AP Music Theory Everything

clef

A symbol that appears on the far left of every staff to designate which line or space represents which pitch (in which octave).

alto clef

A C-clef positioned on a staff so that the middle line indicates middle C (C4); typically read by violas.

bass clef

On a staff, the bass clef (also known as the F-clef ) rests on the line that represents F3; its two dots surround the F3 line; typically read by bassons, cellos, basses, and piano left hand.

C-clef

A movable clef that may be placed on a staff to identify any one of the five lines as middle C (C4).

tenor clef

A C-clef positioned on a staff so that the fourth line from the bottom indicates middle C (C4); typically read by bassoons, cellos, and tenor trombones in their higher registers.

treble clef

On a staff, the treble clef (also known as G-clef ) denotes the line for G4, by means of the end of its curving line; typically read by flutes, clarinets, oboes, horns, sopranos, altos, and piano right hand.

double flat

An accidental that lowers a pitch two half steps (or one whole step) below its letter name.

double sharp

An accidental (x) that raises a pitch two half steps (or one whole step) above its letter name.

dynamics

The degree of loudness or softness in playing. Common terms (from soft to loud) are pianissimo, piano, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, forte, and fortissimo.

enharmonic

Different letter names for the same pitch or pitch class (e.g., E and D#).

flat

An accidental that lowers a pitch by one half step.

grand staff

Two staves, one in the treble clef and one in the bass clef, connected by a curly brace; typically found in piano music.

half step

The musical space between a pitch and its next-closest pitch on the keyboard.

interval

The musical space between two pitches or pitch classes.

ledger line

Extra lines drawn through the stems and/or note heads to designate a pitch when the notation extends above or below a staff.

octave

The distance of eight musical steps.

octave equivalence

The concept that two pitches an octave apart are functionally equivalent.

pitch

A tone sounding in a particular octave.

pitch class

Notes an octave (or several octaves) apart that share the same name (e.g., F3, F5, and F2 all belong to pc F). Pitch-class names assume octave and enharmonic equivalence.

sharp

An accidental (#) that raises a pitch a half step.

staff

The five parallel lines on which we write music.

whole step

The combination of two adjacent half steps.

anacrusis

Occurs when a melody starts just before the first downbeat in a meter; also called an upbeat, or pick-up.

bar line

A vertical line that indicates the end of a measure.

beat

The primary pulse in musical meter.

compound meter

Any meter in which the beat divides into threes and subdivides into sixes. The top number of the meter signature will be 6, 9, or 12 (e.g., 9/4 or 6/8).

cut time

A Near Eastern term that refers to a mound site formed through successive human occupation over a very long timespan.

dot

Rhythmic notation that adds to a note half again its own value (e.g., a dotted half equals a half note plus a quarter note).

downbeat

Beat 1 of a metrical pattern.

eighth note

A stemmed black note head with one flag. In duple beat divisions, two eighth notes divide a quarter-note beat; in triple beat divisions, three eighth notes divide a dotted-quarter-note beat.

half note

A stemmed white note head; its duration is equivalent to two quarter notes.

measure

A unit of grouped beats; generally, a measure begins and ends with notated bar lines.

meter

The grouping and divisions of beats in regular, recurring patterns.

duple meter

Meter in which beats group into units of two (e.g., 2/4, 2/2, or 6/8).

quadruple meter

Meter in which beats group into units of four (e.g., 4/4 or 12/8 ).

triple meter

Meter in which beats group into units of three (e.g., 3/2 or 9/8).

meter signature

Located at the beginning of the first line of a musical score, after the clef and key signature, the meter signature indicates the beat unit and grouping of beats in the piece or movement; also called a time signature.

quarter note

A stemmed black note head, equivalent in duration to two eighth notes.

rest

A duration of silence.

rhythm

The patterns made by the durations of pitch and silence (notes and rests) in a piece.

