cross-rhythms
conflicting rhythms (e.g. groups of three notes played in one line while groups of two are played simultaneously in another)
oral tradition
music learned by listening and repeating, passed on orally (no traditional notation)
polyrhythmic
a texture made of many different rhythms
monophonic
a texture of a single melodic line with no accompaniment
heterophonic
a texture in which several parts play the same melody but with slight differences in pitch
affection
the mood of a piece of music - customary in Baroque period to have a single mood
diatonic
notes or chords belonging to the key
homophonic
a texture comprising melody and accompaniment
melodic
referring to the melody line
polyphonic
a texture featuring two or more parts, each having a melody line and sounding together
oratorio
musical setting of Biblical text for chorus, soloists and orchestra, designed for concert performance
libretto
the words of a musical work such as an opera or oratorio
cadence
two chords at the end of a musical phrase
hemiola
rhythmic device often used towards cadence point in triple time - notes are grouped into two-beat units
imitative
separate parts imitating each other (if parts are identical this is called a canon)
modulation
the process of changing key in a piece of music, or a digital effect that makes the pitch fluctuate slightly
pedal
a sustained note, usually in the lowest bass part
inner pedal
a sustained note in the middle of a musical texture
inverted pedal
a sustained note at the top of a musical texture
perfect cadence
chords V-I
plagal cadence
chords IV-I
sonata form
a structure invented in the Classical era - exposition, development, recapitulation
symphony
large-scale genre for orchestra in three or four movements
ternary
three-part structure in ABA form where the B section provides contrast
theme and variations
a theme followed by a series of variations on it
bridge passage
a linking passage often used to modulate in preparation for the second subject
first subject
the first theme or melody
second subject
the second theme or melody
texture
the number of parts and how they relate to each other
augmentation
the doubling (or more) of original note values
chromatically
moving up or down by semitones
acciaccatura
an ornament played as quickly as possible before the main note
alap
Indian music - the opening unmetred and improvised section of a raga
altered chord
a chord in which one of the notes has been sharpened or flattened to become a chromatic note
alto clef
the clef used mainly by the viola
aria
a solo vocal piece with instrumental accompaniment
atonal
absence of tonality (key)
augmented chord
any chord which contains an augmented interval - where the length of the notes is prolonged by a semitone
augmented
made larger by a semitone
bandish
the last section of a vocal raga - a 'fixed composition' in the form of a song
bansuri
Indian music - wooden flute without keys, used in Gorn and Wertheimer's Rag Desh
bass clef
clef that fixes the note F on the fourth line of the stave
blue note
a note (usually the third, fifth or seventh degree of a major scale) performed at a slightly lower pitch than usual for expressive effect (on a keyboard instrument the lowering is a full semitone)
bols
Indian music - independent rhythm parts that go against the main beat of the cycle creating exciting syncopations
breve
a long note of eight crotchets duration
cantabile
instruction for music to be performed 'in a singing style'
cell/motif
a short musical idea
changes
the chord sequence in a jazz song
chord substitution
replacing one chord with another
chord
the simultaneous sounding together of two or more notes
chromatic
music in which notes are used that are not in the key of the piece
comping
an abbreviation of 'accompanying'
complement
the six semitones not used in the first hexachord
compound interval
an interval larger than an octave
compound time signature
a time signature where the beat is dotted and sub-divides into groups of three, as in 6/8 which has two dotted crotchet beats, each of which comprises three quavers
delay
an audio effect that can be electronically added to music to give the effect of an echo
diminished
made smaller by a semitone
djembe
goblet-shaped drum from West Africa
dominant
fifth note of the scale or key - the strongest note after the tonic
dominant 13th
chord V with added 13th note
dominant pedal
sustained or repeated note on the dominant note of the key
donno
hourglass-shaped 'talking drum', held under the arm and played with the hand
drone
a sustained note held in one part while other parts play or sing melodies against it
dundun
double-headed drum (in different sizes) played with sticks
enharmonic
different ways of writing the same pitch, for example Bb and A#
EQ
the process of adjusting the relative level of frequencies in an audio signal
flanging
a digital effect that combines two copies of the same signal, with the second delayed slightly, to produce a swirling, sweeping effect
four-to-the-floor
a strong reinforcement of a 4/4 beat by a bass drum
frontline
the solo instruments in a jazz ensemble
fugue
a musical texture involving polyphonic writing structured: exposition-middle entries-final entries
fusion
a mingling of more than one musical style or culture to create a new 'fused' sound
gat
the final section of an instrumental raga - a 'fixed composition' with some improvised embellishments
gharana
Indian system of master-pupil teaching
harmonic
relates to the harmony parts
head
the main melody of a jazz song, generally played at the beginning of the song
hexachord
a group of six notes selected from the 12 available pitches, used as a musical motif or chord
imperfect cadence
ending on chord V, sounds incomplete, usually preceded by I, II or IV
interrupted cadence
most commonly chords V-VI (expected perfect V-I is 'interrupted')
interval
distance between two notes
inversion
a method of developing a series by turning all the intervals upside down
jhalla
the third section of a raga and the climax of the whole piece - a lively tempo and virtuoso display of improvisatory skills
johr
the second section of a raga - a medium tempo with improvisation
klangfarbenmelodie
'tone colour melody', a word used to describe how timbre contributes to melody in addition to pitch and rhythm
loop
a section of a piece of music which is edited so that it can be repeated seamlessly by electronic means
major
Western tonal music in bright-sounding keys - a major key has four semitones between notes I and III
matras
individual beats in a rhythmic cycle in Indian music
meend
the sliding or bending effects between notes in Indian music
minor
Western tonal music in solemn-sounding keys - a minor key has three semitones between notes I and III
minuet and trio
a ternary form structure, performed as minuet-trio-minuet - the minuet is a stately dance in triple time and the contrasting middle section usually features reduction in instrumental parts - often used as third movement in symphony
modal jazz
a jazz style in which the soloists base their solos on modes instead of the chord changes
modes
precursors of modern scales - there are seven, each with different tones and semitones
mordent
ornament in which the written note is played, followed by the note above and the written note again
neopolitan 6th
chord of the flattened supertonic in the first inversion
note addition
a method of developing cells in minimalist music by gradually adding notes to the original cell
note subtraction
as for note addition, but taking notes away
octave
interval of eight notes
overdubbing
recording a new part over the top of existing material
pentatonic scale
a scale built on five notes - the first, second, third, fifth and sixth degrees of the scale
phasing
when two or more versions of a sound or musical motif are played simultaneously but slightly out of synchronisation, with the two parts gradually coming back in sync after a number of repetitions
pitch
how high or low a note sounds