These are common musical terms students should be familiar with. Teachers may want to integrate the vocabulary into standard language arts activities outside of this music project.

accidentals

Sharps, flats, and naturals.

acoustic

To do with the science of sound; also, not using electronic amplification (as in acoustic instruments).

articulation

Characteristics of attack and decay of tones and the manner in which the tone is started and ended.

binary AB, ABA

A common music form; two phrases or sections, either or both of which may be repeated.

blues

A distinct American music style, usually following a 12-bar, 8-bar, or 16-bar pattern. African American in origin.

bridge

A musical section that leads from a different section to another; for example, in an A-B-A form, the B is often a bridge as it "bridges" between the two A sections.

chorus

A repeated stanza that is always the same. Very often in folk or pop music, you'll find the story being told in the verses while the choruses repeats the song's theme. Form might be Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, etc.

contour

The shape of a melody, as defined by the rise and fall of the sequence of pitches.

creative process

An ongoing and circular process of exploration, selection, combination, refinement, and reflection to compose music.

discography

A bibliography of music recordings.

duration

The length of time a pitch is sustained (from the attack to the release).

dynamics

The degree of loudness or softness.

form

The way a piece of music is structured (e.g., AB, ABA, rondo, canon, call and response, theme and variations, march and trio).

harmony

Simultaneously occurring pitches.

interval

The distance between two music notes.

intro

The introduction or introductory part of a piece of music, usually very short.

invented notation

A system of music notation constructed to meet the unique requirements

of a particular piece of music; may be diagrammatic, descriptive,

narrative, pictorial, or a combination of any of these; details may be

precise or general in nature; computer and MIDI technology (e.g., MIDI

event lists) may be used to create unique notation systems. (See also

standard notation.)

melody

The use of pitch and sequences of pitches.

meter

The grouping in which a succession of rhythmic pulses or beats is

organized; in standard notation, indicated by a time signature at the

beginning of a work.

motif

A thematic fragment that lends itself to modification and changing. Usually comes back more than once in a piece.

MIDI

Musical Instrument Digital Interface&endash;standard specifications that

enable electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, sampler,

sequencer, and drum machine to communicate with one another and with

computers.

ostinato

A repeated rhythmic or tonal pattern, or both.

percussion instrument

An instrument with a resonating surface that is played by striking.

phrase

A melodic sentence.

physical properties of sound

The physics of sound: frequency, duration, amplitude, wave form, and

sound envelope.

pitch

The property of how high or low a note is, scientifically determined by

the frequency of vibrations.

polyrhythm

Systematic exploitation of several rhythms performed simultaneously.

rhythm

The arrangement of notes and silences of varying duration. The time aspect of music.

sight-read

Playing or singing music at first sight.

soundscape

A free-form composition using any arrangement or ordering of sounds,

and any combination of traditional instruments, non-traditional

instruments, voices, natural sounds, synthetic sounds, technology, and

so on, may be represented in standard notation, invented notation, or

no notation.

standard notation

Music notation that uses the five-line staff and oval notes with stems

placed on the staff to represent specific pitch and rhythms in a

standardized way.

tempo

The use of slower and faster pulses or beats. The "speed" of music.

texture

Various combinations of pitched or unpitched sounds, or both. The "fabric" of music.

timbre

The character or quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument, voice, or sound source from another.

tonal center

The pitch on which a scale or melody is built.

verse

A repeated section or stanza of a song or tune, usually carrying the story line.

voice

May be categorized as soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T), or bass (B),

representing singing ranges from high to low; music is often arranged

in SATB form as well as SA, SSA, SAB, TTBB, and so on. Other

intermediate voices include mezzo-soprano, contralto, and baritone.

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