MELODY & PITCH
What is the smallest musical unit of a melody, typically consisting of a single rhythm with two or three pitches?
What is a motive?
The basic unit of time in music is called this.
What is a beat?
The simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches is called this.
What is a chord?
Musical texture comprised of one melodic line is called this.
What is monophonic?
The study of how sound behaves in physical spaces is called this.
What is acoustics?
A melody that moves mostly by step in a smooth manner is called this.
What is conjunct?
The speed at which the beat is played is known as this.
What is tempo?
A chord with three pitches stacked in intervals of thirds is known as this.
What is a triad?
This texture features one melodic line accompanied by chords.
What is homophonic?
A disorganized sound with no observable pitch is called this.
What is noise?
The distance between two musical pitches where the higher pitch vibrates exactly twice as many times per second as the lower is called this.
What is an octave?
A unit of time that contains a specific number of beats defined by the meter or time signature is called this.
What is a measure?
Intervals and chords that tend to sound sweet and pleasing to our ears are described as this.
What is consonant?
Musical texture that simultaneously features two or more relatively independent and important melodic lines is called this.
What is polyphonic?
The tone color or tone quality of a sound is known as this.
What is timbre?
This term describes the range of pitches an instrument or voice can produce, divided into low, medium, and high sections.
What is register?
This rhythmic device involves shifting the normal accent, usually by stressing the normally unaccented weak beats.
What is syncopation?
A chord with four pitches stacked in intervals of thirds is called this.
What is a seventh chord?
The structure of the phrases and sections within a musical composition—including whether it repeats—is called this.
What is form?
The lowest pitch in the harmonic series is called this
What is the fundamental pitch?
A melody with wide leaps and rapid changes in direction is described as this.
What is disjunct?
Two or more different rhythms played at the same time create this effect.
What is polyrhythm?
A series of chords played in sequence is called this.
What is a chord progression?
A twelve-bar musical form commonly found in American music is called this.
What is the twelve-bar blues?
Musical tones heard above a fundamental pitch are known as this (also called harmonics).
What are overtones?