Skip to content
MusicTheory.Work

Glossary

Every term used in the course, in plain words. Underlined terms in lessons open these definitions too.

A

Accidental
A sharp, flat, or natural written before a note. It lasts until the end of the bar.
Unit 3: Reading music
Altered chord
A dominant chord with raised or lowered 5ths or 9ths for extra tension.
Unit 16: Extended and altered harmony
Arpeggio
The notes of a chord played one after another.
Unit 8: Triads
Augmented
A half step larger than perfect or major.
Unit 5: Intervals
Authentic cadence
V to I — the strongest ending.
Unit 10: Progressions and cadences

B

Bar (measure)
A group of beats separated by barlines. Each bar has the same number of beats.
Unit 2: Rhythm
Bass clef
The F clef. Its two dots surround the line for F below middle C. Used for lower notes.
Unit 3: Reading music
Beat
The steady pulse you tap your foot to.
Unit 2: Rhythm
Borrowed chord
A chord taken from the parallel major or minor key.
Unit 13: Modes

C

Cadence
The chords that end a phrase, like punctuation at the end of a sentence.
Unit 10: Progressions and cadences
Chord
Three or more notes sounding together.
Unit 8: Triads
Chord inversion
A chord with a note other than the root in the bass. First inversion has the 3rd in the bass; second has the 5th.
Unit 8: Triads
Chord progression
A series of chords.
Unit 10: Progressions and cadences
Chord quality
Major, minor, diminished, or augmented — set by the sizes of the 3rds in the chord.
Unit 8: Triads
Chromatic
Using notes outside the current key.
Unit 9: Diatonic harmony
Circle of fifths
All twelve keys arranged so each neighbour is a perfect 5th away and differs by one sharp or flat.
Unit 6: Keys
Clef
The symbol at the start of the staff that fixes which line is which note.
Unit 3: Reading music
Compound meter
A meter whose beats divide into three, like 6/8 (two beats, each split in three).
Unit 2: Rhythm
Consonance
A combination of notes that sounds stable and at rest.
Unit 5: Intervals

D

Deceptive cadence
V to vi — the ear expects I and gets a surprise.
Unit 10: Progressions and cadences
Diatonic
Belonging to the current key — using only its seven notes.
Unit 9: Diatonic harmony
Diminished
A half step smaller than perfect or minor.
Unit 5: Intervals
Diminished seventh
A diminished triad plus a diminished 7th (°7) — four notes, all a minor 3rd apart.
Unit 11: Seventh chords
Dissonance
A combination of notes that sounds tense and wants to move.
Unit 5: Intervals
Dominant
Scale degree 5, and the chord built on it. It pulls strongly back to the tonic.
Unit 4: The major scale
Dominant seventh
A major triad plus a minor 7th, like G7. It drives strongly to I.
Unit 11: Seventh chords
Dorian
Minor with a raised 6th.
Unit 13: Modes
Dotted note
A dot after a note adds half its value again: a dotted half lasts 2 + 1 = 3 beats.
Unit 2: Rhythm

E

Enharmonic
Two names for the same sound, like F♯ and G♭. The right name depends on the key.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch
Extension
A chord tone beyond the 7th: the 9th, 11th, or 13th.
Unit 16: Extended and altered harmony

F

Flat (♭)
Lowers a note by a half step. B♭ is the key just below B.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch

G

Grand staff
A treble and a bass staff joined by a brace, as in piano music.
Unit 3: Reading music

H

Half cadence
A phrase ending on V — like a comma.
Unit 10: Progressions and cadences
Half step
The smallest distance on a piano: from one key to the very next key, black or white. Also called a semitone.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch
Half-diminished seventh
A diminished triad plus a minor 7th (ø7), like Bø7.
Unit 11: Seventh chords
Harmonic analysis
Labelling the chords of a piece with Roman numerals to understand how it works.
Unit 17: Song analysis
Harmonic function
A chord's job in a progression: tonic (home), predominant (away), or dominant (pulling home).
Unit 9: Diatonic harmony
Harmonic minor
Natural minor with the 7th raised, giving a leading tone.
Unit 7: Minor scales

I

Interval
The distance between two notes, named by number (how many letters) and quality.
Unit 5: Intervals
Interval inversion
Flipping an interval by moving the lower note up an octave. The numbers add up to 9.
Unit 5: Intervals

K

Key
The set of notes (and the tonic) a piece is built around, like C major or A minor.
Unit 6: Keys
Key signature
The sharps or flats at the start of each line, telling you which notes to play sharp or flat throughout.
Unit 6: Keys

L

Leading tone
Scale degree 7, a half step below the tonic. It leans upward to the tonic.
Unit 4: The major scale
Ledger line
A short extra line above or below the staff for notes outside its range.
Unit 3: Reading music
Locrian
Lowered 2nd and 5th; its tonic triad is diminished.
Unit 13: Modes
Lydian
Major with a raised 4th.
Unit 13: Modes

