WACE ATAR Music key terms

The system that organises pitches around a central home note or chord, such as major, minor, modal or atonal. It shapes how stable or tense music feels and how a piece typically ends.

A change from one key to another within a piece. It is usually prepared by a pivot chord or a dominant of the new key and gives the music a sense of departure and arrival.

A melodic and harmonic formula that closes a phrase. Perfect, imperfect, plagal and interrupted cadences differ in finality, and composers use that difference to shape punctuation and form.

The distance in pitch between two notes, measured in letter names and semitones, for example a major third or a perfect fifth. Intervals may be harmonic or melodic, and inversion changes their quality.

An ordered set of pitches spanning an octave. Major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, chromatic and modes each create a distinctive melodic character and harmonic vocabulary.

Three or more pitches sounding together, usually built in thirds. Triads, sevenths and their inversions carry harmonic function, and extensions such as ninths add colour and tension.

A shorthand notation of numbers under a bass line that shows the intervals above it, indicating chord inversion and added notes. It is used in Baroque music and in harmony exercises.

The way individual parts move from one chord to the next. Smooth stepwise motion, careful handling of dissonance and avoidance of parallel fifths and octaves are central rules in tonal writing.

The combination of two or more independent melodic lines that sound well together. Imitation, contrary motion and invertible lines are typical devices, as heard in fugues and canons.

A device where one part repeats a melody or motif shortly after another has played it, possibly at a different pitch. It creates unity and is common in canons, fugues and contrapuntal textures.

A short, recognisable musical idea of rhythm, pitch or both. Composers develop motifs by repetition, sequence, inversion, augmentation and fragmentation to build larger structures.

A melodic or harmonic pattern repeated one or more times at a higher or lower pitch level. It gives music forward drive and is common in Baroque and Classical writing.

A melodic unit that sounds complete on its own, often ending in a cadence. Phrases combine into periods and sections, and their lengths and relationships shape musical form.

The recurring grouping of beats into bars, shown by a time signature such as 3/4 or 6/8. Simple, compound and irregular meters affect accent and the feel of a piece.

The deliberate displacement of accents so that stresses fall on weak beats or between beats. It produces rhythmic tension and is common in jazz, popular and Latin American styles.

The organisation of sounds in time through duration, accent and pulse. It includes note values, rests, dotted figures, triplets and the interaction of patterns across parts.

Writing down music that is heard, such as a melody, rhythm or chord progression. It tests the ability to hear intervals, scale degrees, harmony and rhythm accurately without a score.

A system of syllables such as do, re, mi used to sing and identify scale degrees. Fixed do and movable do approaches help singers and students connect pitch to notation.

A principal musical subject, usually longer than a motif, that forms the basis of a movement or section. Themes may be varied, developed or contrasted across a work.

How musical lines are combined and layered. Monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic and heterophonic textures, plus density and spacing, strongly affect the character of a passage.

The large-scale plan of a piece, such as binary, ternary, rondo, sonata or theme and variations. Form is defined by the repetition, contrast and return of musical material.

The section of a work where previously stated material is expanded, fragmented and recombined, often moving through several keys. It creates tension before a return or recapitulation.

The craft of assigning musical material to instruments and voices. It considers range, tone colour, balance, blend and articulation to realise a composer's intentions effectively.

An adaptation of an existing piece for a different medium, style or level of ability. It may change key, texture, instrumentation and form while preserving the work's identity.

Moving music to a different key or writing it for a transposing instrument so that sounding pitch differs from written pitch. It is essential when arranging for winds and brass.

The compositional technique of taking a short idea and altering it through sequence, inversion, augmentation, diminution or rhythmic change. It generates unity and variety within a work.

The quality of a sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another at the same pitch and loudness. It depends on the harmonic spectrum, attack and resonance of the source.

How notes are attacked, sustained and released, for example legato, staccato, accent, tenuto or pizzicato. It shapes phrasing and character and is shown by markings above or below notes.

The levels and changes of loudness in music, from pianissimo to fortissimo, including crescendo and diminuendo. Dynamics control expression and help project structure and climax.

The shaping of a musical line through breathing, articulation, dynamics and timing so it sounds expressive and coherent. Performers interpret markings to convey the phrase's direction.

The accuracy of pitch in performance, especially in ensembles where players must tune to each other. Poor intonation produces beats and a blurred sound, while good intonation blends the group.

The relative loudness and prominence of parts within a group so that melody, accompaniment and bass are heard clearly. It requires listening across the ensemble and adjusting individually.

Following a full or reduced score while listening, identifying entries, textures, instrumentation and harmonic change. It underpins analysis and helps performers understand their part in context.

Instrumental music that depicts a story, scene or idea, often guided by a title or written programme. Composers use timbre, motif and harmony to suggest characters and events.

Instrumental music composed for its own sake rather than to illustrate a narrative or image. Its interest lies in form, thematic development and purely musical relationships.

The social, historical, religious and political circumstances surrounding a work's creation and reception. It explains conventions such as patronage, performance venues, instruments and audience expectations.

A chord shared by two keys that is used to smooth a modulation. It functions in the old key and is reinterpreted in the new key, often before the new dominant appears.