St Benedict’s High School

Understanding Music

NATIONAL 5 Revision Booklet

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Contents:

Page

1 National 5 Concept Dictionary 2

2 Concept Groupings:

Tempos & Dynamics 5

Instruments & How they are played 6

Styles & Ensembles 7

Scottish & Vocal 8

Tonality, Structure, Texture, Periods,

Effects, Scales & Word Setting

9

3 Literacy 10

4 National 3 & 4 Concepts 12

5 Exam Paper Layout & Questions 14

1. NATIONAL 5 CONCEPT DICTIONARY

Category Concept Definition Melody / Harmony

Atonal Music which has no feeling of key, major or minor. It is very dissonant and lacks a ‘nice’ melody and accompaniment.

Chord Progression (I, IV, V, VI) A series of related chords. At N5 level, these chords are built on the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th notes of a major or minor scale.

Chords C Major (CEG), G Major (GBD), F Major (FAC) & A Minor (ACE)

Chromatic Notes which ascend or descend consecutively in intervals of semitones.

Cluster A group of notes which clash when played together.

Contrary Motion Two parts which move in opposite directions, e.g. as one part ascends the other descends.

Countermelody A second melody played alongside the main melody, with the two of them fitting together with different tunes.

Descant A countermelody which accompanies and is sung above the main melody, often during hymns.

Flat An accidental which lowers the note by a semitone e.g. A to Ab.

Glissando Sliding from one note to another, taking in all the notes in between, where possible.

Grace Note A type of ornament, played as a quick, crushed note before the main note of a melody.

Imperfect Cadence Two chords at the end of a phrase, the last being chord V (the dominant), making it sound unfinished.

Inverted Pedal A note which is held on or repeated continuously at a high pitch, while other music goes on underneath.

Key signatures C Major & A Minor (no #/b), G Major (1 - f#), F Major (1 – Bb)

Melismatic A type of ‘word setting’ where several notes sung to one syllable.

Modulation When the music changes key.

Natural An accidental which removes any other accidental by raising or lowering a note by a semitone e.g. F# lowers a semitone to F natural, Gb raises a semitone to G natural.

Perfect Cadence Two chords at the end of a phrase, specifically the dominant to tonic chords (chord V – chord I), making the phrase sound finished.

Pitch bend Changing the pitch of a note slightly, e.g. by plucking a string on a guitar then pulling the pressed fretboard string downwards or upwards.

Semitone A distance of half a tone, e.g. B to Bb or F to G on a keyboard, or from one fret to the next on guitar.

Sharp An accidental which raises the note by a semitone e.g. C to C#.

Syllabic A type of ‘word setting’ in vocal music where each syllable is given one note only.

Tone A distance of two semitones between two notes, e.g. from B to A or F to F# on a keyboard, or two frets on a guitar.

Trill Moving quickly and repeatedly between two notes which are a step apart.

Whole tone scale A scale built entirely on whole tones. It uses no semitones, e.g. C, D, E, F#, G#, A# (Bb), C.

Category Concept Definition

Rhythm / Tempo

1st & 2nd time bars Directions to the performer to repeat a phrase with an alternative ending.

Compound time The beat is divided into groups of three, e.g. 6/8, 9/8, 12/8.

Cross rhythms Contrasting rhythms played at the same time or played with unusual emphasis on notes.

Dotted crotchet A note lasting 1½ beats:

Dotted quaver A note lasting ¾ of a beat:

Dotted rhythms A rhythm made up of dotted notes. For example, a scotch snap.

Moderato A medium tempo (speed).

Ritardando The music slows down.

Rubato A rhythmic feature, known as ‘robbed time’. The tempo is flexible to allow the music to speed up and slow down in order to provide more expression. Romantic music often uses rubato.

Scotch Snap A very short accented note before a longer note, e.g. semiquaver followed by a dotted quaver.

Category Concept Definition Texture / Structure / Form

Alberti bass Broken chords played on piano by the left hand, outlining harmonies, whilst the right hand plays the melody.

Binary – AB A form in which the music is made up of two different sections, called A and B.

Coda A passage at the end of a piece of music which effectively brings it to a finish.

