IGCSE Music Terms

Gianluca Lamplough Monophonic Polyphonic A single melody line/tune played by many people Many melody lines/tunes, many rhythms played by many people Many melody lines/pitches but only ONE rhythm played together a musical phrase (tune or rhythm) repeated over and over during a composition copying the tune or melody of another instrument or vocal part several repetitions of a melodic phrase in different pitches moving up or down by step A - B - A (3 sections with the first and last the same) a musical form consisting of two units (A and B) constructed to balance and complement each other Structure takes the form of A B A C A etc a song form in which the music composed for the initial stanza of text is repeated for each additional stanza (often with a chorus in between) Structure consisting of an initial theme (A) and a series of variations placed after it. Usually A, A', A'', A''' etc. Each variation varies one of the Elements of music slightly. a key whose harmony is based on the major scale which sounds happy a key based on the minor scale which sounds sad or depressing The form most often used for the 1st movement of large works like symphonies and concertos. It is a large 3-part form, usually with an Introduction, Exposition (A), Development (B), and Recapitulation (A), with a coda to end.

Homophonic

Ostinato

Imitation Sequence

Ternary Form Binary Form

Rondo Form Strophic Form

Variation Form

Major

Minor

Sonata Form

Chromatic

motion by half steps; also describes harmony or melody that employs some of the sequential 12 pitches (semi-tones) in an octave - Chromatic nates are notes not in the key quality of a musical tone produced by a musical instrument (which distinguishes it from others of the same pitch) the speed at which a composition is to be played the interweaving of melodic and harmonic elements in the musical "fabric". It can be transparent, dense, thin, thick, heavy, light - Polyphonic, Homophonic, Monophonic etc The way different sections a placed one after another - Binary Form, Ternary Form etc Rests placed in music how loud or soft the music is The note lengths placed together to produce different rhythms dotted rhythms, syncopated rhythms, repetitive rhythms, regular rhythms High and Lowness in music The regular or irregular BEAT in the music - relates to time signatures - 3 time, 4 time etc Music that only uses a scale with five-pitches - most Chinese music is Pentatonic and some African music the notes or chords ending a section of music with a feeling of conclusiveness a IV - I cadence (frequently ending church music - sounlds like 'Amen') - (a fullstop cadence) the chordal progression of dominant to tonic i.e. V-I (a fullstop cadence) A long note held in the bass part Getting quieter Getting louder

Timbre

Tempo Texture

Structure

Silence Dynamics Duration

Pitch Pulse

Pentatonic

Cadence

Plagal Cadence

Perfect Cadence

Pedal Diminuendo Cresendo

Atonal Reverb

No Key Electronically making the instrument or voice sound like it is in a large room - reverberating Electronically making a sound repeat and die away (like in a cave or valley) Electronically making the bass sounds or treble sounds louder or softer Electronically distorting the sound Using a drum machine to repeat or loop a drum beat A machine that digitally records a live sound and plays it back A bass Sitar with a drone A Indian string insrument which plays the melody A pair of Indian drums Bible Story that is sang with an orchestra - religious opera A large piece for orchestra with 4 movements a short musical piece played as an introduction to a larger piece of music The abbreviation for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass series of six adjacent tones with a half step occuring between the third and fourth degree A short musical idea A rhythmic idea not on the beat The beat is divided into groups of three quavers - The time signature has an 8 on the bottom i.e. 6/8 or 9/8 or 12/8 A tune that goes up A tune that goes down a tune that moves up or down by step

Delay

EQ

Distortion Drum Loop Sampler Tambura Sitar Tabla Oritorio Sympyhony Prelude

SATB Hexachord

Motif Syncopation Compound Time

Ascending pattern Decending pattern Scalic passage

Improvisation

process of simultaneously composing and performing music (make up music) on the spot to sing or play a musical instrument for or with other people To muffle of dampen (quieten) the sound of an instrument Singing a word or syllable over MANY notes A slightly emphasised or louder note A plucked keyboard instrument from the Baroque period of music an African single skinned drum

Accompany Muted Melismatic Accent Harpsichord

Djembe

Talking Drum or Donno an African two skinned drum used to communicate between tribes Raga a piece of Indian Classical music - OR - an Indian scale or set of notes that represents a mood, time of day or occasion The FIRST section of a Raga that is slow and has no pulse and introduces the notes of the Raga The SECOND section of the Raga which is slightly faster and has a pulse The THIRD section of the Raga which is much faster, has a pulse and has virtuoso displays but has NO TABLA The FOURTH section of a Raga which is fast and the TABLA is introduced - Fixed composition or tune is used First beat of the TALA or Indian Rhythmic Cycle Indian Rhythmic Cycle a continuous bass line that provided an underlying structure for the harmonies and was usually played by the cello, or bassoon, or double bass and keyboard in the Baroque period Low male voice High male voice High female voice

