Music Terms Flashcards
12 or 16 bar blues (& example genres)
3 or 4 four-bar phrases with chords are based on I, IV and V (eg jazz, rock, R&B etc).
Anacrusis
A note or sequence of notes which precede the first strong beat of a musical phrase, particularly at the start of a piece.
Anthem
A vocal piece that has special importance for a particular group of people or a country; often performed on a special occasion (eg Coronation anthems).
Antiphony
A musical texture in which the musical ideas are passed between different groups of instruments or voices.
Arch-shape
A structure of contrasting sections in the form A-B-C-B-A.
Aria
A composition for solo voice, usually contained within a larger musical work and which may be accompanied by instruments or a full orchestra (eg oratorios, operas). An aria is usually sung after a recitative.
Augmentation
A compositional device where the time values of the notes of a melody can be lengthened, or the interval between two notes can be widened (eg augmented 4th).
Backbeat
A strong rhythmic accent on the second and fourth beats of a bar of a piece in 4/4 time, used especially in jazz and popular music.
Baritone
A male voice with a range midway between tenor and bass.
Binary
Word to describe the structure of a piece of music which is divided into two different sections. It is usually written as an AABB or AB form.
Blues scale (& example in C minor)
A minor pentatonic scale that has had the 4th flattened to create a six-note scale (e.g. in C minor: C, Eb, F, Gb, G, Bb)
Blues note
A flattened note, usually the third or seventh, used especially in blues music.
Break
A short instrumental solo, often improvised and used in pop and jazz.
Canon
A musical texture in which a melody is played and then imitated (one or more times) after a short delay in another part. It is a contrapuntal technique as the melodic lines move independently of one another (eg Pachelbel’s Canon).
Chromatic
Chromatic notes do not belong to the key of the music (ie they are not in the key signature) and are usually evident in the melody and/or harmony parts.
Clave
A rhythm used in Cuban popular music consisting of a repeating two-bar pattern:
the first bar has three accented beats
the second bar has two accented beats.
Son clave
A name of an instrument used in Cuban popular music.
Compound time
A metre in which the main beat can be subdivided into three. The opposite is simple time.
Conjunct
A melody that moves by step.
Con sordino
Played with a mute on the instrument.
Contrapuntal
A musical style which involves intertwining two or more independent melodies, similar to polyphony.
Consonant
Notes that sound ‘pleasing’ when played together at the same time (eg 3rds and 6ths).
Continuo
Continuo, sometimes called ‘basso continuo’, is found in baroque music and is an accompanying part that includes a bassline and harmonies. The harmonies are typically played on a keyboard instrument (eg organ or harpsichord) and are supported by a bass instrument (eg cello, double bass, bassoon etc).
Countermelody
A secondary melody that is sung or played in counterpoint with the original melody.
Cross rhythm
The effect produced when two or more conflicting rhythms are heard together (eg two eighth notes played against triplet eighth notes).
Cyclic
A type of structure in which a musical theme is heard, sometimes in a varied form, in more than one movement.
Delay
A time effect that postpones the sound from playing for a number of milliseconds.
Devices
A technique used for achieving a particular artistic effect. They can be wide ranging and include harmonic, rhythmic and melodic devices (eg ostinato, melisma, syncopation, pedal notes etc).
Diatonic
Refers to chords or notes which exist within a given key in Western music.
Diminution
A compositional device where the time values of the notes of a melody can be shortened, or the interval between two notes can be reduced (eg diminished 5th).
Disjunct
A melody that moves in leaps using larger intervals than a 2nd.
Distortion
Distortion and overdrive are sounds created to alter the sound of amplified electric musical instruments (eg electric guitars).
Dominant
A term used to describe the fifth note of any diatonic major or minor scale (eg G in C major) or the fifth triad, the chord built in thirds from the fifth note (eg G-B-D in C major).
Dominant 7th
A term used to describe a chord built on the fifth note of any major or minor diatonic scale and including the root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh (eg G-B-D-F in C major). In roman numerals it is written as V7.
Double and triple stopping
Two or three notes played together at the same time on a string instrument.
