Organized by general topics:  

Melody, Rhythm, Harmony, Texture, Form, Ensemble, Instruments, Other

MELODY -- The aspect of music having to do with the succession of pitches; also applied ("a melody") to any particular succession of pitches

Interval:  The difference or distance between two pitches

Key:  A tonal center and mode that characterize an entire piece of music, or a section of a piece of music (e.g. a song can be "in the key of A major," or " in the key of e minor")

Mode:  Basically, a mode is a particular selection of pitches from which the composer or performer constructs the melody (also see scale)  

Range:  Used in music to mean pitch range, i.e., the total span from the lowest to the highest pitch in a piece, a section, or on an instrument

Register:  A specified pitch range (e.g. "upper" or "lower" register).  Different registers of singing voices are commonly described as follows:

Bass:  the low adult male voice (also refers to the lowest vocal or instrumental line in a piece of music, or to the string instrument called the "bass")

Tenor:  the high adult male voice

Alto:  the lower female voice

Soprano:  the high female (or boy's) voice

Pitch:  The quality of "highness" or "lowness" of sound; also applied ("a pitch") to any particular pitch level, such as middle C

Scale:  When the pitches of a mode are placed in consecutive ascending or descending order they form a scale

Major scale:  One of the scales derived from the diatonic scale, commonly used in Western music

Minor scale:  Another of the scales derived from the diatonic scale, commonly used in Western music

Pentatonic scale:  A five-note scale (familiar from folk music) playable on the black notes of a keyboard

Tune:  A simple, easily singable melody that is coherent and complete


RHYTHM -- The aspect of music having to do with the duration of the notes in time; also applied  ("a rhythm") to any particular durational pattern

Beat:  the regular pulse underlying most music

Clave:  An African derived rhythmic pattern that is the guiding rhythm, or time-line, for Afro-Caribbean music like salsa.  The two sticks that are struck together to play this rhythm are also called claves.

Measure:  A cycle of a certain number of beats (e.g. 2 beats, 3 beats, or 4 beats) which is a unit or building block of the music

Meter: The division of musical time into units of equal duration, measured by a regular pulse or beat

Duple meter:  The division of the music into measures of two or four beats

Triple meter:  The division of the music into measures of three beats

Polyrhythm: The simultaneous playing of contrasting and repeating rhythms that create a consistent rhythmic texture or groove

Syncopation:  The accenting of certain notes that fall between the "main beats" of the meter

Tempo:  The speed of music, i.e. the rate at which the beats of the meter follow one another

Time-line:  A rhythmic pattern in African music, played on a bell or some other percussion instrument, that defines a rhythmic cycle and provides a basis on which to build the rhythmic "feel" of the music (see clave)

HARMONY-- Having to do with the simultaneous sounding of two or more pitches, or the use of chords and chord progressions

Chord:  A grouping of pitches played and heard simultaneously

Consonance:  Intervals or chords that sound relatively stable and free of tension;  as opposed to dissonance  

Dissonance:  Intervals or chords that sound relatively tense and unstable;  in opposition to consonance

Functional harmony:  Harmony which is based upon chord progressions, and which ultimately tends to resolve on a tonic or "home" chord

TEXTURE -- The blend of the various sounds and rhythmic or melodic lines occurring simultaneously in a piece of music.  The most essential distinction in texture is between unison and contrast

Counterpoint, contrapuntal:  When two or more musical lines are played simultaneously, each line is rhythmically and melodically distinct but they sound good together

Fixed and Variable Rhythm:  A concept applied particularly to African music, where certain instruments (the "fixed group") play repeated and usually interlocking rhythmic patterns while other instruments or voices (the "variable group"), play varied parts, often improvised, on top of that accompaniment

Heterophony: The texture created when two instruments or voices play basically the same thing, but with audible differences in rhythm and ornament.

