Music theory glossary
207 terms in plain language, from accidental to voice leading. Each has a short definition, a worked example and links to the articles that go deeper.
A
- A440 (concert A)The A above middle C tuned to 440 Hz, the most widely used reference pitch for tuning ensembles and instruments.
- AccelerandoA gradual increase in tempo across a passage, written accel. or accelerando, which speeds the pulse up step by step.
- AccidentalA sign before a note that raises or lowers its pitch by a semitone, or cancels an earlier sign, relative to the key signature.
- AmplitudeThe size of a sound wave's vibration, measured as its greatest displacement from rest, which determines loudness.
- AnacrusisOne or more unstressed notes before the first strong beat of a phrase, often called a pickup.
- AppoggiaturaA non-chord tone on a strong beat that resolves by step onto a chord tone, often taking half the value of the note it resolves to.
- ArticulationHow a note begins, sounds and ends, controlled by marks such as staccato, accent, tenuto and legato.
- AtonalityMusic that does not organise its pitches around a tonic or key, so no note or chord has a home or a pull toward one.
- Augmented intervalAn interval one semitone wider than a major or perfect interval with the same letter names, such as F to B.
- Augmented sixth chordA chord built on the lowered sixth and raised fourth scale degrees, which resolve outward by step to the octave on the dominant.
- Authentic cadenceA close from the dominant to the tonic, V to I or V7 to I, which ends a phrase. Its perfect and imperfect forms differ in strength.
B
- BackbeatThe accent on beats two and four of a 4/4 bar, the emphasis that gives rock, pop and soul their driving feel.
- Bar lineA vertical line through the staff that divides music into measures, with heavier forms marking sections and the end.
- Barre chordA guitar chord in which one finger presses several strings at one fret, so the whole shape can move up the neck.
- BeatOne unit of the steady pulse that runs under a piece, the level at which listeners tap a foot or count.
- BeatingSlow pulsations in loudness heard when two close frequencies interfere, at a rate equal to their difference in hertz.
- Binary formA two-part form, AB or AABB, in which each part is usually repeated and the first part moves from the tonic toward the dominant.
- Borrowed chordA chord taken from the parallel major or minor key, such as iv or ♭VI in a major key, which adds colour without changing the key.
- BPM (beats per minute)The number of beats in one minute, the standard unit for tempo; each beat lasts 60 divided by the BPM in seconds.
C
- CadenceA conventional pattern at the end of a phrase or section that gives a sense of closure, pause or continuation.
- CAGED systemA way of learning guitar chords from five open shapes, C, A, G, E and D, which together cover the whole fretboard.
- CanonA form in which one voice imitates another exactly after a fixed delay, creating a continuous chain of entries, as in a round.
- Cantus firmusA pre-existing melody, often plainchant or a chorale tune, used as the fixed line against which new voices are written in counterpoint.
- CapoA clamp that presses all the strings at one fret, raising the pitch of a guitar or similar string instrument.
- CentA unit for small pitch differences: 1/100 of an equal-tempered semitone, so an octave is 1200 cents.
- ChordTwo or more pitches sounded together and heard as one unit, usually built in thirds and named by their root and quality.
- Chord extensionA chord tone added above the seventh, such as a ninth, eleventh or thirteenth, which colours a chord without changing its basic function.
- Chord progressionA succession of chords in a particular order, described by their roots and functions, such as I, IV, V, I in a key.
- Chord-scale theoryA method that pairs each chord symbol with a scale whose notes fit that chord, for improvising over a set of changes.
- Chromatic scaleA scale of all twelve semitones in an octave, built from half steps alone, with each pitch spelled by a sharp or a flat.
- ChromaticismThe use of pitches outside the key's diatonic scale, such as accidentals and chromatic chords, for colour and tension.
- Circle progressionA chord progression in which each root moves by a fifth, usually down, so the chords trace the circle of fifths.
- ClefA symbol at the start of a staff that fixes the pitch of one line, and so the pitch of every other line and space.
- Coda (𝄌)A closing section added after the main part of a piece, reached by a jump marked with a coda sign.
- Compound intervalAn interval larger than an octave, such as a tenth or twelfth, made of a simple interval plus one or more octaves.
- Compound meterA meter in which each beat divides into three equal parts, as in 6/8, 9/8 and 12/8.
- Concert pitchThe actual sounding pitch of a note, as opposed to the pitch written for a transposing instrument.
- ConsonanceAn interval or chord that sounds stable and at rest in a given style, such as the octave, fifth and major third.
