Music Fundamentals: Melody, Harmony, and Elements of Music Exam Review - Prof. Laurine Mar, Study notes of Music

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Music 201 Exam I Review The Elements of Music: Fundamentals & Musical Terms  Melody- Horizontal organization of pitches – notes sound one after the other.  Scale- A system of pitch organization of pitches – a series of whole and half steps  Musical Alphabet- The musical alphabet consists of 7 different letter names and sharps and flats -The 7 letter names are - A B C D E F G. Also known as the NATURAL notes.  Solfege Syllables- do re mi fa so la ti do  Intervals- distance in pitch between two notes o Unison m2 M2 m3 M3 TT P4 P5 m6 M6 m7 M octave  Successive Intervals-  Chords- 3 or more simultaneous sounds  Triads- 3 note chord that can be stacked in thirds  Consonance- Nice Sounds  Dissonance- not nice sounds  Melodic Sequence-

 Texture- the way the melodic, rhythmic,

and harmonic materials are combined in a composition thus determining the overall quality of the sound in a piece o Monophony- melody without accompanying harmony. o Homophony- two or more musical types move together in harmony. o Polyphony- a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). o Counterpoint- The relationship between voices that are harmonically interdependent (polyphony), but independent in rhythm and contour. o Canon- a contrapuntal compositional technique that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (e.g., quarter rest, one measure, etc.).  Frequency- the relative highness or lowness of sound.  Notation: 

 Scales- any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental

frequency or pitch.  Rhythm- Combinations of patterns and duration. o Beat- basic unit of musical time. o Barlines- to separate the divisions of time. o Meters- Organization of the beat into groups – patterns of strong and weak beats.  Tempo- Rate of the speed of music. o {Grave Largo Adagio} – Slow o {Andante Moderato} – Moderate o {Allegro Vivace Presto} – Fast  Dynamics- Level of Loudness o Piano -Forte o pp p mp mf f ff sfz o pp= pianissimo o mezzo- medium/moderate o crescendo – diminuendo  Orchestra Instruments- o Woodwinds- piccolo, flutes, etc. o Brass- French Horns, Trumpets o Percussion- drums, cymbals, triangles o Strings- Harps, Violins, cellos double bases  A cappella: o sung without instruments of any kind  Acoustics: o The science of sound; how it is produced, transmitted, and received  Amplitude: o the size of a sound wave; determines volume  Ballad: o a poem or song that tells a story  Binary form: o a musical structure consisting of two repeated halves (AABB)  Cadence: o a point of arrival signaling the end of a musical unit  Cadenza: o in a concerto, an elaborate improvisation by the soloist on themes heard earlier in the movement, w/ no accompaniment from the orchestra. It occurs near the end of the recapitulation.  Call and response: o a technique where one musician plays or sings an opening motive, and another musician or group sings an answer.  Chamber music: o instrumental music for a small ensemble, with only one player to each part  Chord: o three (3) or more notes played or sung at the same moment  Coda: o Italian for “tail”. A section at the end of a musical work or movement that stands outside any formal structure and brings the whole to a close.  Comic opera: o in Italian, opera buffa. A genra that uses many of the same conventions as serious operas – arias, recitatives, ensembles, choruses – but with plots revolving around believeable, everyday characters rather than mythical or historical figures  Concerto: o an instrument genre for a soloist (or sometimes more than one soloist) and a larger ensemble.  Consonance: o the sound of notes together that our ear finds naturally right. Like dissonance, consonance is a relative concept that can change over long periods of time.  Da Capo:

