Elements of Music 2

*these are all the elements you would need to know,understand,play and identify in the exam.

*this page is more in depth, you should try learning, understanding and identifying all of these elements in your second year or right before your exams(1 month or 2 before your final exams)

Dynamics

pp (pianissimo), p (piano), mp (mezzo piano), mf (mezzo forte), f (forte), ff (fortissimo), crescendo, diminuendo (decrescendo), terraced dynamics, legato, staccato, accent, sforzando (sfz), slur.

Rhythm

Syncopation, ostinato, anacrusis, cross-rhythm, polyrhythm, hemiola, habanera rhythm, marcado, forward clave, reverse clave, tāla, īqā'āt, duple metre, triple metre, quadruple metre, irregular metre, simple time, compound time.

Tempo

Allegro, andante, adagio, accelerando, rallentando, rubato, BPM (beats per minute).

Structure

Binary (AB), ternary (ABA), rondo, theme and variations, strophic, through-composed, repetition, ascending sequence, descending sequence, imitation, ostinato, riff, Alberti bass.

Melody

Ascending, descending, conjunct (stepwise), disjunct (leaps), scalic, broken chord, arpeggio, phrase, countermelody, improvisation, leitmotif, hook, riff, fanfare, range, major scale, minor scale, chromatic scale, modal scale, pentatonic scale, rāga, maqām.

Instrumentation

Violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, piccolo, flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba, tuned percussion, untuned percussion, piano, harpsichord, organ, celesta, soprano, alto, tenor, bass.

Texture

Monophonic, unison, doubled in octaves, homophonic, melody and accompaniment, polyphonic, heterophonic, imitative, parallel motion, solo, tutti, antiphonal, cluster chords, drone.

Tonality

Major, minor, modulation, relative major, relative minor, dominant, subdominant, tonic major, tonic minor.

Harmony

Primary chords, secondary chords, dominant seventh, diminished seventh, consonance, dissonance, diatonic harmony, chromatic harmony, suspension, tonic pedal, dominant pedal, perfect cadence, imperfect cadence, interrupted cadence.

Ornamentation

(very important to understand and to identify!)

Trill, mordent, turn, appoggiatura, acciaccatura.