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Columbia University Music Humanities
Midterm Terminology
76
Music
Undergraduate 3
02/21/2012

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Term
pitch
Definition
the frequency of the tone (i.e. # of vibrations per second)
Term
range
Definition
distance from the lowest to the highest pitch
Term
melody
Definition
combination of pitch, and rhythm, and timbre
Term
homophony
Definition
music in which a voice (or voices) has the melody with a chordal accompaniment
Term
counterpoint
Definition
(“point against point”): the relationship between 2+ voices that are harmonically interdependent (polyphony) but independent in contour and rhythm; the art of putting together different lines of music in a way that sounds good
Term
alto
Definition
vocal range that is usually the lowest female voice in choral music; also used to describe range of musical instruments
Term
theme
Definition
recognizable melody; musical subject of a section but can be the complete musical expression itself; can also have countertheme (sonata)
Ex. Most fugues are monothematic and most pieces in sonata form are polythematic
Term
ternary form
Definition
3 main sections in ABA pattern
Term
harmony
Definition
aspect of music that pertains to simultaneous combinations of notes, the intervals and chords that result, and the correct succession of chords
Term
tonality
Definition
music in which the progression of the melody and harmony gives the strong feeling that the piece has a note and chord that are its home base. i. e. “Row, Row, Row your Boat”
Term
major mode/key
Definition
a key whose harmony is based on the major scale; sounds brighter, cheerier
Term
timbre (tone color)
Definition
the color in music; the quality that distinguishes voices and instruments, has nothing to do with sound's pitch, loudness, or length
Term
melisma
Definition
technique of changing the note (pitch) of a syllable of text while it is being sung
Term
tenor
Definition
in a mode or chant, the reciting tone; in polyphony of 12th and 13th centuries, the voice part that has the chant or other borrowed melody; highest male voice
Term
binary form
Definition
comprised of 2 complementary sections, each repeated; first section usually ends on the dominant or relative major while the second returns to the tonic
Term
dynamics
Definition
intensity: level of loudness or softness
Term
rhythm
Definition
pattern of music’s movement in time; particular pattern of short and long durations
Term
meter
Definition
recurring patterns of strong and weak beats in regularly recurring units of equal duration
Term
minor mode/key
Definition
a key whose harmony is based on the minor scale; sounds darker, sadder
Term
polyphony
Definition
music that combines 2+ melodic lines simultaneously
- Imitative: individual lines are similar in their shapes and sounds (if they are not similar, then it is non-imitative)
Term
declamation
Definition
the art of matching musical rhythm to the rhythm of a text
Term
bass
Definition
lowest part in an ensemble work; low male voice; low instrument, especially the string bass or bass viol
Term
phrase
Definition
unit of melody or of an entire musical texture that has a distinct beginning and ending and is followed by a pause or other articulation but does not express a complete musical thought
Term
strophic
Definition
of a poem, consisting of 2+ stanzas that are equal in form and can each be sung to the same melody
Term
texture
Definition
combination of elements in a piece or passage, such as the number and relationship of independent parts (as in monophony, heterophony, polyphony, or homophony), groups (as in polychoral music), or musical events
Term
monophony
Definition
music written in a single melodic line
Term
duple/triple meter
Definition
duple – some beats can be divided by 2 vs. divided by 3
Term
instrumentation
Definition
particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition
Term
soprano
Definition
high female voice; part for such a voice in an ensemble work
Term
cadence
Definition
melodic or harmonic succession that closes a musical phrase, section, or composition
Term
tempo
Definition
"time," speed of performance; relative pace of the music
Term
through-composed
Definition
composed throughout, as when each stanza or other unit of a poem is set to new music rather than in a strophic manner to a single melody
Term
plainchant
Definition
chanting without instrumental accompaniment to keep melody pure; unaccompanied song particularly a liturgical song to a Latin text
Term
Gregorian chant
Definition
named after Pope Gregory, also known as plainchant
Ex. Monophony, the Mass (consist of a Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus/Benedictus, and Agnus Dei)
Term
organum
Definition
earliest kind of polyphonic music; developed from adding voices above a plainchant; used from 1100s-1200s
Term
antiphony
Definition
"after sound," early device to create interest; sound against sound
Term
motet
Definition
short in composition with sections of homophony
Term
hocket
Definition
rhythmic pattern and melodic pattern; alternation between parts
Term
modal
Definition
characteristic of Medieval European music; music that is not in a particular key based on a major or minor scale so it was based on a particular mode (series of intervals used to construct a scale); collection of melodies/patterns
Term
madrigal
Definition
a Renaissance choral piece, usually unaccompanied
Term
imitation
Definition
in counterpoint, the restatement of a theme, motif, or phrase in another part
Term
word-painting
Definition
using musical gestures to reinforce or suggest images in a text, such as rising on the word “ascend”
Term
madrigalism
Definition
a particularly evocative – or, if used in a disparaging sense, a thoroughly conventional – instance of word-painting
Term
Baroque
Definition
period of music history from 1600 to 1750 overlapping the late Renaissance and early classic periods
Term
fugue
Definition
composition or section of a composition in imitative texture that is based on a single subject and begins with successive statements of the subject in voices
Term
ritornello
Definition
in a 14th century madrigal, the closing section, in a different meter from the preceding verses
