Chapter 1: Pitch, Dynamics, and Tone Colour
Sound: vibration of an objects. Transmitted by a medium (air) to ears impulses sent to brain
Pitch: Highness or Lowness of Sound
Pitch: highness/lowness. Determined by frequency of vibration. Smaller objects = faster vibration
= higher pitch
Tone: sound w/ definite pitch (specific frequency)
Interval: distance between any two tones (octave)
Pitch range: distance between lowest and highest tones that a voice/instrument can produce
Trained voice: 1.5 octaves, piano: 7 octaves
Dynamics: loudness or softness
Accent: emphasis on a tone by playing it more loudly than the tones around it.
Pianissimo pp very soft *extreme: ppp, pppp,
Piano p soft fff, ffff
Mezzo piano mp moderately soft
Mezzo forte mf moderately loud
Forte f loud
Fortissimo ff very loud
Decrescendo/ Diminuido (decresc./dim.) gradually softer
Crescendo (cresc.) gradually louder
Tone Colour: quality that distinquishes tones (timbre)
-build a sense of continuity (same instrument, same melody)
-create variety and contrast (diff. instrument same tone = diff. effect)
Improvisation: music created at the same time as it is performed
Chapter 2: Performing Media: Voices and Instruments
Voices:
Women Men
Soprano Tenor
Mezzo-soprano Baritone
Alto (or contralto) Bass
Musical Instruments
Register: part of the total range of an instrument/voice. Tone colour of instrument/voice may
vary with the register in which it is played or sung.
Conductor: who coordinates performers and shapes the interpretation of a musical composition
Baton, concertmaster: principal first violinist
Strings: violin, viola, cello (violoncello) and double bass
-strings are played with a bow. Symphonic strings may be plucked
-placing fingers on string for certain pitch = stopping
-key pieces: bow, frog, body, fingerboard, strings, bridge, pegs, tailpiece
-plectrum: tool for plucking strings (harp, guitar)
Pizzicato (plucked string)
Double stop (two tones at once) – Triple stop, Quadruple stop
Vibrato: rocking left hand while holding down= makes tone warmer, throbbing, expressive
Mute: muffle tone by fitting a clamp (mute) onto bridge
Tremolo: repeat tones by quick up-and-down strokes of bow (tension vs. shimmering)
Harmonics: lightly touching certain points on a string for very high-pitched tones
Woodwinds: flutes, saxophone, clarinets, oboes, bassoons (*recorder)
Flute Clarinet Oboe Bassoon
Piccolo
Flute Clarinet Oboe
English horn
Bass clarinet
Bassoon
Contrabassoon
Reed: thing piece of cane that is set into vibration by a stream of air
-single-reed woodwinds: (clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone)
-double-reed woodwinds: (oboe, English horn, bassoon, contrabassoon)
Brass: trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba, cornet, baritone horn, euphonium
-mouthpiece, slides, valves, bell, mute (alter tone color)
Percussion:
Definite Pitch Indefinite Pitch
Timpani (kettledrums) Snare drum (side drum)
Glockenspiel Bass drum
Xylophone Tambourine
Celesta Triangle
Chimes Cymbals
Gong (tam-tam)
Keyboard: piano (1700-1850: damper pedal for sustain/sostenuto pedal, una corda/soft pedal for
veiling sound)
Harpsichord: one or two keyboards controlled plucked strings
Pipe organ: wide range of pitch, dynamics and tone colour
Accordion: treble keyboard + bass keyboard, steel reeds caused to vibrate by air pressure
Electronic Instruments:
Tape studio: raw recordings of sounds of definite/indefinite pitch. Speed/slow them down,
altering pitch/duration, giving echoes, chance tone colour, cutting/splicing.
