Classical Music
Home Artists Corner FRAMED?
- CANTATA short dramatic musical production, secular or religious; written for several solo singers, chorus, organ, small orchestra.
- CAPRICCIO light, whimsical musical composition
- CHORALE a German Protestant church hymn, sung to a traditional melody.
- CLAVICHORD keyboard instrument whose tone is produced by tiny brass blades striking the strings. Plays so softly it can't accompany other instruments.
- CLAVIER stringed instrument with keyboard, like a piano.
- CONCERTO music for 1 or more solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra.
- Usually in 3 movements: fast, slow, fast
- Concerto Grosso - Composition for several instrumental soloists and small orchestra. Common in late Baroque era.
- Vivaldi's Four Seasons is an example of Baroque program music - instrumental music associated with a story, poem, idea or scene.
- COUNTERPOINT music with related but independent melodies heard separately.
- FANTASY/FANTASIA musical composition in free form
- FUGUE music where singers or instruments enter successively, imitating the main theme in various ways.
- FUSION jazz played with electric instruments
- ORATORIO large-scale musical work, usually deals with bible subjects; performed by narrator, soloists, chorus, orchestra.
- PASSACAGLIA music based on a Spanish dance.
- PASSION oratorio telling the Easter story according to any of the 4 gospels.
- PRELUDE free form musical composition often precedes a fugue.
- TOCCATA brilliant musical composition shows performer's skill.
Sonata Allegro - A B| development| recap A B| coda.
Keys I, V relation. Development, modulate (change key)
Large scale ternary - |:A:|:B A:| Rondo - a b a c a d ...
3rd movement |:A:|:B A:|:A:|:B A:|A minuet B trio
TEMPO MARKINGS AND SCALES
Presto, allegro, vivace, allegretto, moderato, andante, largo, adagio, lento, grave. Relative terms for each conductor.
- Ma non troppo (but not too much)
- Assai (enough)
- Poco (little)
- Meno (less)
- Pui (more)
- Molto (very)
- Rit - ritardando (go slower)
- Accel - accelerando (go faster)
- A tempo (return to original tempo)
- sf - sfortzando (accent)
- Dot above note (staccato)
- Legato (opposite of staccato)
- Dynamic (volume)
- Tr - trill. :| roll up, |: roll down.
SCALES
- Major scale - 1, 4, 5, 8; preliminary triads.
- Minor scale - 2, 3, 6 minor; 7 is diminished.
- Triad root (lower note) must have a 3rd.
- Inversion - top note down; connect to other chords or add color.
ATONAL SCALES
- Western music based on tension/release concept of harmony.
- Baroque, classical, romantic, after which a breakdown.
- Bottom 2 notes of triad: major chord, 4 half-steps; minor chord, 3 half-steps.
- No formal center around a certain pitch, e g 12-tone.
- Consonant: 3 5 6 8
- Dissonant: 2 4 7
Music KEYS
The key in FLAT is the 2nd from the right.
The key in SHARP is 1/2 step - 1 note - above the last #.