Music Revison

12 Bar Blues

a chord sequence used in blues music

7th Chords

a chord that has the seventh added to it

AAB

a phrase structure used in the chorus of blues music

ABA

Ternary Form

Accelerando

gradually getting faster

Accent

A note which is played louder than those played around it

Accent

Played forcefully/louder

Allegro

Fast

Alto

A low female voice

Backbeat

An Accented snare on beats 2 and 4

Bass

A low male voice

Bass Ostinato

A Low short repeated pattern

BPM

Beats per minute

Brass

A section of the orchestra including instruments such as the trumpet and trombone

Call and Response

where one musician plays and another 'answers' the first player

Chord Sequence

The order the chords are played in

Chorus

A repeated section of a song where the words and music are repeated usually the most important

Compound time

3 weak beats in every strong beat

Crash

Part of the drum kit

Crescendo

gradually getting louder

Crotchet

Worth 1 count - quarter note

Diminuendo

gradually getting quieter

Drone

A sustained note which is usually low

Drum Fill

a pattern a drummer plays to warn of a new section about to start

Duration

length of individual notes

Dynamics

Volume

Enharmonic equivalent

Two different names for the same pitch

Ensemble

A group of instrumentalists

Flat

An accidental that makes the pitch lower

Forte

Loud

Hi-hat

Part of the drum kit

Hits

Sudden unexpected accented notes

I, IV, V

The primary Triads

Idiomatic

Playable

Improvisation

making it up as you go along

Intro

Section at the start of a song before the singing starts

Kick

Part of the drum kit

Legato

playing notes smoothly like they are joined together.

Leitmotif

A melody that depicts a character or place

Lyrics

The words to a song

Minim

Worth two counts

monophonic

all layers playing the same thing

Outro

The end section of a song

Percussion

A section of the orchestra including instruments such as the snare drum and xylophone

Phrase

A musical sentence (part of a melody)

Phrase Structure

How the sections of a melody are put together

Piano

Quiet

Pitch

Low or High

Pizzicato

plucking strings

Primary Triads

I, IV, V

Quaver

Worth half a count - Eighth note

Rap

Rhythm and Poetry

Ride

Part of the drum kit

Riff

A short repeated phrase in popular music or Jazz

Sampling

Using a part of another artist's track in your own composition

Scale

Notes played in order from lowest to highest

Scratching

moving a vinyl back and forward under a turntable

Semitone

The very nearest pitch

Shuffle time

A type of metre used in blues music

Simple time

2 weak beats for every strong beat

Snare

Part of the drum kit

Solo

Someone singing or playing on their own

Soprano

A high female voice

Staccato

A short note

Strings

A section of the orchestra including instruments such as the Violin and Cello

Structure

how music is split into sections

Tempo

Speed of the regular pulse

Tenor

A high male voice

Ternary Form

A piece with the structure ABA

Texture

Number of different musical layers

Timbre

The sound quality of an instrument or instruments

Time signature

The way of showing how many beats in a bar and what type of beat

Tonality

Major or Minor

Tone

2 semitones

Triad

A chord made up of three notes three letter names apart

Triplet

3 beats in the space of 2

Verse

A section of a song where the words change each time but music stays the same

Walking Bass

A Triadic bassline used in blues music

Woodwind

A section of the orchestra including instruments such as the oboe and flute

Melodic Hook

A catchy melody in a pop song

Melody

a tune