Pitch 1
A harmonic or monophonic accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout an extended period of time in a piece.
Drone
A harmonious sound (e.g. a 3rd, 6th, or perfect interval) that doesn't clash harmonically.
Consonant
ABA musical structure. The original section (A) is followed by a new section (B) and then returns to the original section.
Ternary Form
A subordinate melody that is played simultaneously with a more prominent and dominant lead melody.
Countermelody
The highest male voice type
Tenor
Music that lacks a tonal centre - no pitch can be perceived as being the tonic.
Atonal
The 7th note of a scale. It creates tension and movement towards resolving the note upwards to the tonic note.
Leading Note
A musical structure where the A section returns between each new section. ABACADAE etc
Rondo Form
An Italian tempo marking meaning very fast (168–200 bpm).
Presto
A vocal register that produces a light, breathy sound in the highest part of a male’s range.
Falsetto
The movement of both voices in a comparable direction — both up or both down etc, but doesn’t necessarily maintain a strict intervallic distance.
Similar Motion
A chord in which the third is raised or lowered by a tone to create a perfect fourth or a major second. The resulting sound is tonally ambiguous.
Suspended Chord
A section that brings a piece/movement to an end. It may be as simple as a few bars, or as complex as an entire section.
Coda
Also known as a “round”, a type of contrapuntal composition where a melody is then imitated in a different part/voice after a given duration (e.g. after 2 beats, after 1 bar etc)
Canon
In a jazz setting, the group of melodic instruments that play the main melody, improvise solos, etc. Dixieland and New Orleans - trumpet/cornet, trombone, clarinet. Swing - trumpet, trombone and saxophone.
Front line
The final two chords of a progression. There are four main types (perfect, plagal, deveptive, imperfect).
Cadence
A reordering of the notes in a chord in order to create a different musical colour. Instead of the intervals being a 3rd apart, it introduces the interval of a 4th.
Inversion
A musical structure with the repetition of a single musical section without additional sections. AAA etc.
Strophic Form
Also called a “pick up” where the first bar of the song has less beats than is specified in the time signature.
Anacrusis
A dynamics term meaning "suddenly very loud", which only applies to a given note.
Sforzando
When a piece of music in a minor key finished with a major tonic chord, instead of a minor chord.
Tierce De Picardie
The relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It creates polyphony. It is composed carefully to follow strict harmonic rules.
Counterpoint
A musical structure without any repetition or return to previous musical material.
Through Composed
A musical notation symbol that is placed over a note or rest and signals the performer to hold the note or rest longer than its standard duration. The exact length is left to the performer’s or conductor’s discretion.
Fermata
An articulation that means ‘marked’ in Italian. A very similar effect to an accent with a staccato, but not quite as detached or loud.
Marcato