The part of the music that is subordinate to a melody.

The manner in which notes are differentiated.

A fixed number of beats (2, 3, 4) defined by metre.

The lowest part of a piece of music which outlines the chords.

The basic pulse underlying a piece of music which may be stressed or unstressed.

A succession of similar chords.

Two or more notes sounded simultaneously. In Western music the notes sounded operate in relationship to a scale.

A succession of chords related to each other.

The harmonious sounding of two or more notes.

Gradually getting louder.

Gradually getting quieter.

Two or more notes sounding simultaneously which create a harsh, unstable sound.

Played by more than one instrument or voice.

Loudness, measured in decibels, but perceived as relative loudness or quietness.

The shape or organisation of a piece of music.

Very loud.

A class, type or category of music that behaves according to specific conventions.

The combining of notes simultaneously.

A texture of several musical lines of similar rhythmic character.

The distance between two pitches.

The tonal centre of a composition which defines the relationship of notes, chords and structure.

Smooth, connected.

Terms to describe intervals, scales, chords and keys, distinguished mainly by the third note.

The correct term for a tune.

The division of pulse into groups of 2, 3 or 4 beats.

The shortest possible fragment of music that can be perceived structurally.

A self-contained section of a larger piece of music such as a sonata or symphony. Movements are characterised by differing tempos and characters and in performance are separated from each other by a brief pause.

Muffled or softened.

Very quiet.

The absolute quality of a musical note perceived as high or low, but determined by frequency.

Plucking the strings of an instrument normally played with a bow.

A texture in which several independent musical lines interweave.

The beat underlying a piece of music.

The distance between the highest and lowest note of a melody; the highest and lowest note available on a specific instrument or voice.

The different portions of the range of an intrument or voice.

Patterns of short and long notes.

A short, repeated melodic pattern in popular music.

A flexible approach to tempo in which slight increases or decreases in speed are used for expressive purposes.

A dry, brittle attack separating notes from each other.

A deliberate disturbance of normal metrical stress, e.g. accenting weak beats.

The speed of music which is directly connected to the sense of pulse.

The relationship between melodic (horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) elements of the music.

Tone colour, the quality that separates the sound of one instrument or voice from another.

A slight fluctuation of pitch produced on sustained notes.