Music Nat4 exam

• Syncopation


  Accenting notes off the beat
• Opera: drama set to music with soloists, chorus, orchestra and acting
• Reggae


  • Developed in 1960s in Jamaica
  • Strong accents on 2nd & 4th beat of the bar
• Scots ballad


  Slow Scottish song which tells a story
• Rapping


  Lyrics spoken and performed in time to a beat (popular in hip-hop)
• Percussion instruments


  • Timpani: large drum, pitches can be changed by hand/pedal
  • Snare drum: untuned percussion, 'ramly/dry' sound
  • Bass drum: untuned percussion, low in pitch, big drum
• Compound time


  Group of 3 (e.g. Strawberry)
• Simple time


  Group of 2 (e.g. coffee)
• Untuned percussion


  • Tambourine
  • Guiro: scrapping sound
• Xylophone


  Tuned percussion, wooden bars
• Accelerando


  Speed increase
• Pentatonic scale


  Five note scale, e.g. Auld Lang Syne
• Vamp


  Bass note then chord - piano or guitar
• Drone


  Held note
• Scat singing


  Nonsense words & sounds
• Canon/round


  Same melody entering one after another
• Broken chords


  Notes of a chord played separately
• Vocal ranges


  • Soprano: high female
  • Alto: low female
  • Tenor: high male
  • Bass: low male
• Baroque


  Harpsichord, 1600-1750
• Romantic


  Piano, full orchestra, 1800-1900
• Syncopation


  Ascending notes played off or against the beat
• change of key move from one key to another
• Concerto work for solo instrument
• Middle 8 : 8 bars long contrast to opening section
• Woodwind: woody, hollow sound
• Brass: metallic sounding
• Cadenza: fancy concerto
• Backing vocals; singers who support lead singer in harmony in background
• Ornament: decorated melody with short notes
• Muted: device which changes sound of instrument p, brass instrument and string
• Change of key: mover from on key to another
• Rock n roll: combined styles of jazz, blues, gospel and country from 1950s
• Distortion: electronic effect used in rock music to colour sound of electric guitar
• Theme and variation: melody/theme played them returns multiple times with variation
• Pedal: held note/repeated note in bass beneath changing upper parts
• Anacrusis: notes before first strong best of phrase