Understanding Music NATIONAL 4 · 1. NATIONAL 4 CONCEPT DICTIONARY Category Concept Definition...
Transcript of Understanding Music NATIONAL 4 · 1. NATIONAL 4 CONCEPT DICTIONARY Category Concept Definition...
Johnstone High School
Understanding Music
NATIONAL 4 Revision Booklet
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Contents:
Page
1 National 4 Concept Dictionary 2
2 Concept Groupings:
Tempos & Dynamics 5
Instruments & How they are played 6
Styles & Ensembles 7
Scottish & Vocal 8
Tonality, Structure, Texture, Periods,
Effects, Scales & Word Setting
9
3 Literacy 10
4 National 3 12
5 Exam Paper Layout & Questions 14
1. NATIONAL 4 CONCEPT DICTIONARY
Category Concept Definition
Rhythm / Tempo
A tempo The music returns to the main tempo (speed) after there has been a change.
Accelerando The tempo (speed) of the music gradually becomes faster.
Anacrusis The notes which appear before the first strong beat of a musical
phrase, particularly at the start of a piece.
Andante A tempo at a walking speed.
Compound time The beat is divided into groups of three.
Dotted rhythms A long note followed by a shorter one or a short note followed by a longer one, as in a Scotch snap.
Jig A fast dance in compound time. Usually 2 beats in a bar, with each beat dividing into 3 quavers.
Rallentando The tempo (speed) of the music gradually slows down.
Scotch snap A very short accented note before a longer note.
Simple time
(2/4, 3/4, 4/4)
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.
Strathspey A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar and usually featuring the Scotch snap.
Syncopation Strongly accented notes playing off or against the beat. Syncopation occurs in all kinds of music.
Category Concept Definition
Melody / Harmony
Arpeggio Notes of a chord played one after the other.
Broken chord In a broken chord, the notes of a chord are played separately.
Change of key A move from one key to another.
Chord progression
(I, IV, V)
A series of related chords built on the first, fourth and fifth notes of a major or minor scale.
Drone One note held on or repeated in the bass.
Major The music sounds in a major key – often described as having a cheery,
happy feel to it.
Minor The music sounds in a minor key, often described as having a sadder feel than major.
Octave
Ornament An ornament decorates a melody by adding extra notes. Ornaments are often short and add melodic and rhythmic interest.
Pedal Short for pedal point. A note which is sustained, or repeated continuously, in the bass beneath changing harmonies.
Pentatonic scale Any five-note scale. In practice, the most common one is that on which much folk music is based, particularly Scottish and Celtic.
Scale A sequence of notes moving by step in an ascending or descending order.
Scat singing Nonsense words, syllables and sounds are improvised (made up) by the singer.
Vamp A rhythmic accompaniment with a bass note played on the beat and a chord off the beat. Usually played on piano or guitar.
Category Concept Definition
Texture /
Structure
/ Form
Cadenza A passage of music which allows soloists to display their technical ability in singing or playing an instrument.
Canon Strict imitation. Once one part starts to play or sing a melody, another
part enters shortly afterwards with exactly the same melody.
Chorus & Verse A structure/ form popular in many songs. The music of the verse will repeat, often with different words, and between verses the chorus will normally repeat and features different music to the verse.
Imitation Where the melody is immediately copied in another part.
Middle 8 In popular music, a section which provides a contrast to the opening section. It is often eight bars long.
Ternary (ABA) 3 part form: Section A, followed by a B section which is a different
melody, than a return to the A section.
Theme & variation The structure of a piece where the melody is heard (the theme), then returns several times with variations.
Category Concept Definition
Styles African music Much African music features voices and/or African drums.
Baroque The name given to a style of music composed during the period 1600-
1750 approximately.
Concerto A work for solo instrument and orchestra, eg a flute concerto is written for flute and orchestra.
Mouth music Unaccompanied songs with Gaelic or nonsense words, normally sung
for ceilidh dances.
Opera A drama set to music with soloists, chorus, acting, and orchestral accompaniment.
Ragtime A style of dance music which became popular at the end of the 19th century and which helped to influence jazz.
Rapping Rhyming lyrics that are spoken and performed in time to a beat. Rapping is popular in hip-hop music.
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.
Romantic In music, the period 1810-1900 approximately, which followed the Classical era.
Scots ballad A Scottish song which tells a story. Examples of Scots ballads are
'Flower of Scotland' and 'Loch Lomond'.
Swing A jazz style which started in the 1930s and was performed by a big band.
Category Concept Definition
Timbre / Dynamics
Backing vocals Singers who support the lead singer(s), usually by singing in harmony in the background.
