Chapter 2 flashcards.txt

  1. Pitch
    The quality of a note that distinguishes a high note from a low one.
  2. Frequency
    Number of sound waves per second.
  3. Hertz
    Measurement of frequency.
  4. Harmony
    Playing different pitches simultaneously
  5. Interval
    The distance in pitch between any two notes.
  6. Octave
    Most fundamental interval, with 2 to 1 ratio of frequencies.
  7. Parallel octaves
    Two otherwise identical melodies sung simultaneously an octave apart.
  8. Tuning system
    A method by which musicians decide which frequencies will be represented on instruments or in a musical system.
  9. Twelve-tone equal temperament
    Tuning system in America and in Europe that enables musicians to notate music and recombine instruments into different ensembles.
  10. Tonic
    Pitch that functions as a center to which the melody always returns at the end or other points of rest.
  11. Tonal center
    Same as tonic.
  12. Key center
    Same as tonic.
  13. Tonality
    The feeling that a melody revolves around the tonic pitch.
  14. Tonal
    Music that revolves around a tonic pitch.
  15. Atonal
    Music that defies identification of a tonal center.
  16. Nontonal
    Other word for atonal.
  17. Diatonic
    Western mode that uses seven of the available twelve pitches (represented by the white keys)
  18. Mode
    A subset of pitches within a tuning system with a defined tonic. Also distinguished by motives, ornaments, and other melodic practices as well as melodic range.
  19. Pentatonic
    Mode with five pitches
  20. Hexatonic
    Mode with six pitches
  21. Heptatonic
    Mode with seven pitches
  22. Scale
    Modes arranged from tonic in one octave to the tonic in the next octave. Convenient construction for illustrating the tonic and pitch set used in a piece of music.
  23. Major mode
    Associated with happy melodies in the West
  24. Minor mode
    Associated with sad melodies in the West
  25. Motive
    Melodic fragment, characteristic of certain modes but not others
  26. Melody
    Variation in pitch (along with rhythm)
  27. Contour
    General direction or shape of a melody over time.
  28. Melodic motion
    Defined by the sizes of the intervals between adjacent notes in the melody (steepeness of the contour)
  29. Conjunct motion
    Small intervals between adjacent notes.
  30. Disjunct motion
    Large intervals between adjacent notes.
  31. Range
    The difference between the highest and lowest notes in a melody
  32. Tessitura
    Where a melody lies in relation to the possible range of the singer or instrument.
  33. Cadence
    Points of momentary rest or arrival (like the end of a phrase). Often fall on the tonal center or another important pitch.
  34. Phrase
    Section of melody from one cadence to another.
  35. Cadential motive
    Recurring melodic fragment that can signal cadences
  36. Half-cadence
    Cadences that create a resting point in relation to what immediately precedes, but could not be used to end the piece.
  37. Semi-cadence
    Same as half-cadence.
  38. Ornamentation
    Added notes or other small changes in pitch or loudness that don't change the overall character of the melody as much as they enhance or embellish it.
  39. Trill
    A rapid alternation between two notes a step apart.
  40. Ornament
    Added notes or other small changes in pitch or loudness that don't change the overall character of the melody as much as they enhance or embellish it.
  41. Theme
    An entire melody recognizable as a discrete entity, and may be anywhere from the length of one phrase to over a minute in length. Listener's recognition of these repeated melodies is one of the most important ways performers and composers structure music.
  42. Structure
    Largest level of musical architecture that guides our listening experience through expectations and surprises that come from following repetitions and contrasts, sectional changes, and variations.
  43. Form
    Same as structure.
  44. Movement
    Large sections within a composition, set apart by stopping the music. Analogous to a chapter.
  45. Strophic
    A song that repeats a group of melodic phrases over and over but with different words. Each repetition is a verse, stanza, or strophe.
  46. Refrain
    A section repeated in music with the same words.
  47. Verse-refrain
    Common in modern popular songs, stanzas are punctuated with refrains.
  48. Variation
    Used to increase interest while maintaining elements of repetition. Common ways include the following: transposition, increased or different ornamentation, different mode, different tonal center, different tempo or rhythmic density, different instruments used, different texture
  49. Transposition
    Repetition at a different pitch level.
  50. Modulate
    The tonic changes to a new pitch, or the melody has changed key or modes (even if the tonic doesn't change).
  51. Theme and variations form
    A melody is introduced and then played many times in different variations. The variations are arranged to articulate a larger form with beginning, middle, and end, with rising tension and resolution.
Author
elitylski
ID
59292
Card Set
Chapter 2 flashcards.txt
Description
Chapter 2 - Pitch and Melody
Updated