[Continued listening extract audio not available in printed QP] Music (continued) You hear a brass fanfare, then strings moving through unrelated keys using...

(a) Term for the use of notes outside the home key [1]

The answer is chromaticism. Chromaticism refers to the use of notes that do not belong to the prevailing key or scale. In a piece centred on C major, for example, any sharps or flats beyond those in the C major scale are chromatic notes. Romantic composers used chromaticism extensively to enrich the harmonic palette, create tension, and blur the sense of a clear tonal centre. The passage described - strings moving through unrelated keys - is a characteristic example of Romantic chromatic harmony.

(b) One way a large brass section is characteristic of Romantic music [1]

Any one of the following:

• Romantic composers expanded the orchestra to include a larger brass section (adding trombones, tuba and extra horns) to achieve greater power and a wider dynamic range. The brass could produce overwhelming fortissimo climaxes that the smaller Classical brass section could not match
• Brass instruments were given prominent melodic roles, not just harmonic support. In Romantic orchestral music, horns and trumpets frequently carry the main theme, as in the opening fanfare described in this question
• The invention of valved brass instruments in the early 19th century allowed fully chromatic writing for horns and trumpets, enabling them to play in any key and handle complex melodic passages that were impossible on the natural (valveless) instruments of the Classical period