harmony
the sounds that provide support and enrichment for melody

an accompaniment

chord
a group of three or more pitches that sound at the same time
triad
basic chord in Western music

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3 pitches arranged in a very specific way

interval
the distance between each of the pitches
dominant – triad
always built on the 5th note of the scale
subdominant – triad
built on the 4th note of the scale
chord progression
the movement of chords in a purposeful fashion
arpeggio
staggered triad
dissonance
pitches sounding disagreeable and unstable
consonance
pitches sounding agreeable and stable
cadence
the portion of a musical phrase that leads to its last chord
ostinato
any element of music that continually repeats
blues
harmonic repetition

soulful style of singing that unfolds above repeating chord changes

twelve-bar blues
each chord does not sound for the same length of time
doo-wop
gospel hymns sung in African-American churches
texture
density and arrangement of artistic elements
monophony
a single line of music with no harmony
unison
a group singing the same pitches
homophony
same sounding

voices all move together to new pitches at roughly the same time

polyphony
2 or more lines in the musical fabric
counterpoint/polyphony
harmonious opposition of two or more independent musical lines
canon
followers copy exactly what the leader plays or sings
statement
presentation of an important musical idea
repetition
validates the statement by repeating it
contrast
takes us away from the familiar and into the uknown
variation
stands midway between repetition and contrast
strophic form
composer sets the words of the first poetic stanza and then uses the same entire melody for all subsequent stanzas
chorus
textual refrain that repeats
theme and variations
music in the first stanza is altered in some way each time it returns
binary form
two contrasting units, A and B
ternary form
3 sections – ABA
Rondo form
a refrain (A) alternates with contrasting music (B and C)

ABACA ABACABA ABACADA