VCE Music Contemporary Performance flashcards

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

Authentic cadence

A cadence moving from the dominant chord to the tonic, V to I. It sounds final and closes a phrase or section in tonal music.

Plagal cadence

A cadence moving from the subdominant to the tonic, IV to I. It is often called the amen cadence and sounds softer than an authentic cadence.

Half cadence

A cadence that ends on the dominant chord, leaving the phrase unresolved. It creates a pause or question that a later phrase answers.

Deceptive cadence

A cadence where the dominant resolves unexpectedly to the submediant, V to vi, instead of the tonic. The surprise delays final closure.

Pivot chord modulation

A modulation using a chord shared by the old and new keys. The pivot chord functions in both keys and eases the harmonic transition.

Sequence

A melodic or harmonic pattern repeated at a different pitch level. Sequences build momentum and are common in Baroque and Classical development sections.

Ostinato

A short rhythmic or melodic figure repeated persistently throughout a passage. It grounds the texture and often supports variation above it.

Hemiola

A rhythmic device where two beats are grouped as three, or three as two, creating a cross-rhythm against the prevailing metre.

Compound metre

A metre in which each beat divides into three equal parts, such as 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8. The dotted note usually represents one beat.

Simple metre

A metre in which each beat divides into two equal parts, such as 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4. The undotted note represents one beat.

Basso continuo

A Baroque accompaniment of a bass line with figures, realised by a keyboard and a bass instrument. It supplies harmony beneath the melody.

Terraced dynamics

Baroque practice of changing volume abruptly between fixed levels rather than gradually. The change reflects shifts in texture and instrumentation.

Rubato

Tempo flexibility in which one part moves freely while another compensates. In ensemble playing the total bar duration remains constant.

Guide tones

The third and seventh of a chord, which define its quality most clearly. Improvisers target these notes to outline harmony over changes.

Blue notes

Lowered third, fifth, and seventh degrees used in blues and jazz. They bend the major scale toward a more expressive, ambiguous tonality.

Swing subdivision

A jazz rhythmic feel where paired eighth notes are played unequally, the first longer than the second. It gives the music a lilting drive.

Call and response

A structure where a soloist's phrase is answered by an ensemble or a second group. It is central to gospel, blues, and jazz performance.

Sonata form

A large-scale form with exposition, development, and recapitulation. It presents contrasting themes, develops them, then restates them in the tonic key.

Motif

A short melodic or rhythmic idea that recurs and is developed. It is the smallest unit of thematic material in a composition.

Augmentation

A motivic development technique in which note values are lengthened, usually doubling them. The motif sounds broader and slower.

Diminution

A motivic development technique in which note values are shortened, usually halved. The motif sounds faster and more urgent.

Retrograde

A motivic technique in which the original figure is played backwards. It reverses the order of pitches or rhythms while keeping the intervals.

Inversion (melodic)

A technique that flips a melody's contour, so rising intervals become falling intervals. It preserves the shape in mirror form.

Parallel fifths

Two voices moving in parallel perfect fifths, prohibited in traditional four-part writing. They weaken the independence of the voices.

Transposing instrument

An instrument that sounds at a pitch other than written. A B-flat clarinet sounds a major second lower than the notated pitch.

Enharmonic equivalent

Two note names for the same pitch, such as C-sharp and D-flat. Spelling depends on harmonic function and scale degree.

Second inversion triad

A triad with its fifth in the bass, notated as 6/4. It is unstable and usually resolves to a root-position chord.

Heterophonic texture

A texture where two or more parts perform simultaneous variants of the same melody. It is common in folk and non-Western traditions.

Homophonic texture

A texture with a melody supported by chordal accompaniment. All parts move largely in the same rhythm beneath the leading line.

Polyphonic texture

A texture of two or more independent melodic lines sounding together. Each line has its own contour and rhythmic character.

Mordent

An ornament alternating rapidly between a note and its lower or upper auxiliary. It adds a brief decorative inflection to the melody.

Extended technique

An unconventional playing method expanding an instrument's sound, such as col legno, flutter-tonguing, or multiphonics. It is common in modern repertoire.