Music Keywords - Killer Queen

Amplifier

An electronic device that increases the power of an audio signal allowing for greater volume

Backing Vocals

Vocal accompaniment to the lead singer or band

Blue Notes

Additional chromatic notes used for colour (normally the flattened 3rd, 5th and 7th of a normally major scale) 

Bridge/Middle Eight

A contrasting section in the middle of a song, usually following the second repeat of the chorus. If it's exactly eight bars long it is termed a middle eight

Chorus

The main, repetitive section of a song 

Close harmony

One with which the voice parts lie close together

Consonant Harmonies

Harmonies/Notes that work well together, usually because they are part of the same chord. 3rds and 6ths are the most consonant sounding harmonies, often provided by BVOX

Distortion

Distorting (making fuzzy, growly) the sounds by further increasing their gain (volume) 

Drum Fill

An often improvised short section of drum rhythm normally in the last bar of a phrase or section

Falsetto

Singing above the natural range of pitch (male, especially tenors)

Finger clicks

Clicking of the fingers

Flanger

Sound effect that creates a 'whoosing' sound 

Freddie Mercury

Lead singer of Queen

Glam rock

Theatrical rock music, also known as operatic rock

Hammer on and Pull Off

Sharply bringing a hand down onto a string to create sound, and vice versa

Harmonic Progressions

A sequence of chords

Harmonic sequence

The repetition of a chord pattern at a higher of lower pitch

Hook

The catchiest part of a song. Can be a riff, lyric or lick 

Intro/Outro

The opening and closing sections of a song 

Layering

Music built with layers to create varying textures

Multi-tracking

[Separately] recording multiple tracks of audio in order to mix them together to create a cohesive whole 

Overdubbing

The addition of new material to an existing recording 

Palm-Mute

Muting the strings with your hand to create a dampened sound

Pitch Bend

Bending a string to raise and/or lower the pitch a little 

Portamento

Slide between pitches

Power Chords

Chords comprised of only the first and fifth (no third - no middle note to determine if it's major or minor) 

Riff

A short repeated pattern of notes

Rock Band

Group of musicians specialising in rock music, usually 2 x guitars, bass, drums and singer

Rock Opera

Collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story 

Slap Bass

Percussively playing the bass guitar

Sliding

Moving between notes/pitches

Solo/Instrumental

Section of a song showcasing fluent/virtuosic performance on an instrument/voice

Stock Chords Progressions

Common chord sequences used in rock and pop music, e.g. I, V, VI, IV

String bending

Bending the string on a guitar to slightly change the pitch 

Syllabic

Setting words one syllable per note

Syncopation

Playing through the beat/off the beat

Verse

Section of a song, potentially same melody but different in lyrics

Verse/chorus form

A structure consisting of at least both choruses and verses 

Vocalisation

Oohs and aahs

Multi-track

Recording different audio channels to separate ‘tracks’ (one by one or simultaneously) for greater ease and effectiveness of processing than when all information is stored on a single track

Pitch shift

Where the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered, often by means of an effects unit called a ‘pitch shifter’

(Studio) effects

Methods of artificially creating sounds, or of modifying or enhancing recorded sounds, through use of music technology

Track (1)

(1) An individual song, piece or movement on a recording (e.g. on a CD).

Track (2)

(2) A path on a magnetic recording tape (or a computerised recording system) that receives or contains information from a single audio channel 

Reverb

Echo

Wah-wah

change EQ to make “wah” sound

EQ

(equalizer) relative balance of different frequencies

Panning

moving the sound from the left to right speaker

Phaser

swirling tinny effect that doesn’t change the notes

Melismatic

more than one note per syllable

Nonsense syllables

e.g. doo be doo ba

triadic

when a melody is based around the notes of a chord

sequences

repetition, up or down a step

anacrusis

upbeat

Cadence

the chord sequence at the end of a harmony

Functional Harmony

uses cadences

Non-Functional Harmony

doesn’t use cadences

Pedal

bass line stays same while the harmony changes

Circle of fifths

when bass note goes down a fifth each time (same as going up a fourth)

Antiphonal

"call-and-response" texture or effect