AH Revision Booklet

Advanced Higher Music
Revision
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HIGHER
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Medieval Period (500–1400)
Music mainly for the church (sacred), mainly vocal music as not a lot of
instruments invented yet.
Plainchant – Monks singing Latin text - unaccompanied – unison - no regular metre (set
beats in a bar) the chant follows the natural rhythm of the text.
Mode/Modal – Not major or minor – also used in Jazz and pop music.
Renaissance (1400 – 1600) & Baroque Periods (1600 – 1760)

Non-religious (secular) music began to flourish, in particular instrumental music.
Harpsichord (Basso Continuo) and Organ are now prominent.
Polyphonic texture & lots of string instruments. Complex, flowing melody lines weaving
independently.
Basso Continuo - Harpsichord and Cello playing bass line and harmonies/chords
Concerto - Music for soloist accompanied by an ORCHESTRA
Concerto Grosso – Piece for Small Group of Soloists (Concertino) and Orchestra (Ripieno
Concertino – Small group of soloists in Concerto Grosso
Ripieno – Accompanying Orchestra in Concerto Grosso
Ritornello – Section of music which returns again and again.
Passacaglia – Variations over a ground bass.
Obbligato – A prominent solo instrument part in a piece of vocal music.
Da Capo Aria - Aria (solo song) in ternary form (ABA) – repeats first section with added
embellishments.
Mass – sacred choral work, Latin text, polyphonic texture (further developed in the classical
period)
Oratorio - a story from the Bible set to music for soloists, chorus and orchestra. Religious
version of opera - includes recitatives, arias and chorus.
Classical Period (1730 – 1800)

Music is simple, melodic, mainly homophonic (melody & accompaniment), very structured,
orchestra still small but now includes the horn, trumpet, clarinet, flute and oboe. Piano
main keyboard instrument (no harpsichord).
Symphony – Large piece of Music for the whole orchestra.
Sonata – Music for soloist accompanied by a PIANO (or for solo piano)
Coloratura – florid vocal singing involving scales, runs and ornaments where there are a
number of notes sung to the one syllable (melismatic)
Sonata Form - structure of the first movement of many sonatas – 3 sections:
Exposition, Development, Recapitulation.
Exposition - This describes the first hearing of the 'theme' and is normally associated with
compositions structured in sonata form
Subject - The main theme in a composition. This then could be the main theme in Sonata
form.
Chamber Music - classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments.
Piano Trio
String Quartet - A chamber music ensemble made up from two violins, one viola and one
cello.
Romantic Period (1800 – 1910)

Dramatic contrasts, chromaticism (sharps and flats), use of discords, much larger orchestra,
increase in emotion of music, wide breadth of dynamics.
Lied – works for solo voice and piano. German text - voice and piano are equally important.
Modern Period (1910 – present)

Very varied, experimental, innovative, individual, explorative &
imaginative.
Impressionism – Music creates blurry impression, uses whole tone and
chromatic scales.
Jazz Funk – Cross between Jazz, Rock and Funk.
Musique Concrete – Recorded natural sounds which are transformed using simple editing
techniques.
Soul Music – Combination of R&B and Gospel which began in late 1950s. Features vocals,
piano, drums, guitar, bass, trumpet & saxophone.
Time Changes - changing time signatures frequently in a piece of music.
Other Higher Concepts
Augmentation – Notes of a melody are doubled in length.
Diminution – Notes of a melody are halved in length.
Through Composed - A vocal/choral composition in which there is little or no repetition in
the musical structure i.e. where the composition is not structured as verse / chorus.eg.
Bohemian Rhapsody – (opposite of
Strophic)
Harmonics – very lightly touching a string when you play it. On bowed instrument this will
sound high pitched ad eerie. On Guitar or Harp it sounds bell like.
Tremolando – rapid movement of the bow on same note for strings or between 2 notes a
distance apart for other instruments (not the same as a trill).
3 against 2 - One line of music may be playing quavers in groups of two whilst at the same
time another line of music will be playing triplets.
TANGO Vs STRAWBERRY at the same time.
Irregular Time Signatures - the music does not naturally fall into equal groupings eg. 7/4 or
5/4 instead or 3/4 or 4/4.
Interval – Distance between 2 notes eg C- G = 5th, F-A = 3rd
Advanced Higher Concepts

