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Calderglen High School Music Department NATIONAL 4 CONCEPTS Tempo A tempo- An instruction to return to the speed that was played before the tempo changed. For example, if the music is allegro, then has a rallentando, followed by the instruction 'a tempo', it means that after the rallentando the music should return to allegro Accelerando- The tempo (speed) of the music gradually becomes faster. Andante- A tempo at a walking speed, approximately 76-108 beats per minute. Rallentando- The tempo (speed) of the music gradually slows down. Rhythms Anacrusis- The notes which appear before the first strong beat of a musical phrase, particularly at the start of a piece. An anacrusis sounds as an upbeat. The well-known song 'Happy Birthday to You' also has an anacrusis. 1 Compound time - The beat is divided into groups of three – if you say 'straw-be-rry' as you listen to compound time music, the three syllables fit within each beat. Jig-et-ty, 1+a 2+a Simple time - The music has two, three or four beats in each bar, and each beat is a crotchet (1 beat note) and each beat can be divided into 2. If you try saying the word 'sim-ple' in each beat, and it fits with the notes, then you are listening to simple time. Simple time signatures are written as 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4. Syncopation- Describes rhythm which emphasises areas between, rather than on, main beats. In the second example (see notation), most of the notes fall in between the beats, and this creates syncopation. 2 Dynamics Mezzo forte- Mezzo forte (or mf) stands for fairly loud volume. Mezzo piano- Mezzo piano (or mp) means fairly quiet volume. Notes Dotted rhythm- A long note followed by a shorter one or a short note followed by a longer one, as in a Scotch snap. Often used in a Strathspey. Grouped semiquavers- A group of semiquavers (quarter beat notes) which are joined together Major- A row of notes built on an order of tones and semitones. A settled sound. 3 Minor- A stepwise series of notes built on an order of tones and semitones A more disturbed sound. Ornament- An ornament decorates a melody by adding extra notes. Ornaments are often short and add melodic and rhythmic interest. Paired quaver- 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. 4 Musical Periods and Styles ABA/ Ternary – A structure in which the main tune “A” is presented, is followed by a new tune “B”, followed finally by the first tune “A” again. Ternary form. Broken Chord- In a broken chord, the notes of a chord are played separately. Baroque - Baroque is the name given to a style of music composed during a particular period, 1600-1750 approximately. Bach and Handel are two of the composers from this period. Baroque music often uses a harpsichord and can be very polyphonic. Concerto- Work for solo instrument and orchestra, e.g. a flute concerto is written for flute and orchestra. It is normally in three movements – fast/slow/fast Muted- Using a device which reduces the volume or alters the sound of an instrument Opera - A drama set to music with soloists, chorus, acting, and orchestral accompaniment. It is normally performed in a theatre. Uses recitative, aria and chorus 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. Berlioz, Chopin and Liszt are composers from the Romantic Period. 5 Arpeggio- A chord where the notes are played consecutively rather than together. e.g. C G G E E C C Canon - A strict form of imitation where a second part copies a first part exactly. It usually lasts for more than just a few seconds. Distortion- An electronic effect used in rock music to colour the sound of an electric guitar. Sounds ‘fuzzy’ rather than clean. Imitation- Where the melody is immediately copied in another part. It need not be an exact copy. Pedal- Short for pedal point. A note which is sustained, or repeated continuously, in the bass beneath changing harmonies. In the notation, a pedal note can be seen in the lower part. Baroque- Baroque is the name given to a style of music composed during a particular period, 1600-1750 approximately. Bach and Handel are two of the composers from this period. 6 Chord progression A series of related chords built on the first, fourth and fifth notes of a major or minor scale. Ragtime - A style of dance music which became popular at the end of the 19th century and which helped to influence jazz. It features a strongly syncopated melody (meaning the notes don’t always fall on the beat) against a steady, simple accompaniment played as a vamp, often played on piano, e.g. Scott Joplin rags. Swing- A jazz style which started in the 1930s and was performed by a big band. The numbers and types of instruments in the big bands increased during this period, through the influence of swing. Glenn Miller was one of the leading figures in swing . Change of key- A move from one key to another. Middle 8- In popular music, a section which provides a contrast to the opening section. It is often eight bars long. Rapping- Rhyming lyrics that are spoken and performed in time to a beat. Rapping is popular in hip-hop music. Scat Singing- Singing using nonsense words, syllables and sounds. Used often in Jazz when words would prevent improvisation. e.g. Du dn du dn Dat or Scoo bn doo bn Dat or Diddly dum, diddly dee. Theme and VariationThe structure of a piece where the melody is heard (the theme), then returns several times with variations e.g. Ornaments, Passing notes. 