Musical Terms

Inversion

• a voicing in which a chord member other than the root is the lowest-sounding pitch

• A melodic or motivic transformation where pitches reverse direction

• An interval transformation from a 2nd to a 7th, a 3rd to a 6th, or a 5th to a 4th.

• All of the above

melisma

• a vocal passage where one syllable of text is set to many notes

• a melodious sound

• A Romantic era arts song

• the distance between notes

predominant

• A chord that allows you to pivot to a new key

• a chord or a tonal area in the song that precedes the dominant area

• A chord or tonal area that comes after the dominant area

• a tonic area chord

Textural variation

• any text that accompanies a song

• A variation that is written with text

• a variation that is written in a texture that contrasts with that of the surrounding variations or the original theme.

• texts that vary throughout a song, such as a strophic piece with different verses like a hymn

Transposing instrument

• An instrument whose notated pitches are not the same as the pitches that sound when played

• an instrument whose plays from a C Clef staff

• music that utilizes chant notation

• an instrument that can instantly transpose to a new key

Tritone

• an augmented 4th

• a diminished 5th

• an interval made up of 3 whole tones or 6 semitones

• All of the above

coda

• a distinctive melodic line

• and ending section of a piece of music that extends the tonic and brings the piece to a close

• a small bridge between two sections

• a perfect consonance

Contrasting period

• an entire section of music that is different than the rest of the piece

• a period in which two phrases share similar sections

• a period in which the two prases do not share the same initial melodic material

• two periods of unequal length

deceptive cadence

• a cadence that ends on a Neapolitan 6th chord

• a cadence that ends on a IV chord

• a cadence that ends on a V chord

• a cadense that ends on a VI chord

Sonata Allegro form

• A. a type of form that most sonatas and symphonic first movements follow, that includes an exposition, development, and recapitulation

• B. a type of form called Rondo

• C. a type of form that utilizes verse and refrain

• D. a type of form that utilizes theme and variation