Music A-Level
Glissando
What Glissando means in Music A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Glissando
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Reference: AQA
A pitch movement that may articulate the intervening semitones or scale degrees depending on the instrument, unlike a continuous slide.
A slide across multiple distinct notes, unlike a pitch bend which usually involves a continuous change in pitch on a single note.
A musical articulation where a performer glides rapidly across a series of adjacent notes between a starting and ending pitch.
A slide that may articulate individual semitones, such as sweeping across piano keys, rather than a seamless slide.
A continuous slide upwards or downwards between two notes, used in jazz as an expressive melodic device.
A continuous slide upwards or downwards between two notes.
Topics that use Glissando
- Area of study 1: Western classical tradition 1650–1910 (compulsory) - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
- Area of study 2: Pop music - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
- Area of study 4: Music for theatre - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
- Area of study 5: Jazz - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Expressive techniques
- Sonority
- Articulation
- Harmonic progression
- Instrumental techniques
- intro
- outro
- Pitch bend
Using Glissando in the exam
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