7 World Music African music- Much African music features voices and/or African drums. Reggae- Reggae music was developed in the late 1960s in Jamaica. It has quite a distinctive sound and has the characteristic of strong accents on the 2nd and 4th beats of the bar. Bob Marley has had many reggae hits in the pop charts. Vocal Music Alto- The lowest female voice Backing vocals- Singers who support the lead singer(s), usually by singing in harmony in the background. Bass- The lowest male voice Cadenza- A passage of music which allows soloists to display their technical ability in singing or playing an instrument. Performers used to improvise cadenzas themselves but eventually composers began to write them into the score. In a concerto the end of the cadenza is marked by a dominant 7th chord. Soprano- The highest female voice Tenor- The highest male voice Verse and chorus A structure/form popular in many songs. The music of the verse is repeated, often with different words. The chorus is normally repeated. 8 Instruments Bass drum- This instrument belongs to the percussion family. It is large, low in pitch and played with a largeheaded beater. A bass drum is also part of a drum kit. Bass guitar- The bass guitar is pitched lower than a guitar. It is an electric string instrument and has only four strings, two fewer than an electric guitar. It needs to be plugged into an amplifier to be heard. 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 plucked (pizzicato). Clarinet- This instrument belongs to the woodwind family. It uses a single reed, which is attached to a plastic mouthpiece. This is placed between the lips, and the air travels between the reed and the plastic mouthpiece, and into the instrument. Double bass- This instrument belongs to the string family and is the largest and lowest instrument of the strings. It can be played with a bow (arco) or (pizzicato). Flute- This instrument belongs to the woodwind family, although it is made of metal. It differs from other woodwind instruments as 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. It is a tuned percussion instrument, as it can play a range of notes. 9 Güiro- This instrument belongs to the percussion family. It 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. Harp- This instrument belongs to the string family. Harpsichord- A keyboard instrument which looks like a small grand piano. The keys are laid out in the same way, as on a piano but maybe opposite in colour – the majority of the keys are black, and the raised ones are white. When a key is pressed, it causes a string to be plucked, which gives the harpsichord a 'twangy' sound. Pan pipes- Traditional pan pipes are hollow tubes made 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. Recorder- The recorder is a woodwind instrument. There are four main types of recorder: descant, treble, tenor and bass. Saxophone- This metal instrument belongs to the woodwind family. It uses a single reed which is attached to a plastic mouthpiece, like a clarinet. This is placed between the lips, and the air travels between the reed and plastic mouthpiece, and into the instrument. Snare drum- This instrument belongs to the percussion family and is played with sticks or brushes. 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. Timpani- A drum with a skin stretched across a large bowl. It was traditionally made of copper, but is more commonly now made of fibreglass. 10 Triangle- This is a piece of metal in the shape of a triangle, open at one corner, and struck with a metal beater. It is an untuned percussion instrument. Trombone- This is the only brass instrument that has a slide instead of valves. Air vibrates through a player’s lips, into a mouthpiece which is connected to the instrument. Trumpet- The trumpet is the smallest and highest brass 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. 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. Brass band- A band of brass instruments and percussion. Wind band- A band with woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. Scottish Music Jig- A fast Scottish dance in Compound time. Jig-et-ty, 1+a 2+a Drone- One note held or repeated in the bass. A feature of the bagpipes. Mouth music- Unaccompanied vocal music for informal dancing e.g. Reel. Gaelic. Nonsense words. 11 Pentatonic- Any five-note scale. In practice, the most common one is that on which much folk music is based, particularly Scottish and Celtic. The five notes could be C D E G A. Scotch snap- Scotch snap A very short accented note before a longer note. A feature of Strathspeys. Scots ballad- A Scottish song which tells a story. It is in strophic form, which means that the same music is repeated for each verse. Strathspey- A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar, with dotted rhythms, and usually featuring the Scotch snap. Vamp- A rhythmic accompaniment with a bass note played on the beat and a chord off the beat. Usually played on piano or guitar. 12 13