Drone
A harmonic effect or accompaniment where two notes are continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece.
Enharmonic
Two notes which sound the same but are written differently (eg C# and Db).
Excerpt
Short extract from a piece of music.
Falsetto
Male singing in a high register, the same range as an alto or soprano voice.
Fusion
Music that combines two or more styles.
Fugue
A contrapuntal composition in two or more voices. It is built on a theme that is introduced at the beginning and which is frequently used in imitation throughout the course of the composition.
Ground Bass
A short theme played in the bass which constantly repeats with changing harmonies.
Grove
Refers to a rhythm that deviates from the straight beat of the music (eg funk, rock, swing, fusion etc).
Harmony
A combination of simultaneous sounds including chords, accompaniment and counterpoint that can support a melody.
Hemiola
A musical figure in which two groups of three beats are replaced by three groups of two beats, giving the effect of a shift between triple and duple metre.
Heterophonic/heterophony
A musical texture in which two identical melodies are played simultaneously, but one is a decoration of the other.
Hook
A short melodic phrase used to catch the listener’s attention and make a song memorable (eg ‘Call Me Maybe’ by Carly Rae Jepsen).
Homophonic/homophony
A musical texture that is chordal.
Imitation/imitative
A compositional device where a melody is played or sung and then repeated/copied in a different instrument/voice.
Intonation
The accuracy of pitch in playing or singing.
Inverted melody
A melody that is inverted by flipping it “upside-down”
Key
The scale on which the piece is based (eg G major).
Melisma
A melody of several notes sung to one syllable of text.
Melody
A melody is a linear succession of musical notes that the listener hears as a single entity.
Melody and accompaniment
A musical texture in which the melody and accompaniment can be clearly distinguished (eg a pop song with a solo singer accompanied by a band, or the first violins in an orchestra playing the melody while the rest accompany).
Metre
The pattern of strong and weak beats in a piece of music which helps determine the time signature (eg 3/4 is three quarter notes in a bar).
Minimalism
A musical style that is based on very simple repeated patterns and rhythms.
Mode/modal
Refers to the use of modes rather than the major or minor scale. Each mode has a different combination of tones and semitones.
Modulation
The move from one key to another (eg tonic to dominant).
Monophonic
A musical texture consisting of a single unaccompanied melodic line.
Mute
A device attached to a musical instrument which changes the instrument’s tone quality (timbre) or lowers its volume (eg as found on brass and string instruments).
Off beats
The weaker beats of the bar. In 4/4 time, these are beats 2 and 4.
Oratorio
A large-scale musical composition based on a sacred or semi-sacred subject, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra (eg Handel’s Messiah).
Ornaments
The embellishment of a melody, either by adding notes or by modifying rhythms.
Ostinato
A short melodic, rhythmic or chordal phrase repeated continuously through a section of a work or the whole piece.
Passing note
A note that connects two consonant pitches by stepwise motion and usually occurs on a weak beat.
Pedal Note
A single note (usually the tonic or dominant) that is normally sustained or repeated in the bass and sounds against changing harmonies in the other parts. An inverted pedal note is a sustained or repeated note in a high register.
Pentatonic
A musical scale consisting of five notes (eg C, D, E, G, A).
Pitch bend
A musical effect that enables a player to bend the pitch of a note being sounded. It can be applied to bowed and electronic instruments and vocals.
Polyphonic/polyphony
A musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody.
Popular music
For the purpose of this specification, popular music is defined as mainstream music including a number of musical styles and genres including pop, jazz, musical theatre and computer gaming music from 1960 to present.
Portamento
A pitch sliding from one note to another (similar to glissando) which can be applied to bowed and electronic instruments and vocals. In music notation a line between the two notes will be added.
Power chord
A chord or combination of notes played by a guitar and selected to sound good at loud volume and high levels of distortion (eg rock music).
Raga
A scale pattern or melodic motif used as the basis for melodic improvisation in Indian classical music.
Recitative
A type of vocal writing where the music follows the rhythm of speech. It is usually a short section for a solo voice and its purpose is to move the story along (eg oratorios and operas). Sung most often before an aria.
