Music Vocabulary
What is the term for a gradual shift from soft to loud?
Track 1
Trumpet
Track 6
This artist was born on June 17, 1987, in Compton, California. They are the first non-classical or jazz artist to win a Pulitzer Prize for music and they broke the record for the most Grammy Awards for a rapper in 2026.
Kendrick Lamar
What is the term for a collection of pitches?
Scale
Track 2
Marimba
Track 7
20th Century (1941)
This artist was born on February 26, 1932, in Kingsland, Arkansas. They won 13 Grammy Awards and 9 Country Music Association Awards. They were also inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They died September 12, 2003.
Johnny Cash
What is the term for the first note you start on?
Tonic
Track 3
Saxophone
Track 8
20th Century (1970)
This artist was born on March 2, 1962, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. They (and their band) were elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This artist also took part in acting in various shows such as: The Leading Man.
Jon Bon Jovi
What is the term for the closing gesture in a unit of musical form, such as a phrase?
Cadence
Track 4
Flute
Track 9
19th Century (Between 1875 and 1876)
This composer was born in December 1770, in Bonn, Germany. Although they struggled with deafness, they famously continued to compose music and work with music. They died March 26, 1827.
Ludwig Van Beethoven
What is the term for a short musical unit subject to repetition and variation to build larger structure?
Motif
Track 5
Clarinet
Track 10
21st Century (2007)
This composer was born January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria. They composed in all musical genres of the day and was a child prodigy. They were extremely successful as a pianist and composer, but later turned to Italian Opera where they composed music for the opera Don Giovanni. They died December 5, 1791.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart