aspire: to explain key words to remember key … words gcse music.pdf · stand back to back so one...

Aspire:

Challenge:

To Explain Key Words

To remember Key Words

Pair games 1. Find a partner 2. Stand back to back so one of you can see the board 3. The person facing the board will be explaining the definition 4. The person facing away from the board will try to remember which key word it is 5. Once you get one wrong you will swap over until you get to the end of the list

Western Classical Tradition 1650 - 1910 Keywords

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Key Word Definition

Conjunct Moving up or down by one

Disjunct Moving by leaps

Triadic Moving by notes from a triad

Broken Chords Moving by notes from a chord

Scalic Moving by notes from a scale

Arpeggio Moving by notes from a chord in the same direction

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Key Word Definition

Diatonic Using only the notes in the scale

Chromatic Using notes that are not in the key the piece is written in

Passing Notes a note not belonging to the harmony but placed between the notes to secure a smooth transition.

Slide a musical ornament which instructs the performer to move from one note to another smoothly

Portamento is a pitch sliding from one note to another.

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Key Word Definition

Acciaccatura A note played as quickly as possible before the main note follows it.

Appoggiatura A melodic ornament where a neighbouring note is sounded before the main note of the melody

Ostinato A repeating pattern

Consonant A combination of notes in a melody that sound pleasing

Dissonant A combination of notes in a melody that clash when played together

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Key Words Definition

Staccato a note of shortened duration separated from the note that may follow by silence

Accents emphasis, stress, or stronger attack placed on a particular note

Tenuto hold the note in question its full length

Marcato To play with emphasis

Downbow The player performs the indicated note by drawing the bow downward

Upbow The player performs the indicated note by drawing the bow upward

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Key Word Definition

Pedal note A sustained or regulary repeated note usually heard in the bass

Drone One or more notes held or repeated throughout an extended pattern of music

Perfect 5 to 1 cadence sounds ”finished”

Pagal 4 to 1 cadence sounds “amen”

Imperfect 1 to 5 cadence sounds like its going somewhere

Interupted 5 to 6 cadence sound surprising, you expect a perfect cadence but get a minor chord instead

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Key Word Definition

Tonic The First note of the scale

Supertonic The Second note of the scale

Mediant The Third note of the scale

Subdominant The Fourth note of the scale

Dominant The Fifth note of the scale

Submediant The Sixth note of the scale

Leading Note The Seventh note of the scale

Octave The Tonic 12 semitones higher

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Key Word Definition

Modulation To change the key of a song

Order of the Sharps

Father Charles Goes Down And Ends Battle

Order of the Flats

Battle Ends And Down Goes Charles’ Father

Circle of Fifths the relationship among the 12 tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys

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Key Word Definition

Binary Form A B or A A B B

Ternary Form A B A

Rondo A B A C A D A

Arch Form A B C B A

Through-Composed

Continuous and non-repetitive

Theme and Variation

A1 A1 A2 A3 A4

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Key Word Definition

Call and Response

succession of two distinct phrases usually written in different parts of the music, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or in response to the first

Ground Bass A repeated pattern of notes over which music is written, A longer pattern than ostinato

Continuo A series of bass notes with numbers attached that indicate the harmony to be used above them.

Cadenza A short passage of music played in free time, designed to show off a players skill

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Key Word Definition

Solo A single player or singer. Sometimes other instruments in the background

Duet Two players or singers of roughly equal importance

Trio Three players or singers

Quartet Four players or singers

Quintet Five players or singers

Obbligato An instrument that takes an especially important line, sometimes a melody above the main tune

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Key Word Definition

A cappella The choir sings unaccompanied

Orchestra A large group of instruments

Choir A large group of singers

Simple Time 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 2/2,

Compound Time

6/8, 9/8, 12/8, 15/16, 6/4

Anacrusis Unstressed noted before the bar line or downbeat

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Key Word Definition

Arco Played with a bow

Pizzicato Plucked

Con Sordino Played with a mute

Senza Sordino Played without a mute

Double and Triple Tonguing

Wind instrument players use their tongues to create rapid notes

Double or Triple Stop

Two or Three notes played at the same time on a string instrument

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Key Word Definition

Homophonic Block Chords

Contrapuntal Two melodic lines at the same time

Antiphonal Alternate Groups

Monophonic A single melody line

Melody and Accompaniment

A distinct melody which stands out from the background accompaniment

Unison Exactly the same notes in different parts

Octaves 8 notes apart

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Key Word Definition

Grave Very Slow

Largo Fairly Slow

Andante Walking Pace

Adagio Moderately Slow

Moderato Moderate Speed

Allegro Quick

Vivace Quick and Lively

Presto Extremely Quick

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Key Word Definition

Pulse/Beat The number of beats per bar

Augmentation Making the notes uniformly longer

Diminution Making the notes uniformly smaller

Hemiola two groups of three beats are replaced by three groups of two beats, giving the effect of a shift between triple and duple metre.

