Music 101 textbook notes PDF

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Melody/Musical Line ● Melody- line, or the tune in music; succession of single pitches that we hear as a recognizable whole. ● Contour- how a melody moves up and down; a melody’s overall shape as it turns upward or downward or remains static. ● Range- span of pitches; distance between the lowest and highest notes. ● Interval- the distance between any two pitches. ● Conjunct- melody moves in small, connected intervals. ● Disjunct- melody moves in large, disconnected intervals. ● Phrases- the units that make up a melody. ● Cadences- resting places where phrases end; “punctuates” music. ● Rhyme scheme- the way the last syllables in each line rhyme. ● Climax- the high point in a melodic line. ● Countermelody- secondary melody that accompanies a melody.

Rhythm, Meter, Musical Time ● Rhythm- movement of music in time. ● Beat- basic unit of rhythm, a regular pulse that divides time into equal segments. ● Accented beats- beats that are stronger than others. ● Meter- marked off in measures (bars), organizes the beats (basic units) in music; each measure contains a fixed number of beats, and the first beat in a measure usually receives the strongest accent. ● Downbeat- the first accented beat of each pattern.

● Simple meters- duple, triple, and quadruple are the most common; each beat is divided into two. ● Duple meter- alternates a strong downbeat with a weak beat; ONE two, ONE two. ● Triple meter- three beats to a measure; one strong beat, two weak ones, “ONE two three”. ● Quadruple meter- four bears to a measure, with a primary accent on the first beat and secondary accent on the third. ● Compound meters- divide each beat into three rather than two. ● Sextuple meter- the most common compound meter; six beats to a measure/two main beats that each divide into three. ● Syncopation- deliberate upsetting of the normal pattern of accents; instead of falling on the strong beat of the measure, the accent is shifted to a weak beat, or offbeat. ● Offbeat- in between the stronger beats. ● Polyrhythms- many rhythms; characterizes the music of several world cultures. ●

Additive rhythms- larger patterns are built from combinations like 2 + 3+ 3 (=8), rather than recurring patterns of two or three.

● Non-metric- obscured pulse; pulse is veiled or weak, with the music moving in a floating rhythm.

Harmony/ Musical Depth ● Harmony- describes the vertical aspects of music; how notes (pitches) sound together. ● Chord- simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches; chords are built from a particular scale or sequence of pitches. ● Triad- most common chord in western music and is representative of three alternate

pitches of a scale. ● Scale- collection of pitches arranged in ascending or descending order. ● Octave- interval spanning eight notes. ● Tonic- central pitch around which a melody and its harmonies are built; serves as a home base around which the others revolve and to which they ultimate gravitate. ●

Tonality- principle of organization around a central note, the tonic.

● Dissonance- combination of notes that sound unstable, sometimes harsh, and in need of resolution created by unstable, or discordant combination of pitches. ● Consonance- resolution of dissonance, producing a stable or restful sound.

The Organization of Musical Sounds ● Octave- interval spanning eight notes of the scale; divided into twelve half steps; two half steps make a whole step. ● Chromatic scale- made up of all twelve half steps. ● Diatonic scale- consists of seven whole and half steps whose pattern form major and minor scales. ● Sharp- symbol that raises a pitch by a half step. ● Flat- lowers a pitch by a half step. ● Microtones- intervals smaller than half steps. ● Transposition- composers can shift the pitch level (key) of an entire work. ● Modulation- composers can change the key during a work. ● Pentatonic- five note scale. ● Tritonic- three note pattern.

● Inflection of a pitch- brief microtonal dip or rise from the original pitch. ● Rest chord- counterposed against other chords, which are active. ● Active chords- seek to be completed or resolved in the rest chord.

Musical Texture ● Texture- refers to the interweaving of the melodic lines with harmony. ● Monophony- simplest texture; single voice or line without accompaniment. ● Polyphony- describes a many-voiced texture with different melodic lines based on a counterpoint- one line set against another. ● Homophony- occurs when one melodic voice is prominent over the accompanying lines or voices. ● Imitation- when a melodic idea is presented in one voice, then restated in another; is a common unifying technique in polyphony (canons and rounds). ● Heterophony- several musicians sing or play the same line, but each one varies some element; maybe a pitch or rhythm, so they’re out of sync with each other. ● Homorhythm- kind or homophony where all the voices or lines move together in the same rhythm. ● Round- each voice enters in succession with the same melody that can be repeated endlessly.

Musical Form ● Form- organizing principle in music; its basic elements are repetition, contrast, and variation.

● Strophic form- common in songs, features repeated music for each stanza of the text; SAME MELODY REPEATED FOR EACH STANZA. ● Through composed form- there are no large repeated sections. ● Binary form (A-B)- two part form based on a statement and a departure, without a return to the opening section. ● Ternary form (A-B-A)- three part form that extends the idea of a statement and departure by bringing back the first section. ● Variation- where some aspects of the music are altered but the original is still recognizable. ● Improvisation- pieces created spontaneously in performance. ● Theme- melodic idea in a large-scale work, can be broken into small component fragments (motives). ● Sequence- results when a motive is repeated at a different pitch. ● Call-and-response- repetitive style involving a soloist and a group. ● Ostinato- repetition of a short, melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout a work. ● Movements- large-scale compositions, such as symphonies and sonatas are divided into sections.

Miscellaneous ● Nocturne- “night piece”; introspective work common in 19th century, often for piano. ● Symphonic poem- one movement orchestral form that develops a poetic idea, suggests a scene, or creates a mood; usually associated with the romantic era.

● Idee fixe- fixed idea; term coined by Berlioz for a recurring musical idea that links the different movements of a work. ● Impressionism- french movement developed by visual artists who favored vague, blurring images intended to capture an “impression” of the subject. ●

Gesamtkunstwerk- german for “total artwork”; a term coined by Wagner to describe the synthesis of all the arts in his late operas.

● Leitmotif- leading motif, or basic recurring theme representing a person, object, or idea; widely used in Wagner’s musical dramas. ● Expressionism- a style of visual art and literature in Germany and Austria in the early 20th century; this term is also applied to music, especially the composers of the second viennese school. ● Verismo- operatic realism; popular in Italy in the 1890s, which tried to bring naturalism into lyric theater. ● Polytonality- simultaneous use of two or more keys; common in 20th century music. ● Sprechstimme- a vocal style in which the melody is spoken at approximate pitches rather than sung on exact pitches; developed by arnold schoenberg. ● Ethnomusicology- comparative study of musics of the world, with a focus on the cultural context of music. ● Ragtime- late 19th century piano style created by African Americans, characterized by highly syncopated melodies; also played in ensemble arrangements. contributed to early jazz styles...