded on 12/16/2009

348125
348125 🇺🇸

1 document

1 / 13

Toggle sidebar

This page cannot be seen from the preview

Don't miss anything!

bg1
TERM 1
Pitch
DEFINITION 1
definite- can be replicated by voice indefinite- can't (drums)
high/low frequency of a pitch
TERM 2
Meter
DEFINITION 2
regular recurring pattern of accented and unaccented (strong
and weak) beats 4 types: simple, compound, irregular,
nonmetrical
TERM 3
Simple Meter
DEFINITION 3
duple meter ONE two ONE two
TERM 4
Compound Meter
DEFINITION 4
two or more beats/measure quick triple subdivision of beats
ONE-and-a two-and-a,
TERM 5
Syncopation
DEFINITION 5
displaces accents -accents on weak beats one TWO -accents
inbetween beats one AND two AND one AND....
pf3
pf4
pf5
pf8
pf9
pfa
pfd

Partial preview of the text

Download Music Theory Terms: Pitch, Meter, Rhythm, Tempo, Consonance, Polyphony, Tonality, Aria, Or and more Quizzes History of Music in PDF only on Docsity!

Pitch

definite- can be replicated by voice indefinite- can't (drums)

high/low frequency of a pitch

TERM 2

Meter

DEFINITION 2

regular recurring pattern of accented and unaccented (strong

and weak) beats 4 types: simple, compound, irregular,

nonmetrical

TERM 3

Simple Meter

DEFINITION 3

duple meter ONE two ONE two

TERM 4

Compound Meter

DEFINITION 4

two or more beats/measure quick triple subdivision of beats

ONE-and-a two-and-a,

TERM 5

Syncopation

DEFINITION 5

displaces accents -accents on weak beats one TWO -accents

inbetween beats one AND two AND one AND....

Tempo

speed of music rate at which beats follow one another

TERM 7

Adagio

DEFINITION 7

slow

TERM 8

andante

DEFINITION 8

slow but not too slow (walking speed)

TERM 9

moderato

DEFINITION 9

moderate tempo

TERM 10

allegro

DEFINITION 10

fast

Consonant/Dissonant

Consonance- sounds pleasing to ear Dissonant-sounds

discordant or creates tension

TERM 17

Monophony

DEFINITION 17

In music, monophony is the simplest of textures, consisting of

melody without accompanying harmony.

TERM 18

Homophony

DEFINITION 18

2 or more lines not all equally interesting -one main with

others supporting it

TERM 19

Polyphony (Imitative and non-imitative)

DEFINITION 19

2 or more lines all lines compete for attention imitative:

similar melodies non-imitative: different melodies

TERM 20

Tonality/Atonality

DEFINITION 20

musical center of gravity feeling of a "home" pitch Atonality

creates a wandering, unsettled quality

Recitative

Theatrical style in which a singer is allowed to adopt the

rhythms of ordinary speech.

TERM 22

Aria

DEFINITION 22

everything else freezes, soliloquy of song

TERM 23

Madrigal

DEFINITION 23

A madrigal is a type of secular vocal music composition,

written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras which

originated in Italy. Short composition set to one-stanza love

poems changing motives and textures one singer to a part

TERM 24

Basso

continuo

DEFINITION 24

a set of chords continulously underlying the melody in a

piece of Baroque music

TERM 25

word painting

DEFINITION 25

Word painting (also known as tone painting or text painting)

is the musical technique of writing music which reflects the

literal meaning of a song.

ritornello form

In Baroque music, ritornello was the word for a recurring

passage for orchestra in the first or final movement of a solo

concerto or aria

TERM 32

fugue form

DEFINITION 32

a composition written in imitative polyphony, usually with a

single main theme, the fugue subject.

TERM 33

Ornamentation

DEFINITION 33

addition of fast notes and vocal effects to a melody, making

it more florid and expressive.

TERM 34

Secco vs accompanied recitative

DEFINITION 34

Secco- a type of recitative (half singing half reciting style of

presenting words) accompanied only by basso continuo

Accompanied recitative- accompanied by an orchestra

TERM 35

Castrati

DEFINITION 35

act of castrating young boys to allow them to sing higher.

Da Capo aria

an aria in ABA form which the ending is identical to the intro

TERM 37

opera seria

DEFINITION 37

serious opera

TERM 38

symphony

DEFINITION 38

a large orchestral piece in several movements

TERM 39

Sonata form

DEFINITION 39

never more than 3 movements shorter than symphony

movements I: Moderate to fast: sonata II- slow: various forms

III- fast: sonata or rondo form

TERM 40

double-exposition form

DEFINITION 40

type of sonata, orchestra-solo-orchestra-solo, used in

concertos

song cycle

A song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in

a sequence as a single entity.

TERM 47

character piece

DEFINITION 47

a short romantic piece that portrays a particular mood

TERM 48

program music

DEFINITION 48

a piece of instrumental music associated with a story

TERM 49

bel canto

DEFINITION 49

beautiful singing

TERM 50

leitmotiv

DEFINITION 50

"leading motive in Wagner's operas often to represent a

character or theme

Gesamtkunstwerk

"Total work of art" Wagners term for his music dramas

music=script=stage

TERM 52

pentatonic scale

DEFINITION 52

scale used by eastern countries. 5 note repeating scale

TERM 53

quarter-tone scale

DEFINITION 53

a 24-note scale used in the 20th century consisting of all the

semitones of the chromatic scale and all quarter tones in

between the semitones

TERM 54

Neoclassicism

DEFINITION 54

"returning to older styles"

TERM 55

ballet

DEFINITION 55

Ballet is a formalized type of performance dance, which was

further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert

dance form.

minimalism

many repetitions of simple musical fragments

TERM 62

ragtime

DEFINITION 62

a style of piano playing left hand plays strictly on the beat

right hand syncopates the rhythm Scott Joplin

TERM 63

swing/big band

DEFINITION 63

jazz gained popularity around 1930 - bigger audiences in

ballrooms and roadhouses -big bands developed carefully

written-out arrangements -improvisations limited