STYLES
Renaissance - means 'rebirth' and marks a period in history where there was a resurgence
of interest in music based on the ideas of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Pavan - A Renaissance court dance linked with the galliard. Slow, stately dance with 2 beats
in the bar.
Galliard - A Renaissance court dance which follows the pavan. Quick and Lively with 3 beats
in the bar.
Motet - A sacred choral work from the renaissance period with Latin text and polyphonic
texture, usually sung a cappella.
Madrigal - A non-religious work from the renaissance period, polyphonic in style, using
imitation.
Ayre/Air - Song or simple melody, sometimes the title of a movement of a suite.
Anthem - Short sacred choral piece sung in English. Sometimes sung by a choir
unaccompanied and sometimes accompanied by organ, featuring solo parts.
Ballett - A type of madrigal in strophic form which was originally danced to.
Neo-classical - From about 1929, composers reacted against Romanticism returning to the
structures and styles of earlier periods, combined with dissonant, tonal and even atonal
harmonies.
Serial - A 20th-century method of musical composition invented by Schoenberg in which
the 12 notes of the Chromatic scale are organised into a series or tone row.
Chorale - A German hymn tune, written in four parts for soprano, contralto (alto), tenor
and bass.
Nationalist - Music which incorporates elements of folk music of the composer’s country.
Electronic dance music - normally heard in clubs where the DJ combines tracks
electronically into one smooth mix. It can encompass music of different genres including
house music, dubstep, drum and bass.
Contemporary jazz - an umbrella term for all kinds of jazz music being played now - as well
as jazz music of the 80s, 90s, 00s & 10s.
MELODY/HARMONY
Appoggiatura - An ornament which sounds like a leaning note, takes half the value of the
main note which follows it or two-thirds if the main note is dotted.
Turn - Four notes which turn round the main note with the note above, the main note, the
note below, and the main note again.
Suspension - This effect occurs when a note from one chord is held over to the next chord
creating a discord, and is then resolved by moving one step to make a concord.
Tritone - Interval of an augmented 4th, eg C–F sharp or F–B. It is made up of three whole
tones.
Polytonality/bitonality - The use of two (bitonality) or more keys (polytonality) played or
sung at the same time.
Tone row/note row - An arrangement of the 12 notes of the octave which forms the basis
of a composition.
Augmented triad - This chord is formed by a major triad in which the 5th degree is raised
by a semitone
RHYTHM
Hemiola - A rhythmic device giving the impression of a piece of music changing from duple
(2) to triple (3) time, or vice versa.
TEXTURE/STRUCTURE/FORM
Fugue - A contrapuntal piece based on a theme (subject) announced in one voice part
alone, then imitated by other voices in close succession.
Subject - The main theme in a composition, the main themes in sonata form, or the main
theme on which a fugue is based.
Countersubject - In a fugue, after the subject or answer is played, the continuation of that
same instrument or voice is called the countersubject.
Answer - In a fugue, after the subject is played, the same tune appears in another voice or
part in the dominant (a 5th higher or a 4th lower). This is called the answer.
Stretto - Where voices or instruments enter very quickly one after the other, as in fugue.
Antiphonal - Dialogue between voices or instruments - one group of voices or instruments
answers the other.
Bridge - A link between two themes.
Leitmotiv - A theme occurring throughout a work which represents a person, an event or an
idea, etc.
Inversion - When a musical shape is mirrored; an inverted chord is formed when a note
other than the root is in the bass.
Retrograde - To go backwards; a melody or a section of music can be written or performed
from the end to the beginning.
Song cycle - A group of songs linked by a common theme or with a text written by the same
author, usually accompanied by piano but sometimes by small ensembles or full orchestra.
TIMBRE/DYNAMICS
Consort - Dance-like in style; this music could be played by solo instruments such a lutes,
harpsichords or virginals, by small groups of instruments of the same family or a group of
varied instruments from different families.
Countertenor - A male adult voice whose range is higher than a tenor's.
Sprechgesang - A technique used in vocal music where the singer is required to use the
voice in an expressive manner half-way between singing and speaking.
Piano trio - A piano trio is a chamber music ensemble comprising of three instruments; the
most common form comprises of a piano, violin and cello.
Transposition

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Advanced Higher Music

Renaissance (1400 – 1600) & Baroque Periods (1600 – 1760)

Classical Period (1730 – 1800)

Romantic Period (1800 – 1910)

Modern Period (1910 – present)

Advanced Higher Concepts

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