OCAD Music
Terms
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- A capella
- choral music without instrumental accompaniment
- accidental
-
a sharp, flat, or natural symbol before a note;
indicates a pitch from outside the specific scale - adagio
- slow tempo
- aerophone
- an instrument that creates sound by the vibration of a column of air
- allegro
- fast tempo
- alto
- a female woice with a range lower than soprano, or a high male voice
- andante
- moderate, walking tempo
- ballet
- musical form written to cincide with a story to be danced
- bar
- vertical line through the staff; marks a metrical division of music
- baritone
- a male voice with a range between a tenor and bass
- bar line
- a vertical line on the staff that separates one measure from the next
- bass
- a male voice with the lowest range
- bass clef
- a symbol that indicate that the 4th line from the bottom of a staff represents the pitch of F below middle C; also called an F clef
- beat
- the underlying pulse in music
- binary form
- the form of a piece that has 2 sections, AB
- bridge
-
1) a linking passage
2) the part of a string instrument over which the strings pass - cadence
- a progression of notes or chords that gives the effect of closing a passage of music
- chanson
- French word for "song", used in reference to French polyphonic songs in midieval times and during Renaissance
- chorale
- a traditional German hymn
- chord
- a combination of 3 or more pitches played at once
- chordophone
- an instrument that produces sound via the vibration of a stretched string that is bowed, plucked, or struck
- chromatic scale
- a scale based on an octave of 12 semitones
- clef
- a symbol that designates the pitch range to be dispayed on the staff
- coda
- a passage at the end of a movement or composition that brings it to a formal close
- concerto
- a work that featured effects of contrast; now a work in which a solo instrument is contrasted with a larger ensemble or orchestra
- consonance
- refers to a combination of sounds that is smooth and harmonious
- continuo
- a bass accompaniment; numerals written underneath the notes indicate the kind of harmony to be played
- crescendo
- gradually increasing in loudness
- decrescendo
- gradually decreasing in loudness
- diatonic scale
- a scale using only the eight tones of a standard major or minor scale without chromatic deviations
- dissonance
- refers to combinations of sounds that are rough and inharmonious
- dominant
- the 5th step or degree of a scale
- downbeat
- the accented beat at the beginning of a measure
- dynamics
- the gradations of loudness in music
- electrophone
- an instrument that produces sound by electronic means
- equal temperament tuning
- based on a scale whose "steps" or degrees have equal intervals between them
- form
- the structure or organization of a piece of music
- forte
- loud
- fortissimo
- very loud
- frequency
- number of vibrations per second that create a sound; determines its pitch
- fugue
- composition or technique in which a melodic theme is subjected to melodic imitation
- galliard
- lively court dance in triple meter; popular in 16th and early 17th centuries; paired with the pavane
- Gregorian chant
- also called a plainsong; liturgical chants to Latin text used since the Middle Ages
- Harmonics
- overtones produced by a fundamental tone; sounds heard together when a sound is produced by a vibrating string or air column
- harmony
- the combo of more than one musical pitch at a time and the subsequent relationships between intervals and chords
- hertz
- unit of measure of frequency
- heterophony
- a texture in which several different versions of the same melody are played simultaneously
- homophony
- a texture with one melody and varied supporting accompaniment; parts generally move together
- homorythmic
- a texture in which the melody and the supporting parts perform similar rhythms
- idiophone
- an instrument that produces sound by being struck, plucked, rubbed, or bowed
- interval
- the distance between two pitches
- key
- the tonality and major or minor scale of a piece of music
- key signature
- group of flats of sharps placed on the staff at the beginnin of a piece; indicates tonality
- largo
- very slow
- leading tone
- 7th degree of a scale; a semitone below the tonic, gives music a sense of leading back to the tonic
- leitmotif
- theme or musical idea that represents a character or concept in a dramatic work
- libretto
- the text of an opera or oratorio
- madrigal
- secular Renaissance composition of poetic text for several unaccompanied vocal parts