Requiem
A sacred composition celebrated in the context of a funeral service; part of the Roman Catholic liturgy (also known as ‘Mass for the Dead’).
Reverb
The persistence of sound after it has been produced, often used in recorded music. Echo is a type of reverb in which a sound is repeated.
Riff
A short, repeated musical pattern used in popular music (eg ‘Day Tripper’ by The Beatles).
Rondo
A piece of music where the musical material stated at the beginning of the piece keeps returning. This opening music can be called either the theme or the refrain (eg ABACA).
Sampling
The process of lifting a section, such as a drum beat or vocal melody, from a song and including it in a new song.
Scat
The singing of nonsense syllables instead of words (eg in jazz and blues)
Scratching
A term used in DJing where two decks are required. One deck plays a track whilst on the other, scratching rhythmic patterns are produced.
Sequence
The restatement of a melodic (or harmonic) passage at a higher or lower pitch.
Shuffle beat
A beat where straight quavers are relaxed into a more triplet feel, similar to a swing rhythm. (eg ‘Harlem Shuffle’ by The Rolling Stones).
Simple time
A metre in which each beat of the bar divides naturally into two (eg 2/4 4/4).
Sitar
A stringed instrument used in Indian music that has a long neck, a rounded body, and movable frets. It usually plays the raga/rag (ie the melody).
Slap bass
A percussive style of bass guitar playing, which involves both pulling on and ‘slapping’ the strings.
Slide guitar or bottleneck
A guitar playing technique where a metal or glass tube on one finger is slid across the frets to create a glissando effect.
Sonata
A composition for one or more solo instruments, usually consisting of three or four independent movements varying in key, mood, and tempo.
Sonata Form
A structure consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation (eg used in symphonies and sonatas etc).
Sonority or Timbre
The sonority or timbre of an instrument or voice is the colour, character or quality of sound it produces.
Strophic
A musical form in which a verse or passage is repeated.
Strophic song
A song in several stanzas, with the same music sung for each stanza
Swing
A rhythmic style where straight quavers are relaxed into a more triplet feel, sometimes referred to as ‘swung’.
Symphony
A piece of music written to be played by an orchestra. Symphonies are usually made up of four separate sections called movements.
Syncopation
When the off-beats are given a greater degree of emphasis than the main beats in a bar (eg beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time).
Tabla
A pair of small different-sized hand drums used in Indian music which play the tala/tal (ie the rhythm).
Tambura/Tanpura
A long-necked plucked string instrument used in Indian music that plays the drone.
Ternary
The structure of a piece of music which is divided into three different sections. The three sections are usually labelled A B A.
Texture
How the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic materials are used to create the overall quality of the sound in a piece (eg melody and accompaniment, homophonic, polyphonic, antiphonal, a cappella, monophonic, unison etc).
Tièrce de Picardie
A major chord used at the end of a piece of music in a minor key.
Timbre (sonority)
The sonority or timbre of an instrument or voice is the colour, character or quality of sound it produces.
Theme and variations
A form that tells you how the music is organised. The piece begins with a theme that is the main melody which is then followed by one or more variations of that melody.
Transpose/transposition
When notation is played by certain instruments the sound they produce will be different to what is written (eg horn in F reads C and sounds F).
Tonal ambiguity
Music that is largely tonal but not clearly in one specific key. Sometimes evident where the key note is established but the middle note of the tonic chord is omitted, thus making the major or minor tonality unclear.
Tonality
The overall sound of a piece of music as defined by the key or mode it is played in.
Tonic
A term used to describe the first note of any diatonic scale (major or minor) or the first triad, the chord built in thirds from the first note (eg C-E-G in C major).
Triad
A chord of three pitches, the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the scale which can be major or minor.
Unison
Two or more musical parts that sound either the same pitch or pitches separated by intervals of one or more octaves.
Vamping
A repeating musical figure played as a repeated accompaniment during intros or solos (eg as in jazz, Latin jazz, musical theatre etc).
Vibrato
A musical effect consisting of a slight pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music.
Walking bass
A bassline composed of non-syncopated notes of equal value, often found in jazz and baroque music.
