Composing Simple Melodies Flashcards

Grade 4 · Music · Flashcards

Review the essential vocabulary and concepts behind composing melodies with these flashcards.

Flashcards

Melody: A sequence of single notes played one after another to create a recognizable tune.
Phrase: A short musical idea in a melody, similar to a sentence in language.
Cadence: The ending of a musical phrase; can feel finished (resting) or unfinished (questioning).
Tonic: The home note of a scale; the first note that provides a sense of rest.
Stepwise Motion: Moving from one note to the next adjacent note on the scale.
Leap: Jumping from one note to another that is not directly next to it, skipping over notes.
Scale: A series of notes arranged from low to high following a set pattern, like C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C.
Rhythm: The pattern of long and short note durations in a piece of music.
Composer: A person who writes or creates music.
C Major Scale: A scale starting on C: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, corresponding to the white keys on a piano.
Contour: The shape of a melody — whether it moves up, down, or stays the same over time.
Resolution: When a melody moves from a note that feels tense to one that feels restful, like ending on the tonic.