VCE Music Repertoire Performance key terms

The collection of pieces a performer has prepared and can play to a performance standard, chosen to suit the instrument, the program and the candidate's technical and expressive strengths.

The ordered list of works a candidate performs, planned so the pieces together show range of style, mood, tempo and period within the time allowed.

Deliberate difference between works or sections in tempo, dynamics, tonality, texture or character, used to sustain listener interest across a whole program.

The planning decisions behind a performance program: order of works, keys and tempos, pacing, and where rests or instrument changes fall.

Management of energy and tempo across a performance so demanding items are balanced by lighter ones and the performer does not tire before the end.

Scales, arpeggios, exercises and studies practised to build control of fingers, breath, bow or sticks, separate from the performed repertoire itself.

The physical skills a player uses to produce sound and control the instrument, including finger action, breath support, bow control and stick grip.

The way a performer shapes sound quality through breath, embouchure, bow speed and pressure, or stick choice, giving the instrument its characteristic colour.

How individual notes begin and end and how smoothly they join, described with terms such as legato, staccato, accent and slur.

A smooth, connected style of playing in which notes flow into one another with no audible break, often marked with a slur.

A detached style of playing in which each note is shortened and separated by a small silence, usually marked with a dot above or below the note.

A curved line joining notes that are to be played in one continuous sound, without re-articulating each note, on a single breath or bow stroke where possible.

An emphasis placed on a particular note, making it louder or sharper than its neighbours, often marked with a small wedge or arrow.

The shaping of a melodic line into meaningful musical sentences, using breathing points, dynamic rise and fall, and timing to convey expression.

The degrees of loudness and softness in a performance, from pianissimo to fortissimo, including gradual changes such as crescendo and diminuendo.

A gradual increase in loudness over a passage, shown by a hairpin opening to the right or the word crescendo, used to build tension.

A gradual decrease in loudness over a passage, shown by a hairpin closing to the left or the word diminuendo, often used to release tension.

The speed at which a piece is performed, indicated by words such as allegro or adagio, by a metronome mark, or chosen by the performer.

Flexible timing in which the performer speeds up or slows down slightly to shape expression, later compensating so the overall pulse is not lost.

A tempo indication giving beats per minute, such as crotchet equals 96, used to fix or check the speed of a passage precisely.

The regular underlying beat felt in a piece, which the performer must maintain steadily even when the surface rhythm becomes complex.

The pattern of note lengths and silences organised against the beat, giving a piece its sense of movement and groove.

Placement of stress on a weak beat or between beats, so the expected accent is displaced and the music feels off-balance or driving.

The distinctive quality of a sound that lets a listener tell one instrument or playing style from another, even at the same pitch and loudness.

How musical lines are combined and layered, for example a single melody alone, a melody with chords, or several independent lines at once.

The particular instruments or voices used in a work, and the choices a performer makes about which instrument to use for a given piece.

A version of a work adapted for different forces or style from the original, changing texture, key or instrumentation while keeping the core material.

A work rewritten for an instrument or ensemble other than the one it was composed for, often requiring adaptation of register, articulation and technique.

Changing the key of a piece or passage so it suits a different instrument or voice range, or shifting notation for a transposing instrument.

The tonal centre around which a piece is organised, named by its tonic and mode, such as D major or B minor, and shaping its sense of resolution.

A move from one key to another within a work, often prepared by a pivot chord, creating a change of colour and tension.

A harmonic formula that ends a phrase or section, such as a perfect cadence giving closure or an interrupted cadence creating surprise.

The performer's personal reading of a work, shown through choices of tempo, dynamics, articulation and phrasing that go beyond the printed score.

The characteristic musical language of a period, composer or genre, which guides appropriate articulation, ornamentation, tone and tempo choices.

Decorative notes added to a melodic line, such as trills, turns, mordents and grace notes, often improvised or realised from symbols in the score.

Creating or varying music in the moment of performance, using a known harmonic framework, scale or motif rather than a fully written-out part.

The physical endurance needed to sustain tone, accuracy and energy through a full program, built by practice and managed by sensible pacing.

Preparation before playing or singing that gradually readies muscles, breath and ear, reducing injury risk and improving control in performance.

Accepted stage behaviour such as entering and leaving calmly, acknowledging the audience, tuning discreetly, and respecting accompanists and ensemble members.

The performer's poise, focus and communication with an audience, including posture, eye contact, confidence and recovery from small mistakes.

The final written order of items to be performed, used by the candidate and accompanist to confirm running order and timing on the day.