Glossary

Accompaniment
Angular
Anticlimactic
Arch-Like Contour
Arpeggiated
Ascends
Aspect
Atonal
Augmented
Articulation

Balanced

Canon/Canonic
Cascading
Chaotic
Character
Chordal
Chromatic/chromati
cism
Climax/Climactic
Compliment
Consecutive

Consonance
Contour
Contrast
Conversational

Descends
Desolate
Diatonic
Diminished
Dissonant/Dissonan
ce
Dramatic
Drone

Elated
Elongated
Embellished
Erratic
Expand

Fanfare-like

Flowing
Foreboding
Fragmented

Grace note

Highlight

Imply
Improvisatory
Intensity
Interval/Intervallic
Irregular

Jagged
Juxtaposed

Legato
Lilting
Linear
Lyrics
Lyrical

Meandering
Melancholy/melanch
olic
Melisma/melismatic
Melody
Menacing
Modal

Modulate
Mood
Motif
Motivic

Non-western scale

Octave (8ve)
Ominous

Ornamentation
Parallel intervals
Pentatonic
Phrase
Pulse

Range
Recurring
Register
Regular
Reinforced
Repetition
Resolved
Rubato

Scalic
Sequence/sequentia
l
Serene
Sombre
Stagnant
Stepwise
Subtle

Syllabic

Texture
Tonality

The sum of relat

Tranquil

the slow guitar, flutes and chimes gave the piece a very
tranquil feel.
The rapid alternation between 2 notes, usually a semitone
or tone apart.
A group of 3 notes made up of thirds.

Trill
Triad
Triadic
Triumphant

Unconfined
Unfolding

Unpredictable

Variation
Virtuosic

Walking bass

Whole tone
Whole tone scale

A piece based on chords of 3 notes stacked on top of each

other in 3rds.
The symphony came to a triumphant conclusion.

To not be restricted by the traditional musical rules of the

period or style.
the implication of more than one melody or line by a
single voice through skipping back and forth between the
notes of the two melodies
Something that is impossible to predict. That surprise
oboe solo in that funk piece was unpredictable.

A movement of a piece that derives from the original

melody, but is changed in rhythm or speed.
To have special knowledge in a field, especially one area of
music.

A bass line which is played in 4/4 time, where the bass

plays on each beat of the bar going up and down scale or
arpeggio patterns in the respective chord.
A whole tone is made up of 2 semi tones. C to D is a whole
tone, whereas E to F isnt.
A whole tone scale is a scale made up of entirely whole
tones, and no semi tones.