Brass band A band of brass instruments and percussion.
Brass band A band of brass instruments and percussion.
Distortion An electronic effect used in rock music to colour the sound of an electric guitar. It gives a 'fuzzy' sound rather than the usual clean sound.
Harpsichord A keyboard instrument which looks like a small grand piano.
Mezzo forte Mezzo forte stands for fairly loud volume.
Mezzo piano Mezzo piano stands for 'fairly quiet volume'.
Muted Using a device which reduces the volume or alters the sound of an
instrument.
Pan pipes Pipes which are graded in size and are bound together. The sound is made by blowing across the top of the pipes.
Wind band A band with woodwind, brass and percussion instruments.
2. CONCEPT GROUPINGS
TEMPOS – SPEEDS
DYNAMICS – LOUDS & QUIETS
Tempo Meaning
Allegro Fast
Andante Walking Pace
Adagio Slow
Accelerando Gradually getting faster
Rallentando Gradually getting slower
A tempo To return to the original tempo.
Dynamic Italian English meaning
p Piano Quiet
mp Mezzo-piano Moderately quiet
mf Mezzo-forte Moderately loud
f Forte Loudly
cresc. Crescendo Gradually getting louder
dim. Diminuendo Gradually getting softer
INSTRUMENTS & HOW THEY ARE PLAYED
Instruments Playing Technique
Strings Violin Acoustic Guitar Arco – Bowed Cello Electric Guitar Pizzicato – Plucked Double Bass Bass Guitar Strumming – Drawing fingers or a Harp plectrum across the strings
Woodwind
Flute Clarinet Blown - Air is blown through Saxophone Bassoon instrument to produce sound Panpipes Recorder
Brass
Trumpet Trombone Muted - creating a quieter and softer sound than normal
Percussion Untuned Percussion: Snare Drum Drum kit Striking - Hitting - sound produced by Guiro Triangle hitting the instrument
Bass Drum Castanets
Tambourine Tuned Percussion:
Xylophone (wooden) Glockenspiel (metal) Timpani (Kettle Drum)
Keyboard: Scottish:
Piano Organ Fiddle Bagpipes Harpsichord Accordion
MUSICAL ENSEMBLES
Orchestra - Strings, Brass, Woodwind & Percussion. Brass Band - Brass & Percussion. Wind Band - Brass, Woodwind & Percussion. Folk Group - Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals, Accordion Whistle, Bass, Flute, Drum kit, Bodhran. Scottish Dance Band - Fiddle, Accordion, Piano, Drums. Steel Band - Steel drums (pans).
MUSICAL STYLES
Reggae - Off beat guitar, vocals, drums, organ, bass. Ragtime - Piano: Syncopated melody & vamp accompaniment. Blue - Jazz style, developed from black American
folk songs. Tells a story. Flattened notes. Swing - A jazz style performed by a big band. Jazz - American music from in the early 20th century. Rock - Music with a heavy, driving beat. Features electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit. Pop - Popular music (chart music) Rock ‘n’ roll - 1950’s style music, think Elvis Presley. Musical - A vocal work, like a modern opera. Scottish - Music traditionally from Scotland. Latin American - Dance music from South America. Rapping - Rhyming lyrics that are spoken. African music - Much African music features voices and/or
African drums. Opera - A drama set to music with soloists, chorus,
acting, and orchestral accompaniment Romantic - 1810-1900; big orchestras and thick texture. Baroque - 1600-1750; harpsichord and ornaments
SCOTTISH MUSIC
Song Who? Where/About? Accomp? Other?
Mouth Music Both Nonsense made up Gaelic words
Maybe Imitating melody of bagpipes
Scots Ballad Both Telling story Maybe Lots of verses and chorus, Strophic
VOCAL
Voices – Highest to lowest Vocal concepts
Soprano
FEMALE
Alto
Tenor
MALE
Bass
Voice
Lead Vocal
Backing Vocal
Choir
Dance Speed Beats Other features
Waltz Medium 3 I LOVE YOU: Only 3 beat dance
Jig Fast 2 – 6/8 time STRAWBERRY: Compound time
Reel Fast 4 COCA COLA: Simple time, flowing
Strathspey Medium 4 porridge PORRIDGE: Jumpy, Scotch Snap
March Marching speed 2 or 4 MARCHING: Steady, strong pulse.
