Music A Theory and History

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Created by:

GRE  on August 26, 2008

Subjects:

music history & theory

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Music A Theory and History

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Italian

English

a tempo return to the original tempo
adagio slowly
agitato agitated
allargando broadening
allegro quickly
andante walking tempo
brio spirit, vigor
cantabile in a singing style
con with
crescendo gradually getting louder
D.C. return to the begining
D.S. return to the sign
decrescendo gradually getting softer
dolce sweetly
espressivo expressively
fine end
forte loud
fortissimo very loud
giocoso playful
grandioso grand
grave solemn
grazioso graceful
l'istesso same l'
largo very slowly
legato smooth, connected
leggiero light
maesto majestically
marcato marked, accented
meno less
mezzo medium
moderato moderately
molto much
morendo dying away
mosso motion
moto motion
pianissimo very soft
piano soft
piu more
poco little
poco a poco little by little
presto very quick
rallentando gradually getting slower
ritardando gradually getting slower
rubato with freedom
sempre always
sforzando heavily accented, with force
simile same si
sordino mute
staccato detached
stringendo gradually getting faster
subito suddenly
tenuto connected, full value
tranquillo tranquil
tutti all
vivace lively
A cappella Unaccompanied choral singing
Accelerando The music gradually becomes faster
Alto (voice) The lowest female voice
Arpeggio Notes of a chord played one after the other
Ascending Notes which rise in pitch
Bass (voice) The lowest male voice
Bowing Using a bow for a stringed instrument
Brass A family of instruments made from metal with a mouthpiece, e.g. trumpet and trombone
Broken chord The notes of a chord are played separately
Cadenza Performers improvise and play to show-off
Canon After one part starts to play or sing a melody, another part enters shortly afterwards with exactly the same melody
Chord Two or more notes sounding together
Compound time The beat is divided into groups of three pulses
Concerto Work for solo instrument and orchestra
Crescendo The music gradually becomes louder
Descant Another melody above the main tune
Descending Notes which fall in pitch
Diminuendo The music gradually becomes quieter
Drone One note, held on or repeated in the bass.
Fanfare A short piece played on trumpets for an occasion
Flutter tonguing A method of tonguing in which the player rolls the letter r
Glissando Sliding from one note to another
Harmony The sound of two or more notes made at the same time
Imitation Where the melody is immediately copied higher or lower in another part
Jazz At first this was music created by black Americans in the early 20th century.
Legato The notes are played or sung smoothly
Melismatic Several notes sung to one syllable
Octave The distance between a note and the nearest note with the same name
Ornament Decorates a melody by adding extra notes
Pedal A note which is held on or is repeated continuously in the bass beneath changing harmonies
basso continuo continuous bass part, often with figures to indicate chords to be improvised on a harmony instrument
continuo a bass line only, unsually played on bassoon, cello, double bass
contrapuntal two or more parts weaved together as a musical texture (polyphonic)
diatonic notes belonging to the scale of the key you are in
fugue composition based on a melody, repeated in combination with rhythmically independent counter subject
ground bass bass is repeated over and over whilst composition plays above
homophonic musical texture which focuses on a single melody with accompaning harmonies (mainly chordal)
melisma flourish of notes sung to a single syllable
monophonic single melodic line without supporting harmonies
pedal note that repeats against changing harmony
polyphonic two or more parts weaved together as a musical texture (contrapuntal)
polyrhythmic two or more different rhythms going along at the same time, strongly conflicting with each other
polytonality use of two or more keys played simultaneously, may have a melody in one key and supporting harmonies in another
Aerophone Any instrument that generates sound by vibrating a column of air
Alto The lower, heavier female voice
Art Music Music intended for careful attention to its sounds and expressive qualities
Bass The lower, heavier male voice
Beat The pulse or throb that recurs regularly in music
Cadence A melodic or harmonic formula that gives a sense of phrase ending. In poetic usage, it sometimes refers to beat or tempo
Cadenza A section in which a soloist plays a free paraphrase on the themes of the work
Call-and-Response The form found in African music in which phrases of music are exchanged between soloist and group
Canon Music in which one of more lines imitate one another for almost the entire work
Chord The simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches
Chordophone Any instrument that produces sound by vibrating strings
Classical Music The popular term for Concert Music
Concert Music Music created for the intellectual and psychological satisfaction it provides
Concerto A multi-movement work consisting of music that contrasts a soloist with an orchestra or band
Consonance A group of simultaneous sounds that seems agreeable or restful
Counterpoint Melody Two of more independent lines with melodic character occurring at the same time
Crescendo The music should gradually become louder
Decrescendo The music should gradually become softer
Dissonance A group of simultaneous sounds that seems disagreeable or harsh
Downbeat The first beat of a measure
Dynamics The amount of loudness in music
Form The pattern or plan of a musical work
Harmony The simultaneous sounds of several pitches, usually in accompanying a melody
Homophony The texture consisting of a line of melody with accompaniment
Ideophone A percussion instrument other than a drum
Imitation The repetition of a theme in another part of line or a few beats later
Interval The distance between two pitches
Key Any of 24 major or minor diatonic scales that provide the tonal framework for a piece of music
