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music theory
- -a perception of musical organization
- -controls time and emotion, allows one to gain understanding of new music, allows one to appreciate and communicate effectively music
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time
the sensation of present, past and future
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What makes time seem to have "direction"?
the present seems to be a consequence of the past and it will affect the future.
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How can music events direct time? (3)
predictable pattern, repetition of formal structures, formulaic passages
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Name 4 immediately perceptible properties of sound. (subjective and objective)
- loudness --> amplitude
- timbre --> spectrum
- pitch --> frequency
- length --> duration
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loudness
how much a sound dominates one's sensation
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timbre
the quality of a sound that indicates what is making it and how
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pitch
the quantity in which sounds with the same loudness and timbre can differ
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musical score
a series of instructions on how to perform a piece of music
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Why use musical symbols over standard language?
They are quicker to read (once you're trained) as well as more compact.
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Name the 3 disadvantages to using musical symbols.
They are relational (f - fff), non-intuitive and non-proportional.
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onset (attack)
the change TO a sound FROM silence or another sound. The beginning of a process that the release ends.
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release
the change FROM a sound TO silence or another sound
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timepoint
a particular instant (at which a change is perceived)/ a moment in time
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duration (time span)
the time that passes from an earlier timepoint to a later one. (time from onset to onset/release)
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interonset duration
- the duration specifically from onset to onset (sound, not silence--> add value of note + succeeding rest)
- does not match the notation
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continuity
the temporally directed quality of the duration of a process
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beginning
when a process starts
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end
when a process ceases
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accent
- a timepoint that draws our attention, a distinction of a timepoint compared to earlier timepoints.
- used to support musical structure
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What creates accent?
change --> the greater the change, the greater the accent?
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What is the role of accent?
- to draw attention to important events/notes.
- It divides time, calling attention to moments that are in the past while continuity directs time, reaching into the future.
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sustaining
- continuing a sound.
- a process that produces uninterrupted sound and usually unchanging loudness.
- makes a release sound like the end of an activity that began at a past onset.
- a way to create continuity and to make time directional. Sustaining makes the timepoint of the sound's release sound as if it is a consequence/result of the timepoint of the sound's attack
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rhythm
a series of consecutive durations --> changes in sound mark durations
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voice
a single line of independent melody
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fortississimo
fff --> very very loud
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fortissimo
ff --> very loud
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mezzo forte
mf --> somewhat loud
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mezzo piano
mp --> somewhat soft
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pianissimo
pp --> very soft
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pianississimo
ppp --> very very soft
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dynamic accent
increase in loudness to draw attention to a timepoint
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sfz --> ^_ (together)
sforzato
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fp
fortepiano - loud then suddenly soft
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durational accent
- timepoint emphasized by duration of a note
- occurs when on a note that is longer than the immediately preceding note
- helps group notes into meters
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interonset durational accent
stress at the onset of an interonset duration that is longer than the immediately preceding interonset duration
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dynamics
loudness, specified by descriptions and symbols
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intensification
a process of gradual INCREASE in a perceivable and easily comparable aspect of sound (louder, rise in pitch, rougher timbre)
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diminishment
a process of gradual DECREASE in a perceivable and easily comparable aspect of sound (softer, fall in pitch, smoother timbre)
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process
an activity that makes the present sound like it is a result of the past, and that enables the listener to anticipate a future.
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articulation
- the way we perform sounds
- the way that a sound is attacked, sustained, and released. Affects how it connects to other notes, affecting the duration, continuity and accent.
- is different for every instrument
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legato
- the release of each sound happens at the onset of the next sound; there is no silence between them
- emphasizes continuity
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detached
a sound is released just before the next onset
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staccato
- the sound is half its written value, exaggerating the silence before the onset of the next sound.
- interrupts continuity
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tenuto
- the sound is sustained evenly for its entire duration. Sometimes, the onset/duration of the sound is exaggerated.
- emphasizes and accents continuity
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grace notes...
can create durational accents
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monophony
music of only one voice
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polyphony
music of 2 or more concurrent voices
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augmentation
proportional lengthening
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How is the long series of sounds in a voice analogous to a single sound?
It comes from a single voice (no harmony), giving it continuity
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segment
- a rhythm/different durations in a voice which has continuity
- a distinctive beginning and ending
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We can't literally bring back a past sound, but we can reproduce a previous sound's.... (4)
timbre, pitch, loudness or duration
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Repeating a segment creates continuity more effectively than repeating a sound because a segment is usually more...
distinctive
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We hear a beginning when there is a... (4)
- substantial change from (relative) silence to sound
- substantial change in sound (dynamics, timbre, register, tempo, etc.)
- onset that starts a repetition
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We hear an ending... (4)
- before an explicit beginning
- at a significant change from sound to silence
- when a motive comes to an end
- at the last release of a rhythm
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implicit beginning
happens when we recognize the ending before it (explicit ending)
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explicit beginning
we recognize this beginning or if there is a significant change from silence to sound
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implicit ending
happens if we recognize the beginning after it (explicit beginning)
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explicit ending
happens if we recognize this ending or if there is a significant change from sound to silence.
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grouping structure
the way that brief segments combine into long segments
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closure
when the end of a segment is so convincing that no subsequent beginning or change is needed to articulate it
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Name 3 ways of creating closure
- end the repetition
- culmination of a process
- formulaic- using a formula (ex: 1+1)
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