TONALITY
MAJOR MINOR
STRUCTURE
TERNARY FORM RONDO FORM
THEME & VARIATION
PERIODS OF MUSIC
BAROQUE CLASSICAL ROMANTIC
EFFECTS
DISTORTION
SCALES
MAJOR MINOR PENTATONIC BLUES
3. LITERACY
Symbol Name Length (beats) Semibreve 4
Dotted Minim 3
Minim 2
Crotchet 1
Quaver ½
Semiquaver ¼
Paired Quavers 1
Grouped Semiquavers 1
Repeat Signs
Start End
KEY SIGNATURES
C Major = 0 sharps or flats A Minor = 0 sharps or flats BUT watch out for G#s
in the music!
F Major = 1 flat b (Bb) G Major = 1 Sharp #
(G#)
.
Lines Spaces
Every Good Boy
Deserves Football F A C E
Notes below the stave Notes above the stave
Time Signatures – go right at the beginning of the first line,
between the treble clef and key signature.
= 2 crotchet beats per bar = 3 crotchet beats per bar Simple time Simple time = 4 crotchet beats per bar Simple time
Octave:
4. NATIONAL 3 & 4 CONCETPS
You also need to know all of the National 3 and National 4 concepts.
NATIONAL 3 CONCEPTS
Melody/Harmony Rhythm/Tempo Texture/Structure/Form Timbre/Dynamics Style
Ascending
Chord
Chord change
Descending
Discord
Improvisation
Leap (leaping)
Question & answer
Repetition
Sequence
Step (stepwise)
Accent/accented
Adagio
Allegro
Bar; 2, 3 or 4 beats
in a bar
Beat/pulse
Drum fill
Faster
March
On the beat/off
the beat
Pause
Reel
Repetition
Slower
Waltz
Accompanied
Harmony/chord
Ostinato/riff
Round
Solo
Unaccompanied
Unison/octave
Accordion
Acoustic guitar
Bagpipes
Blowing
Bowing
Brass
Choir
Drum kit
Electric guitar
Fiddle
Folk group
Orchestra
Organ
Percussion
(tuned/untuned)
Piano
Plucking
Scottish dance band
Staccato/legato
Steel band
Striking (hitting)
Strings
Strumming
Voice
Woodwind
Blues
Jazz
Latin
American
Musical
Pop
Rock
Rock ‘n’
Roll
Scottish
5. EXAM PAPER LAYOUT & QUESTIONS
Question 1a-f: Multiple Choice - 6 Marks with a few “write
the word” questions.
Question 2: Box question (musical map) - 4 Marks 4 numbered boxes. Voice says the number over the music & you must answer the question in the related box when the number is said.
Question 3: Literacy Question – 6 Marks
Eg. Name the key of this piece, insert the time signature, insert missing notes, insert repeat sign, identify octave leaps, write dynamics, write tempo marks.
Question 4: Multiple Choice – 8 Marks
Question 5: - 4 Marks
Tick one box from
each section.
Question 6: Fill in the missing words – 3 Marks
Question 7: - 4 Marks - Reason Question: Multiple choice
plus write reason for answer.
Question 8: - 5 Marks Write about the prominent features you
hear in the music.
Fill out this box then transfer it to the lines on the next page.
Rhythm/tempo
Melody/harmony
Instruments/voices
Dynamics (Italian terms)
Melody Harmony
Rhythm Tempo
Instruments and how they are used
Dynamics
Broken Chords Chords/ Discords Imitation Legato /Staccato Major/Minor Ornaments Pedal Question & Answer Repetition Sequence Unison/Harmony Scales: Major/Minor scale, Pentatonic scale
Beats in a bar / Time Signature: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, Simple Time Speed: Allegro – Fast Adagio – Slow Andante – walking pace Speed Changes: Accelerando – faster Rallentando – slower Rubato – with freedom Anacrusis Ostinato Repetition Scotch Snap Syncopation
Brass – Trumpet, Trombone Woodwind – Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone, Recorder Strings – Violin, Cello, Double Bass, Harp Percussion – Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Timpani, Triangle, Snare Drum, Drumkit, Bass Drum, Tambourine, Castanets Keyboard – Piano, Synthesizer, Harpsichord, Organ Guitars – Electric, Acoustic, Bass, Banjo Solo, Melody, Countermelody Accompaniment, Chords, Broken Chords, Arpeggios Arco – bowed, Grace notes, ornaments Muted, Pizzicato - plucked Female Voices: Soprano, Alto Male Voices: Tenor, Bass Solo; Accompaniment; Melody; Countermelody
p – piano – quiet mp – mezzo piano – moderately quiet mf – mezzo forte – moderately loud f – forte – loud Changes of dynamic: Cres. – Crescendo – getting louder Dim. – diminuendo – getting quieter.