Music Key Terms

SPGS Vth EOY GCSE Key Terms

Texture

A term in music referring to the way the different strands or layers of music relate to each other.

Homophony

A musical texture where all the parts move together at the same rate, with primacy given to the highest part

Chordal homophony

Also known as homorhythmic, this is a stricter type of homophony where the different parts move together, forming effectively a sequence of chords

Melody-dominated homophony

Also called melody-and-accompaniment, a looser form of homophony in which there is a clear focus on the main melody, with the other parts in a secondary, accompanimental role

Monophony/monody

(These words can be used interchangeably) A musical texture where there is a single line of music without accompanying harmony

Unison

When two or more musical parts play the same music as each other – can be specified as octave unison if the parts are in different octaves

Polyphony/counterpoint

(These words can be used interchangeably) A musical texture in which different and independent melodic lines are heard at the same time

Cadence

A pair of chords that marks the completion of a phrase or section of music, often used as a way of emphasising the sense of key

Perfect cadence

V-I cadence that has a sense of completion or finality

Imperfect cadence

A cadence ending on V (often moving from I but it could be from another chord) that has a sense of incompleteness

Plagal cadence

A IV-I cadence that has a sense of finality, historically associated with church music

Interrupted cadence

A cadence with a sense of incompleteness, moving from V to a chord that isn’t chord I – usually VI

Melody

A sequence of notes and pitches that listeners hear as a distinct line of music

Harmony

The effect of combining different pitches simultaneously to form chords and chord progressions

Rhythm

A sequence of note durations that listeners hear as a distinct pattern

Motif

A short melodic or rhythmic phrase that is repeated and subjected to change and transformation in a passage of music

Ostinato

A distinctive motif or rhythmic phrase that is repeated through a passage of music

Countermelody

A secondary melody heard at the same time as the main tune, which complements it (for example, a descant part in a carol)

Modulation

The process of changing from one key to another in tonal music

Basso continuo

A bassline played by a single-line instrument (most commonly cello and bass) accompanied by a chordal instrument improvising a harmony part. A key feature of the Baroque period

Soprano

A high (commonly female) voice category

Alto

A lower (commonly female) voice category

Tenor

A high (commonly male) voice category

Bass

The  lowest (male) voice category

Dynamics

Musical loudness or softness

Major key

A tonal centre that uses the major scale (T-T-S-T-T-T-S) and triad

Minor key

A tonal centre that uses the minor scale (natural, harmonic or melodic) and triad

Natural minor scale

T-S-T-T-S-T-T

Harmonic minor scale

T-S-T-T-S-aug2nd-S

Melodic minor scale

Ascending: T-S-T-T-T-T-S  Descending: T-T-S-T-T-S-T

Diatonic

Music that uses the pitches of the home key

Chromatic

The antonym of diatonic, meaning music that uses pitches from outside the home key (often resulting in dissonance)

Modal

A scale or pitch collection that occurred before tonal music emerged, and which is also found in folk music in Britain and elsewhere. Modal music does not cadence or modulate in the same way as tonal music because the leading-note is often flattened

Atonal/non-tonal

Music that doesn’t follow the tonal or modal system, without an identifiable home pitch. As an idea it emerged in the early 20^th century and the music is often chromatic and dissonant

Metre

The time signature or beat grouping of a piece of music. Normally either duple (in 2s) or triple (in 3s)

Simple time

Music with a 4 at the bottom of the time signature, eg 4/4 (simple quadruple time)

Compound time

Music with an 8 at the bottom of the time signature eg 9/8 (compound triple time)

Irregular metre

Either: a time signature like 5/4 or 7/8 where the divisions of the bar are not all the same length. Or: a passage of music in which the time signature changes

Swung quavers/semis

A jazz technique of playing quavers in a long-short pattern

Dotted rhythm

Pairs of notes in a long-short rhythm, where the long note is three times the length of the short one

Triplet

Three notes in the time usually occupied by two: eg triplet quavers are three quavers in the time of twoTessitura

Tessitura

The main pitch range of an instrumental or vocal part

Articulation

The technical or characteristic way a note is sounded, particularly its attack and/or decay

