Free QCE Music Flashcard Review

The steady, regular unit of time you tap along to. Other duration concepts (metre, syncopation, tempo) are heard against it.

The grouping of beats into regular patterns of strong and weak beats, shown by the time signature (for example duple, triple or quadruple).

In simple metre each beat divides into two (2/4, 3/4, 4/4). In compound metre each beat divides into three (6/8, 9/8, 12/8), which gives a lilting feel.

The speed of the beat, given by a metronome mark (for example crotchet = 72) or an Italian term (adagio, andante, allegro, presto).

Accelerando means gradually getting faster, often to build excitement. Rallentando (rall.) or ritardando (rit.) means gradually getting slower, often for closure or calm.

Flexible tempo: the performer pushes ahead and holds back expressively while keeping the overall pulse. It is common in Romantic piano music and can sound intimate or yearning.

Placing accents on weak beats or off-beats, against the expected pulse. It creates drive, surprise or instability.

Emphasis on a note, made by extra volume, articulation (>) or position in the bar. Accents can confirm or disrupt the metre.

A metric regrouping in which, for example, two bars of triple time are heard as three bars of duple time. It is often used just before a cadence to broaden the motion.

Both are repeated patterns. Ostinato is the general term, used across styles; riff usually refers to a short repeated figure in popular music and jazz, often on guitar or bass.

A pause symbol telling the performer to hold a note or rest longer than its written value. It suspends time and highlights a moment.

The overall shape of a melody: ascending, descending, arch, inverted arch, wave or static. Contour often mirrors the meaning (for example rising for hope or effort).

Conjunct melodies move by step or small intervals (smooth, calm). Disjunct melodies move by leaps (angular, dramatic or unsettled).

The distance between the lowest and highest notes of a melody or instrument. A narrow range can sound restrained; a wide range can sound expansive or emotional.

The part of a voice's or instrument's range being used (low, middle, high). The same melody changes colour and intensity in a different register.

A short, distinctive melodic or rhythmic idea that recurs and is developed. It is a building block of unity in a piece.

Repeating a melodic phrase immediately at a higher or lower pitch level. Rising sequences build tension; falling sequences release it.

The accuracy of pitch in performance, or the deliberate bending and inflection of pitch (for example blue notes) for expressive effect.

A musical "sentence", usually ending with a cadence. Regular phrases (4 + 4 bars) sound balanced; irregular phrases sound unpredictable.

Consonance is a stable, restful combination of notes; dissonance is a tense, clashing combination that seems to need resolution. Their balance controls tension.