What I Need to Know

Hello, Learner.

Vocabulary Bank:
Elements of Music:
• dynamics – the softness or loudness of a musical sound.
• harmony – a pleasing combination of musical sounds;
the relationship between two or more notes sung or played simultaneously.
• melody – a succession of notes of different pitch so arranged in relation to each other
to be a recognizable piece.
• meter – the division of beats or pulses.
• pitch – the highness or lowness of tone.
• rhythm – the pattern produced by the relative duration and stress of notes.
• tempo – the speed at which a piece of music is played or is meant to be played.

Chamber music – instrumental music played by a small ensemble, with one player to a
part, the most important form being the string quartet which developed in the 18th century.

chord – a simultaneous combination of notes.

chromatic scale – (12-tone scale) is a musical scale with 12 pitches, each a semitone
above or below its adjacent pitches. As a result, in 12-tone equal temperament, the
chromatic scale covers all 12 of the available pitches. Thus, there is only one chromatic
scale.

classic – receive into the accepted cannons of excellence; conforming to Greek and Roman
canons of taste;

concerto/concerti- a concerto (from Italian: concerto, plural concerti or, often, the anglicized
form concertos) is a musical composition in three parts or movements, in which (usually) one
solo instrument (for instance, a piano, violin, cello, or flute) is accompanied by an orchestra
or concert band.

conservatory – institution for education in musical performance and composition. The term
and institution derive from the Italian conservatorio, which in the Renaissance period and
earlier denoted a type of orphanage often attached to a hospital (hence the term ospedale
also applied to such institutions).

convention–a polite practice observed by many.

conventional – lacking originality, merely traditional

depict –describe ; represent

dissonances – discord; disagreement ; inconsistency between words and actions, or words

and beliefs, or between beliefs.
(in music, clashing of tones.)
drench– to wet thoroughly, soak.
emotionalism – the tendency to delight in, ruled by emotion rather than reason.
extensive – covering a wide area; great in scope.

globalization –involving the whole world; comprehensive; total.

hazy – a cloudy, misty appearance

imagery – a mental picture or concept

innovative - making changes; introducing new practices.

luminaries – persons of outstanding intellectual, spiritual or moral quality.

movement – a series of acts and events planned towards a definite end by a body of
people.
(as in French movement)

opera – an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text
and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. It incorporates many of the elements of
spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance.

overlap – to cover partly or extend beyond

pentatonic scales– a musical scale consisting of five tones.

program music – music that contained visual imagery.

progression –moving forward or onward; increasing in severity, intensity, etc.

proponents – persons who advocate or support a proposal or idea or a will.

scale – an organized sequence of notes.

sentimental – characterized by excessive emotional show; influenced by feeling rather than

reason; feeling, or characterized by tenderness.

sublime – arousing the sensation of awe, especially by reason of perfection, nobility, with
respect to moral, spiritual or intellectual qualities.

subtle – hard to grasp, difficult to define or distinguish

ternary –music with three independent parts.

translucent – of a medium through which light passes, but in such a way that a
clear image cannot be formed of the object viewed through it.

vague – dark, doubtful, formless, mysterious, questionable, unsure, indefinite

virtuoso – (from Italian virtuoso [vir’two:zo], Latin virtus, “virtue”, excellence or skill) is an
individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine
arts, music, singing, playing a musical instrument, or composition.

whole tone – in music, a whole-tone scale is a scale in which each note is separated from
its neighbors by the interval of a whole tone.