MUSC 1010 WWA Study Guide

Test #1- Chapters 1-3

Definition of Music- the intentional organization of sounds in time by and for human-beings

Guido de Arezzo- was an Italian music theorist and pedagogue of High medieval music. A

Benedictine monk, he is regarded as the inventor—or by some, developer—of the modern staff

notation that had a massive influence on the development of Western musical notation and practice

Consonance- t intervals and chords tend to sound sweet and pleasing to our ears. They also convey

a sense of stability in the music

Dissonant- intervals and chords tend to sound harsher to our ears, and often convey a sense of

tension or instability.

Tempo- The speed at which the beat is played. At quick tempos, the beats pass by quickly, At slow

tempos, the beats pass by slowly

Beat- which is the basic unit of time in music. It is the consistent pulse of the

music, just like your heartbeat creates a steady, underlying pulse within your body. The beat is

what you tap your feet to when you listen to music.

Interval- the inclusive distance between one tone and another. The difference in pitch between two

sounds. May be described as horizontal, linear, or melodic

Legato- musical performance technique that produces fluid, continuous motion between notes. A

curved line above or below a group of notes tells you those notes should be played legato –smoothly

Staccato- music composed of tones that are short and noncontinuous rather than smoothly flowing

together. A dot above or below a note tells you to play it short or detached.

Tonic- the note from which the other pitches are derived. The most important pitch of a key.

Chord- the simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches. Like intervals, chords

can be consonant or dissonant.

low to high or high to low, the chord becomes an arpeggio.

Piano- at soft volume

Fortissimo- very loud

Crescendo- a gradual increase in volume of a musical passage.

Largo- broadly (40–60 bpm), at very slow tempo.

Presto- very, very fast (168–200 bpm), at a rapid tempo

Phrases- sub-sections in melodies. Functions somewhat like phrases in a sentence.

Cadence- the ending of a phrase. Perceived as a rhythmic or melodic articulation or a harmonic

change. two-chord progression that occurs at the end of a phrase.

Chromatic scale- a musical scale consisting entirely of half steps. a musical scale with twelve

pitches, each a semitone, also known as a half-step, above or below its adjacent pitches.

Key Signature- the arrangement of sharp or flat signs on particular lines and spaces of a musical

staff to indicate that the corresponding notes, in every octave, are to be consistently raised (by

sharps) or lowered (by flats) from their natural pitches.

Flat sign- consists of a small loop and a stem. It is placed in front of the note. The ♭ symbol

universally indicates a flat note

Modulation- the change from one key to another. The process by which this change is brought

about. A fundamental resource for variety in tonal music.

Binary form- , the structural pattern of many songs and instrumental pieces, primarily from the 17th

to the 19th century, characterized by two complementary, related sections of more or less equal

duration that may be represented schematically as ab. It is usually found in classical and particularly

Baroque music pieces. a piece of two music has two similar sections that are then repeated

throughout the piece.

is repeated after the second section (B) ends. It is usually schematized as A–B–A. a symmetrical

structure in music most often represented by the letters ABA. The A represents a musical idea or

ideas, the B represents new, contrasting material, and the final A represents a return to the familiar

music heard in the opening of the piece. it provides the foundation of the more elaborate sonata-

allegro form that develops in the Classical period. Second, in many larger works that feature four

movements, such as symphonies and string quartets, the third movement consists of two dance

movements, minuet and trio, organized in ternary form (minuet-trio-minuet).

Canon or round- “Canon” means rule, or law, and in music, the simple canon uses a very strict rule

to define itself. Canons can be written for three, four, eight, twelve—any number of voices. A round

in music is a song which can be sung by two or more groups of people. A round is a form of

composition in which each singer or instrumentalist carries the same melody but begins and ends at

different points.

Monophony- music that has one melodic line. This one melodic line may be

sung by one person or 100 people. The important thing is that they are all singing the same

melody, either in unison or in octaves. Monophony is rare in jazz, rock, and popular music.