Difficult, inaccurate, time-consuming
Synthesizers: generate, modify and control sound. Played with keyboard
Analog synthesis: sounds shaped by filtering, represent data in terms of
measurable physical quantities (sound waves)
Digital frequency modulation (FM): physical quantities, points on sound
waves, as numbers
Effects devices: integrated into synthesizers and synthesis process
Sampling: synthesize brief digital recordings of live sounds. No actual
synthesis
Musical instrument digital interface (MIDI): device played separate fromm
tone generation
Computers: control device and direct synthesis (computer music)
Theme: melody used as basis for whole musical composition
Variations: varied repetitions of the theme
Chapter 3: Rhythm
Rhythm: the flow of music through time. A particular arrangement of note lengths in a piece of
music
Beat: a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time
Meter: organization of beats into regular groups
Measure: group containing a fixed number of beats
Duple meter: downbeat (first or stressed beat) 1-2 1-2 1-2
Triple meter: 1-2-3 1-2-3 1-2-3
Quadruple meter: 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4
upbeat (unaccented pulse preceding the downbeat)
Sextuple, quintuple, septuple
Accent and Syncopation
Syncopation: accent placed on notes where it is normally not expected
Tempo: tempo indication
Largo very slow, board
Grave very slow, solemn
Adagio slow
Andante moderately slow, walking pace
Moderato moderate
Allegretto moderately fast Accelerando: to gradually get
Allegro fast faster
Vivace lively Ritardando: to gradually slow
down
Presto very fast
Prestissimo as fast as possible
Metronome: apparatus that ticks/flashes at any desired musical speed
Chapter 4: Music Notation
Notation: system of writing music so that specific pitches and rhythms can be communicated
Notating Pitch:
Note: oval. Black/white, with stem and/or flags
Staff: (staves) a set of five horizontal lines
Ledger line: pitch that falls above or below the range indicated by the staff
Sharp, flat, natural sign. Treble clef, bass clef, grand staff
Notating Rhythm
Whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, sixteenth note
Beam, dotted note, dotted rhythm, tie, triplet
Notating Silence (Rests)
Whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth
Notating meter:
Time signature, 4/4, 3/4, 2/2 (# beats in measure/which note gets beat)
Chapter 5: Melody
Melody: series of single tones that add up to a recognizable whole. Moves by small intervals
(steps) or large ones (leaps).
Climate: emotional focal point, often highest tone.
Legato: smooth, connected style
Staccato: short, detached manner
Phrases: smaller parts of a melody
Sequence: a repetition of a melodic pattern at a higher or lower pitch
Cadence: a resting place at the end of a phrase (incomplete or complete)
Theme:
Chapter 6: Harmony
Harmony: the way chords are constructed and how they follow each other
Chord: combination or three or more tones sounded at once
Progression: specific series of chords
Consonance: stable tone combination
Dissonance: unstable tone combination
Triad: chord w/ 3 tones
Tonic chord: triad built on the first note of scale. Most stable and conclusive
Dominant chord: triad built fifth note of the scale. Sets up tension that’s resolved by tonic chord
*Cadence: progression from dominant chord to tonic chord
Arpeggios
Broken Chord: (arpeggio) individual tones of a chord sounded one after another
Chapter 7: Key
Keynote = tonic
Key (tonality): central note, scale, and chord within a piece, in relationship to which all other
tones in the composition are heard
Scale: made up of the basic pitches of a piece of music arranged in order from low to high or high
to low
The Major Scale
- 12 possible scales, 8 total tones
-has two kinds of intervals: half steps (smallest interval) and whole steps (twice as large as a half
step).
The Minor Scale
- 12 possible scales, 8 total tones
-in minor scale, there is only a half step between the second and third tones
Key Signature: used to indicate key (sharps or flats)
-major key: music based on major scale
-minor key: music based on minor scale
The Chromatic Scale
-chromatic scale: twelve tones of the octave (all white and black) form
-all tones half step apart
Modulation: shifting from one key to another within the same piece
Tonic Key: (home key) central key around which the whole piece is organized
Chapter 8: Musical Texture
musical texture: how many different layers of sound are heard at once, what kind of layers they
are, and how they are related to each other
Monophonic texture: texture of single melodic line without accompaniment
Polyphonic texture: simultaneous performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal
interest
counterpoint: technique of combining several melodic lines into a meaningful whole
imitation: when a melodic idea is presented by one voice or instrument is restated immediately
by another
Homophonic texture: one main melody accompanied by chords
Chapter 9: Musical Form
Form: the organization of musical elements in time
Techniques That Create Musical Form
Repetition: creates a sense of unity
- Balance and symmetry, not duplication
Contrast: provides variety
- Opposition propels and develops musical ideas
Variation: gives unity and variety
Types of Musical Form
Three-Part (Ternary) Form: A B A
(A) Statement - (B) contrast or departure - (A) return
When A is varied; ABA’
Two-Part (Binary) Form: A B
(A) Statement – (B) counterstatement
