Tempo
Basic pace of the music.
Scale
Series of pitches arranged in order from low to high or high to low.
Monophony
One melody.
Pitch
The frequency of a note determining how high or low it sounds.
Beat (Pulse)
The unit of musical rhythm.
Harmony
Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.
Organum
Medieval polyphony that consists of Gregorian chant and one or more additional melodic lines.
Motet
Polyphonic choral work set to a sacred Latin text other than that of the mass; one of the two main forms of sacred Renaissance music.
Ritornello
In Italian, refrain; a repeated section of music usually played by the full orchestra, or tutti, in baroque compositions.
Canon
A musical form where the melody or tune is imitated by individual parts at regular intervals. The individual parts may enter at different measures and pitches. The tune may also be played at different speeds, backwards, or inverted.
Castrati
A castrato (Italian, plural: castrati) is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto voice produced either by castration of the singer before puberty or one who, because of an endocrinological condition, never reaches sexual maturity.
Oratorio
Like an opera, but uses biblical stories for entertainment (secular).
Concerto Grosso
Also known as a concerto – contains an orchestra and featured a featured player or players (soloists.)
Musical Imagery
Using music to paint a picture.
Rhythm
Ordered flow of music through time; the pattern of durations of notes and silences in music.
Dynamic
Degree in loudness or softness in music.
Major
The A scale.
Formula to make a scale
W-W-H-W-W-W-H
Homophony
A single melody with supporting cords.
Style
Characteristic way of using melody, rhythm, tone, color, dynamics, harmony, texture, and form in music.
Mass
Sacred choral composition made up of five motets.
Terraced Dynamics
Abrupt changes from loud to soft music, or soft to loud.
Chorus
Voice and music, but the music is almost dominating.
Suite
A dance like song.
Fugue
Polyphonic composition based on one main theme, or subject.
Form
Organization of musical ideas in time.
Minor
The C Scale.
Register
The tonal range of an instrument.
Mode
Tone Color (Timbre)
Quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another.
Instrumentation
Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.
Madrigal
Composition for several voices set to a short secular poem.
Imitation
Presentation of a melodic idea by one voice or instrument that is immediately followed by its restatement by another voice or instrument, as in a round.
Chorale
Hymn tune sung to a German religious text.