- In 16th- and 17th- century vocal music, instrumental introduction or interlude between sung stanzas
- In an aria, an instrumental passage that recurs several times, like a refrain; typically played at the beginning, as interludes and again at the end, and it states the main theme
- In a fast movement of a concerto, the recurring thematic material played at the beginning by the full orchestra and repeated, usually in varied form, throughout the movement and at the end
Term
da capo aria
Definition
aria form with two sections – the first is repeated after the second section’s close, which carries the instructions “from the head” creating an ABA form
Term
episode
Definition
in a fugue, a passage of counterpoint between statements of the subject
- a subsidiary passage between presentations of the main thematic material
Term
opera seria
Definition
“serious opera,” genre of Italian opera in 1700s, on a serious subject but normally with a happy ending, usually without comic characters and scenes
Term
recitative
Definition
passage or section in an opera as a type of vocal singing that approaches speech and follows the natural rhythms of the text
Term
subject
Definition
theme, used especially for the main melody used in a fugue or other imitative work
Term
libretto
Definition
“little book,” literary text for an opera
Term
concerti
Definition
"plural concerto," composed in 3 movements in which 1 solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra (concerto grosso is the same but with a small group of instruments)
Term
oratorio
Definition
musical piece for vocal soloists, orchestra, and chorus usually based on religious story with text from Bible
Term
aria
Definition
song for solo voice within an opera
Term
countersubject
Definition
secondary theme heard against subject; countertheme
Term
cadenza
Definition
passage or section in the style of a brilliant improvisation, placed near the end of a solo composition
Term
concerto
Definition
ensemble of instruments or voices with 1+ instrument or a work for such an ensemble
- Composition in which 1+ solo instruments contrasts with an orchestral ensemble
Term
ripieno
Definition
"full," in a solo concerto or concerto grosso, designates the full orchestra
Term
chorus
Definition
group of singers who perform together, usually with several singers on each part
- A movement or passage for such a group in an opera
- Refrain of a popular song
Term
exposition
Definition
in a fugue, a set of entries of the subject
- In sonata form, the first part of the movement, which the main themes are stated beginning in the tonal and usually closing in the dominant
Term
symphony
Definition
large work for orchestra, usually in 4 movements
Term
string quartet
Definition
standard chamber ensemble consisting of 2 violins, viola, and cello
Term
movement
Definition
self-contained unit of music, complete in itself, that can stand alone or be joined with others in a larger work; some types of composition typically consist of several movements
Term
bridge
Definition
contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section (AABA form?)
Term
sonata form
Definition
expansion of rounded binary form, described in 800s as consisting of an exposition, development, and recapitulation based on a limited number of themes
Term
recapitulation
Definition
in sonata form, the 3rd main section which restates the material from the exposition, normally all in the tonic
Term
motive
Definition
short melodic or rhythmic idea that recurs in the same or altered form
Term
minuet
Definition
dance in moderate triple meter, two-measure units, and binary form
Term
development
Definition
process of reworking, recombining, fragmenting, and varying given themes or other material
- In sonata form, the section after the exposition which modulates through a variety of keys and in which themes from the exposition are presented in new ways
Term
rondo
Definition
piece or movement in which the first or main section recurs, usually in the tonic, between subsidiary sections or episodes

**In rondo form, a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") alternates with one or more contrasting themes, generally called "episodes," but also occasionally referred to as "digressions" or "couplets." Possible patterns in the Classical period include: ABA, ABACA, or ABACADA. The number of themes can vary from piece to piece, and the recurring element is sometimes embellished and/or shortened in order to provide for variation.
The Baroque predecessor to the rondo was the ritornello. Ritornello form was used in the fast movements of baroque concertos. The entire orchestra (in Italian, tutti) plays the main ritornello theme, while soloists play the intervening episodes. While Rondo form is similar to ritornello form, it is different in that ritornello brings back the subject or main theme in fragments and in different keys, but the rondo brings back its theme complete and in the same key.
Term
coda
Definition
supplementary ending to a composition or movement; a concluding section that lies outside the form as usually described
Term
opera buffa
Definition
"comic opera," genre of Italian comic opera in 1700s sung throughout
Term
theme and variations
Definition
musical form in which a theme is stated, then varied in a succession of musical statements; theme is the original composition of music that has not been changed whereas the variation is the theme changed by adding more notes, harmonizing, changing the rhythm, etc. but still has to be recognizable as the original them
- At the beginning of a movement, the theme is clearly stated. Each section thereafter in the movement is a variation on the theme. The variations may be as simple as a change in key or accompaniment, or a complicated restatement of the theme which may not be recognizable as the original theme. There may be any number of variations on the theme. The end of the movement will have a coda, an extended conclusion to the movement.
Term
overture
Definition
orchestral piece introducing an opera
Term
theme
Definition
musical subject of a composition or section, or of a set of variations
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