- Contrary motionTwo voices moving in opposite directions, one rising while the other falls. It keeps the voices independent and avoids parallel perfect intervals.
- CounterpointThe writing of two or more independent melodic lines that sound together, linked by rules for consonance, dissonance and voice leading.
- CrescendoA gradual increase in loudness, written cresc. or shown by a widening hairpin, the opposite of decrescendo.
D
- Deceptive cadenceA dominant that resolves to a chord other than the tonic, most often vi, which delays the expected close and extends the phrase.
- DevelopmentThe middle section of sonata form, where themes from the exposition are fragmented, sequenced and moved through remote keys before the recapitulation.
- DiatonicDescribes notes drawn from a single seven-note scale, such as the white keys of the piano, with no chromatic alterations.
- Diminished intervalAn interval one semitone narrower than a perfect or minor interval with the same letter names, such as B to F.
- Diminished seventh chordA four-note chord of stacked minor thirds, such as B D F A♭, which divides the octave into four equal parts and can resolve to several keys.
- DissonanceAn interval or chord heard as unstable or tense, which in tonal music usually moves on to a consonance.
- DivisiItalian for divided: a section split into two or more parts, each playing a different note, usually marked div.
- DominantThe fifth degree of the scale, a perfect fifth above the tonic, which pulls strongly back toward the tonic.
- Dominant seventh chordA major triad with a minor seventh above the root, such as G B D F. Its tritone pulls strongly toward the tonic.
- Dot (augmentation dot)A small mark after a note or rest that extends its value by half, so a dotted quarter lasts as long as three eighth notes.
- Double flat (𝄫)An accidental that lowers a note by two semitones, written as a double-flat sign or as two flats before the note head.
- Double sharp (𝄪)An accidental that raises a note by two semitones, written as a cross sign or as two sharps before the note head.
- DownbeatThe first beat of a bar, normally the strongest accent in the meter and the beat marked by the conductor's first downward gesture.
- DroneA sustained or continually sounding pitch, often the tonic and fifth, held through a passage in folk, Indian and early music.
- DynamicsThe relative loudness of music, shown by markings such as p for soft and f for loud, and by hairpins for gradual change.
E
- EnharmonicDescribes two notes or intervals that sound the same but are written differently, such as C♯ and D♭.
- Equal temperamentA tuning that divides the octave into twelve equal semitones of 100 cents, so every key sounds alike and no interval is pure.
- ExpositionThe opening section of a sonata-form movement or a fugue, in which the main themes or subject are presented before any development.
F
- Fermata (𝄐)A sign over a note or rest that prolongs it beyond its written value, with the length left to the performer or conductor.
- Figured bassNumbers written under a bass line that tell a keyboardist which intervals to play above each bass note, mainly in Baroque music.
- First inversionA triad or seventh chord with its third as the lowest note. A triad in first inversion is written I6 in Roman numerals.
- Fixed doA solfège system in which each syllable names a fixed pitch, with do always meaning C, whatever the key.
- Flat (♭)An accidental that lowers a note by one semitone, written as ♭ before the note head.
- FormantA peak in a sound's spectrum caused by a resonance of the body or vocal tract, which stays put as the pitch changes.
- FrequencyThe number of complete vibration cycles per second, measured in hertz (Hz), which sets a sound's pitch.
- FretboardThe playing surface of a fretted instrument, where each fret raises the open string by one semitone.
- FugueA contrapuntal piece built on a subject that enters in each voice in turn, developed through episodes, with answers and countersubjects.
- Functional harmonyA system in which each chord in a key has a role: tonic for rest, dominant for tension, and predominant for preparation.
- FundamentalThe lowest partial of a sound, whose frequency sets the perceived pitch even when it is weak or missing.
G
- Grand staffA treble staff and a bass staff joined by a brace, used for keyboard and harp music.
- GrooveA repeated rhythmic pattern, usually syncopated and locked to a shared pulse, that makes a passage feel steady and move the body.
- Guide tonesThe third and seventh of a chord, the notes that define its quality and move most smoothly from one chord to the next.
H
- Half cadenceA cadence that ends on the dominant chord, so the phrase pauses and asks for a continuation rather than resolving to the tonic.
- Half step (semitone)The smallest interval in standard Western tuning, one key to the next on a piano, such as E to F or C to C♯.
- Half-diminished seventh chordA diminished triad with a minor seventh above the root, such as B D F A, written m7♭5 or ø7. It is common as a predominant.
- Harmonic minorA minor scale with the seventh degree raised by a semitone, giving a leading tone a half step below the tonic.
