Review of AP Music Theory vocabulary for Midterm exams
Terms : Hide Images
| 1114873868 | Major scale | pattern of whole and half steps covering an octave. | |
| 1114873869 | Half step | distance from one key on the piano to the very next key, white or black | |
| 1114873870 | Whole step | skips the next key on the piano and goes to the one after | |
| 1114873871 | Tetrachord | 4 note scale pattern | |
| 1114873872 | Double sharp | raise a whole step | |
| 1114873873 | Sharp | raise a half step | |
| 1114873874 | Natural | raise a half step | |
| 1114873875 | Accidental | flat or sharp added to a note that is not indicated by the key | |
| 1114873876 | Flat | lower a half step | |
| 1114873877 | Double flat | lower a whole step | |
| 1114873878 | Key | combination of accidentals used to identify the first scale degree | |
| 1114873879 | Key signature | patterns of flats or sharps written at the start of a staff | |
| 1114873880 | Enharmonic | notes or keys that have the same pitch but are spelled differently | |
| 1114873881 | Transpose | notes or keys that have the same pitch but are spelled differently | |
| 1114873882 | Circle of fifths | diagram that organizes the key signatures by ascending 5th of descending 4th | |
| 1114873883 | Natural minor scale | lowered 3rd, 6th and 7th | |
| 1114873884 | Harmonic minor scale | lowered 3rd and 6th | |
| 1114873885 | Melodic minor scale | lowered 3rd ascending, lowered 7th and 6th descending | |
| 1114873886 | Relative keys | when a major and a minor key have the exact same key signature | |
| 1114873887 | Parallel Keys | when the scale has the same first starting note but different accidentals depending if it is Major or minor | |
| 1114873888 | Tonic | 1st scale degree | |
| 1114873889 | Supertonic - 2nd scale degree | 2nd scale degree | |
| 1114873890 | Mediant | 3rd scale degree | |
| 1114873891 | Subdominant | 4th scale degree | |
| 1114873892 | Dominant | 5th scale degree | |
| 1114873893 | Submediant | 6th scale degree | |
| 1114873894 | Leading tone | 7th scale degree | |
| 1114873895 | Subtonic | lowered 7th scale degree | |
| 1114873896 | Interval | the distance between two notes | |
| 1114873897 | Harmonic interval | two notes performed at the same time | |
| 1114873898 | Melodic interval | the two notes of an interval played separately | |
| 1114873899 | Unison | two notes that are exactly the same in pitch | |
| 1114873900 | Octave | the interval of an 8th | |
| 1114873901 | Simple intervals | intervals smaller than an octave | |
| 1114873902 | Compound intervals | intervals an octave or larger | |
| 1114873903 | Perfect | used with unisons, 4th, 5th, and octaves | |
| 1114873904 | Major | fits within the diatonic scale | |
| 1114873905 | Minor | is lowered from the diatonic scale | |
| 1114873907 | Augmented | an interval made a half step larger | |
| 1114873909 | Diminished | a perfect or minor interval lowered a second half step | |
| 1114873910 | Tritone | augmented 4th or diminished 5th | |
| 1114873912 | Interval Inversion | moving the bottom pith of an interval above the top pitch | |
| 1114873913 | Law of reciprocal intervals | inverted intervals equal 9 | |
| 1114873914 | Consonant | pleasing to the ear | |
| 1114873915 | Dissonant | not pleasing to the ear | |
| 1114873916 | Consonant intervals | Major and minor 3rd and 6th, perfect 5th and octaves | |
| 1114873917 | Beat | basic pulse of a musical passage | |
| 1114873918 | Tempo | the speed of the beats | |
| 1114873919 | Meter | the pattern of beats | |
| 1114873920 | Measures | the grouping of beats | |
| 1114873921 | Bar line | a vertical line through the staff | |
| 1114873922 | Duple | two beat measure | |
| 1114873923 | Triple | three beat measure | |
| 1114873924 | Quadruple | 4 beat measure | |
| 1114873925 | Hypermeter | several measures together that form its own meter (Amazing Grace) | |
| 1114873926 | Division of the beat (Subdivision) | durations of the beat that are shorter than the beat | |
| 1114873927 | Simple beat | 2 equal divisions | |
| 1114873928 | Compound beat | 3 equal divisions | |
| 1114873929 | Compound beat | 3 equal divisions Time Signature | |
| 1114873930 | How to find number of beats per measure in compound | divide top number by 3 | |
| 1114873931 | Tuplet | division of two beats into three or division of a dotted note into 2 | |
