In music theory, a phrase (Greek: φράση) is a unit of musical meter that has a complete musical sense of its own, built from figures, motifs, and cells, and combining to form melodies, periods and larger sections. A phrase is a substantial musical thought, which ends with a musical punctuation called a cadence.
What is melodic phrase in music?
Definitions of melodic phrase. a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence . synonyms: air, line, melodic line, melody, strain, tune.
Does a musical phrase need to have a sense of completion?
Melodic motion and melodic repetition are both effective ways of creating tension and relaxation. A musical phrase does not necessarily need to have a sense of completion in and of itself .
What is a phrase in music quizlet?
Phrase. a more or less incomplete melodic idea that ends with a cadence . Cadence. a resting point in music that occurs at the end of phrases.
When a melody acquires significant importance within a given composition is called a?
When a melody acquires significant importance within a given composition, it is called a: Theme .
What is the importance of musical phrases?
Phrasing is important in music – the crescendos, the tone quality, and note values – all of these things work together to create a sense of emotion for the audience. Professional musicians do this really well, especially in the context of a symphony with dozens of other moving parts. It is the same thing with writing.
What is the distance in pitch between two tones called?
-The “distance” in pitch between any two tones is called an interval . -When tones are separated by the interval called an octave, they sound very much alike. The distance between the lowest and highest tones that a voice or instrument can produce is called its pitch range, or simply its range.
What is the most important musical idea or phrase within a song?
Melody . We might consider melody to be the single most important element within a song. In everyday language, this is the element we call ‘the tune’. In technical terms, however, the melody is a series of pitches, or notes, that are organised to form a shape or pattern.
What are motives in music quizlet?
Motive. : the smallest group of notes drawn from a theme or another section of a piece that can be thought of as being characteristic of that section. They obtain significance by being repeated, varied and/or developed. Motives may be rhythmic patterns, or melodic patterns, or combinations of both .
What is the surface activity of music called?
Rhythm . the surface activity of music. Beat. the underlying pulse of music. Tempo.
What is the difference between conjunct and disjunct melodies?
In a conjunct melodic motion, the melodic phrase moves in a stepwise fashion; that is the subsequent notes move up or down a semitone or tone, but no greater. In a disjunct melodic motion, the melodic phrase leaps upwards or downwards ; this movement is greater than a whole tone.
What is the smallest harmonic unit?
The smallest harmonic unit is made up of three pitches called a chord .
What does disjunct mean in music?
: marked by separation of or from usually contiguous parts or individuals: such as. a : discontinuous. b : relating to melodic progression by intervals larger than a major second — compare conjunct. disjunct. noun.
What is the key signature of the musical phrase?
Key signature, in musical notation, the arrangement of sharp or flat signs on particular lines and spaces of a musical staff to indicate that the corresponding notes, in every octave, are to be consistently raised (by sharps) or lowered (by flats) from their natural pitches.
How do you identify a musical phrase?
- The chords resolve to the tonic or I chord. ...
- There is a slur or tie over a series of notes. ...
- There is a musical rest.
- There is a rhythmic cadence. ...
- The most common phrase length is 4 measures long.
What are musical ideas?
Another term that usually refers to a piece of melody (although it can also refer to a rhythm or a chord progression) is “motif.” A motif is a short musical idea—shorter than a phrase—that occurs often in a piece of music. A short melodic idea may also be called a motif, a motive, a cell, or a figure.