- major scale
- a scale in which the distance from the first to the third note is four semitones
- measure
- a metrical division of music; marked by bar lines
- melisma
- a succession of notes sung on one syllable
- melody
- a sequence of musical pitches with a recognizable shape or tune
- membranophone
- an instrument that produces sound when its stretched membrane is struck or rubbed
- meter
- the grouping of beats to a regular pulse
- mezzo forte
- medium loud
- mezzo piano
- medium soft/quiet
- mezzo-soprano
- a female voice with a range midway between soprano and alto
- minor scale
- a scale in which the distance between the first and third notes is 3 semitones
- monophony
- a texture with only one melody and no supporting accompaniment
- motet
- polyphonic choral work; from 13th to the 18th centuries; used by Roman Catholic Church
- movement
- a self-contained section of a larger musical work
- octave
- the interval between two notes of the same name
- opera
- sung drama that is set to music and has costumes and scenery and usually a secular theme
- opus
- Latin word for"work" that is used with a number to sequence and identify the work of a composer
- oratorio
- sung drama that is performed chorally with no costuming or scenery and has a religious theme
- organum
- a type of medieval polyphony with one or more voices added to a plainsong
- pavane
- slow court dance in duple meter popular in the 16th and early 17th centuries; paired with a galliard
- pianissimo
- very quiet/soft
- piano
- quiet/soft
- pitch
- the highness or lowness of a sound
- polymeter
- the simultaneous use of more than one meter
- polyphony
- a texture in which two or more melodic lines are combined
- polyrhythm
- the use of simultaneous contrasting rhythms
- presto
- very fast
- program music
- instrumental music that is narrative or descriptive of a nonmusical idea; eg. a painting
- reed
- flexible strip of cane into a the mouthpiece of certain instruments; or an instrument, such as an oboe, that is fitted with a reed
- resonance
- the amplification or prolongation of a musical tone produced by sympathetic vibration
- rest
- indicates a period of silence
- rhythm
- the organization of sounds and silences through time
- ritornello
- a recurring section in a piece of music
- rounded binary
- an extension of the binary form wherein the 1st section is repeated at the end
- rondo
- form that has a repeating 'A' section, which alterates with two or more contrasting sections
- scale
- a set of conjunct pitches withing an octave used for musical composition
- score
- the written form of a musical composition for several performers
- sonata
- a piece in several movements for a small ensemble, soloist with accompaniment, or solo keyboard
- soprano
- the highest female voice
- staff
- a set of five horizontal lines on and between which music is notated
- strophic
- refers to songs in which each stanza or verse is played/sung to the same music
- symphonic poem
- an orchestral piece based on a nonmusical idea
- symphony
- an extended orchestral work, usually in several movements
- syncopation
- the stressing of beats that are normally unstressed
- tempo
- the speed of a musical piece
- ternary form
- comprised of 3 sections, with the third being a repitition of the 1st (ABA)
- texture
- the manner in which linear musical parts are blended
- theme and variation
- one melodic idea is repeated with variations that may be rhythmic, melodic, harmonic
- through-composed
- each stanza or verse is set to different music so that there is no repeating section
- timbre
- the characteristic of instrumental and vocal sounds that make them distinguishable to the ear; tone color
- time signature
- the figures of the staff at the beginning of a piece that indicate its meter
- tonality
- the feeling of pull toward a particular tone, which is determined by the key of the music
- tonic
- the main note of a major or minor key
- treble clef
- a symbol that indicates that the 2nd line from the bottom of the staff represents the pitch of G above middle C; also a G clef
- triad
- a basic chord combining a beginning note and the 3rd and 5th notes above it
- 12-bar blues
- a form of African American popular music
- verse-chorus
- a 2 part form with text changing in the verse section and repeated in the chorus section
- vivace
- quick, lively tempo
- word-painting
- a technique whereby the written text of a song is illustrated musically
- wind instruments
- also called aerophones; create sound via vibration of a column of air inside the instrument
- woodwinds
- flute, clarinet, saxophone