| 1114873932 | Beams | used to connect 8th, 16th, 32nd, etc. | |
| 1114873933 | Stems | lines on the side of the note head | |
| 1114873934 | Tertian Harmony | Chords built on thirds | |
| 1114873935 | Triad | three note chord | |
| 1114873936 | Sonority | the sound of chords stacked together, rich and full in sound | |
| 1114873937 | Seventh Chords | a triad with an added 7th | |
| 1114873938 | Root position | lowest note of the chord is the tonic | |
| 1114873939 | First inversion | lowest note of the chord is the 3rd | |
| 1114873940 | Second inversion | lowest note of the chord is the 5th | |
| 1114873941 | Figured Bass (Thoroughbass) | number system of music that spells out the chord and inversion | |
| 1114873942 | Realization | The actual music (written or played) made from a figured bass | |
| 1114873943 | Lead-sheet symbols | modern shorthand for chords | |
| 1114873944 | Pitch class | all the notes found in a chord | |
| 1114873945 | Diatonic - of the scale Chromatic chords (altered chords) | not of the scale | |
| 1114873946 | Harmonic Progression | forward motion of harmony in music | |
| 1114873947 | Voice Leading | the way individual notes of a chord connect to other notes | |
| 1114873948 | Part Writing | same as voice leading | |
| 1114873949 | Counterpoint | combining relatively independent musical lines | |
| 1114873950 | Contour | The shape of the musical line | |
| 1114873951 | Focal point | highest note of the melody | |
| 1114873952 | Leaps | moving intervals larger than a second | |
| 1114873953 | Tendency Tones | The direction notes "want to move" 7 goes to 1, 4 goes to 3. | |
| 1114873954 | Musical Score | Music that shows all the parts of an ensemble on one page. | |
| 1114873955 | Voicing | How the chord is to be distributed or spaced | |
| 1114873956 | Close structure | less than an octave between soprano and tenor | |
| 1114873957 | Open structure | more than an octave between soprano and tenor | |
| 1114873958 | Crossed voices | when one voice part goes crosses higher or lower than another part | |
| 1114873959 | Spacing | the art a writing voice parts within one octave of each other | |
| 1114873960 | Analyze | name the chord with a Roman numeral and an inversion sign, possibly more | |
| 1114873961 | Parallel Motion | two voices moving in the exact same interval and direction | |
| 1114873962 | Static Motion | an exact repeat that results in no motion of voices | |
| 1114873963 | Oblique motion | one voice stays the same while another voice moves | |
| 1114873964 | Contrary motion | voices move in opposite directions | |
| 1114873965 | Similar motion | voices move in the same direction but not the same interval | |
| 1114873966 | Objectionable Parallel Motion | P5th, P8th | |
| 1114873967 | Unequal 5th | two consecutive 5ths but the quality changes from P to d or vice versa | |
| 1114873968 | Direct or Hidden 5ths | The outer parts move in the same direction and form a P5 or P8 | |
| 1114873969 | Fundamental | the lowest tone in a harmonic series (the lowest note an instrument can play) | |
| 1114873970 | Score reduction | - reducing the notes in a score down to simple chords | |
| 1114873971 | Polyphonic | many independent musical lines played at the same time | |
| 1114873972 | Monophonic - | only one musical like | |
| 1114873973 | Homophonic | a melody harmonized by chords | |
| 1114873974 | Sequence - | a pattern of notes that is repeated but starts on a different pitch class | |
| 1114873975 | Tonal sequence | sequence stays in one key | |
| 1114873976 | Real sequence | transpose a sequence to new key (keep the intervals the same) | |
| 1114873977 | Imitation | like a sequence, but it happens between two or more voices | |
| 1114873978 | Modified sequence | the repetition of patterns is neither tonal nor real | |
| 1114873979 | Circle-of-5ths-progression | a sequential pattern where a series of roots descend 5th or ascend 4th | |
| 1114873980 | Harmonic sequence | the sequence of chords as they progress towards tonic | |
| 1114873981 | Prolongation | expanding a chord's domain through the use of one or more subsidiary chords | |
| 1114873982 | Pre-dominant chord | typically a ii or a IV chord that wants to be followed by a dominant chord | |
| 1114873983 | Arpeggio (arpeggiation) | Play the notes of a chord separately and in sequence | |
