How to listen to and understand music

Da capo

Jovan Stosic August 9, 2019

A contrived example of D.C. al Fine.
Play (help·info) Use of Da Capo prevents the need to write out extra measures, often many more than in this example. The notes are played as: G A B B C, G A B C, low-C

Da capo (English: /dɑː ˈkɑːpoʊ/; Italian: [da kˈkaːpo]) is an Italian musical term that means “from the beginning” (literally, “from the head”). It is often abbreviated as D.C. The term is a directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space, and thus is an easier way of saying to repeat the music from the beginning.

In small pieces, this might be the same thing as a repeat. But in larger works, D.C. might occur after one or more repeats of small sections, indicating a return to the very beginning. The resulting structure of the piece is generally in ternary form. Sometimes, the composer describes the part to be repeated, for example: Menuet da capo. In opera, where an ariaof this structure is called a da capo aria, the repeated section is often adorned with grace notes.

The word Fine (Ital. ‘end’) is generally placed above the stave at the point where the movement ceases after a ‘Da capo’ repetition. Its place is occasionally taken by a pause (see fermata).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_capo

Da capo was last modified: August 9th, 2019 by Jovan Stosic

Perfect fifth

Jovan Stosic June 3, 2019

In music theory, a perfect fifth is the musical interval corresponding to a pair of pitches with a frequency ratio of 3:2, or very nearly so.

Examples of perfect fifth intervals

In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is the interval from the first to the last of five consecutive notes in a diatonic scale.[1] The perfect fifth (often abbreviated P5) spans seven semitones, while the diminished fifth spans six and the augmented fifth spans eight semitones. For example, the interval from C to G is a perfect fifth, as the note G lies seven semitones above C

About this sound

Play (help·info)

The perfect fifth may be derived from the harmonic series as the interval between the second and third harmonics. In a diatonic scale, the dominant note is a perfect fifth above the tonic note.

The perfect fifth is more consonant, or stable, than any other interval except the unison and the octave. It occurs above the root of all major and minor chords (triads) and their extensions. Until the late 19th century, it was often referred to by one of its Greek names, diapente.[2] Its inversion is the perfect fourth. The octave of the fifth is the twelfth.

A perfect fifth is at the start of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star“; the pitch of the first “twinkle” is the root note and pitch of the second “twinkle” is a perfect fifth above it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_fifth

Perfect fifth was last modified: June 3rd, 2019 by Jovan Stosic

Codetta – Definition

Jovan Stosic May 25, 2019

A passage within a composition of sonata form which resembles a coda, but occurs at the end of the exposition rather than at the end of the composition.In a fugue, a codetta is the linking passage between the entries of the subject or theme. a small coda, but usually applied to a passage appended to a section of a movement, not to a whole movement.

https://musicterms.artopium.com/c/Codetta.htm

Codetta – Definition was last modified: May 25th, 2019 by Jovan Stosic

Arpeggio

Jovan Stosic May 25, 2019

A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.

An arpeggio (Italian: [arˈpeddʒo]) is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played or sung in a rising or descending order. An arpeggio may also span more than one octave.

The word arpeggio comes from the Italian word arpeggiare, which means to play on a harp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arpeggio

Arpeggio was last modified: May 25th, 2019 by Jovan Stosic

Codetta (music)

Jovan Stosic April 30, 2019

Codetta (Italian for “little tail”, the diminutive form) has a similar purpose to the coda, but on a smaller scale, concluding a section of a work instead of the work as a whole. A typical codetta concludes the exposition and recapitulation sections of a work in sonata form, following the second (modulated) theme, or the closing theme (if there is one). Thus, in the exposition, it usually appears in the secondary key, but, in the recapitulation, in the primary key. The codetta ordinarily closes with a perfect cadence in the appropriate key, confirming the tonality. If the exposition is repeated, the codetta is also, but sometimes it has its ending slightly changed, depending on whether it leads back to the exposition or into the development sections.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coda_(music)

Codetta (music) was last modified: April 30th, 2019 by Jovan Stosic