pitch/frequency
Relative highness or lowness of sound
tone color
Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another.
interval
“Distance” in pitch between any two tones
triad
Most basic of chords, consisting of three alternate tones of the scale
octave
Interval between two tones in which the higher tone has twice the frequency of the lower tone
Pythagoras
“The harmony of spheres” He believed that the planets corresponded to musical notes.
dynamics
Degrees of loudness or softness in music.
pianissimo
piano
mezzo piano
mezzo forte
forte
fortissimo
pp – very soft
p – soft
mp – moderately soft
mf – moderately loud
f – loud
ff – very loud
scale
Series of pitches arranged in order from high to low or low to high.
tonic/keynote
Central tone of a melody or larger piece of music. If piece is in C major, C is keynote.
half step/whole step
Smallest interval traditionally in western music. – Interval twice as large as half step.
meter
Organization of beats into regular groups
Rhythm
Ordered flow of music through time, the pattern of durations of notes and silences in music.
beat/accent
Regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time.
syncopation
Accenting of a note at an unexpected time, as between two beats or on a weak beat. Typical in Jazz.
tempo
Basic pace of the music.
largo
grave
adagio
andante
moderato
allegretto
allegro
vivace
presto
prestissimo
very slow, broad
very slow, solemn
slow
moderately slow, walking pace
moderate
moderately fast
fast
lively
very fast
as fast as possible
melody
Series of single tones that add up to a recognizable whole.
monophony
Single melodic line without accompaniment
polyphony
Performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest at the same time.
homophony
music in which one main melody is accompanied by chords.
harmony
How chords are constructed and how they follow each other
consonance
Tone combination that is stable and restful
dissonance
Tone combination that is unstable and tense.
plainchant
monophonic, free rather than measured rhythm.
binary
composed of two parts or two pieces.
ternary
composed of three parts of music
estampie
medieval dance and musical form popular in Italy during the 13th and 14th century.
organum
Medieval polyphony that consists of Gregorian chant and one or more additional melodic lines.
melismatic
technique of changing pitch while a syllable is being sung.
syllabic
each syllable of text is matched to a single note.
Ars Nova
Music of the late middle ages that was composed with rhythm.
Renaissance
cultural movement between the 14th and 17th century.
word painting
Musical representation of specific poetic images.
motet
Polyphonic choral work set to a sacred Latin text other than that of the mass.
madrigal
Composition for several voices set to a short secular poem.
chanson
Lyric driven songs usually polyphonic and secular.
a cappella
Choral music without instrumental accompaniment.
mass
Sacred choral composition made up of five sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.
seven families
Voices, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, keyboard, electronic.