(Part 1) - MUS12 Music Appreciation Vocabulary Review

An album (collection of songs) that is unified by a coherent narrative or mode of presentation.

A group of intellectuals who gathered in the late 16th century and are responsible for developing European opera.

A rhythmic pattern that deemphasizes strong beats and emphasizes off-beats

The classical music of the Turkish tradition.

The organization of a musical work in time; can be mapped using terms or letter names.

A musical texture in which all instruments perform the same melody at the same time, but with individual variations.

An ensemble leader who keeps time, often using a baton, and guides the performance using gestures.

A song that tells a story or personal account.

An approach to composition in which the various parts of a large-scale work are unified by recurring melodic material.

A type of troubadour song that addresses the hopeless love a knight feels for the noblewoman he serves.

An approach to composition in which a process of gradualtransformation is applied to limited musical material.

The loudness or softness of a musical passage.

Music that is part of a dramatic scene and is therefore audible to the characters in that scene.

Melodic motion in which pitches do not simply move up and down the scale but are instead separated by large intervals.

In the 1920s, dance music played primarily by African American bands; defined in contrast to sweet jazz.

A style of Chinese drama developed in 1790; relies on character types & symbolic action, costumes, and make-up.

The process by which a performer, producer, or organization hires a composer to create a new musical work.

Using notes beyond those included in the major or minor scale.

An educated medieval cleric who grew disaffected with religious life. Remembered for their satirical poems and songs.

Instrumental music that does not claim to be about anything other than its own form and sound...

A collection of pitches, sounded simultaneously to support a harmony.

An instrumental work that opens a musical drama. Precedes operas, oratorios, ballets, musicals, and other forms.

A 1920s intellectual, social, and artistic movement centered in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.

A style of unaccompanied singing, used by African Americans to accompany work, communicate, or express emotions.

A song tradition associated with Trinidadian Carnival. Lyrics characterized by clever wordplay & sociopolitical topics.

A medium-loud dynamic.

A brief melody played for the purpose of signalling a military maneuver or structuring military life. (i.e. "Taps")

Rapid articulation on a single pitch or quick alternation between two pitches.

A passage of instrumental music that returns throughout a compositon. Usually applied to music of the Baroque era.

A small jazz ensemble with one player per instrument. i.e. John Coltrane Quartet

The first and most important note of a scale; the “home” pitch to which melody and harmony tend to return.

A scholar who specializes in indigenous music traditions.

The words that are sung in a musical drama, such as an opera or oratorio.

A musical mode in the North Indian system. They are organized into families, and each has a unique name.

A musical form in which a refrain, introduced at the outset, alternates with contrasting material (e.g. A B A C A B A).

A work for solo vocalist that follows a set form. Common as components of operas or composed as a stand-alone work.

Small wooden clappers that are held in each hand and used to tap rhythms in the flamenco tradition.

The musical period from 1750 to 1815. Features restrained harmonies, balanced phrases, and transparent textures.

A unit determined by meter that contains the basic grouping of pulses. Synonymous with "measure."

The means by which stories, customs, and music are passed from generation to generation by word of mouth.

The manner in which a pitch is begun, sustained, and released.

A style of singing modelled on dramatic speech. Usually there is minimal repetition and seldom a recognizable melody.

A period in Western music history that is bookmarked by the invention of opera (1600) and the death of J.S. Bach (1750).

An instrumental ensemble native to Indonesia, consisting primarily of bronze gongs and metallophones.

A technique by which the composer translates text into sound (e.g. sets the word “falling” to a descending melody).

The distance between two pitches.

From the French for “advance guard”; refers to works of art that break with norms and explore new creative territory.

A lowered note (usually the third, fifth, or seventh scale degree); typical of the blues style.

The span between the low and high notes of a melody; can be small, medium, or large in size.

The addition of trills, runs, or other embellishments to a melody.