StudySpace: The Enjoyment of Music: Essential Listening Edition

Getting faster.

This example remains steady in pulse, then slowly speeds up toward the end.

Example: Delibes, Sylvia Suite, "Pizzicato"

The emphasis on a beat resulting in that beat's being louder or longer than another in a measure.

In this example, the accented beat occurs at regular intervals, on every third pulse (1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 3).

Example: Haydn, Symphony No. 94 (Surprise), third movement

Quite slow.

The melody is spun out at a regular but slow pace.

Example: Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite, "Ase's Death"

Groupings of irregular numbers of beats that add up to a larger, overall pattern (2 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 10).

Fast, cheerful.

This march moves along at a regular, fast pace.

Example: J. F. Wagner, Under the Double Eagle

Lowest of the female voices. Also contralto.

This vocal example features the low female voice of an alto (short for "contralto").

Example: Handel, Messiah, "O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion"

Moderately slow or walking pace.

This example proceeds at a slow walking pace.

Example: Mozart, Piano Concerto in C major, K. 467, second movement

Broken chord in which the individual tones are sounded one after another instead of simultaneously.

The harp frequently plays arpeggios, as in this example.

Example: Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, "Waltz of the Flowers"

See euphonium.

The rich mid-range voice of a baritone soloist balances well with the trombone in this excerpt.

Example: Mozart, Requiem, "Tuba mirum"

The bass drum is a large membranophone of indefinite pitch that is played with a soft-headed stick; it produces a low, heavy sound that is heard prominently in this march.

Example: F.J. Wagner, Under the Double Eagle

The bassoon is a double-reed instrument made of wood. Its relative, the contrabassoon, heard here, is the lowest pitched and weightiest sounding woodwind instrument.

Example: Mahler, Symphony No. 1, third movement

Regular pulsation; a basic unit of length in musical time.

In this dance movement, the beats are regular, with a strong, or accented, beat followed by two weaker pulses (1 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 2 - 3).

Example: Haydn, Symphony No. 94 (Surprise), third movement

Two-part (A-B) form is based on statement and departure. Also two-part form.

In this quick dance, the first idea is stated twice, followed by a contrasting idea, which is also repeated; the binary form here is outlined A-A-B-B.

Example: Corelli, Suite for Strings, "Badinerie"

The principal orchestral instruments of the brass family, from highest to lowest, are: trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba. Other brass instruments commonly used in concert and marching bands include cornet, and euphonium. These instruments all have cup-shaped mouthpieces attached to a length of metal tubing that flares into a bell at the end. A column of air is set vibrating by the tightly stretched lips of the player.

This majestic theme is sounded by the full forces of the brass family.

Example: Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, "Great Gate of Kiev"

This melody features four phrases, each of which ends in a cadence. The resting places, or cadences, after the first and third phrases are inconclusive (like a comma in a sentence); those after the second and fourth phrases sound final (like a period closing a sentence).

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, fourth movement, "Ode to Joy"

Type of polyphonic composition in which one musical line strictly imitates another at a fixed distance throughout.

In this instrumental canon, the double bass presents a melody that is imitated exactly by the bassoon at a fixed distance in time.

Example: Mahler, Symphony No. 1 (Titan), third movement

See violoncello.

The cello is noted for its dark resonance and singing quality.

A group of singers who perform together, usually in parts, with several on each part; often associated with a church.

This example features an unaccompanied (a cappella) chorus singing Latin-texted church music.

Example: Josquin, Tu solus qui facis

Simultaneous combination of three or more tones that constitute a single block of harmony.

In this example, the melody is accompanied by repeated chords, or blocks of harmony (each made up of three tones).

Example: Chopin, Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4

Fairly large group of singers who perform together, usually with several on each part. Also a choral movement of a large-scale work. In jazz, a single statement of the melodic-harmonic pattern.

In this example, the four-part chorus (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) is heard with orchestra.

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, fourth movement, "Ode to Joy"

Choruses can be restricted to either men's or women's voices. In early times, church music, including Gregorian chant, was traditionally sung by a men's chorus, as heard here.

Example: Gregorian chant, "Kyrie eleison"

Melody or harmony built from many if not all twelve semitones of the octave. A chromatic scale consists of an ascending or descending sequence of semitones.

This winding melody makes use of many half steps from the chromatic scale.

Example: Bach, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, Fugue theme

The wooden clarinet produces sound via a single reed, a small, thin piece of cane attached to its mouthpiece.

