Ch. 4 Functional Harmony - Music History & Culture

octave

Interval between two notes eight diatonic pitches apart; the lower note vibrates half as fast as the upper and sounds an octave lower.

half step

Smallest interval used in the Western system; the octave divides into twelve such intervals; on the piano, the distance between any two adjacent keys, whether black or white. Also semitone.

microtone

Musical interval smaller than a semitone (half step), prevalent in some non‐Western musics and some twentieth‐century music.

chromatic scale

Melody or harmony built from many if not all twelve pitches of the octave. A chromatic scale consists of an ascending or descending sequence of half steps.

sharp

Musical symbol (♯) that indicates raising a pitch by a half step.

flat

Musical symbol (♭) that indicates lowering a pitch by a half step.

whole step

Interval consisting of two half steps.

key

Defines the relationship of pitches with a common center, or tonic. Also, a lever on a keyboard or woodwind instrument.

major scale

Scale consisting of seven different pitches that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps (W– W– H– W– W– W– H). Differs from the minor scale primarily in that its third degree is raised half a step.

dominant

The fifth scale step, sol.

minor scale

Scale consisting of seven different pitches that comprise a specific pattern of whole and half steps (W– H– W– W– H– W– W). Differs from the major scale primarily in that its third degree is lowered half a step.

diatonic

Melody or harmony built from the seven pitches of a major or minor scale. A diatonic scale encompasses patterns of seven whole steps and half steps.

chromatic

Melody or harmony built from many if not all twelve pitches of the octave. A chromatic scale consists of an ascending or descending sequence of half steps.

pentatonic

Five,note pattern used in some African, Far Eastern, and Native American musics, as well as Anglo-American folk music. See also gapped scale.

scale

Series of pitches in ascending or descending order, comprising the notes of a key.

microtone

Musical interval smaller than a semitone (half step), prevalent in some non‐Western musics and some twentieth‐century music.

inflection

Small alteration of the pitch by a microtonal interval. See also blue note.

tonic chord

Triad built on the first scale note, the I chord.

rest chord

A chord that achieves a sense of resolution or completion, normally the tonic.

active chords

In the diatonic system, chords that need to resolve to the tonic chord. These include the dominant and subdominant chords.

dominant

The fifth scale step, sol.

subdominant

Fourth scale step, fa.

modulation

The process of changing from one key to another.

transposition

The shifting of a piece of music to a different pitch level.