Frequency
The number of complete vibrations or cycles occurring per uinit of time in a vibrating system such as a string or column of air.
Pitch
The perceived quality of sound that is chiefly a function of its fundamental frequency- the number of oscillations per second of the sounding objects or of the particles of air excited by it.
Amplitude
The maximum extent of a vibration of oscillation, measured from the position of equilibrium.
Decibel
A unit of measurement of the difference in intensity of two sounds. One decibel is appx. the minimum difference in intensity that the ear can detect.
Timbre
Tone color; the character or quality of a musical sound or voice as distinct from its pitch or intensity.
Overtones
The natural resonance or vibration frequency of a system. When the system is excited, as number of sound frequencies may be produced.
Harmonics
An exact integer multiple of a fundamental frequency.
Consonant Intervals
Those intervals that are treated as stable and not requiring a resolution; Unisions, octaves, thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths.
Disonant Intervals
Those intervals regarded as having an instability that requires a resolution to a consonance; seconds, sevenths, anything diminshed or augmented.
Beat
A metrical pulse
Tempo
The speed at which music is performed. It is not always constant.
Meter
A recurring pattern of strong and weak beats; simple vs compound;

Additive meter is a pattern of beats that subdivide into smaller irregular groups (Flamenco is 3+3+2+2+2)

Measure
Each occurrence of a meter.
Time Signature
The sign at the beginning of a composition to indicate its meter.
Syncopation
A momentary contradiction of the prevailing meter or pulse.
Rhythm
General time aspect of music.
Isorhythm
Arranges a fixed pattern of pitches with a repeating rhythmic pattern.

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Hemiola
The ratio 3:2; the ratio of the lengths of two strings that together sound a perfect fifth.
Cent
1/100 of a semitone. There are 1,200 in each octave.
Just/pure intervals
Any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by ratios or whole numbers.
Tempered intervals
Any interval (usually an octave) that is divided into a series of equal steps.
Pythagorean tuning
A system of musical tuning in which the frequency relationships of all intervals are based on the ratio 3:2. Diatonic, based on fifths, all other intervals are unjust.
Mean-tone temperament
Constructed the same way as Pythagorean tuning, as a chain of perfect fifths, but in a meantone, each fifth is narrowed by the same amount (or equivalently, each fourth widened) in order to make the other intervals like the major third closer to their ideal just ratios.
Twelve-tone equal temperament
Used in the Arabic world; Because the notes are tempered, natural harmonics can sound out of tune
Melodic Contour
The quality of movement of a melody, including nearness or farness of successive pitches or notes in a melody.
Scale
A collection of musical notes that provides material for part or all of a musical work.
Interval
The distance between two notes.
Ambit
The range of pitches employed in a melody or voice.
Maqam
The system of melodic modes used in traditional Arabic music, which is mainly melodic. The word maqam in Arabic means place, location or rank. The Arabic maqam is a melody type. Each maqam is built on a scale, and carries a tradition that defines its habitual phrases, important notes, melodic development and modulation.
Melodic formula
Distinctive fragments of a melody.
Monophony
Singingin unison or octaves.
Polyphony
Multiple melodies, none of which are more important that the other
Harmony
the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music
Drone
a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much or all of a piece, sustained or repeated, and most often establishing a tonality upon which the rest of the piece is built.
Hocket
the rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords.
Parallel singing
Singing the same intervals in a parallel interval?
Cadence
a particular series of intervals or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music. Cadences give phrases a distinctive ending, that can, for example, indicate to the listener whether the piece is to be continued or concluded.
Homophony
A texture in which two or more parts move together in harmony, the relationship between them creating chords.
Heterophony
Different parts singing the same melody, each with its own embellishment (often according to what instrument is being played).
Ethnocentrism
the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one’s own culture. It is defined as the viewpoint that “one’s own group is the center of everything,” against which all other groups are judged.
Hegemony
a concept that has been used to describe the existence of dominance of one social group over another
Cultural hegemony
a concept coined by Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci. It means that a diverse culture can be ruled or dominated by one group or class, that everyday practices and shared beliefs provide the foundation for complex systems of domination.
Qualified listener
People who are “trained” in that specific type of music, so therefore know what musical things to look out for and understand the theory behind it. People who aren’t “qualified” supposedly cannot have the full experience of the music because they do not really understand what is happening.
Bourgeois
a classification used in analysing human societies to describe a social class of people who are in the upper or merchant class, whose status or power comes from employment, education, and wealth as opposed to aristocratic origin.
Bourgeois asthetic
The things that class enjoys/is used to/can be defined by
Absolute music
music that is not explicitly “about” anything, non-representational or non-objective. In contrast with program music, absolute music has no words and no references to stories or images or any other kind of extramusical idea.