Learn Listening Online
Instruments and how they are used.
Crescendo
When the music becomes gradually louder. Listen to an example of a crescendo played by a symphony orchestra from a symphony from the Romantic period.
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Diminuendo
When the music becomes gradually softer. Listen to an example played by an orchestra.
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Arpeggios
The notes of the chord played one after the other either ascending or descending. Listen to this example from a Late Romantic piano concerto which starts with the solo piano playing arpeggios, in a minor key, with rubato, the elasticity of tempo, and also with a crescendo. Listen to how the piano keeps playing arpeggios while the main orchestra enters with the main theme.
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Painting of Serge Rachmaninov by Konstantin Somov
Compound time
When the beat can be divided into three quavers giving the following time signatures:
3 6 9 12
8 8 8 8
Listen to an excerpt from a 19th-century operetta by Offenbach. The compound time is quite evident from the accompaniment. Two flutes play above the voices, which are accompanied by a harp playing arpeggios, and pizzicato strings.
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Syncopation
When a weak part of the bar is accented by placing a rest on the strong beat or by tying a note to obscure the strong beat. Listen to an excerpt from a rag and notice how the notes are tied across the beat.
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Scott Joplin
Accelerando
Gradually getting faster. Listen to an excerpt from a 20th-century work by Bartok. Notice the accelerando and that as the music gets faster it also changes time signature.
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Rallentando
Gradually slowing down. Listen to the excerpt below, which ends with a rallentando
Rubato
Elasticity of tempo which follows the natural ebb and flow of the music. Listen to a short German song, a lied, which uses rubato throughout, has a piano accompaniment based on arpeggios, and ends with a rallentando.
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Robert Schumann 1810 - 1846 towards the end of his short life.
Modulation
The music changes from one key to another. Listen to this excerpt from the start of a piano concerto. Notice the crescendo on the timpani roll, the use of the minor key, arpeggios and chords in the piano part before the orchestra introduces the first main theme played in the minor key and then modulates to the major key, with the main theme rising in sequence.
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Edvard Grieg, Norwegian Nationalist composer.
Imitation
When a phrase of music is copied by another voice or instrument. Listen to this example played by a symphony orchestra, which is an excerpt from a symphony from the Romantic period.
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Ornament
A general term used to describe the various ways of decorating a melodic line by adding extra notes. They are often short and add melodic and rhythmic interest. Ornaments were used more in the Baroque and Classical periods. Listen to this example from a minuet by Boccherini, recognisable as music often played on a telephone while you wait to be connected. Listen for the ornaments in the melody and the syncopation as the tune is played off the beat.
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Semi tone
The smallest interval used between any note and the next note, higher or lower. For example, the note E up to F or E down to Eb. Listen to this example in which you hear a number of descending chromatic scales.
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Tone
Consists of two semitones between notes. For example, the note E up to F sharp or E down to D. In this example from piano music of the 20th century the music is made up using mainly whole tones.
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