BC MOEST - Fine Arts K-7

Fine Arts K-7: Glossary and Approaches to Instruction

sculpture Any 3-D art form.

secret song An instructional strategy in which one individual taps or claps the rhythm of a known song for others to guess. Alternatively, the rhythm can be notated on the board or overhead, with nonsense syllables to replace the lyrics.

sequence In dance, a short choreographed piece involving selecting and combining movements in a deliberate and arranged manner.

set dance A dance with established steps and choreography, such as a folk dance or a ballroom-style dance (e.g., tango, fox trot, rumba).

shadow puppetry An instructional strategy and drama structure in which students perform a drama or dance behind a screen so that only their shadows, or silhouettes, show through. Shadow puppetry can be performed using prefabricated or student-made puppets, or with students acting as puppets themselves.

shape

In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to an area that can be set off by a closed line.
In dance, see body.

simplification An image-development strategy in which an image is made less complex by the elimination of details.

sketch An image-development strategy; a preliminary drawing for an image.

solfa Method of ear training, sight-reading, and notation that uses syllabic names (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do) to represent the notes of the scale relative to the tonic. Also known as solfè:g, tonic so-fa, and solfeggio.

song map A line representing the flow or movement of music, drawn while a song or instrumental work is sung or heard. The song map can be demonstrated on the board or overhead by the teacher, or students can draw their own song maps in their listening journals. They can then use their maps as the bases for dramatic creation, movement sequences, visual image creation, or their own music compositions.

sound envelope A means of describing the shape of the amplitude of a signal over time in terms of attack, decay, sustain, and release (ADSR):

Attack--the beginning of a sound; the first part of an amplitude envelope.
Decay--the part of a sound envelope between the maximum volume of the attack and sustain.
Sustain--to maintain a consistent volume; the section of a sound envelope at which the sound maintains a consistent volume.
Release--the final segment of a sound envelope; the time the sound takes to fall to zero from the sustain level after a key is released.

soundscape A free-form composition using any arrangement or ordering of sounds and any combination of traditional instruments, non-traditional instruments, voices, body percussion, natural sounds, found sounds, synthetic sounds, technology, and so on. May be represented in standard or invented notation, or may not be notated.

space

In dance, one of the five elements of movement. Refers to where the body is moving. Includes:

direction--forward, backward, sideways, diagonal, up, down; pathway (e.g., zigzag, curved, spiral, circle, straight); focus (e.g., direction body is facing, eye focus direction)
level--high, medium, low (e.g., on the floor, kneeling, elevated)
plane--horizontal, vertical, diagonal
personal space and general space--how little, how much; around the body, within available space

In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to the real or illusory 3-D expanse in which an image or the components of an image exist or appear to exist.

staff A system of five horizontal lines used in standard notation in which the notehead placement on the lines or spaces determines the pitch of a note.

stagecraft Use of sound, lighting, sets, costumes, make-up, props, media, and so on to enhance the physical and aesthetic representation of a theatrical dance, drama, or music production.

storyboard A visual planning device for sketching a sequence of frames for a comic strip, film, video, and so on.

story theatre A drama structure; a strategy for telling stories in drama. The story may be told by a narrator, with others acting it out with dialogue or through mime. The narration may also be provided by those who are playing the characters, animals, or inanimate objects.

style A distinctive quality given to a dance, a dramatic work, a music composition, or a visual image by its creator or performer. For example, ballet and the lambada are styles of dance; tragedy and mime are styles of drama; cajun and baroque are styles of music; and cubism and impressionism are styles of visual art.

surrealism A style of art prominent in the first half of the 20th century that was developed in response to the ideas of psychologists of the time. Some surrealists represent dreamlike or fantasy images in a representational way; others use more abstract forms to represent the subconscious.

symbol A person, place, or object that stands for or represents an idea or quality because of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance.

tableau An instructional strategy in which a still picture representing concretized thought is physically created by the participants in a dance or a dramatic work. A tableau can be performed in conjunction with a freeze activity, or it may be planned and rehearsed for a given purpose.

teacher in role A strategy for direct instruction. The teacher takes on a role (usually a secondary one) and, through the use of appropriate language, questioning, and apparent commitment to the process and the work, provides students with a model for working in role.

technique

In dance, the ability to perform elements of movement efficiently, safely, and as appropriate to the dance style. Within the context of this dance curriculum, technique does not refer to traditional, formalized techniques for particular styles, such as ballet or Graham.
In visual arts, the ability to use specific image-development strategies to produce desired effects.

television scroll An instructional strategy for visual presentation. Students use long scrolls of paper to record visual images for a given purpose (e.g., research findings, telling a story, picture notation). The scroll is pulled through an opening in a box (the „television screenľ), stopping for students to explain various images as appropriate.

tempo Speed or pace of music or dance. The use of slower and faster beats and steps.

tension In drama, the force that drives the work. It may be created through elements such as challenge, time, space, conflict, constraints, the unknown, responsibility, or mystery.

tessellation A 2-D design in which the component shapes touch each other along all edges but do not overlap, interlocking in a pattern that completely fills a surface.