simple meter

Meter in which the beat divides into twos and subdivides into fours. The top number of the meter signature will be 2, 3, or 4 (e.g., 4/8 or 3/2).

sixteenth note

A stemmed black note head with two flags. In duple beat divisions, two sixteenths divide an eighth-note beat; in triple beat divisions, three sixteenths divide a dotted-eighth-note beat.

slur

An arc that connects two or more different pitches. Slurs affect articulation but not duration.

syncopation

Off-beat rhythmic accents created by dots, ties, rests, dynamic markings, or accent marks.

tempo

How fast or slow music is played. Examples of tempo markings include adagio (slow), andante (medium speed), and allegro (fast).

tie

A small arc connecting the note heads of two (or more) identical pitches, adding the durations of the notes together.

time signature

Another term for meter signature.

upbeat

Occurs when a melody starts just before the first strong beat in a meter; named for the upward lift of the conductor's hand. Another word for anacrusis.

whole note

A stemless white note head; equal in duration to two half notes.

chromatic

Chromatic music includes pitches from outside the diatonic collection. The chromatic collection consists of all twelve pitch classes.

chromatic half step

A semitone spelling in which both pitches have the same letter name (e.g., D and D#).

circle of fifths

A circular diagram showing the relationships between keys when sharps or flats are added to the key signature. The sharp keys appear around the right side of the circle, with each key a fifth higher. The flat keys appear around the left side of the circle, with each key a fifth lower.

collection

A group of unordered pitches or pitch classes that serve as a source of musical materials for a work or a section of a work; a large set.

diatonic

(1) The collection of seven pitch classes that, in some rotation, conforms to the pattern of the whole and half steps of the major scale (a subset of the chromatic collection). (2) Made up of pitches belonging to a given diatonic collection.

diatonic half step

A semitone spelled with different letter names for the two pitches (e.g., D and E).

dominant

(1) Scale-degree 5. (2) The triad built on 5.

key signature

Located at the beginning of each line of a musical score after the clef, a key signature shows which pitches are to be sharped or flatted consistently throughout the piece or movement. Helps determine the key of the piece.

leading tone

Scale-degree 7 of the major scale and harmonic or ascending-melodic minor scale; a half step below the tonic.

major pentatonic

A five-note subset of the diatonic collection that features scale-degrees 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 (do, re, mi, sol, la).

mediant

(1) Scale-degree 3. (2) The triad built on 3.

scale

A collection of pitch classes arranged in a particular order of whole and half steps.

major scale

An ordered collection of pitches arranged according to the following pattern of whole and half steps: W-W-H-W-W-W-H.

scale degree

A name for each pitch class of the scale, showing its relationship to the tonic pitch (for which the key is named). Scale-degree names may be numbers (1, 2, 3), words (tonic, supertonic, mediant), or solfege syllables (do, re, mi).

Aeolian

An ordered collection with the pattern of whole and half steps corresponding to the diatonic collection starting and ending on A; the same collection as the natural minor scale.

Dorian

An ordered collection with the pattern of whole and half steps corresponding to the white-key diatonic collection starting and ending on D. Equivalent to a natural minor scale with scale-degree 6 raised by a half step.

harmonic minor

The natural minor scale with raised scale-degree 7.

Ionian

An ordered collection with the pattern of whole and half steps corresponding to the diatonic white-note collection starting and ending on C; the same collection as the major scale.

Locriane

An ordered collection with the pattern of whole and half steps corresponding to the diatonic white-note collection starting and ending on B. Sounds like a natural minor scale with scaledegrees 2 and 5 lowered by one half step.

Lydian

An ordered collection with the pattern of whole and half steps corresponding to the diatonic white-note collection starting and ending on F. Equivalent to a major scale with scale-degree 4 raised by one half step.

melodic minor

The natural minor scale that includes the raised 6 and 7 as it ascends, but reverts to the natural minor form of 6 and 7 as it descends.

minor pentatonic

A five-note subset of the diatonic collection that features the minor-key scale degrees 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 (do, me, fa, sol, te).