Major Scale A series of seven different pitches within an octave, with half steps between the third and fourth steps and the seventh and eighth steps
Measure A group of beats marked as a separate unit in music
Melody A series of consecutive pitches that form a cohesive musical entity
Membranophone Any instrument that produces sounds from a skin or other membrane
Meter The regular pattern of stressed and unstressed beats
Minor Scale A series of seven pitches within an octave, with a half step between the second and third steps
Modulation Changing the tonal center as the music progresses, usually without a break
Monophony One melodic line without any accompaniment
Motive A short musical idea that is a unifying element in a musical work
Movement A large instrumental section of an instrumental composition
Mute A device for muffling of dampening the sound of an instrument
Octave A pitch that has twice or half the frequency of vibrations of another; usually the two pitches have the same letter designation
Phrase A rather short, logical segment of music; it is comparable to a clause or phrase in language
Pitch The perceived highness of lowness of a musical sound
Pizzicato Notes on a string instrument that are played by the player's fingers plucking the string instead of using the bow
Polyphony Music in which two or more melodic lines of approximately equal importance are sounded at the same time
Polyrhythm Two or more rhythm patterns occurring simultaneously
Rhythm The flow of music in terms of time
Scale A series of pitches that proceeds upward of downward according to a prescribed pattern
Soprano The higher, lighter female voice
Syncopation The displacement of an accent so that it occurs where it is not normally expected or does not occur where it is expected
Tempo The speed of the beats in a piece of music
Tenor (1) The higher, lighter male voice. (2) The line in a medieval motet that contains the phrases from Gregorian Chant
Texture The basic setting of the music: monophonic, homophonic, or polyphonic
Theme A central melody in a musical work
Timbre Tone quality or color in music
Time Signature The two numbers, one above the other, at the beginning of a piece or section of a longer work that indicate its metrical pattern and how it is notated
Tonal Center The specific pitch around which a piece of music is centered
Tonic Chord A chord built on the first degree of a major or minor scale
Vibrato Slight, rapid fluctuations of pitch
Wind Ensemble An ensemble comprising wind and percussion instruments
accelerando gradually faster
accent play note louder w/ emphasis
adagio slow
allegro quickly / cheerfully
andante moving along
crescendo gradually louder
decresc gradually softer
enharmonic notes notes thatsound the same but have different names
fermata hold the note longer than its normal value (approximately twice the normal duration)
forte loud
fortissimo very loud
largo very slow
mezzo forte moderately loud
mezzo piano moderately soft
pianissimo very soft
piano soft
ritardando gradually slower
sforzando a sudden strong accent
staccato play note short and detached
tenuto hold the note for its full value
vivace lively / fast
Anton Webern 1883-1945, texture, expressive textures, sparse textures, use of silence, brevity-strict serialism
Antonin Dvorák 1841-1904, Czech, strongly ifluenced by Smetana-moved to U.S., famous works include Slavonic Danses, Symphony no. 9
Arnold Schoenberg 1874-1951, Vienna then U.S., expressionism-Pierrot Lunaire-sprechstimme (spoken song)
Bedrich Smetana 1824-1884, Czech-Bohemia, built national theater in Prague, criticized for sounding too much like Liszt, The Moldau river, emphatic-Furiant from The Bartered Bride
Claude Debussy Ballets Russes, Sergi Diaghilev, commissioned many composers, including French
Franz Schubert 1797-1828, viennese closee circle of artistic friends, over 600 songs, chamber music, piano pieces, symphonies-Gretchen am Spinnrade
Fryderyk Chopin 1810-1849, Rubato, solo piano pieces-mazurka, polonaise, impromtus, improvisatory in manner
Giuseppe Verdi 1813-1901, went from bottom to top from small opera houses to La Scala, Italian operatic tradition, worked with famous librettists-Otello
Gustav Mahler 1860-1911, Brahms' Viennese successor, conductor, radical ideas, symphony, big orchestra, unusual sounds for a concert hall
Hector Berlioz 1803-1869 studied composition at Paris conservatory, music critic, conductor, master of orchestration
Igor Stravinsky 1882-1971, Russian, settled in France then U.S., early collaboration with Diaghilev and Ballets Russes, large, romantic era orchestra, Russian themes, neo-classism, serialism-Firebird, Petrushka, Rite of Spring
Johannes Brahms 1833-1897, vienna, conservative center of music tradition, friend of Robert and Clara Schumann-Variations on Haydn
Lili Boulanger 1893-1918, child prodigy, Paris conservatory, Rome Prize-Psalm 24
Piotr Tchaichovsky 1840-1893, tragic life, studied with Balakiev but embraced European symphonic music, especially Mozart, famous pieces: Nutcracker Suite, Overture, six symphonies, violin concerto in D Major, Romeo and Juliet
Richard Wagner 1813-1883, opposed to traditional Italian opera, "music drama" (not drama), German Romantic Opera traditions, greater role for orchestra, supernatural plots, controversial writings about music and race, lietmotiv-Ring Cycle
Robert Schumann 1810-1856, master of lieder, solo piano, chamber music, orchestral music-Carnaval
Steve Reich phasing-Come Out, Clapping Music
Vincenzo Bellini 1801-1835, master of bel canto opera, preferred serious/tragic plots, lyric intensity, vocal display (ornamentation), coloratura-Norma, Casta Diva
Antonio Vivaldi Baroque 1678-1741
Clara Schumann Romantic 1819-1896
Franz Peter Schubert Classical 1797-1828
George Frederic Handel Baroque 1685-1759
Jean-Baptiste Lully Baroque 1632-1687
Johann Sebastian Bach Baroque 1685-1750
Johannes Brahms Romantic 1833-1897
Joseph Haydn Classical 1732-1809
Ludwig Van Beethoven Classical/Romantic 1770-1827
Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Romantic 1840-1893
Richard Wagner Romantic 1813-1883
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Classical 1756-1791

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