| 1114873984 | Canon | identical rhythms and contours set off by one measure (row your boat) | |
| 1114873985 | Round | canons which are perpetual | |
| 1114873986 | Imitative counterpoint | used by canons and rounds | |
| 1114873987 | Fugue | contrapuntal piece in which there is a subject which is tossed among voices and eventually restated | |
| 1114873988 | 4 types of second inversion chords | bass arpeggiation, cadential 6-4, passing 6-4, pedal 6-4 | |
| 1114873989 | Cadence | a harmonic goal or resting spot in music | |
| 1114873990 | Authentic cadence | V to I | |
| 1114873991 | Perfect Authentic Cadence - | both V and I are in root position and soprano of I is also root | |
| 1114873992 | Imperfect Authentic | - any V to I that does not meet the PAC definition (vii - I) | |
| 1114873993 | Cadence | a harmonic goal or resting spot in music | |
| 1114873994 | Authentic cadence | V to I | |
| 1114873995 | Perfect Authentic Cadence | both V and I are in root position and soprano of I is also root | |
| 1114873996 | Imperfect Authentic | any V to I that does not meet the PAC definition (vii - I) | |
| 1114873997 | Deceptive cadence | V to anything except I (usually vi) | |
| 1114873998 | Half Cadence | anything to a V (usually unstable) | |
| 1114873999 | Conclusive Cadence | authentic and plagal cadences | |
| 1114874000 | Progressive Cadences | deceptive and half cadences | |
| 1114874001 | Phrygian Half Cadence | The iv first inversion to a V cadence in minor | |
| 1114874002 | Plagal Cadence | - IV to I cadence | |
| 1114874003 | Phrase | A relatively independent musical idea terminated by a cadence | |
| 1114874004 | Motive | The smallest identifiable musical idea | |
| 1114874005 | Elision | When the last note of one phrase serves as the first note of the next phrase | |
| 1114874006 | Period | Two phrase pattern where the 1st cadence is weaker than the second cadence | |
| 1114874007 | Antecedent | The "question" phase of a period | |
| 1114874008 | Consequent | The "answer" phrase of a period | |
| 1114874009 | Repeated Phrase | When two side by side phrases are identical | |
| 1114874010 | Parallel Period | both phrases begin with similar or identical material (but may end differently) | |
| 1114874011 | Contrasting Period | A period in which the phrase beginnings are not similar | |
| 1114874012 | Three-phrase period | A period with two consequents before the antecedent or two antecedents after the consequent | |
| 1117586268 | Double Period | Four phrases in two pairs, the cadence at the end of the second pair is stronger than the cadence at the end of the first pair | |
| 1117586269 | Phrase Group | Phrases that seem to go together but do not constitute a Period | |
| 1117586270 | Sentence | Characterized by the immediate repetition or variation of a musical idea followed by a motion toward a cadence | |
| 1117586271 | Nonchord Tone | a note which is not a direct member of a surrounding chord | |
| 1117586272 | Accented | falls on the beat of a nonchord tone | |
| 1117586273 | Unaccented | falls off the beat of a nonchord tone | |
| 1117586274 | Passing Tone | a note between two other notes that is a nonchod tone: "fills up the space" between notes | |
| 1117586275 | Neighboring Tone | play a tone, move up or down a second, return to original tone | |
| 1117586276 | Suspension | Holds on to a chord tone after the other parts have moved on to a new chord | |
| 1117586277 | Preparation | a tone preceding a suspension | |
| 1117586278 | Retardation | suspension with an upward resolution | |
| 1117586279 | Modulation | change of key | |
| 1117586280 | Appoggiatura (Incomplete Neighbor) | accented, approached by leap and left by step | |
| 1117586281 | Escape Tone (Incomplete Neighbor) | approached by step and left by leap | |
| 1117586282 | Neighbor Group (Cambiata, Changing Tones) | step, leap in opposite direction, return to fist tone | |
| 1117586283 | Anticipation | a pitch that is contained in the anticipated chord but not present in the chord that precedes it | |
| 1117586284 | Free Anticipation | Anticipation that is approached and left by leap | |
| 1117586285 | Pedal Point | a repeated note that begins as a chord tone, becomes a nochord tone, ends as a chord tone | |
| 1117586286 | tone Double Pedal Point | two pedal points |