Scotch Snap a rhythmic feature in which a dotted note is preceded by a stressed shorter note

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Key Word Definition

Crescendo Gradually Louder

Diminuendo Gradually Quieter

Sforzando Accented

Pianissimo Very Quiet

Piano Quiet

Mezzopiano Moderately Quiet

Forte Loud

Fortissimo Very Loud

Popular Music Key Words

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Key Word Definition

Riff Repeated short melodic or rhythmic figure

Pitch Bend Bending the pitch up or down

Melisma One syllable for lots of notes

Hook Catchy melodic or harmonic pattern

Slide Pressing a bottle neck or metal bar on a guitar string and moving it up or down to create a shifting pitch

Glissando A glide from one pitch to another

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Key Word Definition

Improvisation Music made up by a musician in mid performance

Ostinato Repeated pattern of notes, often used as an accompaniment

Blues Notes 3rd, 7th and sometimes 5th note of the scale slightly lowered – The actual pitch varies according to the performer

Chord Symbols

Using Roman Numerals for chords

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Key Word Definition

Power Chords On an electric guitar these are chords without their 3rd

Stock chord progression

Common chord progressions in pop styles

Pentatonic Five note scale that omits the 4th and 7th notes of the major scale

Modal Scales and the resulting music that use the old church modes

Blues Scales A scale that uses blues notes

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Key Word Definition

Intro/Outro Music used specifically for beginning and ending a song

Verse The part of the lyrics that changes content but reuses the musical structure

Chorus The part of the lyrics that repeats exactly the same each time, often contains song title

Break Short solo passage as the rest of the band stop

12-bar blues Series of 7th chords lasting for 12 bars which forms the structure of the blues

Drum Fill Drummer plays a more complex rhythm at the end of a phrase – it can be a drum break or the music may be continuous

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Key Word Definition

Standard contemporary instruments

Electric guitars, synthesisers

Specific instrument types

Examples include; sitar, dilruba

Instrumental techniques

Palm mute, hammer on, pull off, pitch bend, etc

Drum kit specifics

Names of kit instruments: high hat, kick drum etc and techniques, rim shot, roll etc

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Key Word Definition

Vocal Timbre Falsetto, rap, holler, scat

Specific instrumental techniques

Finger picking on an electric guitar or slap bass on a bass

Specific instrumental effects

Amplification, distortion, feedback

Recording Techniques

ADT, Direct Injection (DI) Reverb, Chorus

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Key Word Definition

BPM Beats Per Minute

MM Metronome marking

Groove Sense of everyone fitting together to create a forward rhythm, E.G a swing or funk feel

Backbeat Emphasis on the 2nd and 4th beat, accents on the off beat

Syncopation Accents in unexpected places, or rhythms that emphasise unusual parts of the beat

Off-Beat The second and fourth beats

Shuffle/swing Dotted or triplet quaver feel

Traditional Music Key Words

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Key Word Definition

Blue Notes 3rd, 7th and sometimes 5th note of the scale slightly lowered – The actual pitch varies according to the performer


Whole tone scale

A scale made from whole notes, e.g C D E F# G# A#


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Key Word Definition

Slide/ Glissando/ Portamento

A glide from one pitch to another

Appogiaturas Starting the note above and falling down – usually takes half the value of the note


Riff Repeated short melodic or rhythmic figures

Melody-Scat Improvised wordless or nonsense singing

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Key Word Definition

Melisma One syllable for lots of notes

Improvisation Music made up by a performer as they go along

Strophic, verse and chorus

Song with repeated sections of lyrics

Call and response

A phrase is answered by another, using similar but not the same material

Popular song forms

32 bar song form A A B A

Structure 12 or 16-bar blues

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Key Word Definition

Technology Synthesised and computer generated sounds, sampling, reverb, chorus, distortion

Drone A note that stays constant, usually in the bass while the melody and harmony above it change

Vocal techniques

Falsetto, vibrato, rap

Imitative Short motifs or phrases are copied in other parts usually with some modification

Layered Parts above or below others to form a richer sound

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Key Word Definition

Irregular/Free Not following a rigid beat

Skank Reggae guitar rhythm using upstums on the off-beat

Bubble Reggae keyboard technique using off-beat quavers

Clave Afro-Cuban rhythm using syncopated accents, typically with accents on the first and fourth beats with a semiquaver ahead or behind for the second and third beats

Anacrusis Notes before the bar line

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Key Word Definition

Hemiola Feeling of two in triple time

Bi-rhythm, cross rhythm, polyrhythm

Patterns of different rhythms superimposed, e.g three cotchet triplets above a steady two

Shuffle beat Dotted rhythm feel

Backbeat Accent on the second and fourth beats

Syncopation Accents in unexpected places, or rhythms that emphasise unusual parts of the beat

Off-beat The second and fourth beats

Western Classical Tradition Since 1910 Key Words

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Key Word Definition


Motif Short distinctive recurring musical idea used for compositional purpuses

Melisma One syllable sung over many notes

Chromatic Using notes not found in the key

Dissonant Harsh or discordant sounds created by two notes that do not harmonise

Pedal A constant note, often tonic or dominant, with melody and harmony changing above

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Key Word Definition


Whole Tone Scale

A scale made from whole notes, e.g C D E F# G# A#


Tonal Ambiguity

Music that is largely tonal but not clearly in one specific key

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Key Word Definition

Scordatura Retuning of stringed instruments up or down

Flutter tonguing

Wind instrument tonguing technique in which performers flutter their tongue to make a characteristic "FrrrrFrrrrr" sound.

Col Legno Stringed instrument technique where you play with the wood of the bow

Vamping Repeating a musical figure like a guitar riff so that people can solo over the top

aspire: to explain key words to remember key … words gcse music.pdf · stand back to back so one...

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