Alap

Jhor

Jhalla

Gat

Sam TALA Basso Continuo

BASS TENOR SOPRANO

ALTO Largo Moderato Allegro Presto sForzando Forte Piano Pianissimo Dissonat Consonant Libretto BPM Comping

Low female voice Slowly Medium tempo Fast and Lively tempo Very Fast Tempo a sudden, sharp accent Loud Soft or Quiet Very Soft or Quiet Clashing notes played together Nice sounding notes played together The words of a musical or opera Beats Per Minute syncopated chording which provides improvised accompaniment for other player's solos User-contributed Music passed down by generations by word of mouth (i.e. not written down) an African xylophone More than one rhythm played at the same time A 2 or 4 time rhythm played against a 3 time rhythm The leader of African Drumming - bringing people in, changing the tempo and leading the 'call and response' Tune or Tuneful Solo song in an Opera or Oratorio Doubling the length of the note values Halving the length of the note values

Oral Tradition

Balafon Polyrhythm Cross-rhythm Lead Drummer

Melodic Aria Augmentation Diminution

Solo Coda Staccato Legato Virtuoso Arpeggio Cantabile Rubato Modulation Tonic Dominant Klangfarbenmelodie

One instrument playing or a voice singing a tune End section to a piece of music Playing the notes short and detached Long and smooth notes A very skilful musician A broken chord In a singing style The performer pulling the tempo about The changing of key/tonality within a piece of music First note in a scale (key note) 5th note in a scale The use of instrumental timbres together - rather than using melody as a priority Turning a melody upsidedown Playing the melody backwards Playing the melody backwards and upside down The 12 notes of the chromatic scale placed into a certain order and used for the Serial composition

Inversion Retrograde Retrograde Inversion Prime Row or Series

Enharmonic Equivalent The equivalent sharp note as a flat and vice versa: e.g. F# is also Gb Sustained Pizzicato Arco Tremolo A held note Plucked notes on a string instrument Bowed notes on a string instrument The moving backwards and forward on a string instrument with the bow - creates a trembling effect A repeated short tune/motif in jazz or popular music

Riff

Dissonance Accompaniment Phasing

A clashing sound between notes The part played under the tune When the parts in a minimalist piece go out of time with one another Adding notes to a minimalist tune Removing notes from a minimalist tune The electronic repeating of a short tune or rhythm Parts/tunes placed over one another in a minimalist composition When a tune grows/changes slowly throughout a piece of minimalist music A long, sustained note in the bass part The main tune in a Jazz or Blues piece The syncopated chordal accompaniment in a Jazz or Blues piece an ornament in which the written note is alternated with the note above The slight vibrating of a note by a musician additional tracks being added by monitoring the previously recorded tracks while simultaneously recording a new track a loud chord consisting of the only root note of the chord and the fifth, usually played on electric guitar music played not using electronic means the sliding between two notes - hitting the notes in between the end section in piece of popular music (a popular music coda) a musical statement by a singer or instrumentalist that is answered by other singers or instrumentalists.

Note Addition Note Substraction Loop Layering

Metamorphosis

Drone Head Comping

Trill

Vibrato Overdub

Power Chord

Acoustic Glissando Outro

Call and Response

Countermelody Heterophonic

a melody over the top of another melody music in which two or more versions or variations of the same melody are performed simultaneously the combining of two or more music styles or genres a musical form involving the simultaneous sound of two or more melodies (polyphonic) singing with a light, graceful rhythm made up syllables or words in a folk or jazz piece to add rhythmic effect the mood created by the sounds of the pitches in a raga the individual beats in a rhythmic cycle or Tala the most common 16 beat Tala (rhythmic cycle): 4+4+4+4 the rapid scalic flourishes on the sitar or sarod or sarangai the sliding between two notes in Indian music the main melody/tune of a particular raga introduced in the Gat or Bandish section sound effects made by the voice: e.g. 'eh', 'ah', 'oh' instruments with a 'skin' e.g. drums instruments the resonate or are solid e.g. Balaphones, shakers, bells, cow bells, Mbita (thumb piano) instruments that you blow through e.g. flutes, panpipes, pipes, whistles instruments that have strings: e.g. Zither, Lutes, Lyers, Musical Bows, Guitars African languages that use pitch to determine the meaning of words

Fusion Counterpoint

Lilting Nonsense syllables

Rasa Matras Teental (tintal) Tan Meend/Mind Fixed Composition

Vocables Membranophones Idiophones

Aerophones

Chordophones

Tone Language