Contrapuntal Texture with two or more parts, each of which has an interesting and independent melodic line. It is similar in meaning to polyphonic.

Episode A passage of music linking two musical themes, such as in Rondo Form

Ground bass Often used in the Baroque period, a theme in the bass which is repeated many times, while the upper parts vary.

Homophonic A texture where all the parts play or sing a similar rhythm at the same time.

Polyphonic Texture where two or more melodic lines, possibly of equal importance, weave independently to each other.

Rondo – ABACA A form in which the first section (A) keeps returning in between different sections (B, C etc.)

Strophic A form in which a song has the same music in verses/choruses. Most songs are in strophic form.

Walking bass A bass line (low notes), often featured in a variety of jazz styles. It is regular in rhythm and moves up and down a pattern of notes and is often played on a double bass or bass guitar.

Category Concept Definition Styles

Aria A solo song sung in an operatic style, in an opera, oratorio or cantata, with orchestral accompaniment.

Bothy Ballad A folk song from North-East Scotland, sung with the local dialect and usually with many verses (strophic).

Celtic Rock A style of music that mixes Celtic folk with rock music.

Chorus Music sung by a group of singers or the refrain between verses of a song.

Classical Music composed during the years 1750-1810 approximately; the era of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.

Gaelic Psalm Unaccompanied psalms (hymns) sung in Gaelic. One singer usually begins, with the congregation joining in afterwards.

Gospel Songs written with religious lyrics, often in praise or thanksgiving to God.

Indian Music from India which uses instruments such as the sitar and tabla.

Minimalist A style created in the second half of the 20th century, based on simple rhythmic and melodic figures which are constantly repeated with very slight changes each time.

Pibroch Music for solo bagpipes, in theme and variation form and with grace notes.

Symphony A large work for orchestra, usually in four movements.

Waulking Song A traditional rhythmic song, sung in Gaelic by the women in the Western Isles of Scotland while they waulked woollen cloth to soften and shrink it.

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.

Category Concept Definition Timbre / Dynamics

A capella Unaccompanied singing.

Arco Instruction given to string players to use a bow.

Baritone A male voice whose range lies between that of bass and tenor.

Con sordino Muted – using a device to muffle and change the sound normally produced on an instrument.

Flutter tonguing An effect created by rolling your ‘r’s’ whilst playing a brass or woodwind instrument.

Fortissimo (ff) A dynamic volume instructing the performer to play very loudly.

Mezzo Soprano A female singer whose voice range lies between that of a soprano and an alto.

Pianissimo (pp) A dynamic volume instructing the performer to play very quietly.

Pizzicato An instruction given to string players to pluck the strings instead of using the bow. It is abbreviated as pizz.

Reverb An electronic effect which can give the impression of different hall acoustics. Some electric guitar amplifiers include a reverb effect.

Rolls A very fast repetition of a note on a percussion instrument, e.g. on a snare drum or timpani.

Sfortzando A dynamic volume instructing the performer to suddenly play very loudly.

(French) Horn A brass instrument which has four metres of curled metal tubing and a bell-shaped opening for the sound to exit. To produce a sound, a player blows air through the mouthpiece while vibrating their lips.

Bassoon A low-sounding woodwind instrument which has a double reed.

Bodhran An Irish wooden drum which is held in one hand and played with a wooden beater.

Bongo Drums A percussion instrument which has two fairly high-pitched drums joined in a pair and usually played with the fingers and palms of the hands.

Castanets A wooden or plastic untuned percussion instrument, popular in Spanish music.

Clarsach A small Scottish harp, used in folk music. ‘Clarsach’ is Gaelic for ‘harp’.

Cymbals

Hi-hat Used as part of a drum kit, two cymbals (one upside-down) that can be hit with a stick or brush and/or opened/closed with a foot pedal.

Oboe A woodwind instrument with a double reed. A sound is produced when air vibrates between the two reeds.

Piccolo A woodwind instrument which looks like a half-sized flute. It is played in the same way and sounds an octave higher than a standard flute.

Sitar A plucked Indian guitar.

Tabla Indian drums, often used to accompany the sitar.

