Post on 26-Mar-2015
Terms
By: Katie Romano
“A”Ambit- the range of pitches
Arch-form- symmetric in time & climaxes in the middle
Attack- initial growth of sound
Avant-garde- style considered to be experimental or advanced
“B”
Blues Progression- 12 bar sequence of seventh-chord changes in jazz based on I, IV and V
Blues-Scale- C, D, Eb, E, F, F#, G, A, Bb and C
Borrowed Chords- taken from parallel major or minor key
“C”
Cambiata- pair of non-harmonic-tones separated by a 3rd, approached by a step then resolved to the note in between the 3rd
Chromatic Semitone- half step notated with the same letter name; C and C#
Consecutive-octaves and 5ths- similar to parallel 5ths and octaves but in contrary motion
Cross-relation- 2 voices encounter contradictory chromaticism
“D”
Density- number of different sounds at a time within a given time and spatial interval
Dominant-function- any chord or sound that implies motion to the tonic
Dominant-Preparation- any chord that acts as a link between the I and V chord, usually the IV chord
“E”
Elision- omission of pitches from a melodic line
Equal-temperament- most pervasive contemporary tuning system in which the octave is divided into 12 semitones
“F”
Fragmentation- use of part of a melodic line
Fugue- contrapuntal form that is built from a single subject and has an exposition where all the voices state the subject in turn, alternating the tonic and dominant entrances
“G”
Ground bass- a series of notes that is repeated over and over again in the bass
“H”
Harmonic-rhythm- the rate of chord change
Hemiola- a metric pattern of triple in a normally duple meter or vice versa
“America” by Leonard Bernstein
“I”
Idiom- aspect of composition that is especially adapted to or explores an instrument’s capabilities
“L”Leitmotif- a brief musical used to symbolize
a character, feeling, or thought in a vocal genre
Locrian- a seldom used mode, B-B with all white keys
S-T-T-S-T-T-T
“M”Microtone- an interval smaller than a
semitone
Minimalism- style if music that uses a very small amount of material, repeats it and gradually varies
Motet- vocal genre with words, contrapuntal work for voices without instrument parts
Motive- brief melodic line or rhythmic idea
“O”Oblique-motion- voice-leading in which one
voice moves against another
Overlapping-voices- normal positions of voice is violated
Overtone-series- order of overtones ascending from the fundametal
“P”
Parallel-harmony- chords whose voices are in parallel motion
“R”
Root-movement- the change of roots indicated by a directional-interval-class
“S”Smooth-voice-leading- voice leading where there is no
leap greater than a P4 in soprano, alto, or tenor and no greater than a P5 in the bass
Sonority- sound usually consisting of a combination of other sounds
Syaesthesia- perceiving a mixture of sensory phenomena as one
Synthesis- creation of complex sounds by mixing sounds of a simpler nature
selective elimination of elements of a complex sound to create a simpler one
“T”Timbre- the “tone color” of an instrument defined by the overtone
series
Tonicization- transient tonics normally created by a secondary-dominant emphasis
Twelve-tone-composition- serial composition based on repetition and transformations of an ordered-set of 12 equal tempered pitch-classes
Twelve-tone-row- specific ordering of the twelve equal-tempered pcs that are used to generate a musical composition
Two-voice Framework- structural outline of the bass line and the most important upper voice