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