| Term | Definition |
| Brass | Cornet, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass Trombone, French Horn, Tuba |
| Vibrato | vibrating or slightly shaking the sound, creating a tiny variation in pitch. |
| Electric Sounds | Any sound created by electronic means. |
| Theme & Variations | Is similar to rondo form. The main theme is usually a distinctive melody, which is then changed and adapted in subsequent sections. |
| Legato | Smoothly and well connected. |
| Chromatic Scale | Consisting of all semitones |
| Multimetre | Where some pieces use numerous changes in time signature in quick succession. |
| Imitation | Occurs when a melody or melodic fragment is copied with another instrument. |
| Dissonant Harmony | Unpleasant to hear. |
| Tone | The distance between two semitones. |
| Ostinato | A repeated pattern of note. |
| Fortissimo (ff) | Very Loud |
| Woodwind (Single Reed) | Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone |
| Harmony (tonality) | Most compositions rebased on one pitch acts as a "home". |
| Locrian | Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone. |
| Percussion (Auxiliary) | Slide Whistle, Kazoo, Triangle, Tambourine, Wood Blocks, Gong, Egg Shakers, Ratchet, Vibraslap, Anvil, Agogo Bells, Bell Tree, Guiro |
| Major Scale | Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone |
| Tone Colour | The quality of sound. |
| Homophonic Texture | Two layers, a melody line with a chordal accompaniment. |
| Chordophones | Any instrument which uses a vibrating string. |
| 12 Bar BLues | Uses chords 1, 4 and 5in the following format:
I I I I
IV IV I I
V IV I V |
| Compound Time | Passed on dotted beats, such as dotted crotchets. (e.g. 6/8, 9/8, 12/8) |
| Strophic Form | A form where there are several verses, each with different words but the same basic musical accompaniment. |
| Expressive Techniques | Legato, Staccato, Accent, Vibrato, Tremolo, Tenuto, Glissando |
| Woodwind (No Reed) | Piccolo, Flute |
| Dorian | Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone. |
| Ostinato | A repeated rhythmic pattern |
| Raga | A type of scale used in Indian music, often with different patterns for ascending and descending parts. |
| Western Instruments | Woodwind, Brass, Percussion, Strings |
| Backbeat | Is a feature of rock, popular and rhythm and blues music. |
| Mezzo Forte (mf) | Moderately Loud |
| Metre | The way beats are grouped together and measured. |
| Types of Melody | Counter Melody, Call and Response, Question and Answer, Cannon |
| Call and Response | "Call" is a melodic phrase that changes and is followed by a "response" that is the same each time. |
| Fragment | A section of the melody which is shorter than a phrase. |
| Contour | The shape of the melody. It can be ascending or descending and it can move in steps, skips and leaps. This is a good one to draw. |
| Percussion (Keyboard) | Piano, Xylophone, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Tubula Bells, Vibraphone |
| Pitch | The highness and lowness of sound. |
| W W W | What is Happening?
Where is it Happening?
Why is it important and how? |
| Beat | The main time of a unit of a composition. |
| Simple Time | Based on simple, or whole beats lake crotchets or minims (e.g. 2/4, 3/4, 4/4) |
| Aeolian (Minor) | Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone. |
| Minor Scale | Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone and a Half, Semitone. |
| Mixolydian | Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone |
| Woodwind (Double Reed) | Oboe, Cor Anglis, Clarinet, Bassoon |
| Idiophones | Percussion Instruments. |
| Phrase | A musical sentence. Contains pat or all of the melody. |
| Repetition | The main melody of a composition is played more than once. |
| Non-Western Instruments | Aerophones, Membranophones, Chordophones, Idiophones, Electric Sounds. |
| change of Instrumentation | The tone colour changes every time the line up of instruments change. |
| Contrary Motion | Means that melodies move in opposite directions. |
| Mode | Aeolian (Minor), Lydian, Phrygian, Ionian (major), Dorian, Mixolydian, Locrian |
| Similar Motion | Occurs when melodic contour of two melodies is the same. |
| Structure | The way the piece is constructed. |
| Rhythm | Patterns of long and short sounds. |
| Harmony (chords) | Where three or more notes are played together. |
| Harmony (modulation) | Modulation is temporarily changing the home key. |
| Membranophones | Any instrument which uses a vibrating membrane stretched across a hollow body. |
| Ternary Form | Has three sections, Section A, Section B, then a return to Section A. |
| Texture | The layers of sound in a piece. |
| Lydian | Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Semitone. |
