Music Terminology

Motive

A brief musical idea that is recognizable because of a distinctive rhythm and/or pitch pattern.

Chorus

A contrasting section of a song that recurs usually after each new verse. The words of the chorus generally remain the same throughout the song, whereas the words of the verse change with each stanza. The chorus is also called a refrain.

Hillbilly

A derogatory term for country & western music

Tonality

A feeling of centrality or primary importance of one pitch over others in a scale or passage of music. This central note is referred to as the tonic pitch and defines the key or a piece or section of a piece.

Ax

A generic term for any instrument.

Horn

A generic term for any wind instrument, especially saxophone, trumpet, and trombone

Accelerando

A gradual increase in tempo.

Semitone

A half step.

Falsetto

A high male vocal range, above the tenor voice range. Falsetto singing is often heard in the vocal group rock 'n' roll of the 1950s and 1960s.

Boogie woogie

A jazz piano style that is characterized by a left hand ostinato that subdivides each beat of a four-beat measure in two, resulting in eight pulses to each bar. The pulses are not evenly played, giving a bouncy, long-short (dotted eighth and sixteenth note) barrelhouse rhythm to the music. Most boogie woogie is based on the 12-bar blues progression. The ostinato left hand contributed to the development of rock 'n' roll rhythm.

Turnaround

A melodic and harmonic formula that is played at the end of a larger chord progression to prepare the performers and listeners for another repetition of the progression. Turnarounds typically end with a half cadence.

Lick

A melodic fragment, usually instrumental.

Melisma

A melody line in which one syllable of a lyric is sung to many different pitches. Used frequently in Gospel music and, through influence, in Soul. The adjective form of the word is melismatic.

Aleatoric, aleatory

A method of composition in which pitches, rhythms, motives, and other compositional decisions are left to the performers discretion. Also referred to as chance music because whatever happens is due to chance.

Ostinato

A motive, phrase or theme that is constantly repeated while other musical elements change; a riff.

String band

A musical ensemble associated with Southern country music, originating in the 1920s. The typical string band consisted of acoustic guitars, a string bass, fiddles, and a banjo, perhaps also a mandolin. String band is also sometimes used to describe a blue grass ensemble or a folk ensemble. The string band was combined with the swing band rhythm section (piano and drums) and horns in Western swing.

Standard Song form

A musical structure that typically consists of two musical parts (A and B) played in four sections. Each section is generally 8 measures long, resulting in a 32-measure form. The A part is played and repeated (8 + 8 measures), followed by the B part or bridge (8 measures), and a return of the A part (8 measures) for an overall form of A A B A in 32 measures. In some rock songs the A A B A form is borrowed with a great deal of freedom and combined with strophic song form: in some cases the A part further divides into a verse (a) and chorus (b), while the B part retains its bridge function.

Homophony

A musical texture in which there is one predominant melodic line that is supported by other musical lines. A good example of homophony is a solo singer who accompanies himself or herself with a guitar.

Polyphony

A musical texture in which two or more independent melodic lines of equal importance or interest sound simultaneously.

Monophony

A musical texture that consists of only one melodic line without any accompaniment. The melody may be performed by one or by several performers. The texture is defined by how many melodic lines are present, not by how many musicians are performing it.

Progression

A musically logical succession of chords. Often called chord progression or harmonic progression.

Crossover

A performer who incorporates other musical styles and playing techniques in their basic style, such as a country performer who uses rock techniques. Crossover is also used to indicate a song that is popular on more than one radio station formats or sales charts. A good example is the song Lady recorded by Kenny Rogers in 1979. Lady, written by Lionel Richie, reached the number on position on Billboard magazine's pop charts, soul charts, and country charts and was played frequently on radio stations that were formatted for pop, rock, soul, and country music.

Call and response

A practice in singing in which a solo vocalist (the call) is answered by a group of singers. Also heard in instrumental music, or between vocalists and instrumentalists, the style is vocal in origin. Also referred to as antiphonal singing.

Fadeout

A recording device in which the end of a song is repeated over and over as the volume gradually decreases until there is no more sound.

Cover (cover recording)

A recording that has been recorded and released after the original version. A cover may or may not follow the style of the original and sometimes the lyrics are changed. In the early days of rock many rhythm and blues songs, originally recorded by black performers, were covered by white performers. The cover versions were often "cleaned up," meaning that objectionable or risqué lyrics were changed to more "acceptable" language. Also, it was possible to air the white cover version on more radio stations throughout the country.

