Music Theory Concepts

These flashcards provide definitions and explanations of key music theory concepts discussed in the lecture.

Rhythmic Dictation

Writing down a rhythm as it is being played.

Simple/Duple Meter

The most common music time signature divided into two parts.

Compound/Triple Meter

A time signature divided into three parts.

Half Step

The shortest distance between two pitches.

Whole Step

Equal to two half steps.

Enharmonic Notes

When a pitch has more than one letter name, such as Bb and A#.

Major Scale Formula

W W H W W W H, where W = whole step and H = half step.

Interval

The distance between two pitches.

Perfect Intervals

Include 1, 4, 5, and 8 in music theory.

Major Triad

A chord that is bright and happy, composed of root, major third, and perfect fifth.

Minor Triad

A chord that is dark and sad, composed of root, minor third, and perfect fifth.

Diminished Triad

A mysterious and eerie chord, composed of root, minor third, and tritone.

Augmented Triad

A surprising chord that is open, composed of root, major third, and augmented fifth.

Tritone

An interval made up of three whole steps, often referred to as the 'devil's interval'.

Key Signature

The arrangement of accidentals that indicate the key of the music.

Ostinato

A persistent and repeated phrase in music.

Counter Melody

A secondary melody played simultaneously with the main melody.

Call and Response

A musical technique where one voice plays a short melody and another responds.

Dynamics

Refers to how loud or soft a piece of music is.

Articulation

The way a specific note or group of notes should be performed.

Monophony

A texture of a single line with a single melody.

Homophony

Several musical lines with a harmonized melody.

Polyphony

Musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody.

Voice Leading

The path each voice travels from one chord to the next.

Inversion

When a note other than the root is in the bass, creating different inversions.

Circle of Fifths

A visual representation of the relationships among the twelve tones of the chromatic scale.

Timbre

The character or quality of the sound produced by an instrument or voice.