CosmosLibra~Living on the Scales of Cosmos~

IMITATION

- when an instrument or voice plays a tune that has just been played by another

- may contain slight changes to the tune, like:

   ~ change/s in octave -- higher or lower

   ~ addition of ornament/s

   ~ played at a different speed





RIFF, OSTINATO AND LOOP

riff, ostinato and loop mean the same thing, but:

- a riff or ostinato is a repeated pattern of notes

   ~ riff -- more often used when describing pop music

   ~ ostinato -- more often used when describing serious music

       a. classical music

       b. some world or folk music

- a loop is a process used on a computer when it is played on a programme, called a sequencer





BREAKS AND FILL-INS

- when the drums play a short solo, for several reasons, like:

   ~ beginning of a chorus, verse, or section change

   ~ beginning of a drum part -- announce their entry

   ~ highlight something in the song, like important lyrics





SEQUENCES

- a pattern of notes which goes up or down in pitch every time it is repeated





ORNAMENTS

- embellishments to a melody

- most common ornaments:

   ~ trills -- played by quickly alternating between the original note and the note above it

   ~ mordents -- played by playing the original note, the note above it, and back to the original note





IMPROVISATION

- when a player makes up music on the spot

- common in:

   ~ jazz and blues music

   ~ pop music

- use

   ~ the notes of a scale to improvise on

       a. Blues scale

       b. Pentatonic scale

   ~ (often) in pop songs -- long improvised guitar or keyboard solo in between verses





DRONE

- formed by two notes a 5th apart

- can be heard in:

   ~ bagpipes

   ~ early music

   ~ cultural music





PEDAL AND GROUND BASS

- pedal

   ~ a single note held on or repeated in the bass

   ~ chords above the bass note may change, but the bass note does not

   ~ term comes from the days when the bass notes were played by the organ

- ground bass

   ~ used in Baroque music -- bass part repeated over and over again

   ~ unlike an ostinato pattern, can last many bars before it is repeated







The above information was taken from a BBC website: BBC - GCSE Bitesize, from the Music Section