Download National 4 Concepts

National 4 Concepts
SCOTTISH
Jig - A fast dance in compound time. Usually 2 beats in a
INSTRUMENTS
Bass Drum - This instrument belongs to the percussion
family. It is large, low in pitch and played with a large-headed
beater. A bass drum is also part of a drum kit.
from bamboo or wood, and bound together. The tubes are of
varying length which gives different pitches of notes, and the
sound is produced by blowing air across the top of the tubes.
Bass Guitar - The bass guitar is pitched lower than a
Recorder - There are four main types of recorder: descant,
guitar. It is an electric string instrument and has only four
strings, two fewer than an electric guitar.
treble, tenor and bass.
bar, with each beat dividing into 3 quavers.
March - Music with a strong steady pulse, with two or four
beats in a bar, and at a speed that is suitable to march to.
Reel - A Scottish dance written in simple time with two or
four beats in a bar.
Waltz- A dance with three beats in a bar in
Cello - This instrument belongs to the string family and is
slightly smaller and slightly higher in pitch than a double bass.
It can be played with a bow (arco) or pizzicato.
simple time.
Clarinet - This instrument belongs to the woodwind family.
Strathspey - A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar,
Pan Pipes - Traditional pan pipes are hollow tubes made
It uses a single reed, which is attached to a plastic mouthpiece.
with dotted rhythms, and usually featuring the Scotch snap.
Saxophone - This instrument belongs to the woodwind
family. It uses a single reed which is attached to a plastic
mouthpiece.
Tambourine - This instrument belongs to the percussion
family. It has a wooden or plastic frame, pairs of metal jingles
attached, and is mostly played by the hand striking or shaking
the instrument.
Double Bass - This instrument belongs to the string family
Mouth Music - Unaccompanied songs with Gaelic or
nonsense words, normally sung for ceilidh dances.
and is the largest and lowest instrument of the strings. It can be
played with a bow (arco) or pizzicato.
Pentatonic – Any 5 note Scale
Flute - This instrument belongs to the woodwind family,
Snare Drum - This instrument belongs to the
percussion family and is played with sticks or brushes.
Scotch Snap - A very short accented note before a longer
although it is made of metal. It does not have a reed. The sound
is produced by blowing across the top of a hole – a bit like
blowing across the open top of a glass bottle.
Glockenspiel - This instrument belongs to the percussion
family. The metal bars are laid out in a similar pattern to the
piano and are played with beaters.
family. A drum with skin stretched across a large bowl which
was traditionally made of copper, but is more commonly now
made of fibreglass.
Guiro - This instrument belongs to the percussion family. It
Triangle - This instrument belongs to the percussion
is made of wood that has been hollowed out and has ridges cut
into the outer surface. A wooden stick is scraped along the
ridges to produce the sound.
family. A piece of metal in the shape of a triangle, open at one
corner, and struck with a metal beater.
note. A feature of Strathspeys.
Scots Ballad - A Scottish song which tells a story.
Drone – 1; One note held on (or repeated in) the bass.
Often called a drone bass. Sometimes there is more than one
note.
2;
The low-pitched pipes of a bagpipe which
accompany a melody.
INSTRUMENTS (CONT.)
Timpani - This instrument belongs to the percussion
Trombone - This instrument belongs to the brass family.
Harp - This instrument belongs to the string family. It is
usually about 1.8 metres high, weighs 36kg and has 47 strings.
Air vibrates through a player's lips, into a mouthpiece which is
connected to the instrument. It is the only brass instrument that
has a slide instead of valves.
Harpsichord - A keyboard instrument which looks like a
small grand piano. When a key is pressed, it causes a string to
be plucked, which gives the harpsichord a 'twangy' sound.
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Trumpet - This instrument belongs to the brass family. Air
vibrates through a player's lips, into a mouthpiece which is
connected to the instrument. The trumpet is the smallest and
highest instrument in the brass family.
Violin - This instrument belongs to the string family. It is
the smallest and highest pitched instrument in the string
family. It can be played with a bow (arco) or pizzicato.
Xylophone - This instrument belongs to the percussion
family. The wooden bars are laid out in a similar pattern to the
piano and are played with beaters.
STYLES
Baroque - Baroque is the name given to a style of music
composed during a particular period, 1600-1750
approximately.
Romantic - In music, the period 1810-1900 approximately,
which followed the Classical era. The Romantic orchestra grew
in size and added piccolo, trombone and more varied
percussion.
