Pitch
What is the definition of PITCH?
The highness and lowness of sound.
What is the definition of DURATION?
Different lengths of time.
What is the definition of TONE COLOUR?
The unique quality that an instrument or a group of instruments makes.
What is the definition of TEXTURE?
The layers in a piece of music.
What is the definition of STRUCTURE?
The different sections in a piece.
What are DYNAMICS and EXPRESSIVE TECHNIQUES?
Volume and musical decorations.
What are the four instrumental families in the orchestra?
The woodwind, brass, strings and percussion.
What is a PHRASE?
A musical sentence.
What is a Time Signature?
Numbers at the beginning of the piece which tell you how many beats are in each bar.
Name an instrument that uses a double reed.
Oboe, Cor Anglis, Bassoon.
How do we describe texture that does not lock us into a difinitieve?
By using words like relative,somewhat and quite.
What is meant by FREE FORM?
Where the music is said to be unstructured and random.
What does the word FORTE mean?
Loud
What are the 3 W's
Who is playing it.
Where is it happening.
Why is it important.
What is RANGE in music?
The distance between the lowest and highest note played by either an instrument or an ensemble.
What is SYNCOPATION?
Where the emphasis is on the off beat.
What are the 3 most significant elements that affect TONE COLOUR in a piece?
What the instrument is made out of.
How the instrument is being played.
Who the instrument is also playing with.
What is the term "dominate layer" referring to?
A layer that dominates or features.
What is TERNARY form?
ABA
What is meant by the term CRESCENDO?
To gradually get louder.
When in doubt we......... ?
DESCRIBE IT!
How would I best describe the contour of a melody?
Drawing a picture.
What is an OSTINATO?
A repeated rhythmic pattern.
Name 4 instruments which fit into the PERCUSSION section of the orchestra.
Teachers discretion..... there are too many to type!
If we label layers by their musical roles what options do we have?
Melody layer
Harmony layer
Rhythmic layer
Sound effects/electronic layer
What is BINARY form?
AB
What is a TRILL?
The rapid movement between two notes nest to each other.
When to we start writing in an aural exam or aural question?
The minute that the man/woman starts talking.
What is a SEQUENCE?
A melodic pattern which is repeated at a high or lower pitch.
What is an ANACRUSIS?
An incomplete bar at the beginning of the piece which is completed at the end of the piece.
Name all of the instruments that fit into the WOODWIND section of the orchestra.
Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Oboe, Cor Anglis and Bassoon
What 3 ways can we identify layers in a texture question?
By instrument, by general musical function and by specific musical function.
What is the RONDO form structure?
ABACADAE........
What does the word MEZZO mean?
Moderately.
What instruments make up a rhythm section?
Drums and Bass Guitar.
What is the difference between DISSONANT and CONSONANT harmony?
Dissonant harmony sounds relatively jarring or harsh and consonant harmony sounds relatively pleasant and harmonious.
What is a RHYTHMIC CELL?
A short rhythmic pattern reused throughout a piece.
Name all of the orchestral instruments that fit into the BRASS section.
Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn and Tuba.
What is the definition of a "subordinate layer"?
This is a layer that supports the dominate layer.
What is THEME and VARIATIONS?
Where a piece has multiple sections which are all related to the initial musical idea.
A A1 A2 A3 A4 etc
What is ARTICULATION?
The different ways a melody can be played to affect its mood or character.
What does Mrs Keen say all music is made up of?
A balance of stuff that's the same and stuff that's different.
What is the difference between definite and indefinite pitch?
Definite pitch is tunned to a specific frequency and indefinite pitch is not.
What is FREE RHYTHM?
Where there is no definite beat.
Name all of the orchestral instruments that fit into the STRING section.
Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass and Harp.
What is CALL and RESPONSE?
The call is a melodic phrase sung by a solo singer. The response is the unison repetition of the call by a vocal chorus.
What is STROPHIC form?
The music is the same but the words change.
Eg. Church hymns.
What is meant by SFORTZANDO?
Sudden power.
How do we answer a "with reference to" question?
The "with reference to" is the concept by which we organise the answer. The second concept mentioned is the one we focus on.
What is meant by WALKING BASS line?
This has a note on each beat and "walks" in time with the music. It is frequently found in jazz.
What is RUBATO?
This is where you steal the value from one note and give it to another - giving an ebb-and-flow feeling.
What are two examples of electronic modification?
Distortion, wah wah, chorus, phaser, reverb and delay.
What is the difference between an active and an inactive layer?
An active layer is one with movement through the use of shorter notes. An inactive layer has less movement through the use of longer notes.
What is ADDITIVE form?
A B C D E F.....
What is the purpose of DYNAMICS and EXPRESSIVE TECHNIQUES?
To contribute to the music's character or mood.
What is the technique called where a single instrument can play all the parts in the piece?
Looping
What is a PEDAL BASS?
This is where the bass note stays the same while the chords are changing.
What is a CROSS RHYTHM?
This is a type of polyrhythm where two metres are played at the same time.
What are the 4 non-western classifications of instruments?
Chordophones
Idiophones
Membranophone
Airophones
What is COUNTERPOINT?
This is a "musical conversation" between two or more layers.
What are the 3 points to address when answering a STRUCTURE question?
1. What are the sections (label them)?
2. What is happening in each section?
3. The relationship between the sections (whats the same and what is different).
Where would you find the CLIMAX of a piece of music?
Where there is the culmination of the musical concepts and the music feels like it is at the peak of excitement.
What instruments do you find in a string quartet?
Two violins, viola and cello.
What is WORD PAINTING?
Where the pitch matches the direction of the lyrics.
eg "Falling" would have the pitch descending.
What is a BACKBEAT?
Where the emphasis is on the 2nd and 4th beat of the bar.
What are the two things that can change the tone colour of a piece?
The way and instrument is being played.
The group of instruments playing being changed.
What are the 3 layer relationships and what do they mean?
MONOPHONIC - one layer
HOMOPHONIC - two layers - melody and accompaniment.
POLYPHONIC - many layers - more than one significant melodic line.
Name all of the types of sections we use in the verse/chorus structure.
Verse, chorus, pre-chorus intro, outro/coda, bridge, instrumental.
Name 3 ways we can increase TENSION in a piece.
Increase volume, build dissonance, increase pitch, increase tempo, increase instruments playing.
What family does the piano belong to.......
An extra 1000 if you can tell me why.
The percussion section.
Because when you press the key, the hammer hits the string.