Music Film Score Deep Listening

Pitch- relative highness or lowness that we hear in a sound.

Tone- sound that has a definite pitch.

(For example striking a bat against a ball does not produce a D# but striking a D#

on a piano does)

Dynamics- the degree of loudness or softness in music

pp pianissimo /very soft

p piano /soft

mp mezzo-piano /medium-soft

mf mezzo-forte /medium-loud

f forte /loud

ff fortissimo /very loud

When dynamics are altered in a piece of music, they are termed as follows:

decrescendo/ diminuendo gradually softer

crescendo gradually louder

Timbre/Tone Color- the character or quality of a sound.

dark, bright, mellow, cool, metallic, rich, brilliant, thin, etc.

Rhythm- a) the flow (or pattern) of music through time. b) the particular arrangement of

note lengths in a piece of music.

Syncopation- An accent placed on a beat where it is not normally expected.

Beat- the steady pulse in a piece of music.

Downbeat- the first or stressed beat of a measure.

Meter- the pattern in which beats are organized within a piece of music.

Examples:

3/4= three beats per measure

4/4= four beats per measure

6/8= six beats per measure

*In some musics, meter is not present- this is termed non-metric.

(Ex: Chant, some 20th century genres, world musics).

Melody- a series of single notes that add up to a recognizable whole.

*A melodic line has a shape -it ascends and descends in a series of continuous pitches.

Sequence- a repetition of a pattern at a higher or lower pitch.

Phrase- A short unit of music within a melodic line.

Cadence- The rest at the end of a musical phrase. Think of this as a musical period at the

end of a sentence.

Harmony- A) How chords are constructed and how they follow each other. B) The

relationship of tones when sounded in a group.

Chord- a combination of three or more tones sounded at once.

Consonance- a stable tone combination in a chord

Dissonance- and unstable tone combination in a chord; usually, an expected

and stable resolution will follow.

Tonic- a) the main key of a piece of music. b) the first note of a scale

Key- the central tone or scale in a piece of music.

(example: A major, b minor)

Modulation- a shift from one key to another within the same piece of music.

Texture- layering of musical sounds or instruments within a piece of music.

Monophonic- single, unaccompanied melodic line.

Homophonic- a melody with an accompaniment of chords.

Polyphonic- the layering of two or more different melodic lines.

Tempo- the speed of the beat in a piece of music. These are in Italian:

Largo very slow

Grave solemn

Adagio slow

Andante moderate speed (to walk)

Allegro fast

Vivace lively

Presto very fast

Prestissimo super fast

*When the tempo in a piece of music is altered, it is termed as follows:

accelerando - becoming faster

ritardando - becoming slower

*“Families” of musical instruments: brass, percussion, strings, woodwinds