Tuba The largest sized and lowest sounding brass instrument. To produce a sound, a player blows air through the mouthpiece while vibrating their lips.

Viola A string instrument which looks very similar but is slightly bigger in size and lower in pitch than the violin. It can be played with a bow or by plucking the strings.

2. CONCEPT GROUPINGS

TEMPOS – SPEEDS

DYNAMICS – LOUDS & QUIETS

Tempo Meaning

Allegro Fast

Moderato Moderate tempo

Andante Walking Pace

Adagio Slow

Accelerando Gradually getting faster

Rallentando / Ritardando

Gradually getting slower

Rubato Robbed or borrowed time – speeding up or slowing down to suit the mood of the piece.

A tempo To return to the original tempo.

Dynamic Italian English meaning

pp Pianissimo Very quiet

p Piano Quiet

mp Mezzo-piano Moderately quiet

mf Mezzo-forte Moderately loud

f Forte Loudly

ff Fortissimo Very loudly

cresc. Crescendo Gradually getting louder

dim. Diminuendo Gradually getting softer

sfz. Sforzando Suddenly getting loud

INSTRUMENTS & HOW THEY ARE PLAYED

Instruments Playing Technique

Strings Violin Acoustic Guitar Arco – Bowed Viola Electric Guitar Pizzicato – Plucked Cello Bass Guitar Strumming – Drawing fingers or a Double Bass Harp plectrum across the strings

Woodwind

Piccolo Clarinet Blown - Air is blown through Flute Bassoon instrument to produce sound Oboe Saxophone Flutter Tonguing - Rolling an ‘R’ while Panpipes Recorder blowing a note.

Brass

Trumpet Trombone Con Sordino - Muted - creating a quieter French Horn Tuba and softer sound than normal

Percussion Untuned Percussion: Snare Drum Bodhran Drum kit Striking - Hitting - sound produced by Bongo Drums Guiro Cymbals hitting the instrument

Bass Drum Castanets Triangle Rolls - very fast repetition of a note.

Tambourine Hi-hat cymbal Tuned Percussion:

Xylophone (wooden) Glockenspiel (metal) Timpani (Kettle Drum)

Keyboard: Scottish: Indian:

Piano Organ Fiddle Bagpipes Sitar Tabla Harpsichord Clarsach Accordion

MUSICAL ENSEMBLES

Orchestra - Strings, Brass, Woodwind & Percussion. Brass Band - Brass & Percussion. Wind Band - Brass, Woodwind & Percussion. Folk Group - Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals, Accordion Whistle, Bass, Flute, Drum kit, Bodhran. Scottish Dance Band - Fiddle, Accordion, Piano, Drums. Steel Band - Steel drums (pans).

MUSICAL STYLES

Celtic Rock - Mixes Scottish folk music with rock music. Reggae - Off beat guitar, vocals, drums, organ, bass. Minimalist - Simple and repetitive ostinatos. Ragtime - Piano: Syncopated melody & vamp accompaniment. Blue - Jazz style, developed from black American

folk songs. Tells a story. Flattened notes. Swing - A jazz style performed by a big band. Jazz - American music from in the early 20th century. Rock - Music with a heavy, driving beat. Features electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit. Pop - Popular music (chart music) Rock ‘n’ roll - 1950’s style music, think Elvis Presley. Musical - A vocal work, like a modern opera. Scottish - Music traditionally from Scotland. Latin American - Dance music from South America. Rapping - Rhyming lyrics that are spoken. African music - Much African music features voices and/or

African drums. Opera - A drama set to music with soloists, chorus,

acting, and orchestral accompaniment Romantic - 1810-1900; big orchestras and thick texture. Baroque - 1600-1750; harpsichord and ornaments Indian - Music from India which uses instruments such

as the sitar and tabla. Classical - 1750-1810; piano Gospel - A song with religious lyrics, often in praise or

thanksgiving to God

Pibroch - Solo bagpipe; grace notes, theme & variation

SCOTTISH MUSIC

Song Who? Where/About? Accomp? Other?

