Glossary

two parts begin any interval apart and move in the same direction to a perfect fifth or octave.

The first part of a fugue, during which each of the voices enter with the subject or answer.

A short tune which forms the melodic basis of a fugue, recurring throughout.

Comprised of three (typically) four-bar phrases. The first phrase is entirely tonic harmony (I). The second phrase contains two bars of subdominant (IV) and two bars of tonic (I). The final phrase begins with one bar of dominant (V) followed by one bar of subdominant (IV) and two bars of tonic (I). The third phrase may or may not end with a turnaround.

A variation on the 12-bar blues progression. Composed of four (typically) four-bar phrases, usually two iterations of tonic, followed by subdominant and dominant. The final phrase may or may not end with a turnaround.

The first part in a pair of imitative voices (compare comes).

Also called 32-bar song form. AABA consists of at least four sections. It begins by repeating two strophes, moving to a contrasting bridge section, and then repeating the primary strophe again. AABA forms typically then include another repetition of BA, making the entire form AABABA.

The tonic is never actually sounded as a harmony during the song, but is still implied through the melody or through the use of conventional harmonic progressions.

Existing on its own, without reference to another system. For example, "absolute pitch" refers to the phenomenon of being able to sing a pitch without referencing an instrument or another pitch.

Increase in speed (tempo)

A stress or emphasis on a note

One of many symbols (the sharp (♯), flat (♭), and natural (♮) among others) that alter a pitch

The physical science of sound.

A diatonic mode that follows the pattern WHWWHWW. This is like the natural minor scale. This scale can also be found by playing the white notes of the piano starting on A.

♭VI–♭VII–i, or A♭–B♭–Cm in C minor. This schema implies the aeolian mode. Very frequently, the i chord is altered to be major, yielding a sequence of three major chords related by steps in the same direction. This progression, especially with a major I chord, is often associated with heroic themes in video games and movies.

i–♭VII–♭VI–♭VII. This progression can be understood as a shuttle between i and ♭VI, with the intermediate ♭VIIs acting as passing chords.

A 12-tone row that contains all 11 ordered pitch-class intervals.

A technique of internal phrase expansion. It occurs when new material causes a phrase to deviate from its expected trajectory toward the cadence. These deviations may be permanent ("reroutes") or temporary ("detours").

Also known as a "C" clef, an alto clef designates the lowest line of a staff as the pitch F3

The second highest part in SATB style, written in the treble clef staff with a down-stem; its generally accepted range is G3-D5

Designates specific musical frequencies by combining a note name (such as "C") with an octave designation (such as "4") creating a bipartite label ("C4")

The notes before the first measure of a musical work

A phrase comprised of a basic idea followed by a contrasting idea that ends with a weak cadence.

A two-note embellishing tone gesture in which a chord tone is heard early as a non-chord tone

A chord from another key inserted into a new key, in order to tonicize another diatonic chord other than I.

Embellishing tone that is approached by leap and left by step in the opposite direction

The numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9

Phrases that are "archetypal" or that follow an archetype are related to the sentence, the period, or one of the hybrid phrase-level forms.

Refers to both a note's length and the accent level of its attack

A method of specifying musical pitches by combining note names with octave designations

Refers to the "front" of a note--how loud or soft it is played or sung

To imagine hearing a sound in one's mind

Intervals that are one half-step larger than a perfect or major interval

A triad whose third is major and fifth is augmented

Auditory; related to hearing

In church modes, authentic modes are those which range from final to final.

A cadence with the harmonies V–I. The harmonies are typically in root position. Authentic cadences can be further distinguished by their melody note in the I chord: an authentic cadence ending on scale-degree 1 in the melody is a perfect authentic cadence, while one with 3 or 5 in the melody is an imperfect authentic cadence.

Auxiliary modules help frame the core modules, introducing them, providing temporary relief from them, or winding down from them.

Sections that introduce, follow, or come between a work's core sections (A, B, primary & secondary themes, refrains, episodes, and developments/digressions/contrasting middles). Auxiliary sections are either external or internal. External Auxiliary Sections either introduce a piece/section (prefix) or follow the piece's/section's generic conclusion (suffix). Prefixes and suffixes come in small and large varieties. Internal auxiliary sections (connective sections) function to connect two core sections. Transitions generally help lead away from the piece's main section toward a contrasting section (B, secondary theme, episodes, developments/digressions/contrasting middles), and retransitions generally help to lead back to the piece's main section (usually A or a sonata form’s primary theme).

An accent on beats 2 and 4 of a quadruple meter. Backbeats are common in jazz and pop styles.

Balanced is a term used to describe an aspect of a binary form (either simple or rounded). It means that the tail end of the first reprise, returns at the tail end of the second reprise. That return will be in the piece's home key even if it was in another key in the first reprise. In order to be considered a return, there needs to a crux point, that is a particular moment where the restatement begins at the tail end of the second reprise. This restatement is the point at which there is a direct bar-for-bar mapping of measures between the tail end of both reprises. Importantly, this excludes rounded binary examples where the entire first reprise is repeated verbatim in the second reprise because there is no crux point at the tail end of the second reprise.

Vertical lines that create measures

Basic ideas are short units that are typically associated with beginnings. They don't usually end with cadences, and they often establish tonic. They are they first units we hear in a presentation, an antecedent, a consequent, and a compound basic idea.

Also known as the "F" clef, a bass clef designates the lowest line of a staff as the pitch G2

The lowest part in SATB style, written in the bass clef staff with a down-stem; its generally accepted range is F2-D4

The lowest part (or "voice") of a composition

The horizontal lines that connect certain groups of notes together

A pulse in music to which one can tap or clap along

Which note value gets the beat

The process of becoming is an analytical phenomenon that captures an in-time, analytical reinterpretation regarding a formal/phrasal unit's function. In this situation, a formal/phrasal label at first seemed fitting, but as that unit continues in time, a different label seems fitting. Even upon re-listening, this process of conversion is likely to still be experienced. The rightwards-double arrow symbol (⇒) is often used to denote this process. Examples include, primary theme ⇒ transition, continuation ⇒ cadential, suffix ⇒ transition, and any number of other combinations.

One of three formal functions (with the other two being middle and ending). Beginnings are often signaled by: establishment of a new melody, or repetition of the beginning of a previously heard melody, emphasis on tonic harmony (especially root position), a melody that opens up musical space by ascending, statement of a motive that is developed through the remainder of the phrase.

In the context of musical form, the term binary means a formal type that has two main parts often called reprises because each main part is typically repeated. There are three types of binary form: rounded, balanced, and simple. Binary forms are common in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and they were used heavily in dance music. Binary form is typically one of the shorter forms and because of that, they are often embedded within larger, compound, forms like compound ternary form.

Chordal homorhythm

Notes whose exact pitch sounds somewhere between the flat and regular versions a scale degree, particularly scale-degree 3 and 7.

Indicates a breath (for wind instrumentalists and vocalists) or a pause (for percussionists and string players)

Bridges tend to play a transitional role (neither the point from which to depart, nor the point of arrival) in the formal cycle, generating high expectation for the return of the primary section by contrasting with it and temporarily withholding it. Bridge sections tend to emphasize non-tonic harmonies and commonly end on dominant harmony.

A melodic and harmonic goal. In classical tonal music, cadence types include Perfect Authentic (PAC), Imperfect Authentic (IAC), and Half (HC).

One of the three common ending types. Its distinguishing characteristic is its bass line: M-F-S-D, which may be elaborated with chromaticism.

Indicates a break and/or a cutoff

Caesura fill is when a single voice of the musical texture bridges what would otherwise be a gap between two sections.

A feature of musical phrasing that features a simulated dialogue between two instruments or groups of instruments.

literally meaning 'fixed' voice or melody, this is a pre-exisiting melodic line that serves as the basis for a new counterpoint exercise or other composition.

