Terms for Midterm I

accent (primary and secondary) - weight given to a note, special emphasis

barline - a line which delineates the end/beginning of a measure or bar

beat - a designated part of the measure or bar, e.g. beat four in 4/4

compound meter - meter with two levels of organization, one on the pulse level and another subdivision below in threes. It is a wholesale subdividing of the beat into triplet subdivision.

cycle - one complete path of a wave

dotted rhythm - a rhythm where a note is dotted and followed by a shorter note, e.g. dotted eighth and sixteenth

downbeat - the first and often accented beat in a measure of music with regular meter

duple subdivision - division of the pulse into two parts, i.e. simple meter

duplet - a two in a three context

ear & hearing: auricle, ossicles, nerves and process - see previous handouts

frequency - # of cycles per second of a sound wave

groove - the feel of popular rhythms like the Chicago Blues Shuffle in 12/8

measure - one unit of regulated time as designated by the time signature, a.k.a. bar

melody - a solo line of pitches or rhythm which is designed to capture the ear

meter - the organization of time usually designated by the time signature

node - spot on wave where it passes the 0

note values - the specific time values given to notated individual notes

overtone - a resonant partial of any sound

partial - a constituent part of and unpure tone

pick-up - a note or rhythm which occurs before the first downbeat, a.k.a. anacrusis

pitch - frequency of fundamental tone

polyrhythm - more than one rhythm at a time

polymeter - mixing several meters within one piece, not necessarily at the same time

pulse - the recurring energy which is the basis of metered time in music

resonation - the transmission of a wave through material, the principle upon which all instruments are based

resonance - pitch at which the transmission of sound is the best

rubato - a robbing of the energy of pulse, a slowing or speeding in tempo for expression

simple meter - meters with duple subdivision of the pulse

syncopation - emphasis of the off beat, common in Latin music and Jazz

time signature - the metric organization of a piece of music

triple subdivision - division of the pulse into threes, compound time

triplet - a three in a two context