Melody
A meaningful succession of pitches.
Pitch
The highness or lowness of a sound.
Octave
The interval of an eighth.
Scale
A stepwise rising or ascending pattern of pitches within the range of an octave.
Harmony
The meaningful combination of two or more different tones.
Chord
A meaningful combination of three or more tones.
Key
The name of the tonic upon which a tonal piece is based; also called tonality.
Dissonance
Musical sounds that imply tension, drive, or activity.
Consonance
Musical sounds that seem to be passive or at rest.
Style
A characteristic manner of composition or performance.
Rythm
The arrangement of time in music.
Timbre
The characteristic quality of the sound of a voice or instrument.
Meter
The organization of rhythm into patterns of strong and weak beats.
Tempo
The rate of speed at which music is performed.
Syncopation
The occurrence of accents in unexpected places.
Form
The organization or formal design of a musical composition.
Movement
A section of a complete work that has its own formal design and a degree of independence but is conceived as a part of the whole; usually seperated from other movements by a pause.
Strophic
The most common song form. Two or more stanzas are set to the same melody.
Call-and-Response
A solo voice alternating with a chorus of singers. The effect may be applied to instrumental music as well.
Canon
A polyphonic composition in which all of the voices perform the same melody, beginning at different times.
Theme and Variations
An instrumental form in which a theme or melody recurs to provide unity, but in altered guises for variety.
Through-Composed
A song form containing new music throughout, as opposed to setting new text to the repetition of music as in strophic form.
Vocables
Neutral syllables, sometimes called consonant-vowel clusters.
Fuging Tune
A song in two sections, the first homophonic and the second polyphonic in texture.
Ballad
A folk song, strophic in form, that tells a story.
Hymn
A religious verse set to music suitable for congregational singing.
Field Holler
An emotional vocal phase, sung as a long, loud call, developed by blacks as a kind of communication with fellow workers.
Texture
The manner in which melodic lines are used.
Monophonic
The musical texture consisting of one melodic line.
Heterophonic
The simultaneous sounding of two or more different versions of the same melody.
Polyphonic
The musical texture in which two or more melodic lines are simultaneously combined.
Homophonic
The texture in which a melodic line is accompanied by chordal harmony.
Improvisation
The simultaneous invention and performance of music.
Blue Notes
Long, flexible tones derived from African slaves.
Psalter
A collection of the psalms in metered and rhymed verse, suitable for setting to simple tunes.
Bay Psalm Book
The first book printed in America, a psalter that first appeared in 1640.
Program Music
Instrumental music that describes a story, scene, idea, or event.
Art Song
Concert setting of a poem, usually by a well-known poet, to music.
Shape-Note Notation
A method that assigns a shape to the notated pitches of fa, sol, la, and mi, placing them on the staff in a normal position.
The Sacred Harp
A popular nineteenth-century collection of hymns and spiritual songs.
Spiritual
A folk-like religious song with a simple tune.
Minstrel Show
An entertainment in which (originally) white men performed music and comedy in imitation of stereotypical African Americans.
Concert Band
An instrumental ensemble including brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments.
Romanticism
Emotional, subjective approach to art. Romantic was the period from about 1825 to 1900 and it is referred to as the Romantic period of music.
Nationalism
A nineteenth-century movement in which artists of may nationalities sought to express the particular characteristics of their own cultures.
Virtuoso
A performer who possesses dazzling technical brilliance.
Character Piece
A relatively short piano piece, often in ternary form, in a characteristic style or mood.
Fugue
A polyphonic composition, originally for keyboard instruments, in which the imitative entrances of the voices alternate between tonic and dominant.
Beat
An even pulse that divides the passing of time into equal units rhythmic notation (notes/rests).
Timbre
Perceived quality of a sound; dependent upon medium.
Movement
Defined, enclosed section of a large-scale work such as a sonata or symphony.
Crescendo
A gradual increase, especially in the volume or intensity of sound in a passage.
Decrescendo
With gradually diminishing force or loudness.