Waulking Song Women At work No ‘Thud’ Beating sound

Bothy Ballad Men Farm work Usually no Tells story

Gaelic Psalm Both Church North Scotland

No In Gaelic, Call & Response, eerie/echo

Mouth Music Both Nonsense made up Gaelic words

Maybe Imitating melody of bagpipes

Scots Ballad Both Telling story Maybe Lots of verses and chorus, Strophic

VOCAL

Voices – Highest to lowest Vocal concepts

Soprano

Mezzo Soprano FEMALE

Alto

Tenor

Baritone MALE

Bass

Voice

Lead Vocal

Backing Vocal

Choir

Chorus Aria

Melismatic Syllabic

Strophic

Dance Speed Beats Other features

Waltz Medium 3 I LOVE YOU: Only 3 beat dance

Jig Fast 2 – 6/8 time STRAWBERRY: Compound time

Reel Fast 4 COCA COLA: Simple time, flowing

Strathspey Medium 4 porridge PORRIDGE: Jumpy, Scotch Snap

March Marching speed 2 or 4 MARCHING: Steady, strong pulse.

TONALITY

MAJOR MINOR ATONAL

STRUCTURE

BINARY FORM TERNARY FORM RONDO FORM

THEME & VARIATION STROPHIC

TEXTURE

HOMOPHONIC POLYPHONIC/CONRAPUNTAL

PERIODS OF MUSIC

BAROQUE CLASSICAL MODERN

EFFECTS

DISTORTION REVERB

SCALES

MAJOR MINOR PENTATONIC WHOLE TONE

CHROMATIC BLUES

WORD SETTING

MELISMATIC SYLLABIC

3. LITERACY

Symbol Name Length (beats) Semibreve 4

Dotted Minim 3

Minim 2

Dotted Crotchet 1 ½

Crotchet 1

Dotted Quaver ¾

Quaver ½

Semiquaver ¼

Paired Quavers 1

Grouped Semiquavers 1

Scotch Snap 1

KEY SIGNATURES

C Major = 0 sharps or flats A Minor = 0 sharps or flats BUT watch out for G#s

in the music!

F Major = 1 flat b (Bb) G Major = 1 Sharp #

(G#)

.

.

Accidentals:

Sharp:

Flat:

Natural:

Intervals:

Tone:

Semitone:

Lines Spaces

Every Good Boy

Deserves Football F A C E

Notes below the stave Notes above the stave

Repeat Signs

Start End

1st & 2nd time bars

Time Signatures – go right at the beginning of the first line,

between the treble clef and key signature.

= 2 crotchet beats per bar = 3 crotchet beats per bar Simple time Simple time = 4 crotchet beats per bar = 6 quavers per bar (splits Simple time into 2 beats) Compound time

4. NATIONAL 3 & 4 CONCETPS

You also need to know all of the National 3 and National 4 concepts.

NATIONAL 3 CONCEPTS

Melody/Harmony Rhythm/Tempo Texture/Structure/Form Timbre/Dynamics Style

Ascending

Chord

Chord change

Descending

Discord

Improvisation

Leap (leaping)

Question & answer

Repetition

Sequence

Step (stepwise)

Accent/accented

Adagio

Allegro

Bar; 2, 3 or 4 beats

in a bar

Beat/pulse

Drum fill

Faster

March

On the beat/off

the beat

Pause

Reel

Repetition

Slower

Waltz

Accompanied

Harmony/chord

Ostinato/riff

Round

Solo

Unaccompanied

Unison/octave

Accordion

Acoustic guitar

Bagpipes

Blowing

Bowing

Brass

Choir

Drum kit

Electric guitar

Fiddle

Folk group

Orchestra

Organ

Percussion

(tuned/untuned)

Piano

Plucking

Scottish dance band

Staccato/legato

Steel band

Striking (hitting)

Strings

Strumming

Voice

Woodwind

Blues

Jazz

Latin

American

Musical

Pop

Rock

Rock ‘n’

Roll

Scottish

NATIONAL 4 CONCEPTS Melody/Harmony Rhythm/Tempo Texture/Structure/

Form

Timbre/Dynamics Style

Arpeggio

Broken chord

Change of key

Chord progression (I,

IV, V)

