Aesthetics
Volume of sound and loudness or softness of a musical passage
Dynamics
Any grouping of pitches played simultaneously; often appear in standard groupings
Chord
The 12 pitches contained in an octave
Chromatic Scale
Coherent succession of pitches which possesses character and meaning
Melody
Changing from one key to another key
Modulation
Gradually getting louder
Crescendo
The quality of highness or lowness which creates a melody or tune
Pitch
A set of seven pitches
Diatonic Scale
A single unaccompanied melody
Monophonic
The combination of qualities that makes a musical work distinctive
Style
Gradually getting softer
Diminuendo
Duration and accent of notes
Rhythm
Term for stopping places and settling places in music
Cadence
When two or more melodies are played or sung simultaneously and each line has equal interest and importance
Polyphonic
Contradicts the meter and displaces the accent away from normal places
Syncopation
Chords that sound at rest
Consonance
The distinct color of sound
Timbre
organization of elements in music -- can have standardized patterns expressed by letter diagrams
Form
When there is one melody of real interest combined with other sounds that are subsidiary
Homophonic
The duplication or near duplication of a phrase at two or more different pitch levels
Sequence
Chords that sound tense and create an expectation of needing resolved
Dissonance
Musical fragments
Motive
Term for categories of music usually determined by the instrumental or vocal combination involved
Genre
A blend of various sounds and melodic lines occurring simultaneously in a piece of music
Texture
The space or distance between any two pitches
Intervals