How loud or quiet the music is.

fforte

loud

ppiano

quiet

silence

a sudden stop in the sound

fffortissimo

very loud

mfmezzo forte

moderately loud

mpmezzo piano

moderately quiet

pppianissimo

very quiet

cresc.crescendo

getting gradually louder

dim.diminuendo

getting gradually quieter

>accent

a single note played louder

sfsforzando

suddenly loud

Patterns of long and short sounds and silences, played over a steady pulse - the heartbeat of the music.

pulse

the steady beat underneath the music

legato

smooth, the notes joined

staccato

short and detached

4/4time signature

how many beats in a bar, and what kind

syncopation

notes pushed off the beat

metre

the music feels in 2, 3 or 4

6/8compound time

beats that split into three

triplet

three notes in the time of two

anacrusis

a note before the first beat of the bar

7/8irregular time

bars of 5 or 7 beats

swing

quavers played long-short

hemiola

two bars of three that feel like three of two

How a piece is put together: its sections, and the order they come in.

same or different

sections that come back, and sections that are new

𝄆 𝄇repeat

play the section again

first and second time bars

a different ending the second time

verse and chorus

the story changes, the chorus comes back

ABbinary

two sections

ABAternary

the first section returns

ABACArondo

a theme that keeps coming back

theme and variations

a tune, then changed versions of it

sonata form

exposition, development, recapitulation

The tune: a line of notes that moves up and down in pitch.

high or low

where the notes sit in pitch

up or down

the tune rises or falls

step or leap

moving to the next note, or jumping

scale

the notes a piece uses, in order from its home

range

how far the tune spreads, low to high

sequence

the same shape repeated higher or lower

conjunct and disjunct

moving by step, moving by leap

chromatic

notes from outside the scale

ornament

a decoration: trill, turn, mordent

mode

a scale with its own character: Dorian, Aeolian

Which instruments and voices are playing.

piano, violin, flute, trumpet

four sounds to know

strings

violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp, guitar

woodwind

flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, saxophone

brass

trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba

percussion

drums, xylophone, glockenspiel, timpani

keyboards and voices

piano, organ, synth; singers

entries

which instrument came in first, or last

soprano, alto, tenor, bass

the four voice ranges, high to low

string quartet

two violins, a viola and a cello

How many layers of sound there are, and how they fit together.

thin or thick

a single instrument, or several at once

layers

counting the instruments playing, up to four

thicker or thinner

layers coming in or dropping out

monophonic

a single melody line on its own

homophonic

a melody with chords underneath

polyphonic

several melodies woven together

The colour of a sound: what makes a flute sound different from a violin playing the same note.

blown, bowed, plucked, struck, sung

how the sound is made

bright, dark, warm, harsh

words for the colour of a sound

Whether the music sounds major or minor, and where its home - its Tonal Centre - is.

major

a bright-sounding Tonal Centre

minor

a darker-sounding Tonal Centre

chromatic

notes from outside the scale

modulation

the Tonal Centre moves

modal

built on a mode rather than major or minor

How fast or slow the music is.

fast or slow

the speed of the pulse

allegro, andante, adagio

fast, walking pace, slow

accel.accelerando

gradually getting faster

rall.rallentando

gradually getting slower

♩ = 120BPM

beats per minute: the speed as a number

presto, largo

very fast, very slow

Notes sounding together - chords - and how they move.

chord

notes sounding together

major or minor chord

a bright or a darker chord

drone

the same chord or note held under the tune

cadence

the chords that end a phrase: finished or unfinished

V-Iperfect, plagal, imperfect, interrupted

the four cadences

suspension

a clash that resolves

I, IV, V, V7, vi

the chords of a cadence, by number