Drone

Major

Minor

Octave

Ornament

Pedal

Pentatonic scale

Scale

Scat singing

Vamp

A tempo

Accelerando

Anacrusis

Andante

Compound time

Dotted rhythms

Jig

Rallentando

Scotch snap

Simple time

(2/4, 3/4, 4/4)

Strathspey

Syncopation

Cadenza

Canon

Chorus

Imitation

Middle 8

Ternary (ABA)

Theme & variation

Verse

Backing vocals

Bass guitar

Brass band

Brass (trumpet,

trombone)

Distortion

Harpsichord

Muted

Pan pipes

Wind band

Percussion (timpani,

snare drum, side

drum, bass drum,

cymbals, triangle,

tambourine, guiro,

xylophone,

glockenspiel)

Strings (violin, cello,

double bass, harp)

Voices (soprano, alto,

tenor, bass)

Woodwind (flute,

clarinet, saxophone,

recorder)

African

music

Baroque

Concerto

Mouth

music

Opera

Ragtime

Rapping

Reggae

Romantic

Scots ballad

Swing

Literacy:

Treble clef stave C-A’

Sequences

Literacy:

Semiquaver

Grouped

semiquavers

Paired quavers

Repeat signs

Literacy:

mf, mezzo-forte

f, forte

5. EXAM PAPER LAYOUT & QUESTIONS

Question 1a-f: Multiple Choice - 6 Marks with a few “write

the word” questions.

Question 2: Box question (musical map) - 4 Marks 4 numbered boxes. Voice says the number over the music & you must answer the question in the related box when the number is said.

Question 3: Literacy Question – 6 Marks

Eg. Name the key of this piece, insert the time signature, insert missing notes, insert repeat sign, identify octave leaps, write dynamics, write tempo marks.

Question 4: Multiple Choice – 8 Marks

Question 5: - 4 Marks

Tick one box from

each section.

Question 6: Fill in the missing words – 3 Marks

Question 7: - 4 Marks - Reason Question: Multiple choice

plus write reason for answer.

Question 8: - 5 Marks Write about the prominent features you

hear in the music.

Fill out this box then transfer it to the lines on the next page.

Rhythm/tempo

Melody/harmony

Instruments/voices

Dynamics (Italian terms)

Melody Harmony

Rhythm Tempo

Instruments and how they are used

Dynamics

Broken Chords Chords/ Discords Glissando Homophonic/ Polyphonic Imitation Legato /Staccato Major/Minor Melismatic/ Syllabic Modulation Pedal Question & Answer Repetition Sequence Suspensions Unison/Harmony Ornaments: trill, grace notes Scales: Major/Minor scale, Chromatic scale, Pentatonic scale

Beats in a bar / Time Signature: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, Simple Time 6/8 – Compound Time Speed: Allegro – Fast Adagio – Slow Andante – walking pace Moderato – moderate Speed Changes: Accelerando – faster Rallentando – slower Ritardando – slower Rubato – with freedom Anacrusis Dotted Rhythms Ostinato Repetition Scotch Snap Syncopation

Brass – Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Tuba Woodwind – Piccolo, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Saxophone, Recorder Strings – Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Harp Percussion – Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Timpani, Triangle, Snare Drum, Drumkit, Bass Drum, Tambourine, Castanets Keyboard – Piano, Synthesizer, Harpsichord, Organ, Celeste Guitars – Electric, Acoustic, Bass, Banjo Solo, Melody, Countermelody Accompaniment, Chords, Broken Chords Glissando, Arpeggios Arco – bowed, Grace notes, ornaments Muted, Pizzicato - plucked Col Legno – wood of bow, Double Stopping Female Voices: Soprano, Mezzo Soprano, Alto Male Voices: Tenor, Baritone, Bass Countertenor – high like a woman. Solo; Accompaniment; Melody; Countermelody

pp – pianissimo – very quiet p – piano – quiet mp – mezzo piano – moderately quiet mf – mezzo forte – moderately loud f – forte – loud ff – fortissimo – very loud Changes of dynamic: Cres. – Crescendo – getting louder Dim. – diminuendo – getting quieter.