- Harmonic seriesThe whole-number multiples of a fundamental frequency, f, 2f, 3f and so on, which a string or air column sounds together.
- HemiolaA temporary regrouping of beats, most often two bars of 3/4 heard as three groups of two rather than two groups of three.
- HomophonyA texture in which one melodic line is supported by chords or accompaniment that move together rhythmically, as in a hymn.
- HookA short, memorable melodic, rhythmic or lyrical idea, often repeated, that makes a song easy to recall.
- HypermeterThe grouping of bars into larger metrical units, such as four-bar phrases, that the ear hears as strong and weak.
I
- ImitationA technique in which a melody or motif is restated in another voice after a short delay, often at a different pitch, creating a dialogue between parts.
- IntervalThe distance between two pitches, measured by the number of letter names it spans and by the number of semitones.
- Interval inversionReversing an interval by moving its lower note up an octave, which turns a third into a sixth and a fifth into a fourth.
K
L
- Lead sheetA notation of a song with its melody, chord symbols and lyrics, leaving the accompaniment and voicings to the performer.
- Leading toneThe seventh degree of a major or harmonic minor scale, a half step below the tonic, which pulls strongly up to it.
- Ledger lineA short extra line above or below the staff, used to write notes that lie beyond the five staff lines.
- LegatoNotes played smoothly and connected, with no silence between them, often marked by a slur over the group.
M
- Major intervalA second, third, sixth or seventh that spans the number of semitones found in the major scale on its lower note.
- Major scaleA seven-note scale with the pattern whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half, which is the basis of major keys.
- Meantone temperamentA temperament that narrows the fifths so that major thirds are close to pure, at the cost of several unusable keys.
- MeasureThe span of notes between two bar lines, containing the number of beats set by the time signature.
- MediantThe third degree of a scale, midway between the tonic and the dominant, which sets the major or minor quality of a key.
- Melodic minorA minor scale with the sixth and seventh raised when ascending, and in classical practice the natural minor when descending.
- MeterThe repeating pattern of strong and weak beats that groups the pulse into bars, shown by a time signature such as 3/4.
- MetronomeA device or app that sounds regular clicks at a set tempo, used to practise and check a steady pulse.
- Middle CThe C near the centre of the piano keyboard, written on the first ledger line below the treble staff and called C4 in scientific pitch notation.
- Minor intervalA second, third, sixth or seventh one semitone smaller than the major interval with the same letter names.
- Minor scaleA family of seven-note scales with a minor third above the tonic, existing in natural, harmonic and melodic forms.
- Modal mixtureThe use of chords or scale degrees from the parallel mode within a passage, usually minor material in a major key, to add colour.
- ModeA scale defined by its starting note within a fixed set of pitches, giving it a distinct tonic and pattern of intervals.
- ModulationA change of tonal centre in which the music settles into a new key with its own tonic and cadence, often through a pivot chord.
- MonophonyA texture of a single melodic line with no accompanying parts, as in Gregorian chant or an unaccompanied folk song.
- MotifA short melodic, rhythmic or harmonic idea that recurs and develops across a piece, serving as its basic thematic unit.
- Movable doA solfège system in which do is always the tonic of the key, so the syllables name scale degrees in any key.
N
- Natural minorThe minor scale with the pattern whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole, the same notes as its relative major.
- Natural sign (♮)A sign that cancels a previous sharp or flat, returning a note to the pitch its letter name gives on the white keys.
- Neapolitan chordA major triad on the lowered second scale degree, usually in first inversion as ♭II6, which typically moves to the dominant.
- Neighbour toneA non-chord tone a step away from a chord tone that returns to that same note, as in the D between two Cs in a C major melody.
O
- Oblique motionOne voice holds or repeats a single note while another moves, so the harmony changes against a fixed pitch. Common in pedal passages.
- Octatonic scaleAn eight-note scale that alternates whole and half steps, also called the diminished scale, such as C D E♭ F F♯ G♯ A B.
- OctaveThe interval of twelve semitones between two notes with the same name, where the upper note vibrates at twice the frequency.
- Open tuningA guitar tuning in which the open strings sound a chord, so strumming without fretting produces a full chord.
- OstinatoA short pattern repeated persistently, often in the bass, which gives a stable frame over which other material changes.
- Ottava (8va)A marking, written 8va or 8vb, that tells the player to read the notes on the staff one octave higher or lower than written.
- OvertoneAny partial sounding above the fundamental, which together with the fundamental shapes a sound's timbre.
P
- Parallel fifthsTwo voices that move in the same direction and stay a perfect fifth apart from one chord to the next, a standard fault in part writing.
