Tempo, Meter, Rhythm, and Melody

Vocabulary flashcards covering musical elements including tempo, meter, rhythm, melody, tune structure, and cadences.

Tempo

The general speed of the music, or the rate at which beats follow one another.

Beat

The regular background pulse in music.

Accent

An extra emphasis placed on a beat, which can be regular, irregular, or absent.

Meter

A regular, recurring pattern of accented and unaccented (strong and weak) beats.

Duple meter

A meter in which main beats are accented in groups of two or four.

Triple meter

A meter in which main beats are accented in groups of three.

Simple meter

A meter in which main beats are subdivided into groups of twos.

Compound meter

A meter featuring a triple subdivision of the main beats into groups of threes.

Syncopation

The displacement of accents onto weak beats or in between beats, disrupting the consistency of the meter.

Melody

An organized series of pitches combining pitch and rhythm, serving as the primary bearer of musical meaning.

Tune

A special kind of melody that is simple, catchy, and easy to sing.

Phrase

A division of a tune that often corresponds to poetic lines, typically spans 2, 4, or 8 measures, and serves as a natural breathing point.

Parallelism

The exact repetition of a phrase, partial repetition of a phrase, or repetition of rhythm within a tune.

Weak cadence

A point of relaxation ending a phrase that provides a pause to breathe while creating a need to go on.

Strong cadence

A full stop ending a section or piece that creates a sense of finality.