Music Theory Terms

Tempo

Traditionally, the , or speed, of a piece is indicated through the use of Italian-language terms. Some of the most common tempo markings are largo (very slow), adagio (slow), andante (“walking speed”), allegro (fast), and presto (very fast). A work’s may also be indicated by a metronome marking, which indicates the number of a certain type of note per minute (e.g., quarter note = 120). are often modified with further Italian terms, such as allegro con fuoco (fast, with fire), which can make them more unique. Movements from larger works are often referred to by their (e.g. “the Allegretto from Beethoven’s 7th symphony”); entire works may also be named for their tempo (e.g., Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings).

Scales

The two most common types of are the major and minor scales, both of which are referred to as diatonic, meaning that they have seven notes between octaves and follow a repeating pattern of whole steps and half steps. While there is only one major , there are three common variants of the minor scale: natural, harmonic, and melodic. The individual notes within a are given numeric indications known as degrees, starting with “1” and moving up the scale note by note; the most prominent of these are the first degree, or tonic (the “home” pitch), and the fifth degree, or dominant. There is also the chromatic , which includes every note between two endpoints, including sharps and flats.

Intervals

At the most basic level, — the distance between two pitches — are described with ordinal numbers (second, third, etc.), with the exceptions of unisons (two of the exact same note, which would logically have been called a “first”) and octaves (which would have been called an “eighth”). The easiest way to find the basic between two pitches is to start on the bottom pitch, label that line or space “1,” and then count lines and spaces upwards until the next pitch is reached; for example, the between C and F is a fourth: C is counted as “1,” the lines/spaces for D and E are counted as “2” and “3,” and the line/space for F is reached on “4.” Unisons, fourths, fifths, and octaves may be classified as perfect, augmented, or diminished; seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths may be classified as major, minor, augmented, or diminished.

Chords

The most common types of are built of successive notes that are each a third above the previous. A triad consists of three notes referred to as the root, third, and fifth—the third and fifth being that respective interval above the root. Triads are classified as either major, minor, augmented, or diminished, based on whether the successive pitches are separated by major or minor thirds. Adding another third above the fifth results in a seventh (since that new pitch is a seventh above the root). Although many types of seventh are possible, the most common are the major, major-minor (or dominant), minor, half-diminished, and fully-diminished. Larger , such as ninth and thirteenth chords, appear commonly in jazz.

Key

A piece of music’s is the “home” scale of the work. The is most often indicated by the work’s signature, a collection of sharps or flats that appears at the beginning of the work and on each subsequent line of music (a list of key signatures may be found here). A pair of may be parallel (beginning on the same pitch, e.g., C major and C minor), or relative (having the same key signature, e.g., C major and A minor). Most works of music between the Baroque and Romantic periods end in the same as they begin, with the exception that works that start in a minor may end in the parallel major. A work’s is often used as a descriptor in its title (e.g. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor).

Transposition

Instruments that are in concert pitch, or “in C,” have their music written at the same pitch in which they sound. Concert pitch instruments include the piano, all string instruments, the flute, and nearly every woodwind and brass instrument that plays in bass clef. Other instruments are ____instruments, meaning that their music is written at a different pitch than they sound. With few exceptions, music for instruments is written above the sounding pitch, which can be determined by moving down the interval that the instrument’s key is below C. For example, the French horn is in F, a perfect fifth below C; thus, a French horn playing a written G natural would sound a C natural, the pitch a perfect fifth below G natural. Similarly, a B-flat trumpet playing a written D would sound a C, a major second below.

Dynamics

markings indicate the volume at which music is to be played. The two most basic markings are forte, meaning “loud,” and abbreviated f; and piano, meaning “soft,” and abbreviated p. These indications are often modified by the word mezzo (abbreviated m); thus, mf indicates “mezzo forte,” meaning “medium loud.” They may also be modified by the suffix -issimo, meaning “very,” and symbolized by two of the same letter; thus, pp would indicate pianissimo, meaning “very soft.” Gradual changes in volume are indicated by a crescendo, meaning gradually getting louder, or a diminuendo (also called decrescendo), meaning gradually getting softer.

Articulation

refers to the various techniques which may be used to modify the attack or performance of a single note or a series of notes. Some of the most common include staccato, meaning light or short; tenuto, meaning a note is to be held its entire value; and legato, meaning a series of notes is to be connected to one another very smoothly. Single notes may be given extra force by an accent mark.

Form

A work’s , or overall structure, is often depicted via a series of capital letters, with each different letter representing a large section of contrasting material. Basic include binary (“AB” or “AABB”), ternary (“ABA”), and strophic (“A” endlessly repeated, commonly found in folk songs or religious hymns with multiple verses). Other include rondo __, in which several statements of a single theme are each separated by contrasting material (e.g. “ABACA”). not usually represented by capital letters include the various types of theme and variations, as well as sonata-allegro form (which at its most basic level includes an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation).

Twelve-tone technique

was developed by Arnold Schoenberg in the early 1920s, and is one method of writing atonal music—music that has no key or tonic pitch. are based on a tone row constructed from each of the twelve pitches of the chromatic scale, each used only once. This row may be inverted and/or presented in retrograde (backwards), a combination of possibilities often represented in a matrix (for an example, see here; curious readers may experiment with creating their own row/matrix here). is one form of serialism, the rigid structuring of various musical elements within a work. A work of total serialism applies the same process to dynamics, articulations, and other basic elements of music as well as pitch.