Homophony- music that has one melodic line that is accompanied by chords.

A lot of rock and popular music has a homophonic texture. Anytime the tune is the most

important aspect of a song, it is likely to be in homophonic texture

Polyphony- simultaneously features two or more relatively independent and important

melodic lines. Dixieland jazz and bebop are often polyphonic

Soprano- highest female voices; sing almost exclusively above middle C (middle C being the C

approximately in the middle of the range of the piano)

Alto- lowest female voices; sing in a register around and above middle C
Tenor- highest male voices; sing in a register around and below middle C

Bass- lowest male voices; sing in a low register, below middle C

Pizzicato- a note or passage played by plucking strings. a phrase used in music for the violin or

violoncello

Harpsichord- keyboard musical instrument in which strings are set in vibration by plucking. It was

one of the most important keyboard instruments in European music from the 16th through the first

half of the 18th century. The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked,

rather than hit with a hammer. an old-fashioned musical instrument rather like a small piano.

Chapter 2- Music of the Middle Ages

Melismas- the singing of multiple pitches on one syllable of text.

Vernacular- ordinary, everyday music such as popular and folk music. It is defined partly in terms

of its accessibility, standing in contrast to art music. refers to everyday, informal musical practices

located outside the official arena of high culture—the conservatory, the concert hall, and the high

church.

Strophic form- also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song

form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music

Gregorian Chant (what is the music texture and what language is it performed in)? language latin

Texture  monophonic

Hildegard of Bingen- latin, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer,

composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary, and as a medical writer and practitioner during the High

Middle Ages. She is one of the best-known composers of sacred monophony, as well as the most

recorded in modern history

first composer about which we have much biographical information, due in part to the fact that

Machaut himself, near the end of his life, collected his poetry into volumes of manuscripts, which

include a miniature image of the composer

Beatriz of Dia- the most famous of a small group of trobairitz, or female troubadours who wrote

courtly songs of love during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Her extant poems are: Ab joi et ab

joven m'apais. A chantar m'er de so qu'ieu non volria. Estât ai en greu cossirier.

Chapter 3- Music of the Renaissance Period

Definition of Renaissance- rebirth. spanned from the late 1400s to the early 1600s. The

Renaissance was a time of waning political power in the church, somewhat as a result of the

Protestant Reformation

Palestrina- The Palestrina style is the style of polyphonic vocal music as written by 16th-century

Italian Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594). an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred

music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical

composition.[2] He had a long-lasting influence on the development of church and secular music in

Europe, especially on the development of counterpoint, and his work is considered the culmination

of Renaissance polyphony.[2]

Council of Trent- held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento, in northern Italy), was the 19th

ecumenical council of the Catholic Church.[1] Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been

described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation.

Josquin des Prez - a master of Renaissance choral music. Originally from the region that is today's

Belgium, Josquin spent much of his time serving in chapels throughout Italy and partly in

Rome for the papal choir. Later, he worked for Louis XII of France and held several church
music directorships in his native land. During his career, he published masses, motets, and

secular vocal pieces, and was highly respected by his contemporaries.

Counter-Reformation- The preservation movement or "Counter-Reformation" against the protestant

reform led to the development of the Jesuit order (1540) and the later assembling of the Council

of Trent (1545–1563) which considered issues of the church's authority and

organizational structure

Madrigal- a musical piece for several solo voices set to a short poem. They originated in Italy

around 1520. Most madrigals were about love. a musical piece for several solo voices set to a short

poem. They originated in Italy around 1520. Most madrigals were about love. Madrigals were

published by the thousands and learned and performed by cultured aristocrats. Similar to the motet,

a madrigal combines both homophonic and polyphonic textures.

Word painting- Renaissance composers used Word painting to represent poetic images musically.

was utilized by Renaissance composers to represent poetic images musically. For

example, an ascending melodic line would portray the text "ascension to heaven." Or a

series of rapid notes would represent running.