IMUSIC VOCABULARY:
Texture - The combination of elements in a piece or passage, such as the number and
relationship of independent parts (as in monophony, heterophony, polyphony, or
homophony), groups (as in polychoral music), or musical events (as in relatively dense
or transparent sonorities)
Pitch - (1) Position of sound in the complete range of sound, (2) Sounds are higher or
Mlower in pitch according to the frequency of vibration of the sound waves producing
them
Rhythm - (1) The pattern of music’s movement in time, (2) A particular pattern of short
and long durations
Measure - (1) A unit of musical time consisting of a given number of beats; the basic
unit of meter, (2) Metrical unit set off by barlines
Tempo - (Italian, “time”) Speed of performance, or relative pace of music
Melody - (1) Succession of tones perceived as a coherent line, (2) Tune, (3) Principal
part accompanied by other parts or chords
Consonance - Interval or chord that has a stable, harmonious sound
Dissonance - (1) Two or more notes sounding together to produce a discord, or a
sound that needs to be resolved to a consonance, (2) A note that does not belong to the
chord that sounds simultaneously with it; a non-chord tone
Hornbostel-Sachs Classification (1961)
● Idiophone
★ An instrument which produces sound by the actual body of the instrument
vibrating
● Aerophone
★ An instrument that produces sound through a vibrating column of air
● Membranophone
★ An instrument that produces sound through the vibrations of an
outstretched membrane
, ● Electrophone
★ An instrument that produces sounds through electronic means
● Chordophone
★ An instrument that produces sound through the vibrations of a string that
is plucked
Spread of Christianity
● Roman subjects had been allowed freedom of religion, so long as they worship
roman gods and emperors
● Emperor constantine I (310-337) converts to Christianity
● Emperor Theodosius I (374-395) made Christianity the official religion and
suppressed others
● By 600, virtually all of the Roman empire was Christian
● Christianity diversified into roman catholic and byzantine traditions
● Each developed its own “rite,” with a “church calendar,” “liturgy,” and a
“plainchant”
● Mass becomes the most common place to hear musical performance
Gregorian Chant
● Pope Gregory I (590-604) begins a form of “monophonic” chant
● Chants are specific to dialect and melodies, with additional types including
byzantine, Ambrosian, and Old Roman
● Monophony - one single melodic line
● Each melodic shape hovers around the same note
● Repeated cadential patterns
● Loose or free rhythm
● Schola Cantorum founded in the 700s
● Standardized chant melodies
● Words were written but melodies were transmitted orally
● Jewish cantillation likely on early influence on both melodies and transcription
● Markings convey recurring melodic ideas
Notating Music
● Necessary to ensure that music would be sung the same each time
● Manuscript production was a regular part of Medieval monastic life
, ● Neumes
★ Signs above the words indicating if a melody ascended, descended, or
repeated a pitch
★ No specific intervallic content
● “Diastematic neumes” use height to show the relative size and direction of the
interval
● Eventually authors began to use markings that did not represent any sound at all,
they clarified the sounds around it
● Music remained transposable relative to the range of the singer
● “Composite neumes” represented one or more pitches and are read left to right
● No consensus on how neumes communicate rhythm
● Later neumes use dots and dashes to indicate a stretched out phrase (usually an
ending)
Modes
● Extension of early Greek ideas about “scales”
● New terms:
★ “Final”: main note in the mode (usually at the end of the melody)
★ “Authentic” modes start a tone below and the “final” and end an octave
above it
★ “Plagal” mode starts a fourth or fifth below the “final” and reaches a fifth or
sixth above it
● “Tenor” is the most important new term
★ Most frequent and prominent note
★ A 5th above the “final” in a “authentic” mode
★ A 3rd below the “final” in a “plagal” mode
● Only chromatic alteration is Bb when based in F (improvised)
● A tenor on B will always be moved to C
● Chants linger on the tenor end on the final
● Begins on the “final” F; stays on the “tenor” in C; ends on the “final”
Solmization
● Guido of Arezzo facilitates sight-singing through solemnization syllables: ut, re,
mi, fa, sol, la
● Guido developed a system of leading a chorus through pointing to joints and
fingers
● It helped standardize music pedagogy
The Mass
● Majority of the musical experiences of individuals in the Middle Ages
, ● Commoners exposed to Church music at least once a week
● The “proper” is a set of liturgical texts that can vary based on the day
● The “ordinary” is a set of liturgical texts that do not change, but the melody can
● The “ordinary” was often called through the first words by a cantor and then sung
by the congregation
● Later, a choir took over the congregation’s role
● 14 century on most compositions are for portions of the mass
★ Especially “kyrie,” “gloria, credo, sanctus, and agnus dei
● Liturgical texts and music were gathered in books and copied by scribes
● Liturgy in the missal
● Chants in the gradual
● Office texts in the breviary
● Music in the Antiphoner
Styles of Chant
● Different “forms”
★ Responsorial: Soloist alternates with the choir
★ Antiphonal: two halves of the choir alternate
★ Direct: no alternation
● Different “text settings”
★ Syllabic: one note per syllable
★ Ex. the credo
★ Credo is usually set syllabically because it is a long text
● Neumatic: one to six notes per syllable
★ Ex. Gloria
● Melismatic: six to more notes per syllable or a combination of all three
● Chant is just a vehicle to communicate liturgy
● Melodies need to reflect the shape of the text … not communicating affects or
suggesting images
● Most melodies are arched
● Often syllabic on strong beats and melismatic on weak beats
★ Important words on strong beats
Late Additions
● Rome authorized additions to the Mass which gave musicians more creativity
● Tropes: adds words or music to existing chant
★ Sometimes this is just melisma
★ Developed from soloists improvising (usually on alleluia)