The number of elements in a set or other grouping.

Angled bracket placed above Arabic numerals to indicate scale degrees

Any combination of three or more pitch classes that sound simultaneously

Chords should contain the correct notes and accidentals, and should not be missing any notes

Repeated chord progressions, often four bars long, that are repeated throughout a portion or all of a song.

Replacing a standard chord (i.e., within a harmonic schema) with a different chord. The substituted chord is typically identical in harmonic function to the standard chord, and often shares at least two notes with the standard chord.

A system of naming chords that specifies the note name of the root, chord quality, and any alterations

A system of naming chords that specifies the note name of the root, chord quality, and any alterations.

Some basic symbols are given below as a quick reference, but for more detail, see the Chord Symbols chapter.

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Refers to the 7th of a chord. For example, V7 in the key of C is spelled G-B-D-F. The note F is the chordal 7th. We say chordal 7th to distinguish it from the leading-tone (Ti, [latex]\hat{7}[/latex]).

The note of a seventh chord a seventh above the root

Chorus sections are lyric-invariant and contain the primary lyrical material of the song. Chorus function is also typified by heightened musical intensity relative to the verse, including features like “a more dense or active instrumental texture; prominent background vocals; and/or a higher register melody” (Summach 2012, p. 106). Choruses most frequently (but not exclusively) begin on-tonic.
Chorus sections are distinct from refrains primarily by virtue of their being sections in and of themselves, where refrains are contained within a section.

A process where modules are stripped away from the formal cycle until only the chorus module (C) remains.

Relating in some sense to the chromatic scale. The term may be used to refer to notes that are outside the given key.

A collection of notes which consists of twelve half-steps

Shows the relationship between major (and/or minor) key signatures, by placing the key signatures around a circle in order of number of accidentals

In set theory, a class is a group whose members are all equivalent in some sense—transposition, inversion, octave, enharmonic, etc.

A symbol placed on the left side of a staff, which indicates which notes are assigned to different lines and spaces

The most compact (i.e. "snowperson") form of a chord

An important factor in influencing the stability of a section is how the section closes harmonically. If the section closes with an authentic cadence (either PAC or IAC) in the home key, the section is harmonically closed but any other close is considered harmonically open. Examples of open harmonic endings are half cadences and any type of cadence involving a modulation, that is, a PAC in the key of the dominant is still harmonically open because of the modulation.

Closing rhetoric involves common patterns and techniques that signal that the end of the song is likely coming soon.

A coda is a song-ending section that presents new material. Like outros, codas exhibit closing rhetoric.

A type of suffix (external auxiliary section). Codas are usually of the large variety (a phrase or longer), and they occur at the end of a work (or end of a movement within a multi-movement work) after the PAC that ends the piece proper. The word coda is Italian for “tail” because they are found at the tail end of a work. Sometimes composers communicate the location of the coda by writing the word in the score but this is not necessary to identify a section as a coda. Like all suffixes, codas are considered an expansion technique and therefore the are not essentially to the structural content of the work and it is often said that the work would still make complete syntactic sense if it were removed entirely.

A type of suffix (external expansion). Codettas are usually medium length (for example, between 4-8 measures), they often occur at the end of a section within a piece, and they often feature repeated units. They may or may not contain a full phrase.

A group of pitches being used as the basis for a composition. This term is more neutral than "key," which may imply a hierarchy.

For modes in pop music, the color note is the pitch that distinguishes a mode from major (in the case of mixolydian/lydian) or from minor (in the case of dorian/phrygian).

The second (following) part in a pair of imitative voices (compare dux).

A periodization of Western music utilized by music theorists and musicologists encompassing c. 1600-1900

A tone that is present in more than one chord.

Abbreviated ctº7. A diminished 7th chord that, instead of having dominant function, is a neighbor chord that embellishes the chord that comes after it. The ctº7 has a common tone with the root of the following chord. All the other notes of the ctº7 are a step away from a note in the following chord. This creates the characteristic neighboring motion of the ctº7.

An integer x's complement mod 12 is the number y that would sum to 12. For example, 11's complement mod 12 is 1.

A compound basic idea (c.b.i.) is an antecedent without a cadence. It consists of a basic idea followed by a contrasting idea. The reason it's called "compound" is that it often forms the basic idea for a large sentence, one in which the presentation is 8 measures long and consists of two four-measure c.b.i. units as stand-ins for the archetypal two-measure b.i.s

Occurs when one form is comprised of other smaller forms. For example, a period may be comprised of two sentences, or one or more of a ternary form's sections may be comprised of a binary form.

An interval that is larger than an octave

Meters in which the beat divides into three, and then further subdivides into six

A type of ternary form where at least one of the form's parts (A, B, or the second A section) is comprised of its own complete form (typically a binary form). The term "compound" can also be used to clarify that a single section contains a complete form. Compare with simple ternary form.

Establish a meter and tempo for musicians

The director of a choir, band, or orchestra

A phrase comprised of a basic idea followed by a contrasting idea that ends with a strong cadence. It usually forms the second half of a phrase-level form.

A quality in an interval or chord that, in a traditional tonal context, is stable; this stability is the result of its perceived independence from a need to resolve

A subphrase that features a mix of any of the following: fragmentation, increase in harmonic rhythm, increase in surface rhythm, or sequences. Continuations end with a cadence and are usually found in the second half of a theme.

Lines that indicate whether pitch moves up, down, or stays the same

Contraction refers to the process of making a phrase shorter than we expect. It always occurs within a phrase.

making the durations of a motive shorter than the original

The contrasting beginning is like an antecedent without a cadence. It is a beginning part of a phrase-level form that's comprised of a basic idea followed by a contrasting idea, and it doesn't end with a cadence.

A small unit that contrasts with the material that came immediately before it, usually in terms of contour. It's featured in the antecedent and the compound basic idea.

A core section is formal category including both main sections (e.g., A, primary theme, refrain) and contrasting sections (e.g., B, C, D, secondary theme, episode, contrasting middle, development, digression). In contrast to auxiliary sections, core sections present the main musical material of a work and generally represent the bulk of a composition.

A core bass pattern is the basic series of notes that defines a common progression. This series of notes may be embellished with other, less important notes, but the pattern is still recognizable because the basic series is still present.

Core sections comprise the main musical and poetic content of a song. Core sections include strophe (AABA and strophic form only), bridge, verse, chorus, prechorus, and postchorus.

Italian verb meaning "to grow"

The moment that the tail end of the first reprise returns at the tail end of the second reprise of a binary or sonata form. This moment is the beginning of a series of corresponding measures between those two formal locations. If the first reprise contained a modulation, then the corresponding measures of the second reprise will now be transposed to the home key. The term crux was coined by James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy in their book Elements of Sonata Theory.

A cycle is a grouping of contains one or more sections, typically in the same order. Sometimes one or more sections are omitted in the repetition of a cycle, especially toward the end of a song.

Italian verb meaning "to diminish"

A type of alternative path. A detour creates a temporary deviation from a phrase's expected trajectory toward a cadence. Detours are initiated by a diversion onto the detour and they end with a resumption of rhetoric from earlier in the phrase.

A section of a sonata form that is unstable, and which may or may not explore thematic material established in the exposition.

A scale, mode, or collection that follows the pattern of whole and half steps WWHWWWH, or any rotation of that pattern. This term may also be opposed to "chromatic," in which case "diatonic" indicates that a note belongs to that collection.

Harmony that is based in a diatonic scale, such as the white notes of the piano. Diatonic harmony uses only chords within the scale, and is usually labeled with Roman numerals.

