History 1 Terms (Baroque)Here's a list of terms from RCM History 1: An Overview.I wrote the definitions after comparing multiple sources.If any of the definition is unclear, I suggest that you compare them to music textbooks or online sources. A good way to prepare for the exam is to practice writing the definition in your own words without looking at any sources.

Baroque Era

baroque - derived from the Portuguese word "barroco;" means misshapen pearl. It was first used as an insult by mid-eighteenth-century critics

basso continuo - an important aspect of baroque performance practice; refers to the ensemble that provides harmonic support and improvises based on the figured bass.

equal temperament - a system of tuning in which the octave is divided into twelve equal semitones

figured bass - a system of notation in which numbers and accidental signs written below the bass line helps performer identify intervals, chords, and non chord tones in relation to the bass.

homophonic texture - a musical texture that consists of only one active melody with an accompaniment

polyphonic texture - a musical texture that consists of more than one active melody

terraced dynamics - an expressive device in which volume levels shift abruptly

the Affections - a theory in musical aesthetics in which one single emotion or affection should govern a piece or work

Terms related to Vivaldi's La Primavera

word painting - a compositional style in which the music reflect the meaning of the text

drone - the sustaining of pitch(es), usually in the bass, for harmonic support

ostinato - a short rhythmic/melodic motif that repeats insistently in the same voice

ripieno - the larger of the two ensemble in a Baroque Concerto, Concerto Grosso. Also known astutti

ritornello form - a musical form in which the recurrent theme, ritornello, alternates with contrasting episodes

Terms related to Handel's Messiah

da capo aria - an aria in three part (A-B-A). The restatement of A is usually not notated and "da capo" is written instead

French overture - a two-part musical form. First part is slow, homophonic and consists of dotted rhythms. Second part is fast, polyphonic and imitative.

homorhythmic texture - a musical texture in which all voices share the same rhythm

libretto - the text to an extended musical work such as the opera, oratorio, and musicals

melisma - a vocal style in which one syllable is set to many notes

recitativo accompagnato - a recitative with orchestral accompaniment

recitativo secco - a recitative with only chordal accompaniment from the harpsichord. (dry)

Terms related to Bach's Well Tempered Clavier

counterpoint - the relationship between musical lines that are harmonically interdependent but independent in rhythm and contour

subject - the main theme of a fugue

real answer - the second statement of the subject in the dominant key in which all the intervals are the same

tonal answer - the second statement of the subject in the dominant key but with altered intervals

countersubject - a secondary theme that appears during the second appearance of the subject.

episode - a passage that serves as an area of relation and as a preparation for the next entry of the fugue. Usually appears after the exposition of the fugue

stretto - close succession of the subject in which a voice makes an entry before the previous subject concludes

pedal point - a sustained pitch (usually tonic or dominant in the bass) that may appear at the end of some fugues. Serves to reaffirm the tonality

tierce de Picardie - a compositional method in which minor keys concludes in the parallel major key by raising the third.

History 1 Terms (Romantic)

Here's a list of terms from RCM History 1: An Overview.I wrote the definitions after comparing multiple sources.If any of the definition is unclear, I suggest that you compare them to music textbooks or online sources. A good way to prepare for the exam is to practice writing the definition in your own words without looking at any sources.

Romantic

exoticism in music - a musical style characterized by the use of melodies, rhythms, scales, and instruments that evoke the colour and atmosphere of a far-away land

nationalism in music - a musical style characterized by the use of melodies and rhythms inspired by folksongs to express the characteristic of their own country

program music - music endowed with literary, dramatic, and/or pictorial program

romanticism - a movement in literature and art that showed increasing interest in individualism. Musical forms were expanded and became increasingly dramatic and expressive

Terms Related to Schubert's Art Songs

Lied - a german art song for solo voice, based on a german poem.

through-composed (durchkomponiert) - a method of text setting in which the music for each stanza is newly composed

Terms Related to Chopin's Polonaise

chromaticism - the use of the notes in the chromatic scales in a passage or a work

polonaise - a stately Polish processional dance in 3/4.

rubato - a performance practice popular in the Romantic era in which performers held back or hurried the given note values.

Terms Related to Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

cloches - bells

col legno - a technique for string instruments in which performers use the wood to vibrate the strings instead of the hair

Dies irae - a traditional religious chant "Day of Wrath" from the ancient Mass for the Dead

ide fixe - a term coined by Hector Berlioz; a recurring theme in a major work

opiclide - an obscure low brass instrument (now replaced by tubas)

portamento - a technique in which instrumentalists slide between pitches

Terms Related to Bizet's Carmen

aria - a lyric song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, generally expressing strong emotion

habaera - a moderate duple dance with Cuban origin

prlude (opera) - an instrumental introduction to an extended work (opera).

recitative - a vocal declamation that follows the inflection of the text, often resulting in a disjunct vocal style

Terms Related to Puccini's Madama Cantabile

pentatonic scale - a scale pattern with 5 notes. Seen in western music as example of exoticism

verismo - Realism in opera. A style popular in the 1980s which tried to bring naturalism into lyric theatre.

whole tone scale - a scale pattern built entirely out of whole tones.

History 1 Terms (Modern)

Here's a list of terms from RCM History 1: An Overview.I wrote the definitions after comparing multiple sources.If any of the definition is unclear, I suggest that you compare them to music textbooks or online sources. A good way to prepare for the exam is to practice writing the definition in your own words without looking at any sources.

Modern

atonality - music that avoids establishing a tonal center

pentatonic scale - scale pattern that consists of 5 notes

polyrhythm - the simultaneous use of more than one contrasting rhythms that are not derived from one another

polytonality - the simultaneous use of more than one key (tonal center)

modal scales - scales based on the Church modes (Dorian, Phrygian, etc.)

whole tone scales - scale pattern that is built entirely on whole-step intervals

choreography - the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified.

Terms Related to Debussy's Prlude "L'aprs-midi d'un faune"

antique cymbals - a brass disk, held by a player, struck gently, and allowed to vibrate

glissando - a rapid slide through the pitches of the scale

Impressionism in music - a French movement developed by visual artists who favoured, vague, blurry images intended to capture an "impression." Music is characterized by free treatment of dissonances, exotic scales, parallel chords, and rich orchestral colours

Symbolism - a movement in literature that parallels Impressionism. Poetic images were invoked through suggestions or symbols rather than literal description

Terms Related to Stravinsky's Ballet

changing meter - a technique that became increasingly common in the music of the twentieth century, in which composers changes the meter frequently throughout the music

choreography - the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified

folk song - a traditional song in a nation or culture, usually learned through oral transmission

Petrushka chord - a polytonic chord built on two major chords, separated by an interval of a tritone. (C major and F-sharp major)

primitivism - a western art movement that borrows visual forms from non-western or prehistoric people

flutter tongue - a technique on woodwinds in which performers flutter their tongue at the roof of their mouth

Terms Related to Bernstein's West Side Story

cha-cha - a dance in 4/4 of cuban origin

hemiola - a metrical effect in which three duple units substitutes for two triple units

mambo - a dance of Afro-Cuban origin with highly syncopated quadruple meter rhythmic pattern

tritone - an interval of three whole tones. (diabolus in musica)

verse-chorus structure - a musical form popular in the 1960s in which the chorus is highlighted and alternates with contrasting verses

Terms Related to Louie's Distant Memories

arch form - a sectional structure for a piece of music based on repetition in reverse order. The overall form is then symmetrical

berceuse - a lullaby in 6/8 or related meters

senza misura - without meter