Higher

Question 1

Mass

Answer 1

Religious music sung in Latin
Usually sung a cappella with a very polyphonic texture
Often features passages of melisma
It has six main sections: 
Kyrie Eleison
Gloria in excelsis Deo
Credo in Unum Deum 
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus 
Benedictus 
Agnus Dei

Question 2

Plainchant

Answer 2

Sung in Latin with no regular metre
Tonality is described as modal
Word setting can be both melismatic and/or syllabic

Question 3

Oratorio

Answer 3

Large scale work without acting or stage design
Sung in English
Contains songs for solo voice and/or choirs
Often includes recitatives, arias and choruses

Question 4

Chamber music

Answer 4

Music performed by a small group
One player to a part
Examples are string quartet, piano trio or wind quintet

Question 5

Impressionist

Answer 5

20th century style
Brief musical ideas merge and change, creating a blurred and vague outline
Tuneful but with unusual harmonies and dissonance

Question 6

Jazz funk

Answer 6

Combination of jazz and rock
Uses both popular and jazz instruments
May contain improvisation
Commonly uses the added 6th

Question 7

Lied

Answer 7

A German song from the romantic period for voice and piano

Either strophic or through-composed in form

Question 8

Musique concrete

Answer 8

20th century style of composition

Uses acoustic sounds which are manipulated by technology

Question 9

Recitative

Answer 9

Performed by a solo voice
Mainly syllabic with simple accompaniment
Music follows the rhythm of speech
Often followed by an aria

Question 10

Sonata

Answer 10

Work for solo piano or solo instrument and piano

Often in three or four movements

Question 11

Soul

Answer 11

Style of Afro-American popular music
Elements of gospel and blues
Solo voice with backing vocals
Likely to feature a horn section

Question 12

Acciaccatura

Answer 12

Ornament that sounds like a crushed note

Played just before the beat

Question 13

Added 6th

Answer 13

A major or minor triad with a major 6th on top

E.g. C E G A or C Eb G A

Question 14

Diminished 7th

Answer 14

A diminished triad with a diminished 7th on top
Four notes, each a minor 3rd above the last
E.g. C Eb Gb Bbb

Question 15

Diminished triad

Answer 15

Three notes, each a minor third above the last

E.g. C Eb Gb

Question 16

Dominant 7th

Answer 16

A major triad with a minor 7th on top

E.g. C E G Bb

Question 17

Harmonic minor scale

Answer 17

Minor scale with a raised 7th

Sounds middle eastern

Question 18

Interrupted cadence

Answer 18

Chords V to VI at the end of a phrase

Sounds unfinished

Question 19

Interval

Answer 19

The distance between two notes

Question 20

Melodic minor scale

Answer 20

Minor scale with a raised 6th and 7th on the way up but not on the way down

Question 21

Modes

Answer 21

Used before major and minor keys

Can be found in both folk and jazz

Question 22

Obbligato

Answer 22

Prominent solo instrument part in a piece of vocal music

Instrumental countermelody played above singers

Question 23

Mordent

Answer 23

Ornament consisting of the main note, the note above, the main note

Question 24

Relative major/minor

Answer 24

Relative major and minor keys are those with the same key signature

Question 25

Plagal cadence

Answer 25

Chords IV to I at the end of a phrase

Sounds finished, like an ‘amen’ ending

Question 26

Tierce de Picardie

Answer 26

When a piece in a minor key ends on a major chord

Question 27

3 against 2

Answer 27

The effect of triplets played against quavers

Cross rhythm common in romantic music

Question 28

Augmentation

Answer 28

An increase in the length of notes

E.g. 1 beat becomes 2

Question 29

Diminution

Answer 29

A decrease in the length of notes

E.g. 4 beats becomes 2 or 1 becomes 1/2

Question 30

Irregular time signatures

Answer 30

An unusual time signature
It is hard to tell how many beats are in a bar
E.g. 5/4 or 7/8

Question 31

Time changes

Answer 31

Time signature changes during a piece

Can make it hard to tell the time signature

Question 32

Triplet

Answer 32

Three notes played in the time of two

Question 33

Basso continuo

Answer 33

The name for a bass line in the Baroque period

Consists of a single base line (e.g. cello) with a keyboard part (e.g. harpsichord) filling in the harmonies

Question 34

Concerto grosso

Answer 34

Work from the Baroque period

A small group of soloists (concertino) is accompanied by an orchestra (ripieno)

Question 35

Da capo aria

Answer 35

An aria in ternary form

Used in opera and oratorio

Question 36

Passacaglia

Answer 36

Variations over a ground bass

There are usually three beats in a bar

Question 37

Ritornello

Answer 37

Instrumental introduction to a vocal composition
Instrumental passage between scenes in a Baroque opera
In a concerto grosso, it is played by the ripieno

Question 38

Sonata form

Answer 38

Exposition: two subjects in related keys
Development
Recapitulation: the two subjects return, this time both in the opening key

Question 39

Subject

Answer 39

The main theme in a composition
The main theme in sonata form
The main theme on which a fugue is based

Question 40

Through-composed

Answer 40

A vocal piece in which there is little or no repetition of the music

Question 41

Coloratura

Answer 41

High, florid singing
Involves elaborate ornamentation of a melody
Sounds very difficult to perform

Question 42

Concertino

Answer 42

The small group of solo instrumentalists in a concerto grosso

Question 43

Harmonics

Answer 43

The high, eerie sounds produced on a string instrument by lightly touching the string at certain points

Question 44

Ripieno

Answer 44

The larger group of ensemble instruments in a concerto grosso

Question 45

String quartet

Answer 45

Work for two violins, a viola and a cello

Question 46

Tremolando

Answer 46

Means ‘trembling’
Rapid repetition of a note on a string instrument
Rapid alternation of two notes on any instrument