Musicology 110 Quiz 1 Flashcards

Rhythm and Tempo

• Rhythm refers to the time aspect in music, crucial for movement through time.
• Tempo indicates the speed at which music is played or the pace of the pulse.

Beat and Duration

• Beat serves as the basic unit of time measurement in music, conveying rhythmic patterns.
• Duration covers the length of sound in a musical context.

Meter

• Meter organizes rhythmic patterns into phrases, defined by recurring strong and weak beats.
• Meters are generally categorized as duple, triple, or quadruple.

Melody and Pitch

• Melody consists of sequences of notes or pitches, defined by factors like pitch, note, and scale.
• Pitch is identified by a specific frequency or rate of vibration, which is fundamental to music.

Notes and Scales

• Music vocabulary includes 12 distinct notes recognized in the chromatic scale.
• Scales are collections of notes that can be major or minor based on their tonal center and mode.

Musical Elements

• An interval represents the distance between two musical notes.
• A tune comprises short phrases with equal lengths and distinctive cadences.

Motive and Theme

• Motive refers to brief musical phrases that function as foundational elements in compositions.
• Theme describes longer phrases that encapsulate the main musical idea.

Harmony and Chords

• Harmony arises from playing multiple notes together, with chords consisting of two or more notes.
• Chord progression is a sequence of chords that facilitate musical flow.

Consonance and Dissonance

• Consonance denotes harmonies that feel stable and resolved.
• Dissonance creates tension, giving a sense of instability in musical compositions.

Tone Color and Dynamics

• Tone color, also known as timbre, is essential for identifying sounds based on their quality and instrumentation.
• Dynamics pertain to the volume levels in music, with shifts like crescendo being significant.

Musical Form and Texture

• Form describes the organization of a piece, commonly seen in structures like verse-chorus or sonata form.
• Texture relates to the interplay of melody and harmony, with monophony, homophony, and polyphony as key types.

Texture Types

• Monophony features a single melody without harmonic support.
• Homophony combines a main melody with accompanying harmonies, the most prevalent texture.
• Polyphony incorporates multiple independent melodies simultaneously.

Contemporary Music

• Contemporary music merges classical with other genres, featuring composers like Jennifer Higdon and ensembles like Bang On a Can All-Stars.

Notable Composers and Characteristics

• Jennifer Higdon is known for concertos that highlight soloists within orchestral frameworks.
• Mark O'Connor's bluegrass background contributes to his versatile musical style.
• Two Steps from Hell is recognized for producing contemporary film music.

Instrument Families

• Strings include violin, viola, cello, double bass, and harp, distinguished by their pitch range.
• Woodwinds are categorized into reed instruments (e.g., clarinet, oboe, bassoon) and non-reed instruments (e.g., flute, piccolo).
• Brass instruments include the French horn, trumpet, trombone, and tuba, each with unique pitch characteristics.
• Percussion instruments are divided into pitched (e.g., xylophone, timpani) and unpitched (e.g., cymbals, drums).

Movement in Music

• A movement is a self-contained musical piece, typically part of a larger work, comprising distinct sections.