Vocabulary and Key Points Ch. 17 & 18 – Flashcards

Common chord type consisting of three pitches built on alternate tones of the scales. (Steps 1-3-5 or do-mi-sol)

The first note of the scale or key, do.

The fifth scale step, sol

Fourth scale step, fa

The process of changing from one key to another

Shifting a piece of music to a different pitch level.

the interval spanning eight notes of the scale.

smallest interval used in the Western system, the octave divides into twelve such intervals; on the piano, the distance between any two adjacent keys, whether black or white. Also semitone.

Melody or harmony built from many if not all twelve semitones of the octave. A chromatic scale consists of an ascending or descending sequence of semitones.

musical symbol that indicates raising a pitch by a semitone.

musical symbol that indicates lowering a pitch by a semitone

interval consisting of two half steps, or semitones

the first note of the scale, or key, do. Also keytone.

principal of organizing around a tonic, or home, pitch based on a major or minor scale.

defines the relationship of tones with a common center or tonic. Also a lever on a keyboard or woodwind instrument

melody or harmony built from the seven tones of a major or minor scale. A diatonic scale encompasses patterns of seven whole tones and semitones.

Five-not pattern used in some African, Far Eastern, and Native American musics; can also be found in Western music as an example of exoticism.

Three-note scale pattern, used in the music of some sub-Saharan African cultures.

Seven-note scale; in non-Western musics, often fashioned from a different combination of intervals than major and minor scales.

Musical interval smaller than a semitone, prevalent in some non-Western musics and in some twentieth-century art music.

Small alteration of the pitch by a microtonal interval.

Melodic pattern used in music of India; prescribes pitches, patterns, ornamentation, and extramusical associations such as time of performance and emotional character.

An octave is the interval spanning eight notes of the scale.

In Western music the octave is divided into twelve half steps, the smallest interval used; two half steps make a whole step.

The chromatic scale is made up of those twelve half steps, while a diatonic scale is built on patterns of seven whole and half steps that form major and minor scales.

A sharp is a symbol that raises a pitch by half step; a flat lowers a tone by a half step.

Other scale types used around the world include tritonic (three-note patterns) and heptatonic (seven-note patterns other than major and minor)

Some world cultures use microtones, which are intervals smaller than half steps; scales from other cultures for example Indian Ragas have extra musical associations.

The tonic chord, built on the first scale tone, is the home base to which active chords (dominant, on the V; subdominant, on IV) need to resolve.

Composers can shift the pitch level of an entire work (transposition), or change the center, or key, during a work (modulation).

Composers change the key, or modulate, during a piece to create tension and drama.