Brass Band - A band of brass instruments and percussion.
Wind Band - A band with woodwind, brass and
20th CENTURY (JAZZ)
percussion instruments.
VOCAL
Ragtime
Backing Vocals - Singers who support the lead singer(s),
A style of dance music which became popular at
the end of the 19th century and which helped to influence jazz.
usually by singing in harmony in the background.
Opera - A drama set to music with soloists, chorus, acting,
Scat singing - Nonsense words, syllables and sounds are
improvised (made up) by the singer.
and orchestral accompaniment. It is normally performed in a
Swing
theatre.
Rapping - Rhyming lyrics that are spoken and performed in
- A jazz style which started in the 1930s and was
performed by a big band.
time to a beat. Rapping is popular in hip-hop music.
Syncopation - Strongly accented notes playing off or
Verse and Chorus - A structure/form popular in many
against the beat.
songs. The music of the verse is repeated, often with different
words, and (between verses) the chorus is normally repeated,
featuring different music to the verse.
Scat singing - Nonsense words, syllables and sounds are
improvised (made up) by the singer.
Concerto - A work for solo instrument and orchestra, eg a
flute concerto is written for flute and orchestra. It is normally
in three movements.
METHODS/EFFECTS
Muted - Using a device which reduces the volume or alters
the sound of an instrument.
Types of voice.
Soprano – The highest female voice
.Alto - The lowest female voice.
Tenor – The highest male voice
Bass - The lowest male voice.
A B A/ TERNARY - Three-part form – Music in three
sections: section A, then B, then back to A.
WORLD MUSIC
African –
Music from Africa
Distortion – An electronic effect used in rock music to
colour the sound of an electric guitar. It gives a fuzzy sound.
Reggae
GROUPS
STRUCTURE/FORM
- Reggae music was developed in the late 1960s
Chord Progression
A series of related chords built on
the first, fourth and fifth notes of a major or minor scale.
in Jamaica.
Change of Key - A move from one key to another.
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Middle Eight - In popular music, a section which
provides a contrast to the opening section. It is often eight bars
Pedal - Short for pedal point. A note which
is sustained, or repeated continuously, in the bass beneath
Compound Time - The beat is divided into groups of
changing harmonies.
three.
Cadenza - A passage of music which allows soloists to
Simple time - The music has two, three or four beats in
display their technical ability in singing or playing an
instrument.
each bar, and each beat is a crotchet (1 beat note) and each beat
long.
Vamp - A rhythmic accompaniment with a bass note played
on the beat and a chord off the beat. Usually played on piano
or guitar.
Ostinato/Riff - A short musical pattern repeated many
can be divided into 2.
times.
Mezzo forte (or mf) stands for fairly loud volume.
Arpeggio - Notes of a chord played one after the other.
Tempo, Dynamics, Rhythm
and Note groupings
Mezzo piano (or mp) means fairly quiet volume.
Dotted Rhythm - A long note followed by a shorter one
A tempo - An instruction to return to the speed that was
or a short note followed by a longer one, as in a Scotch snap.
played before the tempo changed.
Canon - Strict imitation. Once one part starts to play or sing
Grouped Semiquavers - A group of semiquavers
a melody, another part enters shortly afterwards with exactly
Accelerando - The tempo (speed) of the music gradually
the same melody. Frere Jacques is often sung this way. See
becomes faster.
Major - The music sounds in a major key (tonality) – often
round.
Andante - A tempo at a walking speed, approximately 76Imitation - Where the melody is immediately copied in
Minor - The music sounds in a minor key (tonality), often
Rallentando - The tempo (speed) of the music gradually
described as having a sadder feel than major.
slows down.
Ornament - An ornament decorates a melody by adding
the melody is heard (the theme), then returns several times
with variations.
described as having a cheery, happy feel to it.
108 beats per minute.
another part. It need not be an exact copy.
Theme and Variation - The structure of a piece where
which are joined together.
Anacrusis - The notes which appear before the first strong
extra notes. Ornaments are often short and add melodic and
beat of a musical phrase, particularly at the start of a piece.
rhythmic interest.
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Paired Quavers - Two quavers (½ beat notes) joined
together.
Quaver - A note that lasts half a beat.
Repeat Sign - A sign (indicated by a double barline and
two dots) which indicates that a section of music should be
repeated.
Scale - A sequence of notes moving by step in an ascending
or descending order.
Semiquaver - A note that lasts for a quarter (1/4) of a
beat.
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