Melody

is a single line of notes heard in succession as a coherent unit.

Rhythm
is the ordering of music through time.

Meter
is an underlying pattern of beats that maintains itself
consistently throughout a piece.

Triple Meter
One accented (strong) Beat followed by two unaccented (week)
beats.

Harmony
is the sound created by multiple voices playing or singing
together.

Texture
is based on the number and general relationship of musical lines
or voices.

Timbre
is the character of sound.

Dynamics
the same music can be performed at many degrees of volume ,
form very soft to very load.

Form
the structure of the whole - is musical form.

Word / Music Relationship

how music captures the meaning and spirit of its text.

Program Music
music with detailed description of what a work is about.

Genre
categories.

Note

Smallest Unit of music.

Phrases, Sub phrases

make up the complete musical statement.

Cadence
Like a period it signals the end of a unit that can stand on its
own.

Melodic motion
is the nature of the movement of the notes.

Conjunct Motion
Stepwise motion with note very close to each other.

Disjunct motion
motion by leaps, especially large leaps.

Scale
the notes of any given melody derive from the notes of the scale.

Octave
a series of notes that moves stepwise and covers a complete span.

Interval
the distance between each note.

Major Mode
Corresponds to the scale produced by singing doe, re,me... and is
brighter, happier.

Minor Mode
strikes listener as darker and somber and less optimistic.

Measure
Rhythmic unit typically at the beginning of each measure the
first note has strong accent.

Duple Meter
Long Short, (1-2) (1-2) (1-2) (1-2) First note strong second note
week. Use in marching bands to correspond to (Left-Right) (LeftRight) (Left-Right)

Chord
three or more notes played together.

Monophonic
is performed as a single melodic line, with no accompaniment at
all, the texture is (mono = "single"; phonic = "sounding")

Homophonic
(homo = "same," as in "sounding at the same time") the most
common form a music where the soloist sing the melody and the
instruments ensemble or chorus back up the soloist.

Polyphonic
When the melody is performed against a line of equal
importance. Every line is in effect a melody.

Part 1
The Middle Ages

800
Early codification of Plainchant

850-900
Earliest musical notation of plainchant and polyphony

1098-1179
Hildegard von Bingen

1130-1200
Bermart de Ventadon

1180-early 1200s
Perotin

1201
Leonin dies

1221-1284
Alfonso el Sabio

1213

Beatriz de Dia dies

1300-1377
Guillaume de Machaut

1325-1397
Francesco Landini

1360
Jocopo da Bolgna dies

1372
Lorenzo de Firenze dies

1376-1445
Oswald von Wolkenstein

Troubadours
Wandering Minstrels

Plainchant
consists of a single melodic line without accompaniment of any
kind.

Gregorian chant
Plainchant named because Pope Gregory I wrote the bulk of it.

Syllabic
One note per syllable. Words are heard with special clarity.

Melismatic
More than one note per syllable

Melisma
is a syllable sung too many notes.

Polyphony
two or more voices of equal importance combine in such a way
that each voice retains its own identity.

Monophony
both Instruments play the same notes together in unison.

Homophony
one instrument plays the melody and the other plays a drone
bass- that is a long note.

Heterophony
both instruments play the same melody at the same time, but one
of them plays a more elaborate and embellished form of it.

Unison
both voices sing exactly the same note.

Metered Rhythm
structured around a fixed metrical patern, allowing polyphonic
voices to coordinate.

Music of the middle ages

Texture = mono and polyphonic, Melody = flowing largely
conjunct, divided into sections by cadences; melodies based on
scales of medieval modes. Rhythm = free plainchant and
metrically structured. Harmony = a by-product of counter point.
Form = based on repetition, variation and contrast. Word-music
relationship = Syllabic settings to project texts clearly;
melismatic settings to emphasize key words.

Monophony
Hildegard von Bingen; Play of Virtues, San Ildefonso Indians;
Eagle Dance, Plainchant Alleluia.

Polyphony
Francisco Landini; Behold Spring, Guillaume de Marchaut; I can
all too well compare my lady.

Heterophony
Alfonso el Sabio; Songs to the Virgin Mary, He who gladly Serves

Syllabic and Mellismatic text editing

Hildegard von Bingen; Play of Virtues; Francisco Landini;
Behold Spring

Metered Rhythm
Francisco Landini; Behold Spring; Guillaume de Marchaut; I can
all too well compare my lady.

Instrumental Music
Alfonso el Sabio; Songs to the Virgin Mary, He who gladly serves

Part 2
The Renaissance

1400-1474
Guillaume Du Fay

1420- 1497
Johannes Ockeghem

1450-1521
Josquin De Prez

1505-1585
Thomas Tallas

1510-1575
Tielman Susato

1525/26-1594
Giovanni Pierluigi de Palestrina

1530/32-1594
Orlande de Lassus

1542-1623
William Byrd

1532-1585
Andrea Gabrieli

1575-1623
Thomas Weelkes

Humanism
an intellectual and cultural movement that explored human
interests.

Renaissance music

Is generally polyphony.

Counterpoint
a system of rules and procedures governing the composition of
multiple melodies that are not only satisfying when played alone
but sound good when played together.

Ternary form
consist of three parts, ABA. Ternary form uses the basic
principles of contrast (B contrasts with A) and return (A comes
back at the end)

Madrigal
a musical setting of a text in a single stanza

Lambic Meter
short-LONG, short-LONG, short-LONG,

Anapestic meter
short-short-LONG, short-short-LONG, short-short-LONG,

Trochaic
LONG-short, LONG-short, LONG-short,

Syncopated
run against the regular pulse of the musical meter.

Word Painting
Music imitates the sounds suggested by the meaning of the text
being sung.

Imitated Counterpoint
in which one voice entirely by itself for a short time, introduces
each new theme and is answered (imitated) by other voices that
enter in succession shortly afterward even as the first voice
continues to sing. Imitated Counterpoint is also known as
imitation.

Sectional form
The music follows the form of the text.

Elided

a new line of text is begun before the previous one has come to a
complete stop.

Call and Response

lead singer calls and the other parts respond.

Syncretism
that it combines different forms of belief and practice.

Polyphonic textures
Josquin, The Cricket; Weelkes, Since Robin Hood; Byrd: Sing
Joyfully

Melody
Josquin, The Cricket; Weelkes, Since Robin Hood; Byrd: Sing
Joyfully

Rhythm
Josquin, The Cricket; Weelkes, Since Robin Hood; Byrd: Sing
Joyfully

Word Painting
Josquin, The Cricket; Weelkes, Since Robin Hood; Byrd: Sing
Joyfully
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