- Parallel keyThe major or minor key with the same tonic, such as C major and C minor, which differ in key signature and third.
- Parallel motionTwo voices moving in the same direction by the same interval, so the interval between them is preserved. Parallel fifths and octaves are forbidden.
- PartialAny frequency, including the fundamental, that a sounding body vibrates at and that together make up its tone.
- Passing toneA non-chord tone that moves by step between two chord tones a third apart, usually on a weak beat, filling the gap in a line.
- Pedal pointA sustained or repeated bass note, usually the tonic or dominant, held while the harmony above it changes, sometimes dissonantly.
- Pentatonic scaleA five-note scale per octave with no half steps, such as the major pentatonic C D E G A.
- Perfect authentic cadence (PAC)A V to I cadence with both chords in root position and the tonic in the top voice. It is the strongest and most final close in tonal music.
- Perfect intervalA unison, fourth, fifth or octave, which has one standard size and becomes augmented or diminished when widened or narrowed.
- PeriodA two-phrase unit in which an antecedent ends on a weaker cadence and a consequent answers it with a stronger one, closing on a tonic.
- PhraseA unit of melody or harmony, usually around four bars in tonal music, that ends with a cadence and forms a complete musical thought.
- PitchThe perceived highness or lowness of a sound, which for most sounds follows its fundamental frequency.
- Pitch classAll the pitches that share one name across octaves, such as every C, treated as a single class of notes.
- Pivot chordA chord that belongs to both the old key and the new one, used as the hinge of a modulation because its function changes between them.
- PizzicatoPlucked strings, written pizz., played with a finger rather than the bow, with the marking arco restoring bowing.
- Plagal cadenceA close from IV to I, known as the Amen cadence. It confirms the tonic and is weaker than the authentic cadence.
- PolyphonyA texture of two or more independent melodic lines of similar importance, each with its own rhythm and contour, as in fugue or motet.
- PolyrhythmTwo or more rhythms with different numbers of beats sounding at once in the same time span, such as three notes against two.
- Power chordA two- or three-note chord of a root and a fifth with no third, so it is neither major nor minor.
- Pythagorean commaThe gap of about 23.46 cents left when twelve pure fifths are stacked and compared with seven octaves.
R
- RangeThe span from the lowest to the highest note a voice or instrument can sound, or the notes a written part uses.
- RecapitulationThe final section of sonata form, where both themes return in the tonic, resolving the tonal tension set up by the exposition.
- ReharmonizationReplacing the original chords under an existing melody with different ones, while the tune itself stays the same.
- Relative keyThe major or minor key that shares the same key signature, with its tonic a minor third above or below.
- Repeat signA double bar line with two dots that tells the performer to play a section again, often with first and second endings.
- ResonanceA body or air column vibrating strongly when driven near its natural frequency, which boosts that frequency.
- RiffA short melodic or rhythmic phrase repeated through a piece, often played on guitar, bass or horns to carry the groove.
- RitardandoA gradual slowing of tempo across a passage, usually written rit., which often closes a phrase or a piece.
- Roman numeral analysisA method of labelling chords by scale degree: upper case for major, lower case for minor, and symbols for quality and inversion.
- RondoA form built on a main theme that returns between contrasting episodes, typically in the pattern ABACA or ABACABA.
- Root positionA chord arrangement in which the root is the lowest note in the bass, so the chord rests on its fundamental.
- Rootless voicingA chord voicing that omits the root, usually because a bass player supplies it, and keeps the third, seventh and an upper extension.
- RubatoA flexible tempo in which the performer speeds up and slows down expressively while the larger pulse stays in place.
S
- ScaleAn ordered set of pitches within an octave, arranged by a pattern of steps that defines a key or a mode.
- Scale degreeThe position of a note within a scale, numbered from the tonic as 1 through 7, used in solfège and Roman numeral analysis.
- Second inversionA triad with its fifth as the lowest note, written I6/4 in Roman numerals. It is unstable and usually behaves as a dominant.
- Secondary dominantA dominant chord that tonicises a diatonic chord other than the tonic, written with a slash such as V7/V, which is D7 in C major.
- Segno (𝄋)A sign marking a point in the score that a D.S. instruction, dal segno, tells the performer to return to.
- SentenceAn eight-bar phrase structure of a presentation, which states a basic idea, followed by a continuation that accelerates toward a cadence.
- SequenceA pattern repeated at successively higher or lower pitches, usually a motif or chord group restated a step up or down.
- Seventh chordA four-note chord made by adding a seventh above the root of a triad. The main types are major, dominant, minor and half-diminished sevenths.
