Western Music History Periods Flashcards
7 cards from real BM or BMus Bachelor of Music practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Western Music History Periods flashcards as text
Which Medieval compositional technique layers a new melody above a pre-existing plainchant called the 'tenor'?
Answer: Cantus firmus counterpoint
Cantus firmus counterpoint places a new melody above a pre-existing chant (the tenor), a foundational Medieval and Renaissance technique.
The Renaissance motet differed from the Medieval motet primarily in that it:
Answer: Set a single Latin sacred text with imitative polyphony
Renaissance motets typically set a single Latin sacred text using imitative polyphony, unlike Medieval motets which often combined multiple simultaneous texts.
Which Baroque practice involves performers improvising chords from a notated bass line with figured numerals?
Answer: Basso continuo
Basso continuo is the Baroque practice where keyboard players and bass instruments improvise harmonies from a notated bass line with figures indicating intervals.
The Classical-era sonata cycle typically ends with a movement in which form?
Answer: Rondo or sonata-rondo
Classical sonata cycles usually conclude with a rondo or sonata-rondo finale, providing a lighter, energetic close.
Which Romantic-era genre describes a one-movement orchestral work depicting a narrative or pictorial idea?
Answer: Symphonic poem
The symphonic poem (or tone poem), pioneered by Liszt, is a single-movement orchestral form that follows a non-musical narrative or image.
Which 20th-century technique assigns each of the twelve chromatic pitches to a strict ordering before any pitch repeats?
Answer: Serialism
Serialism (twelve-tone technique), developed by Schoenberg, orders all twelve pitches in a row that governs the composition before any note recurs.
In Medieval music theory, the term 'musica ficta' refers to:
Answer: Chromatic alterations not written in the score but implied by performance practice
Musica ficta denotes chromatic accidentals (sharps, flats) that Medieval and Renaissance performers were expected to add by convention even when absent from the written score.