THE EDEXCEL GCSE MUSIC VOCABULARY

With definitions
PITCH
Pitch names A-G
Sharp / Flat Semitone higher / semitone lower
Octave Twelve semitones apart
Range Highest to Lowest note on instrument
Register Tonal quality of instrument or voice at different pitches

Diatonic Keys Music that sticks to the notes of one key

Tonic Key note
Sub Dominant 4th note of scale
Dominant 5th note of scale

Blues Scale A jazz scale in which the third and seventh notes are blue notes
Blue notes A note bent downwards by a semitone during performance
Pentatonic 5 note scale. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th degrees of major scale
Slendro and Pelog A five note and seven note scale respectively. In Gamelan music
Raga Indian scale, basis of improvisation. Associated with time of day,
season, etc.
Series/note row The order of the twelve chromatic notes as used in Serial music

MELODY
Movement by:
Step Melody going up or down by one note
Leap Movement by intervals of more than one note
Scalic A melodic passage moving by step

Chromatic Use of all semitones in scale and opposite of Diatonic

Glissando Slide up or down a series of notes

HARMONY
Consonance/Dissonance Sound good/bad together
Major A scale running: tone tone semitone tone tone tone semitone
Minor A scale with a flattened third and alternative 6th and 7th notes
Modal White note scale not starting at C. i.e. the order of tones and
semitones is different from major
Atonal Music without a key centre
Cadences:
Perfect – V to I Full close
Plagal – IV to I Amen cadence
Interrupted – V to VI Interrupted to a minor chord
Imperfect ? - V Half close

Modulation A change of key during a passage of music

Transpose Change the pitch of the music
Pedal Single sustained note
Drone Single sustained note or Multiple notes
Arpeggio/Broken Chord Spread out notes of a chord

NOTATION All the usual western notation

DURATION AND TEMPO

Note values or note lengths
Pulse / Beat The regular division of time in music
Triplet 3 notes played in the space of 2. Swing tempo
Dotted rhythm Jagged and uneven effect
Phrase A unit of music often ending with cadence (Traditionally of 4 bars)
Phrase Structure The way phrase build into complete pieces

Simple Time The beat divides in two eg ?

Compound Time The beat divides into three eg ?? as in 6/8
Duple Time Two beats in the bar
Triple Time Three beats in the bar
Quadruple Time Four beats in the bar
Irregular Time Where the number of beats in a bar keeps changing

Tala A rhythmic phrase or pattern in Indian music

Syncopation Accenting against the beat

Off-beat Like syncopation – notes playing across the beat
Cross-rhythm Another form of notes playing across the beat
Counterpoint Where the rhythms are in layers of texture, often imitatively

Adagio
Largo
Andante
Moderato From very slow to very fast
Allegro
Vivace
Presto

Accelerando Getting faster

Ritardando/rallentando Getting slower
Allargando Much slower
Rubato With a flexible tempo
Silence
Pause

DYNAMICS AND ARTICULATION

Fortissimo Very loud
Forte
Mezzoforte
Mezzo Piano
Piano
Pianissimo Very soft
Crescendo Getting louder
Diminuendo Getting quieter
Subito Suddenly
Sforzando Accent
Legato Smoothly
Staccato Short and sharp
Tremolo Rapid repetition of a note

TIMBRE
Recognise: Orchestral Instruments
Band Instruments
Keyboard Instruments
Guitars – must specify which type

Voices: Soprano Female high

Alto Female low
Tenor Male high
Bass Male low

A Capella Unaccompanied voices

Choir A group of singers
Chorus A large group of singers
Backing vocals In pop and jazz, the singers supporting the soloist

Orchestra The western classical large ensemble

Chamber Orchestra A small orchestra
Gamelan A musical ensemble from Java or Bali in Indonesia
Wind band Woodwind and Brass
Brass Band Brass family of conical bored instruments. Mellow sounding

Electronic:
Sampler A device which takes acoustic sounds and reproduces them
electronically
Synthesizer A device which manufactures sounds artificially and electronically
Drum machine A device which plays synthesized and sampled drum patterns

TEXTURE
Monophonic One sound at a time
Heterophonic Different sounds played together
Homophonic In chords. Notes at same time
Polyphonic Many sounds in clear layers or strands
Counterpoint In Baroque music, like polyphony eg Fugue

Solo One performer

Unison All performers using same notes
Doubling Playing the same notes as another instrument
Tutti All performers together

Countermelody Goes against the main melody

Descant A countermelody above the other voices

STRUCTURE
Ground Bass A repeated bass pattern especially in Baroque Music
Rondo form ABACADA etc. 1750 onwards. Rondo theme recurs
Variations Theme played in altered forms
Ternary ABA form
12 bar blues Jazz with the chord sequence: I I I I IV IV I I V IV I V.
Minuet and Trio

Repetition Music repeated unchanged

Recapitulation The return of the opening passage towards the end of a piece
Decoration Ornaments and additional notes added to melody
Sequence A phrase repeated higher or lower in pitch
Imitation Voices and instruments copying one another usually after a short gap
Canon A melody which can be repeated, delayed and layered over itself
Ostinato Repeated pattern in music
Riff An ostinato in Jazz and Pop
Motive Short musical idea which can be developed
Episode A passage of music which moves away from the main theme

Introduction The opening passage, often at a slow tempo

Coda Italian for tail – the end section
Ternary ABA form
Strophic form Verse and Chorus ABABABA etc
Ritornello In Baroque music a recurring section played Tutti
Sequence A phrase repeated higher or lower in pitch

Through composed Starts and keeps going with little clear structure
Aleatoric Music of chance. Cage experimental music

Raga Indian music built over a particular scale (rag)

Alap The opening section in an indian rag, usually in free time and
improvisatory
Jhor The next section in a rag where the tempo becomes more clearly
defined
Jhala The main and final section in a rag where the tempo increases and the
tabla plays.

Middle Eight A contrasting section in a pop song

Tape loop A repeated passage of recorded music

Improvised Made up, without notation. Spontaneous

STYLES
Trad. Jazz New Orleans early jazz. Small combos
Blues Follows 12 bar pattern. Deals with social problems.
Rock and Roll An electric guitar form of blues with a driving straight beat. 1950s
Reggae Bob Marley – Jamaican music emphasising off beat
Ska Faster form of reggae

Serialism Atonal music built using a series of 12 notes of the chromatic octave
Minimalism Highly repetitive tonal music. Late 20th century
Experimental music Music which challenges the concept of what constitutes music
Performance Art A staged performance of contemporary music, drama and art
Banghra Anglo/Indian pop style with a heavy beat of Punjabi origin

Chamber Small-scale western ensembles

Orchestral Large scale western ensembles
Symphonic Orchestral compositions