What's covered
Key facts
Dynamics and tempo
Accelerando means getting gradually faster.
Pitch and melody
The rising and falling shape of a melody is its contour.
Rhythm and duration
The pulse stays steady; the rhythm changes over the top of it.
Structure
Binary form has two sections, A and B.
Texture
A canon is like a round: parts imitate the same melody in turn.
Timbre and instruments
Arco means bowing a string; pizzicato means plucking it.
Dynamics and tempo
A crescendo means getting gradually louder.
Pitch and melody
A drone is a long, held note sustained under a melody.
Rhythm and duration
A dot after a note makes it last half as long again.
Structure
Call and response is when one part answers another.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 57 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What does 'dynamics' mean in music?
- •How fast it goes
- •How high the notes are
- ✓How loud or quiet it is
- •How many people play
What does 'pitch' describe in music?
- •How fast the music goes
- ✓How high or low a sound is
- •How loud a sound is
- •How many instruments play
What is the pulse in music?
- •The highest note in the tune
- •The loudest note in the tune
- •The name of the main singer
- ✓The steady beat you tap along to
What does the structure of a piece describe?
- ✓How it is organised into sections
- •How loud each note is
- •How old the composer is
- •Which instruments are best
What does 'texture' describe in music?
- •How fast the music goes
- •How loud the music is
- ✓How many layers of sound there are
- •What key the music is in
What does 'timbre' describe?
- •How fast the music is
- •How long a note lasts
- •How loud the music is
- ✓The tone colour of a sound
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