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Musical concepts

Terms in this set (97)

The speed/tempo gets faster

Another instrument or voice which plays along with the main tune

A note or few notes before the main tune starts (often at the start of a piece)

A solo song from an opera or oratorio. Often with an orchestra or piano

The structure of a piece of music which has 2 different sections

The sound produced into the mouthpiece of an instrument (brass/wind)

Type of drum often used in Scottish or celtic music. Played with beater

Type of drum joined together in pairs and quite high pitched. Played with hand

Playing orchestral string instruments with a bow

The part of a concerto where the soloist plays a difficult solo to show off skills

A type of a broken chord where the notes are played in order

Notes of a chord played separately (or broken up) to make patterns

A structure of music where parts copy or imitate each other throughout

Percussion instrument used in Spanish music

Two or more notes played together in different combinations

A type of song from an opera or oratorio sung by a choir (group of singers)

Notes or a type of scale which move in semitones

Group of clashing notes played together

The last section (or ending) of a tune

Each beat is divided into groups of 3 quavers (straw-be-rry)

Using a mute (mainly on a trumpet). Common in jazz

A long instrumental work for orchestra and a solo instrument

2 or more important parts with different rhythms played together (polyphonic)

Contrary motion

2 parts moving in opposite directions

A second melody played at the same time as the main melody

2 or more different rhythms played at the same time

Percussion instrument made of metal. Part of a drum kit but can be played alone

Descant (voice)

A high vocal countermelody sung by the sopranos in the last verse of a hymn tune

An electronic effect often used in rock guitar to make the sound different

A note which lasts 3 beats

long and short notes alternating. Sounds jumpy

Long sustained note, often heard in bagpipes

Percussion instrument consisting of drums and cymbals

Contrasting part of music which links main sections together

Flutter tonguing

Rolling the letter "r" while playing woodwind/brass instruments

A group which plays folk music. Guitar, singer, piano etc.

Sliding between 2 different notes and playing all the notes in between

A slow repeated bass line played while other parts are varied

A broken chord bass line often played by the left hand on piano

Untuned percussion instrument which is scraped to produce the sound

Type of cymbals in drum kit (2 together on a stand with a pedal)

A texture where all the parts play the same or very similar rhythms together

Parts which copy each other

Imperfect cadence

A cadence is two chords at the end of a phrase. Imperfect cadence is from any chords to chord V and sounds unfinished

A repeated or sustained note in the high parts (opposite of pedal)

Moving between notes which are not next to each other

Word setting where the singer sings several notes for each syllable

the middle 8 bars of a song. Has a different tune and can be an instrumental

Music which uses repeated patterns with only very slight gradual changes

A medium tempo or speed

A change of key in a piece of music

Using a device to change the sound of an instrument

Syncopated music where the notes are played on weaker beats

Notes played with the stronger beats

A few notes added to decorate a melody

A short repeated pattern (same as riff)

A note or rest held on slightly longer than normal to create a break

A repeated or sustained note in the bass line (opposite of inverted pedal)

Pentatonic scale

A type of scale with 5 notes, common in Scottish or oriental music

Perfect cadence

2 chords at the end of a phrase. Chord V moving to Chord I. Sounds finished

Type of piece for solo bagpipes

Bending the pitch of a note (ie by bending a guitar string while playing the note)

Plucking orchestral string instruments such as violin

2 or more important parts with different rhythms played together (contrapuntal)

Question and answer/call and response

One group of instruments/singers play/sing an opening phrase which is answered by another group of instruments/singers

Rallentando/ritardando

Tempo or speed gets gradually slower

A musical idea (rhythm, melody etc) is repeated

Electronic effect which makes voice sound fuller (often used in karaoke)

Fast repetition of a note on a percussion instrument (timpani roll)

A structure where the music keeps returning to the first section while changing between different sections

Speed or tempo speeds up and slows down constantly to make it more expressive (robbed time)

Scottish dance band

Scottish folk group which plays at Ceilidhs. Plays Scottish dance music. Can have combinations of accordion, fiddle, keyboard, guitars and drums

Note that lasts for 4 beats

A pattern or melodic phrase which is repeated either higher or lower each time

sfz - sforzando

Dynamic marking. Suddenly getting louder/accenting a note

Music usually has 2, 3 or 4 crotchet beats in the bar and each beat can be divided into two halves

A drum which can be part of a kit or played alone with pipe bands in Scottish music

Step (stepwise)

Moving between notes which are next to each other

Hitting an instrument with a stick/beater to create a sound

Structure of a song with a verse and a chorus

Word setting where each syllable of a song lyric has its own note

Using fingers, hand or plectrum to play across a group of strings on the guitar

large work of music for orchestra with several movements

Rhythms which are jumpy and off the beat

A set of 2 drums used in Indian music

Structure of a piece of music with a first section, different middle section and repeat of the first section again (ABA)

Theme & variation

Type of structure. A theme played which is then repeated and varied in several different ways

Gap between notes

Ornament where 2 different notes next to each other are played quickly one after another several times

Verse and chorus

Structure of a song. The chorus usually has the same tune, but the verses can have the same tune or different tunes

Bass line used in Jazz music which moves up and down constantly throughout

Whole tone scale

Scale made entirely of intervals of tones

Ensemble consisting of woodwind, brass and percussion instruments

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