Music Appreciation Final Study Guide Elements of Music Review Key Points for Chapters 1 7 Chapter 1 A melody is the line or tune in music Each melody is unique is contour and in range Contour how it moves up and down Range span of pitches An interval is the distance between any two pitches A melody that moves in small connected intervals is conjunct while one that moved by leaps is disjunct The units that make up a melody are phrases phrases end in resting places called cadences A melody may be accompanied by a secondary melody or a countermelody Countermelody an accompanying melody sounded against the principle Chapter 2 melody Rhythm is what moves music forward in time Meter marked off in measures organizes the beats the basic units in music Meter organizing patterns of rhythmic pulses Measures rhythmic groups or metrical unit that contains a fixed number of beats divided on the musical staff by bar lines measure lines vertical lines through the staff that separate metric units or measures Beats regular pulses that divide time into equal segments Measures often begin with a strong downbeat Downbeat first beat of the measure the strongest in the meter Simple meter duple triple and quadruple are the most common Simple meter grouping of rhythms in which the beat is subdivided into two as a duple triple or quadruple meters Duple meter two beats to a measure Triple meter three beats to a measure Quadruple meter four beats to a measure Compound meters subdivided each beat into three rathen than two subbeats Rhythmic complexities occur with upbeats offbeats syncopation and polyrhythm downbeat pattern Upbeats last beat if a measure a weak beat which anticipates the Offbeats a weak beat or any pulse between beats in a measured rhythmic Chapter 3 Syncopation deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse through a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an offbeat Polyrhythm the simultaneous use of several rhythmic patterns or meters common in 20th century music and in certain African musics Additive meters are used in some world musics Additive meters patterns of beats that subdivide into smaller irregular groups common in certain Eastern European musics Some music is nonmetric or had an obscured pulse Nonmetric music lacking a strong sense of beat or meter common in certain non Western cultures Harmony describes the vertical events in music or how they sound together the simultaneous combination of notes and the ensuing relationship of intervals and chords A chord is the simultaneous sounding of three or more pitches chords are built from a particular scale or sequence of pitches Chord simultaneous combination of three or more tones that constitute a Scale series of tones in ascending or descending order may present the single block of harmony notes of a key on alternate pitches of a scale harmony are derived The most common chord in Western music is a triad which has three notes built Most Western music is based on major or minor scales from which melody and Major scale scale consisting of seven different tones that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps it differs from the minor scale primarily in that its third degree is raised half a step Minor scale scale consisting of seven different tones that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps it differs from the major scale primarily in that its third degree is lowered half a step The tonic is the central tone around which a melody and its harmonies are built this principle of organization is called tonality Tonic the first note of the scale or key do Tonality principle of organization around a tonic or home pitch based on a major or minor scale Dissonance is created by an unstable or discordant combination of tones Consonance occurs with resolution of dissonance producing a stable or restful sound Dissonance combination of tones that sounds discordant and unstable in need of resolution Consonance concordant or harmonious combination of tones that provides a sense of relaxation and stability in music Chapter 4 An octave is the interval spanning eight notes of the scale In Western music the octave is divided into twelve half steps the smallest interval used two half steps make a whole step Octave Interval between two tones seven diatonic pitches apart the lower note vibrates half as fast as the upper and sounds an octave lower Half step smallest interval used in the Western style system the octave divides into twelve such intervals The chromatic scale is made up of these twelve half steps while a diatonic scale is built on patterns of seven whole and half steps that form major and minor scales Chromatic scale consists of an ascending and descending sequence of Diatonic scale encompasses patterns of seven whole tones and semitones A sharp is a symbol that raises a tone by half a step a flat lowers a tone by half a semitones step Other scale types are used around the world built on different numbers of pitches and sometimes using microtones which are intervals smaller than half steps The tonic chord built on the first scale tone is the home base to which active chords dominant and subdominant need to resolve Active chords chords which resolve to the tonic chord Dominant chord chord built on the fifth scale step Subdominant chord chord built on the fourth scale step Composers can shift the pitch level of an entire work transposition or change the center or key during a work modulation Transposition shifting a piece of music to a different pitch level Key defines the relationship of tones with a common center or tonic Modulation the process of changing from one key to another Texture refers to the interweaving of the melodic lines with harmony in music The simplest texture is monophony or single voiced music without Heterophony refers to multiple voices elaborating the same melody at the same Polyphony describes a many voiced texture based on counterpoint one line set Homophony occurs when one melodic line is prominent over the accompanying accompaniment time against another lines or voices Chapter 5 Imitation when a melodic idea is presented in one voice then restarted in another is a common unifying technique in polyphone canons and rounds are two types of strictly initiative works Canons type of polyphonic composition in which one musical line strictly imitates another at a fixed distance throughout Rounds perpetual cannon at the unison in which each voice enters in succession with the same melody Chapter 6