- Sharp (♯)An accidental that raises a note by one semitone, written as ♯ before the note head.
- Simple meterA meter in which each beat divides into two equal parts, as in 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4.
- SlurA curved line over or under notes of different pitches, asking for them to be played smoothly and as one phrase.
- SolfègeA system of syllables, do re mi fa sol la ti, assigned to the scale degrees to name pitches in singing and ear training.
- Sonata formThe form of many first movements: an exposition of two contrasting themes, a development, and a recapitulation that returns both themes in the tonic.
- Species counterpointA graded method of learning counterpoint in five stages, from one note against one note to florid lines, as set out by Johann Joseph Fux.
- StaccatoNotes played short and detached, marked by a dot above or below the notehead, with silence left before the next note.
- StaffThe set of five horizontal lines and four spaces on which pitch is written, read from bottom to top.
- SubdivisionDividing a beat into smaller equal parts, such as two eighth notes or four sixteenths, so the rhythm can be counted exactly.
- SubdominantThe fourth degree of the scale, a fifth below the tonic, which often leads to the dominant or tonic.
- SubmediantThe sixth degree of the scale, a minor third below the upper tonic, whose chord vi is the relative minor in major keys.
- SubtonicThe seventh degree when it sits a whole step below the tonic, as in the natural minor scale and the Mixolydian mode.
- SupertonicThe second degree of the scale, a whole step above the tonic, which supports the ii chord.
- SuspensionA note held over from one chord into the next, where it becomes a dissonance, then resolves down by step to a consonance.
- SwingA performance feel in which paired eighth notes are played unevenly, with the first longer than the second.
- SyncopationAn accent placed where the meter does not expect it, on a weak beat, an offbeat or across a bar line through a tie.
- Syntonic commaThe small interval of 81:80, about 21.51 cents, equal to the difference between a Pythagorean major third and a pure 5:4 third.
T
- TablatureA notation that shows where to place the fingers on a fretted or keyed instrument, rather than the pitch of each note.
- TempoThe speed of the beat, usually given as beats per minute or by an Italian marking such as allegro or adagio.
- Ternary formA three-part ABA form in which a contrasting middle section is framed by a return of the opening material, usually in the tonic.
- TessituraThe part of a voice or instrument's range where most notes lie and where the performer sounds most comfortable.
- TetrachordA group of four consecutive notes spanning a perfect fourth, which two of such groups combine to form a major scale.
- TextureHow many musical lines sound at once and how they relate, such as monophony, homophony or polyphony, and how dense the sound is.
- Theme and variationsA form in which a theme is stated and then altered in successive variations, keeping its harmonic or melodic outline while changing texture and character.
- TieA curved line joining two notes of the same pitch, so that they sound as one note lasting the combined value.
- TimbreThe quality of a sound that lets listeners tell two sources apart at the same pitch and loudness.
- Time signatureA pair of numbers after the key signature: the top gives beats per measure, the bottom the note value of one beat.
- TonalityA system in which pitches are organised around a tonic and a key, so that some notes and chords sound more stable than others.
- TonicThe first degree of a scale, the note that a key is named for and that tonal music treats as its home and point of rest.
- TonicisationA brief passage that makes a chord other than the tonic sound like a temporary home, usually through a secondary dominant, without a full key change.
- Transposing instrumentAn instrument whose written notes sound at a different pitch, such as a B♭ clarinet, which sounds a major second lower.
- TriadA three-note chord built from a root with a third and a fifth above it. Its quality is major, minor, diminished or augmented.
- TripletThree notes played in the time of two notes of the same value, marked with a figure 3 over the group.
- TritoneAn interval of six semitones, spelled as an augmented fourth or a diminished fifth, such as F to B or B to F.
- Tritone substitutionReplacing a dominant chord with the dominant a tritone away, whose notes share the same tritone and resolve the same way.
- TupletAny group of notes that does not fit the normal division of the beat, such as five notes in the time of four.
- TurnaroundA short chord progression at the end of a form that leads back to the top, such as I vi ii V in a jazz standard.
- TuttiItalian for all: a passage where the whole ensemble plays together, as opposed to a soloist or a smaller group.
U
V
W
- Well temperamentA family of unequal tunings in which every key is usable and each key has its own character, with some keys purer than others.
- Whole step (whole tone)An interval of two semitones, equal to two half steps, such as C to D or F to G.
- Whole-tone scaleA six-note scale built entirely of whole steps, such as C D E F♯ G♯ A♯, which divides the octave into equal parts.
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