M

Major interval
The larger form of a 2nd, 3rd, 6th or 7th — the size found above the tonic of a major scale.
Unit 5: Intervals
Major scale
The seven-note scale built from the step pattern W W H W W W H.
Unit 4: The major scale
Melodic minor
Minor with the 6th and 7th raised going up (and natural minor coming down).
Unit 7: Minor scales
Middle C
The C nearest the middle of the piano, written C4. It sits between the treble and bass staves.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch
Minor interval
A major interval made a half step smaller.
Unit 5: Intervals
Mixolydian
Major with a lowered 7th.
Unit 13: Modes
Mode
A scale made by starting the major scale's notes on a different degree, each with its own colour.
Unit 13: Modes
Modulation
Changing key within a piece.
Unit 15: Modulation

N

Natural (♮)
Cancels a sharp or flat, returning a note to its plain letter name.
Unit 3: Reading music
Natural minor
The minor scale straight from the key signature: W H W W H W W.
Unit 7: Minor scales
Neapolitan chord
A major chord on the lowered 2nd degree (♭II), usually in first inversion.
Unit 16: Extended and altered harmony
Neighbor tone
A non-chord tone that steps away from a chord tone and back.
Unit 12: Melody and voice leading
Non-chord tone
A melody note that doesn't belong to the chord underneath it.
Unit 12: Melody and voice leading
Note
A single musical sound with a definite pitch — or the symbol that represents it.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch
Note value
How long a note lasts: whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth.
Unit 2: Rhythm

O

Octave
The distance from one note to the next note with the same name. The higher note vibrates exactly twice as fast.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch

P

Parallel fifths
Two voices a perfect 5th apart moving to another perfect 5th. Avoided in classical style because the voices blend into one.
Unit 12: Melody and voice leading
Parallel key
A major and minor key that share a tonic, like C major and C minor.
Unit 6: Keys
Passing tone
A non-chord tone that fills a gap by step between two chord tones.
Unit 12: Melody and voice leading
Perfect interval
Unisons, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves in their natural size. They sound open and stable.
Unit 5: Intervals
Phrygian
Minor with a lowered 2nd.
Unit 13: Modes
Pitch
How high or low a sound is. Faster vibrations sound higher.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch
Pivot chord
A chord that belongs to both the old and new key, used to slide smoothly between them.
Unit 15: Modulation
Plagal cadence
IV to I — the 'Amen' ending.
Unit 10: Progressions and cadences
Predominant
Chords like IV and ii that lead toward the dominant.
Unit 9: Diatonic harmony

R

Relative key
A major and minor key that share a key signature, like C major and A minor.
Unit 6: Keys
Rest
A symbol for silence that lasts a set number of beats.
Unit 2: Rhythm
Roman numeral
A label for a chord by its scale degree: I, ii, V… Uppercase is major, lowercase minor.
Unit 9: Diatonic harmony
Root
The note a chord is built on and named after.
Unit 8: Triads
Root position
A chord with its root as the lowest note.
Unit 8: Triads

S

SATB
Four-part writing for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass voices.
Unit 12: Melody and voice leading
Scale
A set of notes arranged in order of pitch, starting and ending on the same note name.
Unit 4: The major scale
Scale degree
A note's position in a scale, numbered 1 to 7 from the tonic.
Unit 4: The major scale
Secondary dominant
The dominant of a chord other than I, written V/x — like D7 (V7/V) in C major.
Unit 14: Secondary dominants
Seventh chord
A triad with a fourth note a 7th above the root.
Unit 11: Seventh chords
Sharp (♯)
Raises a note by a half step. F♯ is the key just above F.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch
Solfège
Singing syllables for scale degrees: do re mi fa sol la ti do.
Unit 4: The major scale
Staff
Five horizontal lines on which notes are written. Higher on the staff means higher in pitch.
Unit 3: Reading music
Subdominant
Scale degree 4, and the chord built on it.
Unit 4: The major scale
Suspension
A note held over from the previous chord that then resolves down by step.
Unit 12: Melody and voice leading
Syncopation
Putting emphasis between the beats, so the rhythm pushes against the pulse.
Unit 2: Rhythm

T

Tempo
How fast the beat goes, often measured in beats per minute (BPM).
Unit 2: Rhythm
Tie
A curved line joining two notes of the same pitch so they sound as one longer note.
Unit 2: Rhythm
Time signature
The two stacked numbers at the start of a piece. The top says how many beats are in each bar; the bottom says which note gets one beat.
Unit 2: Rhythm
Tonic
The first note of a scale and the home base of a key.
Unit 4: The major scale
Tonicization
Briefly treating a chord other than I as a temporary tonic.
Unit 14: Secondary dominants
Treble clef
The G clef. Its curl wraps around the line for G above middle C. Used for higher notes.
Unit 3: Reading music
Triad
A three-note chord stacked in thirds: root, 3rd, and 5th.
Unit 8: Triads
Tritone
An interval of three whole steps (six half steps) — an augmented 4th or diminished 5th. Famously restless.
Unit 5: Intervals
Tritone substitution
Replacing a dominant 7th with the dominant 7th a tritone away (D♭7 for G7). They share the same tritone.
Unit 16: Extended and altered harmony

V

Voice leading
How each individual line moves from one chord to the next.
Unit 12: Melody and voice leading

W

Whole step
Two half steps — skipping exactly one key. Also called a tone.
Unit 1: Sound and pitch