Music Appreciation

• Rhythm


  The pattern of movement in time
• Beat


  The pulse of the music in terms of how fast or slow it flows by
• Tempo


  The speed of the beat
• Double Whole Note


  Lasts for eight (8) beats
• Whole Note


  Lasts for four (4) beats
• Eighth Note


  Lasts for one-half (1/2) a beat
• Opera


  Dramatic stories told through music, most commonly accompanied by an opera and staged with elaborate stage sets and costuming, and they follow a very specific narrative through a fully realized plot
• Operetta


  Similar to an opera except the story topics are more playful and the music generally lighter
• Opera


  Dramatic stories told through music, most commonly accompanied by an orchestra and staged with elaborate stage sets and costuming, and they follow a very specific narrative through a fully realized plot
• Musical Theater


  Form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
• Ballet


  Art form performed on a stage utilizing costumes, scenic design and lighting
• Opera Seria


  "Serious" style of Italian opera in the 18th century
• Castrato


  A male singer who underwent castration before puberty in order to retain a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto
• Intermezzi


  A light dramatic, musical, or other performance inserted between the acts of an opera
• Gesamtkunstwerk


  A philosophy that the entire opera experience is an all-encompassing art form
• Leitmotif


  A recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation
• Silent Era (1895-1929)


  An era of cinema prior to the invention of synchronized sound
• Phonograph


  An early sound-reproducing machine that used cylinders to record as well as reproduce sound
• Improvise


  Create and perform spontaneously or without preparation
• Cue Sheets


  A book of sheet music with public domain arranged in categories the publisher felt could best match scenes and moods in the movies
• Photoplay


  What precise music directors wanted performed for each scene of their films
• Golden Age (1930-1950)


  When America was most transfixed with movies, movie studios, and film stars
• Classical Scoring Technique


  Music composed and exactly timed to scenes in the movie
• Incidental Music


  Music in a play, television program, video game, etc., that is not primarily musical
• Temp Tracks


  Temporary music tracks that a director will place over scenes to show the composer the mood or feeling the director wants the scene to have
• Synthesizer


  Electronic keyboard with layering and sound patching
• Diegetic Music


  Music that the characters can hear
• Non-Diegetic Music


  Music that only the audience can hear