Scale-like patterns of half- and whole-steps

Translating a rhythm, melody, chord progression, or some other aural sound that you've never before seen or played/sung into staff notation

Intervals that are one half-step smaller than a perfect or minor interval

Another name for a fully diminished seventh chord, a seventh chord with a diminished triad and a diminished seventh

A triad whose third is minor and fifth is diminished

Italian meaning "to diminish"

Changing the metric position of the motive relative to its original statement.

A quality in an interval or chord that, in a traditional tonal context, is unstable; this instability is the result of its perceived dependence on a need to resolve

Which note gets the division

A category of chords that provides a sense of urgency to resolve toward the tonic chord. This cateogry of chords includes V and viio (in minor: V and viio).

A seventh chord in which the triad quality is major and the seventh quality is minor. For example: C–E–G–B♭

 𝄆I – VI – IV – V 𝄇, or C – Am – F – G in C major. 

Common alterations: substituting ii for IV; rotation.

A diatonic mode that follows the pattern WHWWWHW. This is like the natural minor scale, but with a raised scale-degree 6. This scale can also be found by playing the white notes of the piano starting on D.

IV–i, or F–Cm in C minor. This shuttle implies the dorian mode. It can sound like ii–V to someone who is not used to the dorian mode.

Increases a note or rest value by half

A "grid" of dots that represent beats and measures

Lowers a note by two half-steps

♭VII–IV–I, or B♭–F–C in C major. The term comes from duplicating the plagal relationship (IV–I) by applying it to IV as well (IV/IV–IV, or ♭VII–IV).

Raises a note by two half-steps

Divides into two whole notes

Duplicating some notes of a chord in multiple parts

An interval a half-step larger than an augmented interval

An interval a half-step smaller than a diminished interval

Beat 1 of a measure which is conducted in a downwards motion

Meters in which beats are grouped into twos

A tuplet that involves dividing a beat in compound meter into two parts

Indicate volume (amount of loudness or softness)

Divides into two sixteenth notes

Divides into two sixteenth rests

An elision is the overlapping of two phrases that functions as the ending of one phrase and the simultaneous beginning of the next.

Notes that decorate other, more structurally important notes. Embellishing tones are often not part of the prevailing chord. Most are 3-note gestures where the first and third notes are consonant and the 2nd note is the embellishing tone. The embellishing tone may be consontant or dissonant.

Types of embellishing tones include: passing tones, neighbor tones, appoggiaturas, escape tones, pedal tones, suspensions, and anticipations.

"The tonic chord is initially absent yet deliberately saved for a triumphant arrival later in the song, usually at the onset of the chorus." (Mark Spicer, "Fragile, Absent, and Emergent Tonics in Pop and Rock Songs," 2017).

A quality in a passage of music that heightens the "energy" of the passage. This can be through more active rhythmic activity, faster harmony changes, thicker texture, expanded range, crescendo, or drive toward a cadence or goal.

Having a different letter name but sounding the same (e.g. f-sharp and g-flat)

Notes, intervals, or chords that sound the same but are spelled differently

Making the durations of a motive last longer than the original.

A term used when describing the sections of a rondo form that are not the main theme (a.k.a. A or refrain). Episodes provide contrast with the main theme through changes in multiple domains, primarily key and melodic/rhythmic/harmonic material.

An embellishing tone that is approached by step and left by leap in the opposite direction

Refers to any situation where a composer sets up the expectation for a cadence, then avoids cadencing. Deceptive motion, for instance, is a kind of evaded cadence. Other ways to evade a cadence can include: inverting the dominant or tonic (e.g. V6/4-V4/2-I6) and omitting an essential voice such as the bass note of the tonic chord or the soprano note of the tonic chord.

Expansion refers to the process of making a phrase longer than we expect. This lengthening might occur within the phrase ("internal expansion") or outside of the phrase ("external expansion").

The first large section in a sonata form work. It usually establishes the main themes of a work and sets up a conflict that is later resolved in the work. This conflict often takes the form of differing key centers (such as when the primary theme of a sonata is in tonic and the secondary theme is in the dominant)

An extended cadential ending is like a continuation , but it always harmonizes the core bass pattern M-F-S-D.

Adding additional thirds on top of the triad. Most commonly refers to 9ths, 11ths, or 13ths rather than 7ths, although 7ths are also extensions.

Lengthening a phrase by adding extra material to it either before it's begun ("prefix") or after it's cadenced ("suffix")

A half-circle surrounding a dot that indicates one should hold a note

Musica ficta are editorial accidentals added to Renaissance music. In this era, composers did not necessarily notate accidentals, yet competent performers would know to add them in appropriate places. In modern editions of Renaissance music, ficta are often provided by the editor, or agreed upon by a performing ensemble.

Arabic numerals and symbols that indicate intervals above a bass note. These are realized into chords and non-chord tones by musicians

In church modes, the final loosely corresponds to the modern notion of "tonic," in that it is a melodic goal. However, the final may not always be emphasized in the way a tonic is. Finals are named by the fact that the last note of a Gregorian chant will always be the final of the mode.

A triadic harmony with the third in the bass

Do is always the pitch class C, Re the pitch class D, etc. regardless of scale

A curved line placed at the end of a stem

Lowers a note by a half-step

A combination of two or three syllables: typically one stressed syllable, and one or two unstressed syllables.

Refers to the structure of a passage or piece. Form can be understood as a hierarchical grouping of units, and we often speak of form at one or of two levels: phrase-level form (referring to motives, ideas, subphrases, or phrases) or composition-level form (referring to sections, movements, or whole pieces).

Italian for "loud"

A nomenclature for set classes developed by Forte. The first number refers to the cardinality of the set, and the second number is semi-arbitrary, but generally proceeds from the most compact to the most expanded set.

The tonic chord is present, but weakened. Usually, the weakening comes from using the tonic chord in inversion, or otherwise from placing the tonic chord in a metrically unstable mid-phrase position (versus a more typical usage where the tonic is a stable point of arrival or departure). This term comes from Mark Spicer, "Fragile, Absent, and Emergent Tonics in Pop and Rock Songs" (2017).

Making unit sizes smaller than the previously established size. For example, if units had previously been 2 measures long, fragments might be 1 measure long.

Music that is atonal, avoiding a traditional pitch center and harmonic hierarchy, but is not serial.

A seventh chord whose triad is diminished and whose seventh is diminished

The role that a musical element plays in the creation of a larger musical unit.

The number of scale steps between notes of a collection or scale

Two staves placed one above the other, connected by a brace. The top staff has a treble clef, while the bottom staff has a bass clef.

A repeated bass pattern that formed be foundation for a set of variations, not unlike the cyclical progressions of pop/rock songs.

Slang for a crescendo or decrescendo symbol

A kind of inconclusive cadence that occurs when a phrase ends on V.
Occasionally, particularly in Romantic music, the final chord of a half cadence will be V7.

Divides into two quarter notes

Divides into two quarter rests

A seventh chord in which the triad quality is diminished and the seventh quality is minor. For example: B–D-F-A.

Generally considered to be smallest interval in Western musical notation

Refers to three cateogories of chords: tonic, predominant, and dominant. A chord's membership within a category indicates something about how that chord typically behaves in tonal harmonic progressions in Western classical music. For example, tonic function chords are stable and tend to represent points of resolution or repose.

The interval is played or sung together (both notes at the same time)

An ordered collection of half- and whole-steps with the ascending succession W-H-W-W-H-3Hs-H

The rate at which chords change, usually expressed in chords per measure. A common rate of chord change in 18th-century classical music is 1 chord per measure, for example.

A series of notes whose frequencies follow a certain pattern of mathematical proportions: 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, etc. Starting with the pitch C2, this would result in the series of pitches C2, C3, G3, C4, E4, G4, B♭4, C5, etc.

Notes played or sung all together at the same time

A phrase or module is harmonically closed when it ends with tonic harmony (I in root position).