Mixolydian

An ordered collection with the pattern of whole and half steps corresponding to the diatonic white-note collection starting and ending on G. Equivalent to a major scale with scale-degree 7 lowered by one half step.

modal scale degree

The scale degrees that differ between major and natural minor scales: 3, 6, and 7.

mode

(1) Rotations of the major (or natural minor) scale (e.g., the Dorian mode is a rotation of the C Major scale beginning and ending on D). (2) Term used to distinguish between major and minor keys (e.g., a piece in "the minor mode").

natural minor

The major scale with lowered 3, 6, and 7, arranged according to the pattern of whole and half steps W-H-W-W-H-W-W. Natural minor shares the same key signature as the relative major key.

parallel minor

The minor key that shares the same tonic as a given major key. The parallel minor lowers 3, 6, and 7 of the major key.

Phrygian

An ordered collection with the pattern of whole and half steps corresponding to the diatonic white-note collection starting and ending on E. Equivalent to a natural minor scale with scale-degree 2 lowered by a half step.

raised submediant

Raised scale-degree 6 in melodic minor.

relative major

The major key that shares the same key signature as a given minor key. The relative major is made from the same pitch-class collection as its relative minor, but begins on scale-degree 3 of the minor key.

relative minor

The minor key that shares the same key signature as a given major key. The relative minor is made from the same pitch-class collection as its relative major, but begins on scale-degree 6 of the major key.

subtonic

(1) Scale-degree 7 of the natural minor scale, so called because it is a whole step below tonic. (2) The triad built on 7 of natural minor.

anacrusis

Occurs when a melody starts just before the first downbeat in a meter; also called an upbeat, or pick-up.

compound duple

Any meter with two beats in a measure, with each beat divided into three (e.g., 6/8 or 6/4).

compound triple

Any meter with three beats in a measure, with each beat divided into three (e.g., 9/8 or 9/4).

compound quadruple

Any meter with four beats in a measure, with each beat divided into three (e.g., 12/8 or 12/4).

duplet

In compound meters, a division of the beat into two equal parts (borrowed from simple meters) instead of the expected three parts.

hemiola

A special type of syncopation in compound meters, in which the normal three-part division of the beat is temporarily regrouped (over two beats) into twos. Also possible in simple-triple meters, using ties across the bar lines.

quadruplet

In compound time, a subdivision group borrowed from simple time.

metrical accent

The pattern of strong and weak beats based on the "weight" of the downbeat and the "lift" of the upbeat.

triplet

In simple meters, a division group borrowed from compound meters.

upbeat

Occurs when a melody starts just before the first strong beat in a meter; named for the upward lift of the conductor's hand. Another word for anacrusis.

augmented interval

An interval one half step larger than a major or perfect interval.

compound interval

An interval larger than an octave.

consonance

The intervals of a third and sixth.

diminished interval

An interval one half step smaller than a minor or perfect interval.

generic pitch interval

The distance between two pitches as measured by the number of steps between their letter names (e.g., C up to E is a third, D up to C is a seventh).

imperfect consonance

The intervals of a third and sixth.

interval class

All pitch intervals that can be made from one pair of pitch classes (or transpositions of these pitch classes by the same distance) belong to a single interval class (e.g., M3, m6, or M10). Also called unordered pitch-class interval.

inversionally interval

Two intervals that, when combined, span an octave (e.g., E3 - G#3, a major third, plus G#3-E4, a minor sixth). When inverted, major intervals become minor (and vice versa), diminished become augmented (and vice versa), and perfect stay perfect. The generic interval numbers of inversionally related intervals sum to 9 (third and sixth, second and seventh, etc.).

perfect consonance

The intervals of a unison, fourth, fifth, and octave. The harmonic interval of a fourth is treated as a dissonance in common practice style.