4/4 time: Also called common time; is abbreviated by the symbol c; denotes that four beats are found in each measure
12-Bar Major Blues: A set progression of chords that takes twelve bars or measures to complete and resolves to a major or dominant chord
12-Bar Minor Blues: A set progression of chords that takes twelve bars or measures to complete and resolves to a minor chord
Aeolian Mode: A major scale played from its sixth note (also the minor scale)
Arpeggio: A chord played one note at a time
Augmentation Dot: Also called a dot; increases the duration of the dotted note by one half
Augmented Interval: Any interval that is one half step larger than major or perfect
Bass Clef: A symbol used for instruments that have a lower pitch, commonly called the F clef
Borrowed Chords: A chord that exists in the parallel major or minor key that you can borrow in your present key
C Clef: A clef that has two semicircles that curve into the middle of the staff and point toward middle C
Chord: Three or more notes sounded simultaneously
Chord Alterations: Chords that have their fifths or ninths altered
Chord Progression: The movement of chords from one point to another
Chord Substitution: When one chord can take the place of another chord
Chord Tones: Melodic notes that are contained within the supporting harmony
Circle of Keys: A visual organization of all the possible musical keys
Clef: A symbol that sits at the beginning of every staff of music and that defines which note is where
Common Chords: Chords that are shared between two different keys
Compound Meter: Meter that breaks itself into groups of three notes
Concert Key: Instruments that adhere to the physical definitions of pitch (i.e., A = 440 Hz)
Concert Pitch: Instruments that play in concert key
Deceptive Resolution: A substitution when one chord resolves to an unexpected resolution, typically when the tonic is expected and not heard
Diatonic: Using the notes from only one scale/key to make chords or melodies
Diminished Interval: Any interval that is one half step smaller than a minor or perfect interval
Diminished Scale: A symmetrical scale built on repeating intervals, always half steps and whole steps; two varieties: one that starts with the pattern whole-step, half-step intervals, and one that uses half-step, whole-step interval patterns
Dominant: The fifth chord or tone of a scale
Dominant Seventh Chord: A major triad with a minor seventh interval added
Dorian Mode: A major scale played from its second note
Eighth Note: A rhythm that receives half of one count; its duration is one-half of a beat
Extended Chords: Chords that contain ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth intervals
First Inversion: Whenever the third of the chord is in the bass
Fully Diminished Seventh Chord: A diminished triad with a diminished seventh interval added
Grand Staff: When the bass clef and the treble clef are grouped together; often used for piano
Half-Diminished Chord: A diminished triad with a minor seventh interval added
Half Note: A rhythm that receives two counts; its duration is two beats
Half Step: The smallest interval; its proper name is a minor second; also called semitone
Harmonic Minor: A minor scale with the seventh note raised one half step
Harmonic Rhythm: The speed at which the harmony progresses from chord to chord
Harmonization: Using chords and melodies together; making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads
Instrument Ranges: The lowest and highest notes a particular instrument can physically play
Interval: The distance from one note to another
Inverted Chords: Any chord or triad in which the root is not the lowest-sounding pitch
Ionian Mode: The major scale
Key: Defines the basic pitches for a piece of music
Key Signature: Indicates that a certain note or notes are going to be sharp or flat for the entire piece
Lead Sheet: Simplified shorthand for a musical piece found in jazz
Leading Tone: The seventh note of a major scale; a tone that pulls heavily to the tonic
Locrian Mode: A major scale played from its seventh note
Lydian Mode: A major scale played from its fourth note
Major Intervals: Intervallic distances of seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths
Major Scale: A seven-note scale based on the interval pattern of WWHWWWH
Major Seventh Chord: A major triad with a major seventh interval added
Mediant: The third chord or tone of a scale
Melodic Harmonization: Harmonizing a melody with chords or other melodic lines
Melodic Minor: A minor scale with the sixth and seventh notes raised up one half step
Minor Intervals: Intervallic distances of seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths that are exactly one half step smaller than a major interval
Minor Scale: A seven-note scale based on the interval pattern of WHWWHWW
Minor Seventh Chord: A minor triad with a minor seventh interval added
Mixolydian Mode: A major scale played from its fifth note
Mode: The notes of a major scale starting from any note but the expected tonic
Modulation: The art of shifting the tonal center to another key and staying there
Orchestration: The art of arranging music for multiple instruments
Passing Tones: Melodic notes that are not contained within the supporting harmony
Perfect Intervals: Intervallic distances of unison (no interval at all), fourth, fifth, and octave
Perfect Pitch: The natural ability to name a note just by listening to it; also called absolute pitch
Phrygian Mode: A major scale played from its third note
Primary Chords: The I, IV, and V chords of any major key
Quarter Note: A rhythm that receives one count; its duration is one beat
Relative Minor: The minor key that is shared within a major key signature
Relative Pitch: The learned ability to name and recognize chords and intervals by ear comparatively, not absolutely
Resolution: The feeling of rest in a harmony
Roman Numerals: A standard way for music theorists to name and help analyze chords and chord progressions
Root Position: A chord that has its root as the lowest-sounding pitch
Scale: A grouping of notes together that makes a key
Second Inversion: Whenever the fifth of the chord is in the bass
Secondary Chords: The ii, iii, and vi chords of any major key
Secondary Diminished Chords: Any diminished chord that is not functioning as a true leading-tone chord
Secondary Dominant Chords: Any dominant chord that is not the fifth chord of a key; a dominant chord that resolves to any chord other than tonic
Semitone: See Half Step
Seventh Chord: Any triad with an added seventh interval
Simple Meter: Meters containing groupings of two or four notes
Solar Harmony: The system of harmony that revolves around the tonic chord being the most important harmony
Subdominant: The fourth chord or tone of a scale
Submediant or Superdominant: The sixth chord or tone of a scale
Supertonic: The second chord or tone of a scale
Tablature: A graphical system that guitar players use for reading numbers instead of notes
Tertian Harmony: Harmony based on chords built from third intervals
Third Inversion: Whenever the seventh of the chord is in the bass
Tonic: The first chord or tone of a scale
Transposing: Changing the key of a melody while keeping its intervallic relationship intact
Transposing Instrument: Any instrument that plays in a key other than concert pitch
Treble Clef: A symbol that circles around the note G, commonly called the G clef
Triad: A three-note chord, built with third intervals
Tuplets: A grouping of odd groups of notes divided equally into one or more beats
Voice Leading: The art of connecting chord to chord in the smoothest manner possible
Whole Note: A rhythm that receives four counts; its duration is four beats
Whole Step: The distance of two half steps combined; its proper name is a major second
Whole-Tone Scale: A symmetrical scale built entirely with whole steps
