Aural Skills Test #1 Vocab

Pulse

Regularly recurring feeling of stress in music

Primary pulse

Pulse that regularly contains greater stress

Secondary pulse

Pulse that regularly contains less stress

Meter

Organization of pulses into primary and secondary levels

Measure

Duration between successive primary pulses

Rhythm

Duration in music

Downbeat

The first beat of a measure

Melodic contour

Relative up and down motion of a melody

Scale

List of pitches in ascending or descending order

Scale degrees

The unique pitches in a scale, usually referred to by number

Tonic

The pitch to which all others want to resolve. Often placed as the first and last notes of a scale

Time signature

For simple meter - top number indicates the number of beats in a measure, bottom number indicates the note value equal to one beat.

Beat unit

Note value equal to one beat

Anacrusis

Pickup note - any incomplete measure of music before the first downbeat