AP Music Theory key terms

A number from 1 to 7 naming a note's position within a diatonic scale, with 1 as the tonic; each degree has its own tendency and function in tonal music.

The first and central scale degree, heard as the home pitch of a key; melodies and phrases usually feel resolved when they end on it.

The fifth scale degree and the chord built on it, which creates strong pull back toward the tonic and most often prepares a cadence.

Scale degree 7 when it lies a half step below the tonic, giving it a strong upward tendency that drives resolution to the tonic.

The sharps or flats placed after the clef at the start of each staff line, indicating which notes are altered throughout a passage.

A sharp, flat, natural, or double accidental written before a single note to raise or lower it, lasting for the rest of the measure.

A diagram arranging keys or chords by ascending perfect fifths, showing how key signatures accumulate sharps or flats and how closely keys relate.

The minor key sharing a key signature with a given major key, whose tonic lies a minor third below the major tonic.

Two keys with the same tonic but different key signatures and modes, such as C major and C minor, often used for contrast within a piece.

Using only the pitches of the prevailing scale or key, without added chromatic alterations; diatonic chords are built from those scale pitches.

The use of pitches outside the prevailing diatonic scale, often through accidentals, secondary dominants, or passing tones, adding color and tension.

The distance in pitch between two notes, described by its size in letter names and its quality, such as major third or perfect fifth.

The interval formed by moving the lower note of a pair up an octave, or the upper note down; sizes add to nine and qualities reverse.

Two note names or spellings for the same sounding pitch, such as F sharp and G flat, which behave differently in notation and harmonic context.

The relative stability or tension of an interval or chord; consonant sounds tend to rest, while dissonant ones demand resolution according to style conventions.

A three-note chord built in stacked thirds above a root, producing major, minor, diminished, or augmented qualities.

A four-note chord made of a triad plus a seventh above the root, common types being dominant, major, minor, half-diminished, and fully diminished.

A major triad with a minor seventh above the root, built on the fifth degree of a key; its tritone gives it a strong pull to the tonic.

The arrangement of a chord so a note other than the root is in the bass, labeled root position, first inversion, or second inversion.

Numbers written under a bass note showing which intervals above it are sounded, used to notate chord inversion and added chord tones.

A labeling system using uppercase or lowercase Roman numerals to show a chord's scale degree and quality within a key, with figures for inversion.

A dominant chord that resolves to a scale degree other than the tonic, briefly tonicizing that chord and labeled with a slash, as in V/V.

A harmonic or melodic formula that closes a phrase, such as authentic, half, plagal, or deceptive, each with a different degree of finality.

A cadence moving from dominant harmony to tonic harmony; it is perfect when both chords are in root position and the tonic is in the top voice.

A cadence that pauses on the dominant chord, usually at the midpoint of a phrase, leaving the music feeling open and unresolved.

A cadence in which dominant harmony resolves unexpectedly to a chord other than tonic, most often the submediant, frustrating the expected close.

A melodic note that is not part of the prevailing harmony, categorized by how it is approached and left, such as passing, neighbor, or suspension.

A nonchord tone that fills the gap between two chord tones by step, usually moving in the same direction before and after.

A nonchord tone that steps away from a chord tone and then returns to the same pitch, decorating it by upper or lower motion.

A nonchord tone held over from the previous chord, creating dissonance on the beat, which then resolves downward by step.

A change of tonic within a piece, usually prepared by a pivot chord or a dominant of the new key and confirmed by a cadence there.

A short, recognizable rhythmic or melodic idea that is repeated, varied, or developed to help unify a piece of music.

A melodic or harmonic pattern repeated at a higher or lower pitch level, often used to extend a phrase and build momentum.

A coherent musical unit ending in a cadence, comparable to a sentence; phrases combine into periods and larger formal sections.

The overall shape of a melody as it rises and falls in pitch, described in terms such as arch, ascending, or undulating.

The recurring pattern of strong and weak beats organized by a time signature, classified as duple, triple, or quadruple and simple or compound.

Two numbers at the start of a piece or section stating how many beats belong to each measure and which note value receives one beat.

Emphasis placed on a weak beat or between beats, so the expected metric accent is displaced and the rhythm feels off-balance.

A rhythmic effect in triple meter that temporarily regroups the beats into two, or in duple meter into three, shifting the perceived pulse.

Rewriting or performing music at a different pitch level while keeping the same intervals and scale-degree relationships.

Writing out the notes implied by a figured bass or chord symbol, choosing voicing, doubling, and spacing according to voice-leading rules.

The conventions governing how individual musical lines move from chord to chord, favoring smooth steps and controlled motion of the outer voices.

Two voices moving in the same direction by the same interval; parallel fifths and octaves between independent voices are traditionally avoided.

Two voices moving in opposite directions, a favored technique in voice leading because it keeps lines independent and avoids forbidden parallels.

A free-response task in which a candidate listens to a short progression played on the exam and notates the chords, usually with Roman numerals.

A free-response task in which a candidate hears a melody and writes it in notation, showing correct pitch, rhythm, and often the key.

Performing an unfamiliar notated melody at first sight, in tune and in the correct rhythm, without instrumental accompaniment.

A system of syllables such as do, re, mi assigned to scale degrees to help singers hear and reproduce pitches accurately.

Performing unfamiliar music accurately on the first attempt, requiring recognition of intervals, rhythms, and key signatures without rehearsal.