Music Appreciation Module 1
Unit Summary – Module I
Elements of Music - 5 points
Please complete each question as thoroughly as possible and submit to your professor by the due date.
This summary will function as one of the study guides for the midterm exam; it is very important that the information is complete. This first unit develops the vocabulary that is used in the rest of the class, so there are many terms to master.
As part of this unit’s study, you will also be expected to recognize each instrument by its picture and to name the family of instruments to which it belongs.
1. Name the six broad categories of instruments and explain how the sound is produced in each category. (1 point)
The six broad categories include string (guitar and violin), percussion (bass drum, cymbals), woodwind (flute, clarinet), keyboard (organ, piano), brass (trumpet, trombone), and electronics (synthesizer).
2. Define each of the following terms: (4 points total/.08 point for each term)
a. Pitch – highness or lowness of sound
b. Tone - sound with specific frequencies
c. dynamics – relative loudness of sound
d. pianissimo – very soft
e. piano (the dynamic marking, not the instrument) - soft
f. mezzo piano – moderately soft
g. mezzo forte – moderately loud
h. forte - loud
i. fortissimo – very loud
j. decrescendo – gradually softer
k. crescendo – gradually louder
l. tone color (or timbre) – quality that distinguishes a voice or instrument from another.
m. Soprano – the highest singing voice of a women or young boy
n. mezzo-soprano – a female singer with a voice pitched between soprano and contralto
o. alto – a voice, instrument, or part below the highest range and above tenor
p. tenor – a singing voice between baritone and alto or countertenor, the highest of the ordinary adult male range
q. baritone – an adult male singing voice between tenor and bass
r. bass – a voice instrument or sound of the lowest range
s. pizzicato – plucking the strings of a violin or other stringed
Elements of Music - 5 points
Please complete each question as thoroughly as possible and submit to your professor by the due date.
This summary will function as one of the study guides for the midterm exam; it is very important that the information is complete. This first unit develops the vocabulary that is used in the rest of the class, so there are many terms to master.
As part of this unit’s study, you will also be expected to recognize each instrument by its picture and to name the family of instruments to which it belongs.
1. Name the six broad categories of instruments and explain how the sound is produced in each category. (1 point)
The six broad categories include string (guitar and violin), percussion (bass drum, cymbals), woodwind (flute, clarinet), keyboard (organ, piano), brass (trumpet, trombone), and electronics (synthesizer).
2. Define each of the following terms: (4 points total/.08 point for each term)
a. Pitch – highness or lowness of sound
b. Tone - sound with specific frequencies
c. dynamics – relative loudness of sound
d. pianissimo – very soft
e. piano (the dynamic marking, not the instrument) - soft
f. mezzo piano – moderately soft
g. mezzo forte – moderately loud
h. forte - loud
i. fortissimo – very loud
j. decrescendo – gradually softer
k. crescendo – gradually louder
l. tone color (or timbre) – quality that distinguishes a voice or instrument from another.
m. Soprano – the highest singing voice of a women or young boy
n. mezzo-soprano – a female singer with a voice pitched between soprano and contralto
o. alto – a voice, instrument, or part below the highest range and above tenor
p. tenor – a singing voice between baritone and alto or countertenor, the highest of the ordinary adult male range
q. baritone – an adult male singing voice between tenor and bass
r. bass – a voice instrument or sound of the lowest range
s. pizzicato – plucking the strings of a violin or other stringed