texture

In music, various combinations of pitched sounds, non-pitched sounds, or both. (See also harmony.)
In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to the way something feels by representation of the tactile character of surfaces.

timbre The characteristic or quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument, voice, or sound source from another.

time One of the five elements of movement. Refers to how the body moves in relation to time. Includes:

tempo--slow, fast; accelerating, decelerating
metre-- time image
rhythm--simple, complex; pulse, breath; accent

time signature The symbolic representation of metre, indicating the kind of beats in a bar and the number of these beats (e.g., indicates two quarter-notes per bar; indicates three half-notes per bar)

tonal centre The focal pitch on which a scale or melody is built.

tonic The root or key note of a scale or chord.

tone In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to the effect of lightness and darkness on one or more parts of an image.

transformation In dance, altering a dance sequence by changing one or more of the elements of movement (e.g., maintaining the steps but changing the pathway; converting a solo to an ensemble piece). Transformation can be achieved using exaggeration, distortion, repetition, and selection. It can be used as a basis for applying the creative process.

transpose To write down or perform music at a pitch other than the original, resulting in a transposition.

traveller An instructional strategy used to explore character. Chairs are arranged in rows as in a bus, and students sit in the chairs. The traveller, who sits in the last chair (back left), portrays a character (e.g., obnoxious tourist, mother with a child). Everyone else on the bus imitates the traveller's behaviour and speech. After a set length of time (e.g., one minute), all the passengers move one seat around, and the new traveller portrays a different character.

unity A principle of art and design concerned with the arrangement of the elements of an artwork to create a coherent whole.

value An element of art and design that pertains to the relative lightness and darkness of colour in an image.

visual elements Lines, shapes, colours, spaces, textures, form, values, and tones that work together to create a visual image.

vocables Music in which the voice is used primarily as an instrument, producing vocal sounds as opposed to words.

voice collage An instructional strategy. After a reflective writing activity, in or out of role, students choose one phrase from their writing and speak it aloud as the teacher directs. Voices gradually begin to overlap.

voice elements Volume, timbre, projection, diction, dialect, tone, pitch, articulation, and pace.

warmup A series of movements and exercises aimed at increasing heart rate and circulation, encouraging concentration and body awareness, and stretching muscles that will be used in a forthcoming activity.

"Yes, and. . . ." An instructional strategy for dialogue improvisation. The class is divided into As and Bs. The players, in pairs, begin a dialogue in which student A must always reply to student B in the form of "Yes, and. . . ." to continue the conversation. Partners switch after a predetermined time. A variation is "Yes, but. . . ."