A phrase or module is harmonically open when it ends on a harmony other than tonic.

An overtone of a complex sound that occurs at a whole-number ratio to the fundamental.

A vertical sonority.

A refrain that is the first line or so of the section's text.

A measurement of the frequency of a sound. Frequency is another word for the number of cycles of peaks and valleys there are per second (frequency) in a waveform.

A musical texture with multiple, simultaneous variants on a single melodic line.

A 6-note collection. In serial music, "hexachord" is typically used to refer to either the first 6 notes of a 12-tone row or the last 6 notes of the row.

A property of a row in which combining one hexachord from a version of a row with a hexachord from another version of a row creates the chromatic collection.

A six-note collection that alternates between half steps and minor thirds, such as C–C♯–E–F–G♯–A.

A Neo-Riemannian transformation that connects a triad to its modal opposite a third away by moving each voice by a single semitone (e.g., connecting C major and A♭ minor).

Arranged according to rank

A term used to describe a piece's overall tonic. If a movement is in the key of A major, then the home key is A major. The term is used to distinguish itself from local keys.

A musical texture indicating the special status of one melodic part (usually the top-most) which may or may not participate in rhythmic unison with the other parts.

A type of Homophony in which all parts move together (usually in chords).

IV–V–vi–I. This four-chord schema has become increasingly common in pop music since 2010.

A hybrid form is one that combines aspects of the sentence and the period into one phrase-level form.

Groupings of measures into different patterns of accentuation

Numbers that show the accentuation pattern of a hypermeter; they are placed above measures, centered

A poetic foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.

The smallest unit of music identified by a segmentation analysis. Ideas need not end with cadences, and they may combine to form subphrases or phrases. Examples include: basic idea, contrasting idea, unit, cadential idea, and fragments.

ii7–V7–I∆7 in major, or iiø7–V7–i7 in minor. A fundamentally important progression in traditional jazz. 

Imitation sees two or more parts enter separately with (versions of) the same melody.

A V–I cadence in which

V, I, or both harmonies are inverted, and/or
Do (scale-degree 1) is not in the soprano over the tonic triad.

Additionally, IACs are often used to evade a cadence. Please see the chapter on cadences for a more thorough discussion.

In a transformation (Tn or In), n is the index number. n represents the interval of transposition in semitones.

Chromatically altered from the typical version.

A system of naming pitch classes that treats C as 0, C♯ as 1, D as 2, etc.

Making a phrase last longer than we expect by lengthening it after it's begun, but before it's cadenced.

The distance between two notes

The smallest possible distance between two pitch classes. The largest interval class is 6, because if order is disregarded, the tritone is the largest possible interval. A P5 can be inverted to a smaller P4, m6 to M3, and so on.

Occurs when two notes (such as C and E) are flipped; C (on bottom) with E (above) is an inversion of E (on bottom) with C (above)

A section of music that occurs before the start of the musical form proper. In faster movements, introductions tend to have noticeably slower tempi. Introduction can range considerably in length, ranging from less than a single phrase (small prefix) to one or more phrases (large prefix). In the 18th century, introductions often contained independent musical material that doesn't appear in the rest of the work proper, but in the 19th century, composers tended to explore the integration of the introduction's material with the rest of the work.

Introduction sections transition from the unmetered silence that precede the song to the musical activity of the first core section. They tend to be short and untexted (i.e., instrumental) and tend to present musical material from one or more core sections to come.

In serial music, invariance refers to keeping a property of a row the same. For example, when a retrograde version of a row contains the same ordered pitch classes as a prime version of the row we would call it "retrograde invariant" to mean that the order of pitch classes doesn't change when the row is reversed and transposed.

The act of mirroring pitch content "horizontally"; i.e., so that motion down becomes up and up becomes down. Inversion often preserves intervallic content.

Changing the direction of the motive (e.g. instead of going up, it goes down)

Chords that do not have their root in the bass voice

A diatonic mode that follows the pattern WWHWWWH. This is like a major scale.

Italian suffix which means "extremely"

The jazz blues incorporates several alterations to the 12-bar blues to blend together blues harmony and jazz harmony. In the eighth bar, instead of remaining on tonic, there is an applied ii–V that leads to the ii chord in bar 9. And in the third phrase, the V–IV–I of the standard blues is replaced with a ii–V–I more common to jazz.

Accidentals placed at the beginning of a work which apply throughout the work (and which imply a particular tonic)

Accidentals (sharps or flats) in a certain combination that imply a particular note as tonic

Relating to movement of parts of the body

A harmonization of a descending upper tetrachord (1–7–6–5) in the bass.

A lament-bass progression refers to a variety of harmonic progressions that harmonize a descending bassline from Do down to Sol. The simplest diatonic version uses the bass notes Do-Te-Le-Sol and is harmonized by the progression i v6 iv6 V. Chromatic alternatives are common, many of which use the notes between the simple diatonic version (Do-Ti-Te and Te-La-Le). Le is sometimes harmonized by augmented sixth chords, and Te is sometimes harmonized by V42/iv. More elaborate versions harmonize all available notes between Do and Sol: Do-Ti-Te-La-Le-Sol.

A type of jazz/pop score that typically notates only the melody and the chord symbols (written above the staff).

Scale-degree 7 that is one half-step below scale-degree 1. The leading tone is diatonic in major keys, but requires an accidental in minor keys.

A Neo-Riemannian transformation that preserves the minor third in the triad, and moves the remaining note by semitone (e.g., relating C major and E minor).

Small lines written above or below a staff to extend the staff's range of notes

To play or sing smoothly or connected

A German solo song form that reached an artistic apex in the 19th century.

A diatonic mode that follows the pattern HWWHWWW. This is like the natural minor scale, but with a lowered scale-degree 2 and lowered scale-degree 5. This scale can also be found by playing the white notes of the piano starting on B.

This is William Caplin's terms that he defines as, "A formal organization characterized by nonconventional thematic structures, harmonic-tonal instability (modulation, chromaticism), an asymmetrical grouping structure, phrase-structural extension and expansion, form-functional redundancy, and a diversity of melodic-motivic material (compare tight-knit)." (Quoted from Caplin's 2011 book, Analyzing Classical Form, p. 709)

A diatonic mode that follows the pattern WWWHWWH. This is like the major scale, but with a raised scale-degree 4. This scale can also be found by playing the white notes of the piano starting on F.

I–II♯, or C–D in C major. This progression can easily be confused with IV-V in major or ♭VII–I in mixolydian, so one should be careful when referencing this progression. It implies the lydian mode.

A module or phrase is lyric-invariant if each time it appears it brings (mostly) the same lyrics. Lyric invariance tends to come at points of formal closure (tail refrains at the ends of strophes, choruses at the end of a verse-chorus song’s formal cycle).

A module or phrase is lyric-variant if each time it appears it brings (mostly) different lyrics.

A scale that proceeds M2–M2–m3–M2–m3. For example, starting on C, the C major pentatonic scale is C–D–E–G–A.

An ordered collection of half-steps (H) and whole-steps) as follows (ascending): W-W-H-W-W-W-H

A seventh chord in which the triad quality is major and the seventh quality is also major. For example: C–E–G–B.

A triad whose third is major and fifth is perfect

A seventh chord whose triad is major and whose seventh is major

A seventh chord whose triad is major and whose seventh is minor

To play with a more forceful accent or emphasis

In twelve-tone music, the matrix is a 12-by-12 grid that sets out all 48 forms of a row class.

Created by bar lines, a measure (or bar) is equivalent to one beat grouping

The interval is played or sung separately (one note after another)

An ordered collection of half- and whole-steps with the ascending succession W-H-W-W-W-W-H and the descending succession W-W-H-W-W-H-W

Notes played or sung one at a time; also known as arpeggiating

A French solo song form that reached an artistic apex in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

A type of Homophony where one can clearly distinguish between melodic and supporting voices, usually with differing rhythms between them.