Meter

A recurring pattern of strong and weak beats. The way in which the basic beats are organized in groups of two (duple meter) or three (triple meter).

Hambone rhythm

A rhythm often used in children's singing games. More correctly, the rhythm is the West African patted juba rhythm in which the legs, stomach, and chest are patted in a rhythm. Sometimes referred to as the hand jive, the hambone rhythm was popularized by black shoeshine boys in the now familiar "shave and a haircut, two bits." It is especially associated with the music of Bo Diddley and is therefore also called the Bo Diddley beat.

Flat-four beat

A rhythm style in which all four beats of a four-beat measure are equally accented, as opposed to an backbeat rhythm. The flat-four beat is prominent in Motown songs.

Triplet

A rhythmic pattern in which the basic beat of apiece of music is subdivided into three shorter, equal time values. The triplet, or triplet feel, is prominent in boogie woogie, New Orleans rock 'n' roll. It is related to the barrelhouse rhythm.

Introduction

A section at the beginning of a song, often instrumental, that is used to set the mood of the song that follows. Often shortened to intro

Break (instrumental break)

A section in a piece in which the musicians (except the rhythm section) drop out to feature an instrumental soloist. Some musicians refer to the solo itself as the break.

Vamp

A short chord progression that is repeated several times as a means of marking time. Often used as an introduction, a coda (usually of the fadeout type), or as an internal segment of a song over which the singer might talk to the audience. Many of James Brown's songs use a vamp.

Riff

A short melodic and/or rhythmic pattern that is repeated over and over while musical changes take place over the fragment. A riff is often the harmonic and rhythmic basis of the entire song. A good example of a riff-based song is the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction.

Griot

A singer/musician from the Senegal and Gambia regions of western Africa. The griots are the oral historians of their people and accompany themselves on string instruments, particularly the kora. Blues historians consider the griots to be forerunners of the blues singers. The African name for these historians is jali (plural jalolu).

Glissando

A sliding effect produced on various instruments by playing a series of pitches in fast succession. Also referred to as a slide.

Ballad

A slow song, very often a love song. Ballad also refers to a narrative type of folk song, a song that tells a story.

Crooning, crooner

A soft style of singing in popular music in which the performer tends to slide from note to note, giving an effect of warmth or sentimentality. Associated with such singers as Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Dean Martin and influencing some rock singers such as Elvis Presley.

Through-composed form

A song form in which each section of verse is set to new music.

Strophic

A song form in which each verse of the text is sung to the same music. The music for each verse remains the same while the words change. Most blues songs and folk songs are strophic forms. (Compare with standard song form and through-composed form.)

Comp, comping

A style of accompaniment, usually improvised, in which keyboardists and guitarists supply a flexible rhythmic structure and harmonic base to complement an improvising soloist.

Acapella

A style of singing for voices alone, with no instrumental accompaniment.

Antiphonal

A style of singing in which two or more groups are separated by distance to create special effects such as echo or contrast. Referred to in popular music, especially jazz and blues, as call and response.

Close voicing

A style of vocal harmonization in which three or more voices sing the pitches of a chord within the range of an octave. In rock music, this style of singing is associated with the vocal or doo wop groups of the 1950s and 1960s and with the sound of the Beach Boys. Sometimes referred to as "barbershop harmony" after the barbershop quartet singing style popular in the 1890s.

Scratching

A technique used by rap MCs in which the turntable is moved rapidly back and forth.

Sampling

A technique used in rap music from the late 1980s in which small digital sections of previously recorded music (usually recognizable riffs) were inserted into the musical texture

Major

A term given to a scale and applied to intervals, keys, chords, and tonalities. The major scale is defined by the distance between the tonic pitch and the third scale degree, which is two whole steps (four half steps or semitones)

Minor

A term given to a scale and applied to intervals, keys, chords, and tonalities. The minor scale is defined by the distance between the tonic pitch and the third scale degree, which is whole step and a half step (or three semitones).

Two-beat bass

A type of bass accompaniment in which the bassist plays the root of the chord on the first beat of a measure and the fifth of the chord on the third beat of a measure. Associated very strongly with county music.