Previous Page Prev

Revised: July 8, 1998

BC Ministry of Education Home Page

sculpture	Any 3-D art form.
secret song	An instructional strategy in which one individual taps or claps the rhythm of a known song for others to guess. Alternatively, the rhythm can be notated on the board or overhead, with nonsense syllables to replace the lyrics.
sequence	In dance, a short choreographed piece involving selecting and combining movements in a deliberate and arranged manner.
set dance	A dance with established steps and choreography, such as a folk dance or a ballroom-style dance (e.g., tango, fox trot, rumba).
shadow puppetry	An instructional strategy and drama structure in which students perform a drama or dance behind a screen so that only their shadows, or silhouettes, show through. Shadow puppetry can be performed using prefabricated or student-made puppets, or with students acting as puppets themselves.
shape	In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to an area that can be set off by a closed line. In dance, see body.
simplification	An image-development strategy in which an image is made less complex by the elimination of details.
sketch	An image-development strategy; a preliminary drawing for an image.
solfa	Method of ear training, sight-reading, and notation that uses syllabic names (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do) to represent the notes of the scale relative to the tonic. Also known as solfè:g, tonic so-fa, and solfeggio.
song map	A line representing the flow or movement of music, drawn while a song or instrumental work is sung or heard. The song map can be demonstrated on the board or overhead by the teacher, or students can draw their own song maps in their listening journals. They can then use their maps as the bases for dramatic creation, movement sequences, visual image creation, or their own music compositions.
sound envelope	A means of describing the shape of the amplitude of a signal over time in terms of attack, decay, sustain, and release (ADSR): Attack--the beginning of a sound; the first part of an amplitude envelope. Decay--the part of a sound envelope between the maximum volume of the attack and sustain. Sustain--to maintain a consistent volume; the section of a sound envelope at which the sound maintains a consistent volume. Release--the final segment of a sound envelope; the time the sound takes to fall to zero from the sustain level after a key is released.
soundscape	A free-form composition using any arrangement or ordering of sounds and any combination of traditional instruments, non-traditional instruments, voices, body percussion, natural sounds, found sounds, synthetic sounds, technology, and so on. May be represented in standard or invented notation, or may not be notated.
space	In dance, one of the five elements of movement. Refers to where the body is moving. Includes: direction--forward, backward, sideways, diagonal, up, down; pathway (e.g., zigzag, curved, spiral, circle, straight); focus (e.g., direction body is facing, eye focus direction) level--high, medium, low (e.g., on the floor, kneeling, elevated) plane--horizontal, vertical, diagonal personal space and general space--how little, how much; around the body, within available space In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to the real or illusory 3-D expanse in which an image or the components of an image exist or appear to exist.
staff	A system of five horizontal lines used in standard notation in which the notehead placement on the lines or spaces determines the pitch of a note.
stagecraft	Use of sound, lighting, sets, costumes, make-up, props, media, and so on to enhance the physical and aesthetic representation of a theatrical dance, drama, or music production.
storyboard	A visual planning device for sketching a sequence of frames for a comic strip, film, video, and so on.
story theatre	A drama structure; a strategy for telling stories in drama. The story may be told by a narrator, with others acting it out with dialogue or through mime. The narration may also be provided by those who are playing the characters, animals, or inanimate objects.
style	A distinctive quality given to a dance, a dramatic work, a music composition, or a visual image by its creator or performer. For example, ballet and the lambada are styles of dance; tragedy and mime are styles of drama; cajun and baroque are styles of music; and cubism and impressionism are styles of visual art.
surrealism	A style of art prominent in the first half of the 20th century that was developed in response to the ideas of psychologists of the time. Some surrealists represent dreamlike or fantasy images in a representational way; others use more abstract forms to represent the subconscious.
symbol	A person, place, or object that stands for or represents an idea or quality because of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance.
tableau	An instructional strategy in which a still picture representing concretized thought is physically created by the participants in a dance or a dramatic work. A tableau can be performed in conjunction with a freeze activity, or it may be planned and rehearsed for a given purpose.
teacher in role	A strategy for direct instruction. The teacher takes on a role (usually a secondary one) and, through the use of appropriate language, questioning, and apparent commitment to the process and the work, provides students with a model for working in role.
technique	In dance, the ability to perform elements of movement efficiently, safely, and as appropriate to the dance style. Within the context of this dance curriculum, technique does not refer to traditional, formalized techniques for particular styles, such as ballet or Graham. In visual arts, the ability to use specific image-development strategies to produce desired effects.
television scroll	An instructional strategy for visual presentation. Students use long scrolls of paper to record visual images for a given purpose (e.g., research findings, telling a story, picture notation). The scroll is pulled through an opening in a box (the „television screenľ), stopping for students to explain various images as appropriate.
tempo	Speed or pace of music or dance. The use of slower and faster beats and steps.
tension	In drama, the force that drives the work. It may be created through elements such as challenge, time, space, conflict, constraints, the unknown, responsibility, or mystery.
tessellation	A 2-D design in which the component shapes touch each other along all edges but do not overlap, interlocking in a pattern that completely fills a surface.
texture	In music, various combinations of pitched sounds, non-pitched sounds, or both. (See also harmony.) In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to the way something feels by representation of the tactile character of surfaces.
timbre	The characteristic or quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument, voice, or sound source from another.
time	One of the five elements of movement. Refers to how the body moves in relation to time. Includes: tempo--slow, fast; accelerating, decelerating metre-- rhythm--simple, complex; pulse, breath; accent
time signature	The symbolic representation of metre, indicating the kind of beats in a bar and the number of these beats (e.g., indicates two quarter-notes per bar; indicates three half-notes per bar)
tonal centre	The focal pitch on which a scale or melody is built.
tonic	The root or key note of a scale or chord.
tone	In visual arts, an element of art and design that pertains to the effect of lightness and darkness on one or more parts of an image.
transformation	In dance, altering a dance sequence by changing one or more of the elements of movement (e.g., maintaining the steps but changing the pathway; converting a solo to an ensemble piece). Transformation can be achieved using exaggeration, distortion, repetition, and selection. It can be used as a basis for applying the creative process.
transpose	To write down or perform music at a pitch other than the original, resulting in a transposition.
traveller	An instructional strategy used to explore character. Chairs are arranged in rows as in a bus, and students sit in the chairs. The traveller, who sits in the last chair (back left), portrays a character (e.g., obnoxious tourist, mother with a child). Everyone else on the bus imitates the traveller's behaviour and speech. After a set length of time (e.g., one minute), all the passengers move one seat around, and the new traveller portrays a different character.
unity	A principle of art and design concerned with the arrangement of the elements of an artwork to create a coherent whole.
value	An element of art and design that pertains to the relative lightness and darkness of colour in an image.
visual elements	Lines, shapes, colours, spaces, textures, form, values, and tones that work together to create a visual image.
vocables	Music in which the voice is used primarily as an instrument, producing vocal sounds as opposed to words.
voice collage	An instructional strategy. After a reflective writing activity, in or out of role, students choose one phrase from their writing and speak it aloud as the teacher directs. Voices gradually begin to overlap.
voice elements	Volume, timbre, projection, diction, dialect, tone, pitch, articulation, and pace.
warmup	A series of movements and exercises aimed at increasing heart rate and circulation, encouraging concentration and body awareness, and stretching muscles that will be used in a forthcoming activity.
"Yes, and. . . ."	An instructional strategy for dialogue improvisation. The class is divided into As and Bs. The players, in pairs, begin a dialogue in which student A must always reply to student B in the form of "Yes, and. . . ." to continue the conversation. Partners switch after a predetermined time. A variation is "Yes, but. . . ."