Homophony:  A musical texture that involves only one melody of real interest, combined with chords or other melodic lines that harmonize the main melody and follow its rhythm

Monophony, unison:  A musical texture involving a single melodic line (played by one or more voices or instruments) and nothing else, as in Gregorian chant

Polyphony:  Musical texture in which two or more melodic lines are played or sung simultaneously in contrapuntal fashion


FORM -- The "shape" or "structure" of a piece of music

LARGE-SCALE FORM (Forms that characterize an entire piece of music, or a substantial section of a piece of music)

Call and Response:  Alternation between a varied melody or rhythm (performed by a soloist and often improvised) and a fixed, repeated response (usually performed by a group).  This is a form particularly characteristic of African and African-derived music

Strophic form, strophic song:  A song in several stanzas, with the same music sung for each stanza; as opposed to "through-composed" song.  "Verse and chorus" structure, common in popular music, could be considered a type of strophic form

Theme and Variation:  A form in which variations (following an opening theme) closely resemble the theme in certain respects -- e.g., in phrase length and harmony -- while varying other aspects of it

SMALL-SCALE FORM (elements of form that define short passages, or individual parts in a piece)

Break:  A place where the rhythmic momentum of the music is interrupted for dramatic effect; in the space created, either a brief solo may be played or a strongly accented rhythm may be played in unison

Cadence:  The notes of chords (or the whole short passage) ending a section of music with a feeling of conclusiveness.  The term "cadence" can be applied to phrases, sections of works, or complete works

Head:  The composed material of a jazz performance, usually played at the beginning and then improvised upon

Motive, motif:  A short fragment of melody or rhythm used in constructing a long section of music

Ostinato:  A motive, phrase, or theme repeated over and over again at the same pitch level

Phrase:  A section of a melody or a tune that has some sense of integrity, of a beginning and an end (often defined in vocal music by where the singer can pause to take a breath)

Rest:  A momentary silence in music (in musical notation a sign indicating momentary silence)
Sequence:  In a melody, a series of fragments identical except for their placement at successively higher or lower pitch levels

Stanza:  In songs or ballads, one of several similar poetic units, which are usually sung to the same tune; also called "strophe"

Theme:  The basic subject matter of a piece of music.  A theme can be a phrase, a short motive, a full tune, etc.

Verse:  essentially synonymous with "stanza"


INSTRUMENTS

Aerophones (Wind Instruments):  Instruments whose sound is produced by the vibration of a column of air; classified according to the type of mouthpiece, which has a strong effect on the timbre:
brass instruments (e.g. trumpet, trombone)
 
(Aerophones cont'd.)

reed instruments

1.double reed -- e.g. oboe

2.single reed -- e.g. clarinet, saxophone

woodwinds (e.g. flute, recorder)

Chordophones (String Instruments):  Instruments whose sound is produced by the vibration of strings

plucked

1.lutes -- guitar-type instruments, with a resonating body and a neck for fingering

2.zithers -- instrument where the strings are stretched across a simple sounding board, each tuned to a fixed pitch (like a harp with a "backboard")

3.harps

bowed (e.g. violin)

Membranophones (Drums):  Instruments whose sound is produced by the vibrations of membranes

Idiophones:  Instruments whose sound is produced by striking the body of the instrument itself (e.g. bells, rattles, woodblocks)

OTHER MUSICAL TERMS

A cappella:  Choral music for voices alone, without instruments

Accent:  The stressing of a note, for example by playing it somewhat louder than the sorrounding notes

Afinque:  A term from salsa music, referring to rhythmic togetherness or "tightness"

Crescendo:  Getting louder

Dynamics:  The volume of sound, the loudness or softness of a musical passage

Genre:  A general category of music which may be determined by the number and kind of instruments or voices involved, or by its form, style, context, or purpose  Blues, waltz, tango, are examples of genres.

Note:  1) A sound of a certain definite pitch and duration; 2) the written sign for such a sound in musical notation; 3) a key pressed with the finger on a piano or organ

Staccato:  Played in a detached manner; as opposed to legato

Style:  The combination of qualities that make a period of art, a genre, a performer, a composer, or an individual work of art distinctive

Swing:  A type of big-band jazz of the late 1930's and 1940's; also a term used in jazz to describe the "feel" of the music when it is played well

Timbre:  The quality or character of the sound of a certain instrument or voice (e.g. an electric guitar has a different timbre than an acoustic guitar)