o Italian for “from the head”; a direction to go back and play from the very beginning of the piece.  Development: o the section within a sonata-form movement that thematically and harmonically manipulates, “develops”, the movements themes most intensively  Dissonance: o the sound of notes that clash, either harmonically or melodically, and do not seem to belong together. Dissonance is relative and can change over time.  Double exposition concerto form: o a structure based on sonata form but with two expositions, one for the orchestra alone and one for the soloist and orchestra together. It also includes, near the end of the recapitulation, a cadenza for the soloist.  Duple meter: o an underlying pattern of rhythm in which each unit (measure) consists of one accented (strong) beat followed by one unaccented (weak) beat. i.e. in a 4/4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 would be the strongest, and 3 the second strongest.  Dynamics: o the volume of sound, determined by the size (amplitude) of each sound wave  Exposition: o the section within a sonata-form movement that introduces “exposes” all of the movements themes  Finale: o a last movement of a multimovement work  Form: o the structure of a musical work; the way in which its individual units are put together  Frequency: o the number of sound-wavelengths in one second  Full cadence: o a musical point of arrival that creates a strong sense of closure  Gospel music: o religious themed music that borrows from R&B, blues, and other popular styles in its vocal and instrumental styles  Genre: o the category of a work, determined by a combination of its performance medium and its social function  Glissando: o a continuous “gliding” melodic motion up or down that goes by so fast we almost cannot hear the individual notes  Half cadence: o a point of musical arrival that is not yet closure. If though of as punctuation, a half cadence is like a comma, whereas a full cadence is like a period.  Half step: o the smallest distance between two adjacent notes on a piano (white or black), such as C-C#  Harmony: o the sound created by multiple voices playing or singing together  Homophonic texture: o a musical texture in which a melody is performed with a supporting accompaniment  Imitation: o a shortened form of the term “imitative counterpoint” the same theme introduced by different instruments or voices in succession  Interval: o the distance between two pitches  Key: o the central note and mode on which a melody or piece is based  Major mode: o a type of scale producded singing “do-re-mi-fa- so-la-ti-do” or by playing the white keys of the paino between c and c, in which half steps occur between notes 3 and 4 and notes 7 and. the sound of the major mode is often described as “bright” or “happy” in contrast to the minor mode  Measure: o a ryhtmic unit, indicated by bar lines in notated music, that presents one complete statements of the meter.  Melody: o a single line of notes heard in succession as a coherent unit  Meter: o an underlying pattern of beats that maintains itself consistently throughout a work. See also “duple meter”, “triple meter”  Minor mode: o a type of scale produced by plyaing the white keys on the piano between A and A, in which half steps occur between 2 and 3 and notes 5 and 6 but often with the seventh note raised so that a half step also occurs between notes 7 and 8. The sound of the minor mode is often described as “dark” or “sad”, in contrast to the major mode.  Minuet form: o a ternary form (ABA) in which the opening section, known as the minuet proper (A) is followed by a contrasting trio (B), which is followed by a repeat of the minuet proper. The minuet is always in triple meter and its individual units – the minuet proper and the trio – are each in binary form.  Modulate: o to move to a different key area  Monophonic: o a musical texture consisting of a single melodic line  Octave: o the interval between two pitches of the same name, C to C, G to G. The frequency of the higher pitch is twice that of the lower pitch.  Opera: o a drama sung from beginning to end  Opera Buffa: o Italian for comic opera, see comic opera  Oral tradition: o one passed down without the aid of written words or notated music  Ostinato: o a short pattern of notes repeated over and over.  Orchestration: o the manner in which various instruments are assigned to the musical lines  Pentatonic: o a scale consisting of five tones  Percussion instrument: o an instrument that produces sound when it is struck  Phrase pitch: o a brief musical statement  Polyphonic: o a musical texture consisting of multiple lines of equal importance

 Recapitulation: o the third and final section within a sonata-form movement, in which all the themese presented in the exposition return, all in the tonic key.  Recitative: o a style of singing that lies somewhere between lyrical song and speech; also, the operatic number that is sung in this style  Refrain: o the same words with the same basic melody recurring at regular intervals over the course of a work  Register: o the range of a pitch or series of pitches, usually described as high, middle, or low  Rhythm: o the ordering of music through time  Rondo form: o a form in which an opening theme (A) returns repeatedly over the course of the movement, interspersed with contrasting ideas (B, C, etc.). An example of the resulting pattern would be ABACA  Scale: o A series of notes that provide the essential pitch building blocks of a melody  Scherzo: o in Italian, “joke”, a musical scherzo is a lighthearted movement in a fast tempo and in triple meter, similar in morn to the minuet.  Sequence: o a short musical motive that repeats at successively higher or lower pitches  Sonata: o a type of instrumental genre; literally, a work that is played, as opposed to sung, “cantata”  Sonata form: o a musical structure consisting of an exposition, development, and recapitulation, allowing for the presentation, development, and resolution of multiple themses within a single movement. Sonata form was widely used throughout the classical era and the nineteenth century.  Sound wave: o the vibration through air that produces sound  Stanza: o a verse of poetry, or the music corresponding to that verse (see also “strophe”)  String instrument: o an instrument that produces sound when a taut string is plucked or stroked with a bow.  Strophe: o a verse of poetry, or the music corresponding to that verse (see also “stanza”)  Ternary form: o a form consisting of three parts, labeled ABA  Texture: o the number and general relationship of musical lines or voices to one another  Theme and variations form: o a form in which a theme is presented and then altered in some way – through harmony, melody, texture, dynamics, or some combination of these

• in a succession of individual variations  Timbre: o the character or quality of a sound  Tonal: o a style of writing that establishes a central ntoes (the tonic) as a harmonic and melodic center of gravity, which in turn creates the potential for a strong sense of resolution and closure.  Tonic: o the note that establishes a key, based on its distinctive relationship with a particular set of harmonies or other notes in the underlying scale. Also, the chord based on the first scale degree.  Tremolo: o rapid repeated notes that produce a shivering or trembling sound  Triple Meter: o an underlying pattern of rhythm in which each unit (measure) consists of one accented (strong) beat followed by two unaccented (weak) beats ( 1- 2-3, 1- 2-3)  Tutti: o italian for “all” the full ensemble (as opposed to a soloist)  Unison: o more than one performer playing or singing the same pitch or pitches at the same time  Verse-chorus: o one of the simplest modles in popular music. The chorus conatins the main idea of the song, usually incorporating the title as well. When the chorus returns, it keeps the same text and music. Verses advance the plot, using the same music each time but different texts. Verse-chorus for can use any combination of verses and choruses, although the last unit will always be a chorus.  Wind instrument: o an instrument that produces sound when air passes through it  Whole step: o two half steps. On the piano, a whole step skips exactly one key, white or black.