music study guide #1

• harmony


  adding notes to support/embellish a melody
• chord

  2 or more notes together
• consonance


  stable, good sounding chords
• dissonance


  unstable, ugly sounding chords
• resolution


  when a chord moves from dissonance to a consonance
• cadence

  last 2 chords of a profession: gives the feeling of finality
• key


  central tone of a piece
• blocked chord


  when all the notes in a chord sound at the same time (visually, notes are stacked vertically like a snowman)
• arpeggio


  when each note in a chord sounds one by one (visually, not stacked at all)
• modulation


  changing from one key to another
• Monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic


  one sound; melody plus chord accompaniment; multiple competing sounds
• imitation


  when one person/instrument copies another
• rhythm


  duration of sound
• beat


  steady, even pulse of music
• meter


  a way of grouping beats in a measure
• measure/bar


  a block of music
• downbeat


  first beat of music; beat 1
• accent


  > placed over a note; makes that note sound louder than those around it
• syncopation


  off beat; short-long-short rhythm
• tempo


  the speed of a piece of music
• accelerando


  changing the tempo by getting faster
• ritardando


  changing the tempo by getting slower
• pitch


  the highness or lowness of a note
• interval


  the distance between two pitches
• half step


  the smallest possible interval; from one white note on the piano to the very next black note; sounds dissonant
• octave


  a large interval; has 8 notes in between; sounds consonant
• dynamics


  volume in music
• tone color/ timbre

  quality of a sound
• voice parts


  soprano, tenor, baritone, bass
• range


  the highest and lowest notes a person can sing or instrument can play
• instrument families

  strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard
• Gregorian chant


  usually men; just one melody line; sacred music
• drone


  long sustained tone; normally played by a string instrument
• secular vs sacred


  nonreligious music vs religious music
• Hildegard von Bingen


  first woman composer; composed Gregorian chant; nun from Germany; O Successores
• Beatriz Countess of Dia


  troubadour; noblewoman; lute + vocal line (soprano); "A Chantar"
• troubadour

  poet/composer from South France; can come from all social classes but usually well off
• Minstrel


  jugglers, musicians, actors; entertain in the court and in the public square; lowest rank of social class
• estampie

  pure instrumental music; clear beat, easy to tap your foot to and dance along to
• psaltery & vielle


  medieval instruments (harp and violin)