A recurring pattern of accents that occur over time; meters are notated with a time signature

Usually indicated in beats per minute (BMP)

Italian for "moderately"

A microtone is a tone that exists outside of the 12-tone equal tempered scale (for example, quarter tones).

Mid-song intros function similarly to introductions, but in the middle of the song. They usually introduce the first section in the formal cycle. “Livin’ on a Prayer” has a brief mid-song introduction at 1:48, which sets up the arrival of the second cycle (beginning with Verse 2). A more extended mid-song introduction comes at 1:57 of “Pride (In the Name of Love)” by U2, which sets up the verse that begins the final cycle.

C4; the C near the middle of the piano keyboard, written on the first ledger line below the treble clef staff or the first ledger line above the bass clef staff

A physical and/or social setting

Another name for a minor minor seventh chord, a seventh chord with a minor triad and a minor seventh

The minor blues differs from the standard 12-bar blues by having minor seventh chords on the i and iv chords, and replacing the V–IV–I cadence with a ii–V–I cadence.

Use of a minor iv chord in a major key. This creates a semitone descent between scale-degrees ♭6 and 5. It is common to precede iv with IV (major), creating a descent 6–♭6–5.

A pentatonic scale with the intervals m3–M2–M2–m3–M2. For example, starting on A, the minor pentatonic would be A-C-D-E-G.

A seventh chord in which the triad quality is minor and the seventh quality is also minor. For example: C–E♭–G–B♭.

A triad whose third is minor and fifth is perfect

A seventh chord whose triad is minor and whose seventh is minor

A diatonic mode that follows the pattern WWHWWHW. This is like the major scale, but with a lowered scale-degree 7. This scale can also be found by playing the white notes of the piano starting on G.

A technique used to aid memorization

Mod-12 is short for modulo 12, where numbers wrap around upon reaching 12. Arithmetic in mod-12 is most familiar through clock time: after 12-o-clock, the time becomes 1-o-clock again.

"Bright" refers to a more major sound, while "dark" refers to a more minor sound

The intermixing of major and minor versions of scale-degrees 3, 6, and/or 7 within a composition.

A change of key.

In the Classical-era of western, classical music—which spans the middle to the end of the 18th century—there were a specific set of standard modulation schemes that were used within a section of music. These are summarized below:
[table id=14 /]

A musical texture with a single, unaccompanied melodic line.

A piece that has one governing tonic, that is, it starts and ends in the same key and contains a single tonic that gives the impression of being the primary key of the work. This term is used to distinguish between works that present progressive tonality.

A regularly recurring unit of music that's smaller than an idea, and which is typically transformed across a work. The word "motive" usually refers to pitch material, but other kinds of motives such as rhythmic or contour also exist.

Do is the first scale degree in a scale; this is in contrast to Fixed Do, when Do is always the pitch class C

A module or phrase is music-invariant if each time it appears it brings (mostly) the same music.

A module or phrase is music-variant if each time it appears it brings (mostly) different music.

Music historians

Cancels a prior accidental, such as a sharp or flat

An ordered collection of half- and whole-steps with the ascending succession W-H-W-W-H-W-W

A Neo-Riemannian transformation that moves both members of the minor third in a triad by semitone, and again changes the mode (e.g., relating C major and F minor).

Embellishing tones are approached by step and left by step in the opposite direction.

A type of motion where a chord tone moves by step to another tone, then moves back to the original chord tone. For example, C-D-C above a C major chord would be an example of neighboring motion. D can be described as a neighbor tone.

The most compressed way to write a given collection of pitch classes.

Includes both a pitch and rhythmic component; may include a stem, beam, and/or flag

The elliptical part of the note that can be either filled in (black) or outlined (white)

The octatonic collection is built with an alternation of whole steps and half steps, leading to a total of 8 distinct pitches. One example is C–C♯–D♯–E–F♯–G–A–B♭. Jazz musicians refer to this as the diminished scale.

Two pitches with the same letter name (e.g. "C"), twelve half-steps apart

The assumption that pitches separated by one or more octaves are musically equivalent (e.g. an octave above "A" is "A")

Pitches that are spelled the same but are one more more octaves apart

A series of eight notes (such as C to C)

A rhythmic or note value that does not fall on a beat (1, 2, 3, etc.)

A phrase or module is off-tonic when it begins on a harmony other than tonic.

A phrase or module is on-tonic when it begins with tonic harmony (I in root position).

A technique of internal phrase expansion. Coined by Janet Schmalfeldt, the technique involves three steps: (1) the music tries to cadence, (2) the attempted cadence is evaded, and (3) the music retries the cadence.

Notes of a chord are spaced out beyond their closest possible position

In set theory, "operations" refers to transposition and inversion.

The distance between two pitches measured in semitones, with a plus or minus symbol to indicate ascending or descending, respectively. For example: C4 to E5 would be an ordered pitch interval of +16.

The distance between pitch classes from lowest to highest. In other words, pitch class intervals are measured on the clockface, always going clockwise.

any pattern that repeats throughout a long section or whole work in one voice.

Outros function as a transition from song back to silence, and thus decrease energy. Often this is accomplished in the recording studio by way of a fadeout.

Pandiatonicism uses the notes of a diatonic collection without imparting a sense of pitch center.

two parts start an perfect fifth apart and both move in the same direction by the same interval to also end a perfect fifth apart

Shares a tonic with its parallel minor

Shares a tonic with its parallel major

Modes are said to be parallel if they share a tonic pitch. For example, C major and C minor are parallel modes.

two parts start an octave apart and both move in the same direction by the same interval to also end an octave apart.

When a major and minor key/scale share the same tonic

A Neo-Riemannian transformation that preserves the perfect fifth in the triad, and moves the remaining note by semitone (e.g., relating C major and C minor).

A component frequency within a complex tone's set of overtones.

A [latex]\begin{smallmatrix}6\\4\end{smallmatrix}[/latex] chord built on a passing tone in the bass. It's most commonly found prolonging tonic or pre-dominant harmonies. Importantly, the chords on both sides of the passing [latex]\begin{smallmatrix}6\\4\end{smallmatrix}[/latex] are always the same function.

Embellishing tones that are approached by step and left by step in the same direction.

Pedal tones are often found in the bass. They consist of a series of static notes over top of which chord changes occur that do not include the bass.

A pitch collection built with the interval pattern M2–M2–m3–M2–m3. This collection can also be generated by using scale-degrees 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 only of the major scale.

A clef used by non-pitched percussion instruments, where each line or space is dedicated to a different sound

A V-I cadence in which both harmonies are in root position and in which Do (scale-degree 1) is in the soprano over the tonic chord.

A phrase-level form that consists of two phrases: an antecedent and a consequent.

To divide time into different periods

A relatively complete musical thought that exhibits trajectory toward a goal. In much music, that goal is a cadence; so we might also say that a phrase is a relatively complete musical thought that ends with a cadence.

The lengthening of a phrase, whether internally or externally, beyond its expected duration resulting from a "play" with grouping units.“Expected duration” is defined contextually, and it may rely on such factors as: era, genre, pre-established models (i.e., projection) “Play” may occur either within a single group (stretching) or by stringing together additional groups (adding). Stretching and Adding can also occur at the same time.

Indicates the typical order and flow of harmonic functions in a phrase: T-PD-D-(T).

Refers to the various ways in which a phrase may be constructed of subphrases, ideas, and motives. Examples of phrase-level forms include sentences, periods, repeated phrases, hybrid forms, etc.

the way a passage might be shaped in performance (where to push and pull time, where and how to change dynamic levels, etc.)

