harmony

Drone

A note that keeps sounding while other music happens.

Homophony

One main melody with other sounds supporting it.

Polyphony / Counterpoint

Two or more separate melodies happening at the same time.

Harmonic rhythm

How often the chords change.

Diatonic

Using notes that normally belong to the key.

Chromatic

Using notes from outside the key.

Dissonance

Notes sounding together in a tense or clashing way.

Accompaniment

Music that supports the main melody.

Bass line

A series of low notes that supports the music.

Consonance

Notes sounding together in a stable or restful way.

Resolution

When tense-sounding music moves to a more stable sound.

Monophony

One melody heard by itself, without other melodies happening at the same time.

Organum

An early type of music where another voice is added to an existing melody.

Voicing

How the notes of a chord are spread among different voices or instruments.

Voice-leading

How individual musical lines move from one chord to the next.

Tonal

Music that has one clear home not

Atonal / Non-tonal

Music that does not have one clear home note.

Octave equivalence

Notes an octave apart sound like higher or lower versions of the same note.

Half step / Semitone

The smallest distance between two notes. On a piano, it is moving to the very next key, black or white.

Whole step

A distance equal to two half steps

Scale

A group of notes arranged in order from low to high or high to low.

Key

The music’s home note (tonic) plus whether it is major or minor.

Modulation

When music changes from one key or musical home to another.