Staccato

Notes articulated separately with a space in between

Legato

Notes articulated smoothly, without a gap in between

Melisma

The singing of more than one note to a single syllable of text

Syllabic word setting

A way of setting words so that each syllable has a single note

Secondary dominant

A chord which functions as the dominant of a chord other than the tonic

Binary form

two-part structure AB (possibly with repetition)

Ternary form

A three-part structure, usually ABA (possibly with repetition of each section)

Sonata form

A principle of music construction, most prevalent in the Classical period, based around music that moves from a home key to a second key and back again

Exposition

The opening section of a sonata form, which includes a first subject and second subject (in the dominant, or relative major)

Development

The section of a sonata form where the musical ideas are explored and a range of keys visited

Recapitulation

The concluding section of a sonata form in which the original first and second subject theme are heard, now both in the home key

Rondo form

A musical structure based on the repetition of a theme, separated by intervening ‘episodes’, often in the form ABACA or similar.

Symphony

A large-scale work for orchestra, usually in 4 movements, common from the Classical period on

Sonata

A multi-movement work for a single player, or a single player plus piano accompaniment

Concerto

A piece for solo performer accompanied by an orchestra, often the opportunity for displays of virtuosity by the solo player

Chamber music

Music for a small number of players, each player their own discrete part, usually without a conductor

Song without words

A short Romantic piece for solo piano with song-like qualities, pioneered by Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny Hensel in the 19^th century

Imitation

Where one line of music copies the melody of another, often at a different pitch and usually with the entry of the second part overlapping with the completion of the first

Canon

Repeating a melody but starting after a time delay (the second part either in starting on the same pitch, or potentially transposed)

Hemiola

The rhythmic phrasing of two bars of triple time music as if they were three bars of duple time, often used in Baroque music

A cappella

Choral music performed without instrumental accompaniment

Choir

A group of singers singing together, ranging from a chamber choir (from c.12 voices) to a massed choir (c.200)

Backing vocals

A term from pop music for supporting singers, often lower in the mix than the main vocal

Strings

A family of musical instruments characterised by the sound being produced by vibrating strings, which are either hit, plucked or bowed

Brass

A family of musical instruments characterised by being made of brass and the sound produced by the player’s lips vibrating in the mouthpiece

Woodwind

A family of musical instruments characterised by the sound being produced by air vibrating across a mouthpiece or by the vibration of a reed or reeds

Percussion

A family of musical instruments characterised by the sound being produced by the instrument being struck

Keyboard

A family of musical instruments characterised by the sound being produced via a player striking a key

Rubato

The varying of strict tempo for expression or musical phrasing

Clef

A symbol placed at the start of a line of music to indicate which notes the lines represent

Key signature

A symbol placed at the start of a line of music to indicate which notes should always be played as sharps or flats

Ornaments

Musical embellishments that are usually extra added notes not essential to the main line of the music that decorate the line for variety, expressiveness or performer virtuosity

Consonance/dissonance

When notes are sounded together and produce a sound associated with sweetness, pleasantness and lack of tonal tension. Dissonance is the absence of consonance and associated with harshness and unpleasantness, although there is a spectrum of dissonance from the mildly to extremely dissonant.

Transposition

Moving a passage of music up or down to be in a different key

Pedal point/pedal note

A sustained or repeated bass note over which the harmony changes

Arpeggio

Spreading the notes of a triadic chord so they are heard from low to high, or high to low

Circle of fifths

A harmonic progression where the bass moves progressively by the interval of a fifth

Verse / pre-chorus / chorus / middle-eight / intro / outro

Names given to sections of a pop song

Full score/reduction

A score in which all the instruments and their music appear in full / a version of the score that leaves out some information in order for the music to be more easily readable

Sequence

A melodic phrase that is repeated, getting progressively higher (ascending sequence) or lower (descending sequence).

Conjunct

Also called movement by step, when a melody moves up or down to the next nearest note within the scale

Disjunct

Also called movement by skip or leap, when a melody moves up or down by a larger interval than a step