A diatonic mode that follows the pattern HWWWHWW. This is like the natural minor scale, but with a lowered scale-degree 2. This scale can also be found by playing the white notes of the piano starting on E.

The phrygian half cadence (PHC) is a special kind of cadential phrase ending that occurs only in minor and which involves the progression iv6–V. It's called “phrygian” because of the half step that occurs when Le ([latex]\downarrow\hat{6}[/latex]) moves to Sol ([latex]\hat{5}[/latex]) in the bass, a sound that’s similar to when [latex]\hat{2}[/latex] moves to [latex]\hat{1}[/latex] in the phrygian mode.

Italian for "soft"

Substituting a major I chord for a minor I chord (for example, using C major instead of C minor in a piece that is in C minor overall).

Refers to how "high" or "low" a sound is

All pitches that are equivalent enharmonically and which exhibit octave equivalence

A group of pitch classes.

The distance from one pitch-class to another. Since pitch-classes are collections of all pitches related enharmonically and by octave equivalence, we need to define how to calculate this distance:

if the ordering of pitch classes (pcs) matters, calculate the distance from pc 1 to pc2 in semitones as if you're going up to pc2, regardless of whether the actual pitch of pc 2 is higher or lower then pc1. Calculate the size within an octave.

If the order of the pcs doesn't matter, then just calculate the closest distance between the two pcs in semitones.

Discrete tones with individual frequencies

In church modes, plagal modes run from the fifth note of the mode to the fifth an octave above.

A plagal cadence uses the harmonies IV–I.

Occurs when IV (or IV6) moves to I (or I6). Sometimes people have called this "plagal cadence," but we find that term too restrictive since plagal motion more often serves to prolong tonic than to create a cadence. The term "plagal motion" is more inclusive of the variety of contexts in which IV moves to I.

A musical texture which emphasizes the separateness of the parts involved. Quintessential examples include imitative genres like fugues and canons.

A type of suffix (external expansion). Post-cadential extensions are usually short, they often occur at the ends of phrases within a section, and they typically prolong the final chord of the cadence or re-state the two chords that created the cadence.

A short section that follows a chorus and serves only to close the cycle—does not to introduce or transition to the beginning of the next cycle (Mark Spicer 2011, par. 9).

Prechorus function is most significantly typified in energy gain. Prechorus sections often use motivic fragmentation, acceleration of harmonic rhythm, movement away from tonic harmony, and harmonic openness.

Predominant function chords are those that transition away from tonic function toward dominant function. It's best to split this category into two groups: (1) Strong predominants are those that signal a dominant function chord is imminent. These are IV and ii (in minor: iv and iio). (2) Weak predominants are those that transition away from tonic, typically moving to a stronger predominant. These are iii and vi (in minor: VII, III, and VI).

An external expansion that occurs before the beginning of a phrase. Prefixes are usually introductions, and they may be small, as when the accompaniment for a lied begins before the singer, or they may be large, as when a symphony begins with a slow introduction.

A subphrase consisting of a basic idea and its repetition. Presentations don't usually end with cadences.

A name for a set class. The prime form is the version of the set class that is most compact to the left and transposed to begin on 0.

Prime symbol:

′

This small symbol (look similar to an apostrophe) is used in the analysis of phrases and forms to indicate that some repeated material has changed, in some way, from its initial statement. For example, A would be the symbol for the first section but A′ would be used to represent the return of the A section with some element(s) of change.

Progressive tonality - A piece that starts and ends with different tonics. This concept is used to distinguish itself from monotonality which is the default harmonic plan in most tonal works from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

“Prolongation” just means that a given harmony’s influence lasts longer than a single chord. Usually this is accomplished by alternating the prolonged chord with other, less important chords.

A system of musical notation stripped of complicating elements, and focusing only on basic elements of meter, rhythm, and scale degree

Meters in which beats are grouped into fours

When applied to an interval, the term "quality" modifies the size descriptor in order to be more specific about the exact number of semitones in the interval

When applied to triadic harmony, "quality" refers to the size of the different intervals that make up the harmony

Divides into two eighth notes

Divides into two eighth rests

A group of lyrics that is four lines long.

The span of notes a voice or instrument can sing or play

The process of turning figured bass symbols into chords

A section of a sonata form work that beings back themes from the exposition and which resolves the conflict established in the exposition.

In a rondo form, a refrain refers to the work's primary theme. It is often referred to as a refrain because of its recurrent nature. In most rondos, the refrain is stated at the beginning, restated after each contrasting episode, and then one more time as the last form sectional, though a coda may follow.

A lyric-invariant passage within a section that is otherwise lyric-variant. A refrain is too short to form its own section—typically a phrase or less.

Considered in relation to some other system. For example, modes are said to be relative if their scales share all the same notes (like C major and A minor). Or, relative pitch describes the ability to sing certain pitches after being given other pitches.

Shares a key signature with its relative minor

Shares a key signature with its relative major

When a major and minor key/scale share the same key signature

A Neo-Riemannian transformation which preserves the major third in the triad, and moves the remaining note by whole tone (e.g., relating C major and A minor).

Indicate a section of music is repeated

Two phrases where the second one is a repetition of the first. The repetition is always written out (repeat signs don't signify a repeated phrase), and usually the repetition is a variation on the initial statement.

A technique of internal phrase expansion. Sometimes a composer repeats material to create extra length in a phrase. Such repetitions may be exact or varied.

A section of a work that bears repeat signs like either of the parts of a binary form. Each reprise is typically referred to by number (i.e., reprise 1, reprise 2, or 1st reprise, 2nd reprise).

A type of alternative path. A reroute involves a permanent change of a phrase's trajectory toward the cadence. Reroutes are initiated by a diversion.

The duration of silences in music

An embellishing tone that is approached by static note and left by step up. The retardation is on a stronger part of the beat

A retransition is very similar to a transition but its location and function are different. Retransitions come between two sections where the upcoming section is the initiation of a large-scale return. In most cases, retransitions help prepare the return of the piece’s main section. In a ternary form this would be the A section, in a sonata form this would be the restatement of the primary theme at the onset of the recapitulation, and in a rondo this would be the return of the refrain (a.k.a. the A section). A retransition often drives toward attaining the dominant chord of the home key and will often prolong the dominant once attained, usually in the form of a suffix. Retransitions may have a clear half-cadential ending (possibly followed by a suffix), or they may have an elided ending that coincides with the initiation of the following section.

Describes when a theme, row form, or motive is played in reverse in comparison to an initial (or original) statement.

The duration of musical sounds and rests in time

A notational symbol indicating that the affected note should be held 1.5 times as long.

In jazz, the piano, guitar, bass, and percussion.

Represent the relative values of notes

Decrease in speed (tempo)

An analytical process where musicians label chords with Roman numerals to identify chords within the context of key signatures

A series of numeric symbols originating in ancient Rome

The lowest note of a triad or seventh chord when the chord is in root position

The distance between roots (NB: not basses!) of adjacent chords. For example, "root motion by step" refers to the distance between two chords that are only one step apart, such as I and ii, IV and V, etc.

Ordering the notes of a chord so that it is entirely stacked in thirds. The root of the chord is on the bottom.

A root-position dominant will often take the form of any one of the following options and each provide an essentially equivalent overall harmonic effect:

V

V7

V64-53

V864-753

Beginning a harmonic schema on a different chord within the schema, but proceeding through the harmonies in the same order. In other words, if the schema is 1-2-3-4, a rotation of the schema would be 3-4-1-2. Something like 1-3-2-4 would not be a rotation, because the chords appear in a different order than in the schema.

A type of binary form where the material at the start of reprise 1 returns somewhere near the middle of reprise 2. Both appearances of that repeated music are expected to be in the home key.

AKA series. Refers to the ordered elements in a serial composition. These elements are often pitches, but could be other things such as durations or dynamics.