Walking bass

A type of bass line in which each beat of a measure is different tone. The bass line is usually a conjunct type of melody that enables the bassist to go from one chord to the next.

Fuzztone

A type of electric guitar distortion sound effect in which the guitar sounds fuzzy or dirty.

Field holler

A type of work song in which a solo singer shouts out or "hollers" a melody very loudly so that it is picked up by other workers in far fields. In some cases, it was said that the field holler of the post-Civil War Reconstruction era was a means of communication between various field hands. The melody, which starts out at a high pitch and descends in pitch by the end of the line, contributed somewhat to the development of blues singing.

Syncopation

Accenting or stressing the beats in a measure that are normally unstressed or unaccented. The accent may be on the second and fourth beats of a four-beat measure, or the accents may fall between the beats of a measure, such as the second half of a beat. Syncopation is used to provide contrast or tension in an otherwise evenly accented piece.

Deceptive cadence

An ending in which the chord progression finishes on a chord other than the tonic or dominant (usually a subdominant or submediant chord), thereby surprising or deceiving the listener. A deceptive cadence usually indicates that more music is following that will end in a more conclusive manner.

Half cadence

An ending in which the chord progression finishes on the dominant chord, indicating that there is more music to follow. Half cadences are often used in turnarounds to prepare the listener for the return of the next verse.

Full cadence

An ending in which the chord progression finishes on the tonic chord. The full cadence imparts a feeling of finality.

Montuno

An extended improvisation section usually based on two chords: the minor seventh chord built on the second degree of the scale (supertonic of ii7) and the dominant seventh chord (V7)--in the key of G major the chords Am7 and D7. The montuno was adopted from Mexican mariachi music, in which the improvisation is used to extend the middle of dance songs. Familiar montunos in rock music include Dark Star by the Grateful Dead (Live Dead, 1970) and Oye Como Va by Santana (Abraxas, 1970).

Rave up

An extended, improvised jam session based on a 12-bar blues progression and associated with the British group the Yardbirds.

Fill

An instrumental embellishment played during breaks (rests) in a vocal melody. The standard 12-bar blues from has an instrumental fill at the end of each sung line. Fill also refers to anything played by a drummer other than strict time-keeping.

Whole step

An interval equal to two half steps.

Blues scale

An organized pattern of pitches within an octave that provides melodic and harmonic material for a blues song. Compared with the major diatonic scale, the blues scale typically alters the third and seventh scale degrees (and sometimes the fifth) by slightly lowering the pitch of those scale degrees. There is no one "blues scale" however: any blues performer can and does alter any pitch of the diatonic scale according to his or her musical sensibility.

Rockabilly

Another term for the style of rock 'n' roll that developed in and around Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-1950s, Memphis country rock. Rockabilly is derived from the combination of rock 'n' roll and hillbilly, or country music.

Chromatic

Based on an octave that is divided into twelve equal half steps. Chromatic pitches are additions to any major or minor scale and are used to add extra flavor or color to a melody or harmony.

Feedback

Electronic sound distortion produced when a loud sound from and amplification system is picked up by a microphone or electric guitar pickup and fed back through the amplifier and speakers.

Disjunct

Melodic motion in which pitches move up and down by large intervals (skips).

Conjunct

Melodic motion in which pitches move up and down smoothly by step or in a scale pattern.

Blues progression

One of the most identifiable characteristics of the blues, the blues progression (also called the 12-bar blues progression) consists of a particular organization (and variations) of tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords. The blues progression is basic to the blues and is prominently used in rock and roll.

Backbeat

Placing a strong accent on the offbeats. In a four-beat measure, the drummer typically emphasizes beats 2 and 4, creating the basic rhythm of rock music

Accent

Placing emphasis on certain beats to help organize the meter of music. Strong accents typically occur on the downbeat. In a four-beat measure, beats 1 and 3 are usually the most strongly accented beats.

Reverb

Short for reverberation, a type of sound distortion in which the sound is repeated several times very quickly resulting in an echo-like effect.

Race records

Term that refers to all music recorded by African-American form the 1920s through the 1940s, including blues, jazz, and ragtime. Race records were usually from small independent labels and were distributed by the record company owners themselves, often from the trucks of their cars. Outlets for race records were owners themselves, often from the trunks of their cars. Outlets for race records were any type of store that serviced black customers. Race records became referred to as rhythm and blues records during the late 1940s.

