Rhythm
Ordered flow of music through time; the pattern of durations of notes and silences in music.
Music
Organized sounds through time
Duration
How long the note lasts.
Duration
How long the note lasts.
Tone Color (Timbre)
Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another.
Tempo
Basic pace of the music.
Dynamic
Degree of loudness or softness in music.
Form
Organization of musical ideas in time.
Key
Central note, scale, and chord within a piece, in relationship to which all other tones in the composition are heard.
Scale
Series of pitches arranged in order from low to high or high to low.
Major Scale
Series of seven different tones within an octave, with an eighth tone repeating the first tone an octave higher, consisting of a specific pattern of whole and half steps; the whole step between the second and third tones is characteristic.
Minor Scale
Series of seven tones within an octave, with an eighth tone repeating the first tone an octave higher, composed of a specific pattern of whole and half steps; the half step between the second and third tones is characteristic.
Voice
Is used technically in music to indicate a particular musical line, even if this is intended for an instrumentalist and not a singer.
Monophony
Music composed of a single melody with no accompaniment or harmony.
Homophony
When one main melody is accompanied by chords.
Polyphonic
Performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest at the same time.
Texture
Tells how “busy” music is; ex.: monophony, homophony, and polyphonic.
Pitch
Relative highness or lowness of a sound.
Instrument
Any of various devices or contrivances that can be used to produce musical tones or sounds.
Register
The relative range of notes/set of pitches that an item is in. A higher register often means a higher pitch.
Instrumentation
The act of using an instrument.
Beat (Pulse)
Regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time.
Staff
In notation, a set of five horizontal lines between or on which notes are positioned.
Syncopation
Accenting of a note at an unexpected time, as between two beats or on a weak beat.
Melody
Series of signal tones that add up to a recognizable whole.
Harmony
How chords are constructed and how they follow each other.
Style
Characteristic way of using melody, rhythm, tone, color, dynamics, harmony, texture, and form in music.
Mode
Any scalewise arrangement of pitches.
Note
In notation, a black or white oval to which a stem and flags can be added.
Tone
Sound that has a definite pitch or frequency.
Genre
The category that a piece of music is in – ballet, jazz, ect…
Rest
In notation of rhythm, a symbol to indicate the duration of silence in the music.
Clef
Symbol placed at the beginning of the staff to show the exact pitch of notes placed on each line and space.
Accidental
A sharp, flat, or natural not included in the given key. (Sour Note.)
Sharp
(#) Denotes that a pitch is to be played a half step higher.
Flat
(b) Denotes that a pitch be played a half step lower.
Natural
Used to show that a previously shown sharp or flat is to be disregarded.
Composer
One who writes music.
Medium
What is used to play a piece of music; ex.: Orchestra, band, piano, ect…
Downbeat
First or stressed beat of a measure.
Phrase
Part of a melody.