A collection of all forms of a given row. Most row classes contain 48 versions of a row, but some contain fewer due to duplications of row forms. For example, a prime version of a row may be equivalent to a retrograde version of the row.

A version of a particular row in serial music. For example, any transposed version of the original row is considerd a form of the row. The same is true of inversions, retrogrades, and retrograde-inversions

A four-part style of notating music; a soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voice

An ordered collection of half- and whole-steps

A single step within a scale; usually referenced by either an Arabic numeral or solfège syllable

A movable system of names for scale degrees

The relative number of a note in a scale relative to the first note of that scale

A schema is a mental representation of a stock pattern. In music theory, the term "schema" usually refers to a prototypical chord progression or formal structure. Significantly, schemas can appear with variations while still being recognized as an instantiation of that schema. We understand an individual pattern in the music (exemplar) as a version of an ideal general pattern (prototype), and that relationship helps us understand how that pattern is functioning within a particular passage of music. Schemas are often give names, like "Meyer" or "double plagal."
Schemas can have both internal defining characteristics and normative placements within a series of musical events.
• Internal characteristics may describe a schema’s melodic features, harmonic features, and metric features.
• A schema’s normative placement describes it temporal location. For example, we will normally find a closing schema like the “Prinner” at a close of a phrase.

A triadic harmony with the fifth in the bass

A chromatic chord that temporarily tonicizes another key besides the tonic key, by taking on a dominant function in that new key.

A temporary key within a piece that is overall in a different key. For example, a piece in A major may temporarily modulate to E major; E major is a secondary key within A major.

A leading-tone chord that makes a non-tonic chord temporarily sound like tonic. Most often secondary leading-tone chords are fully diminished, though occasionally they are half-diminished.

In musical form, this refers to the highest-level division of the overall form of the piece. Examples include the exposition in sonata form, the first part of a binary form, or the chorus of a pop song.

A portion of a row. Segments of a row can be any number of elements (for example, in a 12-tone row, it's common to look at 3-note segments or 4-note segments).

The process of dividing a passage or piece of music into its component parts. Most commonly, we show the idea level on a score using square brackets above the staff. For a discussion of the hierarchy of these "component parts" see Phrase-Level Forms 1.

A special kind of phrase consisting of a presentation and a continuation.

A phrase that differs substantially from the archetypal sentence while still exhibiting some traits of a sentence-structure phrase.

A pattern that is repeated and transposed by some consistent interval. Usually the term "sequence" refers to both the melody and harmony being transposed by the same interval, but we can also speak of "melodic sequences" or "harmonic sequences" where only one domain participates.

The segment of a sequence that repeats and transposes the material from the model.

The segment of music that establishes the pattern for a sequence. In other words, it's the segment that gets copied in a sequence.

A strategy of putting elements in a particular order. The elements can be any dimension of music: pitch, duration, dynamics, etc....

Non-musical elements can also be serialized, such as the episodes in a television series.

Refers to the ordered elements in a serial composition. These elements are often pitches, but could be other things such as durations or dynamics.

In set theory, a set is a group whose members are not necessarily related.

A group of pitch class sets related by transposition or inversion. Set classes are named by their prime forms. E.g., (012) is a set class.

A methodology for analyzing pitch in atonal music. Pitch classes are given an integer name (0–11, where C is 0, C♯ is 1, etc.). Groups of pitches are considered together as "sets." Sets may be related by inversion or transposition.

A four-note chord whose pitch classes can be arranged as thirds

Raises a note by a half-step

Counting at "sight" (i.e. having never before seen or heard the rhythm)

Singing music at "sight" (i.e. having never seen it before)

A type of binary form that does not contain the types of material returns found in rounded and balanced binary.

A meter with two beats, each of which divides into two

Intervals with a size an octave or smaller

Meters in which the beat divides into two (subdivides into four)

A meter with four beats, each of which divides into two

A ternary form whose sections are each made up of one or more phrases but not complete forms. The term "simple" can also be used to clarify that a single section does not contain a complete form. Compare with compound ternary form.

A meter with three beats, each of which divides into two

I–V–vi–IV in major, or III–VII–i–VI in minor (C–G–Am–F, for example). This chord progression often loops throughout a pop song. Frequently, this progression begins on the vi/i chord instead of the I/III chord.

Divides into two thirty-second notes

Divides into two thirty-second rests

Interval size is written with Arabic numbers (2, 3, 4, etc.); it is the distance between two notes on a staff

Voice leading movement by third.

An abbreviated form of musical rhythmic notation, that involves dashes to indicate articulations, horizontal lines to indicate a sustained note, and circles to indicate rests

A Neo-Riemannian transformation that moves the two pitches that form the perfect fifth in a triad by semitone, and changes the mode of the triad (e.g., relating C major and C♯ minor).

A curved line placed over notes to indicated they should be played or sung without separation

The application of solemnization syllables (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, etc.) to notes within the context of scales

A system that pairs each note of a scale with a particular syllable

Sonata form gets is name by association with the form that most multi-movement works had in the Classic era. It is one of the more complex forms and can be understood as an elaborate version of rounded binary form that features a balanced component. Because of its prevalence in classical music in general, it has been given very specific names for each part of its larger and smaller organization. The larger level names are as follows: Exposition (≈A), Development (≈B), and Recapitulation (≈A′). In general terms, the exposition contains two main sections separated by a transition (internal auxiliary section) and the exposition usually ends with a suffix (typically the large variety). The specific names for each section of the exposition are as follows:

Primary Theme (main section 1)
Transition (internal auxiliary section)
Secondary Theme (main section 2)
Closing Section (suffix)

These sections are often referred to with capitalized initials: P, T, S, C.

The highest part in SATB style, written in the treble clef staff with an up-stem; its generally accepted range is C4-G5

There should be no more than an octave between upper voices (soprano and alto, alto and tenor); there should be no more than a twelfth between the tenor and bass

A step-by-step way of learning to write melodies and to combine them.

A combination of size and quality to describe an interval

A poetic foot consisting of two stressed syllables in a row.

A relative sense of stability in a work is a common means of delineating form, and is an important dramatic concern for creating momentum and engaging a listener's expectation about what might happen in a work, given the listener's familiarity with how other pieces in a given genre behave. Much like story telling, music often expresses the sense of beginning, middle, and end and listeners have the ability to pay attention to that aspect of music which typically engages their interest because once they feel the sense of being in the middle, for example, they can project an expectation that the middle will lead to an end at some, undetermined point in the future. The sense of expectation is something that composers regularly manipulate by establishing models (or relying on models established by other works and composers) and then altering those models which can give the listener a sense of having an expectation, an implicit prediction, and then an emotional response depending on whether or not their expectation came true.

This balance between stability and instability can generally be associated with beginnings, middles, and ends. Beginnings can be expected to be relatively stable and middles can be expected to be relatively unstable. Endings typically involve instability but also the promise of an arrival at which point the instability will come to a close, creating a sense of relative stability that helps to bring a section or work to a satisfying close.

Common features for each might include some combination of the following features

• Stability: tonic expansions, regular hypermeter, no modulation, diatonic melody, and diatonic harmony (among other things)

• Instability: increased chromaticism (tonicization), increased rhythmic activity, modulation, sustained dominant, sequences (especially chromatic ones), and irregular hypermeter, and irregular phrase lengths (among other things)

To play or sing a note shorter than its usual duration

Five horizontal lines that are evenly spaced on which notes are placed

In the Classical-era of western, classical music—which spans the middle to the end of the 18th century—there were a specific set of standard cadence types that were used to close phrases. They were the perfect authentic cadence (PAC), the half cadence (HC), and the imperfect authentic cadence (IAC).

In lyrics, a stanza is a group of lines of lyrics. In music notation, a stanza is a group of staves that are played simultaneously.

