Terms
Definition of music: The organization of sound in time
Active listening (real listening - requires concentration) vs. passive listening (hearing)
Pitch - the high and low sounds
Melody - a succession of consecutive pitches. One pitch at a time that forms a tune, or a recognizable musical idea.
Phrase (length) - as in literature, a part of a complete thought (sentence). A phrase is usually a place where it seems natural to breathe when singing it.
Cadence - a resting place in music, may be either complete (the end) or incomplete (just a pause)

Duration - The element of time in music
Beat - the underlying pulse in a piece of music. Steady, and not always "heard", but more "felt".


Rhythm - an organized and repeating pattern of beats and syncopations forming a musical idea. (I've modified this to " an organized and repeating pattern of shorts and longs forming a musical idea".)
Tempo - the speed of the beat. Fast, slow, moderate, etc.
Meter - the automatic breaking up of beats into patterns of two or three in our ear when we hear music. "How the beats are grouped".
Measure or "Bar" - when we break up the beats into patterns of two or three, a measure is one complete time through the patterns. Ex. 1 - 2, 1 - 2, 1 - 2 is three measures.
Nonmetric - when the beat is not evident.

Dynamics - The relative loudness or quietness of musical sound (Volume)
Crescendo - gradual increase in volume
Decrescendo - gradual "decrease" in volume
Subito - a sudden change in the dynamic level. It may move from loud to soft or from soft to loud, but it is abrupt.

Timbre - The "color" of musical sound. Or more specifically, what actual sounds you are hearing (guitar, keyboard, female voice, etc.)


Harmony - The vertical relationship of combined notes - two or more pitches played at the same time - usually associated with accompanying a melody
Consonance - stability. Pitch combinations that sound pleasant or stable
Dissonance - instability. Pitch combinations that sound unpleasant or unstable

Listening Skill Quiz No. 1 - 1/29/15. The selections to listen to are the Billy Joel song "River of Dreams", Rodrigo's "En los Trigales" (In the Wheatfields), Bach "Bourree", and The Shaggs' "Philosophy of the World" from in class. I may choose another random selection to see how you do with your listening!

For each example, listen for the elements of music: pitch/melody/cadence; duration/tempo/meter; dynamics - change or stay the same; timbre - what instrument(s) are you hearing?