Bridge

The B or contrasting section of an A A B A (standard) song form.

Blue note

The altered pitch or pitches of a blues scale or song

Beat

The basic pulse that underlies most music. The beat is the portion of music to which the body reacts by means of tapping the foot, clapping, or dancing.

Offbeat

The beats in a measure that are not strongly accented. In a four-beat measure, the offbeats are beats 2 and 4. When these are accented strongly in rock, it is called the backbeat.

Barrelhouse rhythm

The bouncy, long-short rhythm (dotted eighth note and sixteenth note) that is associated with boogie woogie. The name is derived from the place where boogie woogie flourished: bars or "barrelhouses.

Cadence

The chords that end a section of music. The cadence indicates to the listener that a section or phrase of music has ended. There are three general types of cadence: full, half, and deceptive.

Refrain

The chorus of a strophic song form

Chord

The combination of three or more pitches sounded simultaneously.

Interval

The distance between two different pitches.

Half step

The distance between two notes in a chromatic scale. To visualize on the piano keyboard, a half step is from one key to the very next key, form a white key to a black key. also called a semitone.

Coda

The ending of a piece. A conclusion rather than a significant part of the form of a song.

Dominant

The fifth pitch of a scale. Dominant also refers to the chord built on the fifth pitch of a scale.

Downbeat

The first beat of a measure. The term has also been used for the regular accented beats in a 4/4 measure, beats one and three.

Subdominant

The fourth pitch of a major or minor scale. Subdominant also refers to the chord that is built on the fourth pitch of a scale.

Octave

The interval between two notes of the same pitch name that are twelve half steps apart.

Tonic

The main or central pitch of a major key. Tonic also refers to the chord that is built on the first pitch of a scale and is therefore the main or central chord, or home chord, of a major or minor key.

Arpeggio

The notes of a chord played or sung one after another instead of played or sung simultaneously.

Pace

The rate of activity for any musical element, as perceived in relation to some norm. Once a general level of activity has been established, any increase or decrease in the rate at which musical elements change is a change of pace.

Dubbing

The recording technique of adding other instruments, voices, or other sounds to a recording that has already been put on tape. The process requires either a multiple-track recorder or two recorders so that the recorded track can be heard while the new dubbed track is being recorded. Also called overdubbing.

Rhythm

The relationship between music and time. Rhythm refers to the length that a pitch sounds and its relation to the lengths of other pitches sounding before, after, and simultaneously

Bar

The same as measure.

Contour

The shape of a melody or motive. A melody may be smooth (conjunct) or angular (disjunct).

Counterpoint

The simultaneous combination of two or more musical lines that are approximately of equal melodic importance. Counterpoint is often used synonymously with polyphony. The adjective form of counterpoint is contrapuntal.

Range

The span from lowest to highest pitch in a piece of music, a specific instrumental or vocal part, or a particular section of music.

Tempo

The speed at which the music is performed; the rate at which the basic beats follow one another.

Improvisation

The spontaneous performance of music that has not been written out or previously planned, but is based on or refers to a specific chord progression or melody.

Verse

The stanza of a strophic song form. The music (melody, rhythm, harmony) remains the same for each verse, but the words (text) change in each verse.

Tone color

The timbre of a particular instrument or group of instruments.

Key

The tonality of a scale from which the melody and chords of a piece of music have been constructed.

Measure

The unit of meter used to calibrate musical time. A measure consists typically of a strong beat (downbeat) and other lesser accented beats. Also called a bar.

Texture

The way in which different musical lines, melodic and accompaniment, function in relation to one another. There are three basic types of texture: Monophony, Homophony, and Polyphony.

Decrescendo

To gradually decrease in volume. Also referred to as diminuendo.

Crescendo

To gradually increase in volume.

Jam

To improvise. In general terms, to play and/or sing; the music may be pre-arranged or improvised at the performance, or jam session.

Bend

To slightly alter the pitch of a note by pilling on a string, raising or lowering the voice, or tightening or loosing the embouchure, or mouth position, on a horn. The bent note is often considered a blue note.

Timbre

Tone quality; the way particular instruments or voices sound alone or in combination. Also referred to as tone color.

Polyrhythm

Two or more rhythms performed simultaneously.

Backturning

Used by early rap MCs, the technique of manually reversing the revolution of the turntable to repeat a phrase.