AP Music Theory Vocabulary

Octave

The distance between two consecutive notes with the same letter name

Accidental

Symbol that alters the pitch of a note

Enharmonic

Notes of different letter names that audibly sound the same

Simple Meter

Any time signature where the beat can be split into two equal divisions

Compound Meter

Any time signature where the beat can be split into three equal divisions

Scale

An organized collection of different pitches

Tempo

The speed at which a piece of music is played

Dynamics

The volume at which a piece of music or note is played

Articulation

The way in which a note is played

Interval

The distance between two notes

Simple Interval

Any interval that is within an octave

Compound Interval

Any interval that is greater than an octave

Stepwise/Conjunct Motion

Notes played after one another that differ by no more than a whole step

Disjunct Motion

Notes played after one another that differ by more than a whole step

Consonance

Harmony in which notes played concurrently and sound stable

Dissonance

Harmony in which notes played concurrently and sound unstable

Timbre

Literally “sound color”, the quality of sound

Relative Minor

Keys that have the same key signature

Parallel Minor

Keys that have the same tonic note

Closely Related Keys

Key signatures that differ by one accidental

Distantly Related Keys

Key signatures that differ by more than one accidental

Instrument Transposition

An instrument that sounds higher/lower than what is written

Tessitura

The most comfortable register for an instrument

Melody

A collection of pitches, scales, and rhythms that form a musical idea

Contour

The shape of a melody

Range

The distance from the lowest note to the highest note in a melody

Motives

A melodic idea that is repeated and developed throughout a piece of music

Syllabic

In vocal music, when each syllable gets its own note

Melisma

In vocal music, when one syllable gets more than one note

Melodic Transposition

Moving the entire melody up/down by the same interval

Texture

The combination of instrumentation and notes that form the density of sound

Monophonic

A texture in which there is a single melody

Homophonic

A texture in which a single melody is accompanied

Chordal Homophony

A texture in which a single rhythm is played by multiple instruments or voices but on different notes

Imitative Polyphony

A texture in which a melody is repeated in another instrument or voice while another melody is played concurrently

Nonimitative Polyphony

A texture in which multiple melodies are played at the same time

Heterophonic

A texture where one melody is played by instruments or voices play slight variations of the melody

Alberti Bass

A type of bass that is a broken arpeggio

Walking Bass

A type of bass where a note is played every beat, outlining the shape of a chord

Accompaniment

Anything supporting the melody

Ostinato

A repeated rhythmic pattern

Syncopation

A continued emphasis of the off beat

Cross Rhythm/Polyrhythm

When rhythms of two different divisions are played together

Hemiola

A polyrhythm where divisions of 2 and 3 are played against each other

Agogic Accent

A type of accent where a note is emphasized by being longer than its surrounding notes

Anacrusis

Notes played before the downbeat of a phrase

Fermata

A symbol that indicates to hold a note for longer than its written duration

Chord

Multiple notes sounding together at the same time

Triad

A three-note chord of stacked thirds

Seventh Chord

A four-note chord of stacked thirds

Broken Chord

A type of chord where the notes are played successively, not at the same time

Arpeggio

A type of broken chord where the notes outline a chord

Diatonic

Using only the notes in a given key signature, no accidentals

Voicing/Spacing

The way notes are stacked within a chord

Chordal Inversion

A chord where its root note is not the bass note

Figured Bass

A notation system that indicates which intervals should be played above the bass note

Counterpoint/Contrapuntal

An 18th century style of music where multiple lines are performed against each other

Voice Leading

The movement of melodic lines

Motion

The way a melodic line moves

Closed Spacing

Notes in a chord are stacked as closely as possible

Open Spacing

Notes in a chord are not stacked as closely as possible

Parallel Motion

Melodic lines moving up or down by the same interval in the same direction

Similar Motion

Melodic lines moving up or down by different intervals in the same direction

Contrary Motion

Melodic lines moving in opposite directions

Oblique Motion

One melodic line does not change, while another does

Cross-Relation

Notes with the same name but different accidentals sounding at the same time

Direct Motion

Outer voices moving in similar motion to a fifth or octave

Motion

The way a melodic line moves

Voice Crossing

A voice being higher than its upper neighbor or lower than its lower neighbor

Chord Progression

A sequence of chords

Phrase

A complete musical idea, completed with a cadence at its end

Harmonic Rhythm

The speed at which chords change

Retrograde

A chord progression that goes against standard progression conventions

Cadence

The conclusion of a phrase

Authentic Cadence

A V chord moving to a I chord

Plagal Cadence

A IV chord moving to a I chord

Half Cadence

A phrase ending on a V chord

Phrygian Half Cadence

A first inversion iv chord moving to a V chord

Deceptive Cadence

A V chord moving to another chord other than I, usually a vi chord