The vertical line that originates at the notehead

On a grand staff in SATB style, the soprano and tenor are up-stemmed, while the alto and bass are down-stemmed

Eighth notes that are equal, as opposed to swung eighths (which are unequal).

A technique of internal phrase expansion. It occurs when a composer lengthens a harmony or melody by increasing its duration so that it lasts longer than expected. When that happens, we say that the unit that contains the harmony or melody has been stretched.

An instrument that produces sound via one or more vibrating strings

A basic multi-phrase unit. In pop music, a strophe is a focal module within strophic-form and AABA-form songs.

A large-scale song structure, in which the same basic multi-phrase unit is repeated throughout (AAA). The basic unit that is repeated is called a strophe. Strophic form is more common in early rock-and-roll (1950s–1960s) than in the 1970s and beyond.

Musical features that pertain to section divisions and form

A harmonic function that may either lead toward a dominant-function chord or back to a tonic-function chord. Subdominant function is most typically associated with the IV chord, otherwise known as the subdominant chord, and the II chord, otherwise known as the supertonic chord.

The unit of music that need not end with a cadence and which is one level smaller than a phrase, but one level larger than an idea. Subphrases do not exist in all phrase-level forms. Periods, for example, do not contain subphrases. Sentences contain two subphrases: a presentation and a continuation.

♭VII–I, or B♭–C in C major. This shuttle can imply mixolydian if the tonic chord is major, or aeolian if it is minor. In this shuttle, the ♭VII chord has dominant function.

Occurs when a potential cadence point is declined by the material that follows it. A common strategy is for a composer to write music that proposes a cadence, but then to "back up" in the phrase and try the cadence again. See also "One-more-time" technique in the chapter on phrase expansion.

A type of external expansion that occurs after the end of a phrase. There are three terms we commonly use to describe suffixes, ranging in size from smaller to larger: post-cadential extension, codetta, and coda.

In typesetting, superscript characters appear higher on the page than the regular characters—like an exponent in math. For example, in the chord symbol C7, the 7 is superscript.

A larger set that contains other smaller sets. For example, a superset of (037) is the diatonic collection, (013568t).

An embellishing tone that is approached via static note and left by step down. The suspension is on a strong part of the beat.

A performance practice in which two notated eighth notes are performed unequally, in about a 2:1 proportion.

A rhythmic phenomenon in which the hierarchy of the underlying meter is contradicted through surface rhythms. Syncopation is usually created through accents and/or longer durations.

the norms or principles according to which musical elements are combined into meaningful and stylistically appropriate successions

A refrain that is the last line or so of a section's text.

How fast or slow a work is to be performed; most tempi are in Italian or another non-English language

Relating to time

The second lowest part in SATB style, written in the bass clef staff with an up-stem; its generally accepted range is C3-G4

Also known as a "C" clef, a tenor clef designates the lowest line of a staff as the pitch D3

A four-note collection.

The density of and interaction between voices in a work.

The note of a triad or seventh chord a fifth above the root

The note of a triad or seventh chord a third above the root

A triadic harmony with the chordal seventh in the bass

An attribute of a musical form where no sections of music return. For example, a form with sections A B C. Similar motivic material may be present in different sections, but the sections would each be considered distinct. A piece that doesn't have any clear sections and seems like a continuous churning of musical ideas can also be described as through composed.

Connects two or more notes of the same pitch; do not rearticulate any "tied to" notes

This is William Caplin's terms that he defines as, "A formal organization characterized by conventional theme types, harmonic-tonal stability, a symmetrical grouping structure, form-functional efficiency, and unity of melodic-motivic material (compare loose)." (Quoted from Caplin's 2011 book, Analyzing Classical Form, p. 714)

In simple meters: specifies how many beats are contained in each measure, and which note value is equivalent to a beat. In compound meters: specifies how many divisions are contained in each measure, and which note value is equivalent to a division.

A property of certain chord progressions, where the progression does not inherently imply a single chord as the tonic chord.

The home note or home chord of a scale, or something with the function of that home note.

A category of chords that sound stable, providing a sense of home or center. In Western classical music, the only chord that belongs to this cateogory is I (in minor: i).

The process by which a non-tonic triad is made to sound like a temporary tonic. It involves the use of secondary dominant or leading-tone chords.

Generally, a section of music that functions to connect two thematic sections. In particular, a transition comes between two sections where the upcoming section is not the initiation of a large-scale return (e.g., transitions are commonly found between an A and B sections, or between the Primary and Secondary themes in a sonata). Transitions usually help to lead away from the piece's main section toward a contrasting section. Often a modulation is introduced to help prepare a section in a new key, though a modulation is not required. Transitions are a type of auxiliary section and they come in small and large varieties. Large transitions contain at least one complete phrase and small transitions don't contain complete phrases.

The act of moving pitch content by a certain interval.

1. Approach the chordal 7th by step or common tone
2. Resolve the chordal 7th down by step

Reminder: we say "chordal 7th" to distinguish it from the leading tone, which is different.

Also known as the "G" clef, a treble clef designates the lowest line of a staff as the pitch E4

A three-note chord whose pitch classes can be arranged as thirds

A collection of three notes.

Meters in which beats are grouped into threes

A tuplet that involves dividing a beat in simple meter into three parts

An interval a half-step larger than a doubly augmented interval

An interval a half-step smaller than a doubly diminished interval

A poetic foot consisting of one stressed followed by one unstressed syllable.

A rhythm that involves dividing the beat into a different number of subdivisions from that usually implied by the time signature

Broadly speaking, a turnaround is the use of a non-tonic chord (usually dominant) at the end of a harmonically closed unit to transition into the beginning of the following on-tonic unit. In jazz, the term "turnaround" often refers to the progression vi–ii–V–I. The exact qualities of these chords is highly variable, and one or more of the chords may be substituted with a different, related chord.

1. Write the entire bass
2. Write the entire soprano to make a smooth melody that interacts well with the bass. Choose active notes for the soprano above dominant-function chords, and remember you need not write left to right always.
3. Write the inner voices by asking "what notes do I already have? What notes do I still need? Considering spacing and resolution, what note placement would give me the smoothest motion?"

A segment of music that expresses whatever the prevailing higher-level grouping expresses. For example, if a unit is contained within a continuation, it expresses continuation function. We often apply the term "unit" to ideas that aren't easily categorized using terms such as basic idea, contrasting idea, or cadential idea.

The distance between two pitches, measured in semitones. C4 to E5 would be an unordered pitch interval of 16.

Spelling chords stacked in thirds or in closed position, within a single staff, usually for abstract or theoretical purposes, rather than for performance.

The last beat of a measure which is conducted with an upwards motion

The double bass.

Verse sections are lyric-variant and often contain lyrics thatadvance the narrative. Until the 1960s, verse sections tended to be harmonically closed. Beginning in the 1960s, verse sections became more and more likely to be harmonically open (Summach, p. 114). Verses (like strophes) tend to begin on-tonic.

The most common form of pop songs today. The song is built of lyric-variant verses and lyric- and music-invariant choruses that deliver the primary narrative material of the song.

The ranges of voices should not cross; the soprano must always be higher than the alto, the alto must always be higher than the tenor, the tenor must be higher than the bass

The way a specific voice within a larger texture moves when the harmonies change. For example, in a choir with four parts, soprano/alto/tenor/bass, one might discuss the voice leading in the tenor part as the entire choir moves from I to V.

Distribution of notes in a chord into idiomatic registers for performance.

Concerning European and European-colonized countries

Divides into two half notes

Divides into two half rests

A pitch collection composed entirely of whole steps. There are six whole steps in a whole tone collection. There are only two possible whole tone scales: C–D–E–F♯–G♯–A♯, or C♯–D♯–F–G–A–B.

Two half-steps