This example demonstrates its smooth, liquid sound.

Example: Ravel, Boléro

Smooth, connected melody that moves principally by small intervals.

This joyful tune moves in small, connected intervals (mostly seconds), making it conjunct.

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, fourth movement, "Ode to Joy"

Concordant or harmonious combination of tones that provides a sense of relaxation and stability in music.

This majestic passage is harmonious, or consonant, providing a sense of stability in the music.

Example: Brahms, Symphony No. 1, fourth movement

Contrast of musical materials sustains our interest and feeds our love of change; it provides variety to a form.

In this example, the first musical idea (heard twice at a fast tempo) is balanced by a contrasting idea, which is also repeated.

Example: Corelli, Suite for Strings, "Badinerie"

An accompanying melody sounded against the principal melody.

In this famous march, we hear the high piccolos playing a countermelody against the main melody.

Example: Sousa, The Stars and Stripes Forever, Trio

The dynamic effect of gradually growing louder, indicated in the musical score by the marking "<."

This energetic theme is repeated in various combinations of instruments as the dynamic level gradually grows from p (piano, or soft) to ff (fortissimo, or very loud).

Example: Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 4 (Italian), fourth movement

Cymbals are two circular brass plates of equal size, which when struck together produce a shattering sound, as heard in this example.

Example: F.J. Wagner, Under the Double Eagle

The dynamic effect of gradually growing softer, indicated in the musical score by the marking ">." Also referred to as diminuendo.

The dynamic level decreases very gradually in the closing section of this work (except for the last two loud chords).

Example: Smetana, The Moldau

Melody or harmony built from the seven tones of a major or minor scale. A diatonic scale encompasses patterns of seven whole tones and semitones.

This trumpet melody is built exclusively from the seven pitches of a major scale, making it diatonic.

Example: Mouret, Rondeau

Disjointed or disconnected melody with many leaps.

This dance-like tune moves with disjointed leaps, making it disjunct.

Example: Haydn, Symphony No. 94 (Surprise), third movement

Combination of tones that sounds discordant and unstable, in need of resolution.

Largest and lowest-pitched member of the bowed string family. Also called contrabass or bass viol.

The double bass, the lowest member of the bowed string family, has a thick, weighty tone.

Example: Mahler, Symphony No. 1, third movement

First beat of the measure, the strongest in any meter.

This triple-meter dance begins on an accented beat, the first beat, or downbeat, in the measure (1 - 2 - 3 | 1 - 2 - 3).

Example: Bach, Minuet in G

Sustained sounding of one or several tones for harmonic support, a common feature of some folk musics.

A low-pitched, two-note drone is heard at the beginning of this example, as the disjunct melodic idea is passed from one instrument to another.

Example: Beethoven, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, first movement

Basic metrical pattern of two beats to a measure.

Most marches are in duple meter, with two beats per measure (alternating a strong beat with a weak beat (1 - 2 | 1- 2 ).

Example: F.J. Wagner, Under the Double Eagle

The flute is a cylindrical metal tube closed at one end that is held horizontally and blown across the mouth hole.

In this example, its timbre is cool and velvety in the low range.

Example: Ravel, Boléro

The Italian term for "loud," indicated in the musical score by the marking "f."

In this example, the woodwind section plays the melody loudly (marked "forte")

Example: Ravel, Boléro

The Italian term for "very loud," indicated in the musical score by the marking "ff."

At the close of this work, the dynamic level is very loud (fortissimo) in the full orchestra.

Example: Ravel, Boléro

The solo instrument featured here is the French horn, a mellow brass instrument that descended from the ancient hunting horn. Also horn.

Example: Mozart, Horn Concerto K. 447, third movement

Polyphonic form popular in the Baroque era in which one or more themes are developed by imitative counterpoint.

A fugue is a complex composition in which the theme (called the subject) is developed by imitative counterpoint. In this example, the first imitation of the subject is heard overlapping the initial idea.

Example: Bach, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, Fugue

Solemn; very, very slow.

The pace of this piano work is very, very slow and the mood is solemn.

Example: Beethoven, Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 13, (Pathétique), first movement

The simultaneous combination of notes and the ensuing relationships of intervals and chords. Not all musics of the world rely on harmony for interest, but it is central to most Western music.

The harp's strings are plucked, and its pitches are changed by means of pedals. Its ethereal tone is easily recognizable. The harp frequently plays broken chords called arpeggios.

Example: Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, "Waltz of the Flowers"