VCE Music Composition flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Motif

A short, recognizable musical idea, typically two to five notes, that generates larger material through repetition, transposition, inversion, or rhythmic change.

Period

A pair of phrases, antecedent then consequent, where the first ends with a weaker cadence such as a half cadence and the second answers it with a stronger cadence.

Sentence

A phrase structure built as presentation, containing a basic idea and its repetition, followed by continuation that fragments the idea and drives to a cadence.

Perfect authentic cadence

A cadence moving from dominant to tonic, both in root position, with the melody ending on the tonic scale degree; it is the strongest tonal close.

Half cadence

A phrase ending on the dominant chord, creating an open, unfinished effect that typically signals expectation of a following answering phrase.

Deceptive cadence

A cadence where a dominant chord resolves unexpectedly to the submediant instead of the tonic, delaying closure and often extending the phrase.

Pivot chord modulation

A modulation in which a chord functions diatonically in both the old and new keys, serving as the hinge between them.

Tritone substitution

Replacing a dominant seventh chord with another dominant seventh whose root lies a tritone away, sharing the same two tendency tones.

Melodic inversion

Mirroring a melody so each ascending interval becomes the equivalent descending interval, preserving interval size while reversing direction.

Retrograde

Presenting a musical idea with its notes in reverse order, a common device for generating contrast while retaining motivic identity.

Augmentation

A variation technique that doubles or otherwise lengthens the rhythmic values of a motif, slowing its surface while preserving its pitch contour.

Ternary form

A three-part structure, statement, contrasting middle section, and return of the opening material, often diagrammed as ABA or ABA' with a restatement.

Rondo form

A form built on a recurring principal theme alternating with contrasting episodes, commonly diagrammed ABACA or ABACABA.

Sonata form

A large-scale structure with exposition presenting two key areas, development transforming the themes, and recapitulation resolving the second key area to the tonic.

Strophic form

A vocal form in which the same music repeats for every stanza while the text changes, producing a simple repeated-section structure.

Through-composed

A song or movement whose music is newly composed for each successive section of text rather than repeating a strophic setting.

Monophonic texture

A texture consisting of a single melodic line with no accompanying harmony, whether performed by one voice or several in unison.

Homophonic texture

A texture in which a melody is supported by chordal accompaniment, so the parts move in similar rhythm and one line dominates.

Polyphonic texture

A texture of two or more independent melodic lines sounding simultaneously, often built through imitation, canon, or fugal entries.

Heterophonic texture

A texture in which two or more performers play simultaneous variants of the same melodic line, differing in ornamentation or rhythm.

Imitation

A polyphonic device in which one voice presents a melodic idea and another voice repeats it shortly after, possibly at a different pitch.

Canon

A strict contrapuntal form in which one voice states a melody and other voices enter later with exact imitation of that same melody.

Ostinato

A short musical pattern repeated persistently in one voice while other parts change above it, providing rhythmic and harmonic grounding.

Pedal point

A sustained note held in one voice, usually the bass, while harmonies above it change around it and create tension or stability.

Antiphony

A performance practice in which two groups alternate short sections of music, creating a call-and-response effect across the ensemble.

Sequence

A melodic or harmonic pattern repeated at successively higher or lower pitch levels, often used to build momentum toward a cadence.

Fragmentation

A developmental device that extracts a short cell from a longer motif and repeats it, generating forward drive in the continuation.

Rhythmic diminution

Halving or otherwise shortening the note values of a motif so the idea moves faster while retaining its original pitch order.

Harmonic rhythm

The rate at which chords change, measured in beats or bars; faster harmonic rhythm usually increases perceived energy and drive.

Voice leading

The conventions governing how individual melodic lines move between chords, including resolution of tendency tones and avoidance of parallel perfect intervals.

Tendency tones

Scale degrees with strong expected resolutions, chiefly the leading tone rising to tonic and the chordal seventh falling by step.

Tessitura

The prevailing pitch range of a part or piece, distinct from its absolute extremes, and a key factor in writing idiomatically for instruments or voices.