Music

• Ametric: No sense of pulse at all
• Basso Continuo: A continuous chordal accompaniment in 17th-century music, played by harpsichord and cello
• Concerto: A piece of classical music that features a soloist accompanied by an orchestra
• Dolce: Played sweetly and gently
• Dominant: The fifth note in a scale
• Heterophonic: The simultaneous performance of different versions of the same melody by different voices or instruments
• Homophonic: A musical texture consisting of a melody with accompaniment
• Melisma: A word setting or musical device where one syllable is stretched over many notes
• Melody: Made of motifs
• Monophonic: Music consisting of a single melody without accompaniment
• Movement: Organises and contrasts the themes and ideas in a longer piece of music, builds suspense, and paces the overall expressive contours of the music
• Ostinato: A repeated pattern of notes
• Polyphonic: Music with two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody
• Rubato: Flexible tempo where the performer can slow down or move forward
• Sonata: A musical composition for a solo instrument with 2-3 accompanists, scored for different kinds of instrumental resources
• String Quartet: A musical ensemble consisting of four string instruments - 2 violins, viola, and cello
• Subdominant: The fourth note in a scale
• Symphony: A musical composition for a full orchestra, typically in four movements, at least one of which is traditionally in sonata form
• Tonic: The first note of the scale
• Tutti: All musicians playing together
• Main composers of Baroque music: J.S. Bach, G. F. Handel and A. Vivaldi
• Main characteristics of Baroque music:

  • Use of harpsichord
  • Harpsichord + bassoon OR harpsichord + cello often play a part called basso continuo - chordal accompaniment
  • Small orchestra, mainly based on strings
  • Extensive use of sequences
  • Ornaments
  • Terraced dynamics (contrast f-p), no crescendo-diminuendo
  • Contrast of instrumental groups - few against many
• Main genres of Baroque - types of music: Concerto, sonata, opera and oratorio, recitative/aria
• Main composers of Classical music: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
• Main characteristics of Classical music:

  • Homophonic texture with Alberti bass accompaniment (broken chords 1, 3, 5)
  • Use of crescendo and diminuendo
  • Larger orchestra with an important woodwinds section
  • Periodic and regular phrasing:
  • Phrase 1 with opening motif and imperfect cadence
  • Phrase 2 with the same opening motif and perfect cadence
  • Clear-cut cadences that are very visible and punctuated
  • Use of primary chords:
  • Tonic chord: C, E, G (first note)
  • Subdominant chord: F, A, C (fourth note)
  • Dominant chord: G, B, D (fifth note)
  • Repeated melodies and motifs with repetition
  • Use of ornaments
• Instruments in Indian music: Tabla, tanpura (drone instrument), sitar, bansuri, sarangi (bowed)
• Melody of Indian music:

  • Melody is all-important
  • The main elements are melody, drone and rhythm (most often played by tabla)
  • Drone- consistently repeated notes (ostinato), played by tanpura/tambura
  • Usually Indian music involves a small group of musicians- a main performer (instrumentalist or vocalist) accompanied by drone on tempura and table (metric framework)
  • Texture in Indian music can be described as melody and drone
• Context of Indian music:

  • Indian classical music is transmitted via the guru-shishya (disciple system)
  • Transmission was through oral and aural repetition and practice
  • Gharana system
• Raga:

  • Indian music is based on ragas (The particular pattern between the notes)
  • A raga is a cross between scale and melody
  • Each raga has very strict rules about which notes may be used and how they may be used
  • Ragas have extra-musical associated with a particular time of day and night, season, etc.
  • Sargam - 7 pitches identified by syllables - Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni, Sa
  • Ascending and descending of raga scale may not be the same
  • Extensive use of ornaments, pitch sliding or glissando and pitch bending
• Tala:

  • Metric cycle - most of the time, it has more than ten beats 
  • Performed by tabla
• Sections of Indian music: Alap, Jhor, Jhala and Gat/Bandish
• Alap: The opening section of Indian music

  • A form of melodic improvisation that introduces and develops a raga
  • Improvised and unaccompanied
  • Started at a slow tempo
  • Ametric (no beat)
• Gat: Instrumental compositions
• • Bandish: A fixed composition used for improvisations
  • Always have lyrics
  • Starts when the tabla is introduced - adds the beat (metre)
• Ornaments in Indian music:

  • Pitch sliding
  • Pitch bending
  • Trills
  • Glissando
• General musical characteristics of Latin American music:

  • Structural simplicity
  • Repetitive melodies and motives
  • Simple harmony based on primary chords (I IV V)
  • Use of particular instruments (guitars, percussion, bandoneon/accordion, pan-pipes)
  • Use of syncopated rhythms - playing offbeat
  • Dance-like rhythms
  • Upbeat tempo (lively)
  • Moldy doubled in thirds (mariachi) - parallel thirds
  • Homophonic texture (melody- accompaniment)
  • Full-throated singing/gritos
• Mariachi music:

  • The form of Mexican music best known abroad, first developed in west-central Mexico by the mid-19th century
  • Early mariachis were string band ensembles known only to local residents that played at parties, weddings, and other events
  • Standard mariachi ensemble today consists of 7-15 musicians, with 2 trumpets, 3-6 violins, guitars
  • Vocals - sing/gritos
• Tango:

  • Argentina
  • Bandoneon - visually resembles accordion
  • Quadruple metre (4/4 - common time)
  • Sharp syncopated accents
• General musical characteristics of Indonesian music:

  • Distinctive metallic sound
• Gamelan: A general term used for the genre and the ensemble of musical instruments consisting of gongs and metallophones

  • Gamelan music is based on two main scales:

  1. Slendro (5-note scale)
  2. Pelog (7-note scale)

  • Gamelan music does not have a universal standard of pitch, however, instruments are tuned to each other
  • The melodic pattern is interlocked
  • Heterophonic texture: heterophonic unisons where all instruments play the same melody with slight variations
  • Frequent tempo and dynamics change
  • Gamelan became a symbol of Indonesian culture