A Level Music Terminology- Review Questions and Answers

A cappella Italian for 'in church style'. A term that refers to unaccompanied singing (as in NAM 26). Accented passing note A dissonant note sounded on the beat and filling the gap between two harmony notes. In NAM 22 the notes F and A in the right hand of bar 53 beat 4 are accented passing notes, clashing with the underlying C7 chord. See also Appoggiatura and Passing note. Acciaccatura An ornament printed as a small note with a slash through its stem and flag (l» that is either played as short as possible, or is played with the main melodic note and immediately released. It often forms a discord with a harmony note, as is the case with the acciaccaturas in the second half of bar 15 in NAM 37. Alberti bass An accompaniment pattern in which the notes of a chord are repeatedly sounded in the order low, high, middle and high again. It is named after an obscure Italian composer who was to the device. See NAM 22, bars 71-80 (left hand). Anacrusis One or more weak-beat notes before the first strong beat of a phrase, as in bar 5 of NAM 52 and bar 8 of NAM 53. Often called a 'pick-up' in jazz and pop music. Anticipation A note played immediately before the chord to which it belongs. The anticipated note is often the tonic in a perfect cadence, as in bar 426 of NAM 1, where the semiquaver G at the end of the bar anticipates the tonic in the final chord of the movement. Antiphony The alternation of different groups of instruments and/or singers. There is a short antiphonal exchange between wind and strings in bars 47-49 of NAM 17; a longer example occurs between the two instrumental groups at the start of NAM 14. Appoggiatura A dissonant non-chord note, often approached by a leap, that resolves by moving to a chord note. It is like a suspension but without the preparation. Appoggiaturas are sometimes written as small notes, like ornaments, as in bar 12 of NAM 37, where C~ in the vocal part clashes with B in the accompaniment before resolving on the same note. Arco. An instruction for string players to resume bowing after using some other technique, such as pizzicato, as seen in NAM 3, bar 53.