| Glissando | A rapid scale played in a sliding motion. |
| Syncopation | Occurs when the accent is on the weaker beats. |
| Bar | A group of beats. |
| Percussion (Drums) | Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Conga's, Bongo's, Timpani |
| Free Rhythm | Describe music where the beat is indefinite. |
| Cannon | A melodic construction where the tune or theme is introduced, then a few bars later, another instrument or line plays the same melody, followed by another instrument and another etc. |
| Through Composed | The piece does not repeat any material. |
| Chord Progression | The name of a pattern of chords. |
| Pentatonic Scale | Consisting of 5 notes, usually scale degrees 1 2 4 5 6. |
| Anacrusis | A note(s) occurring before the first beat of the first bar of a composition. These notes together with the notes in the incomplete last bar add to create one complete bar of music. |
| Verse Chorus Form | Used in popular music. This form uses verses, choruses, bridges, solo's, into's and outgo's. |
| Scale | A series of pitches based on a main, or "home" pitch. Usually there are 8 pitches in a scale, ascending and descending by step. |
| Binary Form | Refers to a composition with two main section, called Section A and Section B. |
| Consonant Harmony | Pleasant to the ear. |
| Crescendo | To gradually get louder. |
| Six Concepts of Music | Structure, Tone Colour, Dynamic and Expressive Techniques, Pitch, Duration, Texture |
| Unison | When two or more instruments play the same note at the same pitch. |
| Decrescendo | To gradually get softer |
| Duration | The different lengths of times. |
| Pianissimo (pp) | Very Soft |
| Improvisation | To create music at the time of the performance. |
| Polyrhythm | Refers to the uses of two or more conflicting rhythm patterns or accents at the same time. |
| Change of Dynamics | The tone colour may change depending on the dynamic level it is played at. |
| Rate of Harmonic Change | The rate the music moves from one chord to the next. |
| Accent | Stressing or emphasising the note or chord. |
| Polyphonic Texture | Multiple layers, many melodic lines playing at the same time, complex melodies and counter melodies. |
| Strings | Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Harp, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Banjo, Ukulele |
| Sequence | A fragment or motif that is repeated at different pitches. |
| Semitone | The distance between one pitch and he pitch closest to it. |
| Dynamics | Volume Level |
| Riff | A short repeated phrase. ONLY used in popular music. |
| Motif | A part of the melody that has an important roll in a composition. |
| Staccato | Short and detached. |
| Cross rhythm | A type of polyrhythm where two metres are played at the same time. Mostly cross rhythms are used when 3/4 is played against 6/8. |
| Counter Melody | A second contrasting melody that is played at the same time and the main melody. |
| Mezzo Piano (mp) | Moderately Soft |
| Onamentation | The frilly bits added to a melody to make it sound more interesting. |
| Interval | The distance between two pitches. |
| Imitation | Where a part of the melody or an entire melody is copied exactly by another instrument. |
| Forte (f) | Loud |
| Ionian (Major) | Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone. |
| Monophonic Texture | A single layer, one melodic line, unison. |
| Time Signature | Numbers used at the beginning of a composition to explain the metre, or how many beats are in each bar. |
| Aerophones | Any instrument which uses a vibrating column of air. |
| Tenuto | Drawing out the full length of each note. |
| Tremolo | The quick repetition of the same note. |
| Phrygian | Semitone, Tone, Tone, Tone, Semitone, Tone, Tone. |
| Harmony (Cadence) | Perfect Cadence, Plagal Cadence, Interrupted Cadence, Imperfect Cadence. |
| Piano (p) | Soft |
| Accent | Means emphasis or stress. Achieved by playing one note or chord louder than the others. |
| Sforzando (sfz) | Loud and Forcefully |
| Rondo Form | Has many sections. It starts with a main theme or statement Section A, followed by a number of new sections. This form is ABACADAE etc. |
| Question and Answer | "Question" is a melodic phrase that is not resolved, and ends with an interrupted or imperfect cadence. |
| Melody | Is a series of pitches, one after the other. |
| Range | The distance from the lowest note to the highest note. |
| Call and Response | Occurs when a solo instrument makes a melodic statement or "call" and a larger group replies with a different statement. |
| Pulse | The underlying pattern of strong beats. |
| Doubling | Occurs when the same melody is played by more than one instrument an octave apart. |
