CSET: Music (226 / 227) key terms

A shorthand notation of numbers written under a bass line that specifies the intervals to be played above that bass note, used in Baroque practice and in harmony exercises to indicate chord inversion.

A labeling system that names chords by the scale degree of their root, using uppercase for major and lowercase for minor, with added symbols to show inversion and chromatic alteration.

A harmonic and melodic formula that closes a phrase. Types include authentic, half, plagal, and deceptive, and cadences signal resting points of varying strength within a form.

A chromatic chord that functions as the dominant of a scale degree other than the tonic, typically written as V/V or V/vi and often containing a raised scale degree.

A process by which a piece changes key and confirms a new tonal center, usually through a pivot chord, a dominant preparation, and a cadence in the new key.

A graded method of writing two or more independent melodic lines, moving from note-against-note writing through increasingly florid rhythmic ratios while applying rules about consonance, dissonance, and motion between voices.

The conventions governing how individual melodic lines move from one chord to the next, including treatment of tendency tones, spacing, doubling, and avoidance of parallel perfect intervals.

A short, recognizable musical idea, melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic, that is repeated, varied, or developed to build larger structures within a piece.

The organization of melody into phrases, the smallest complete musical thoughts, often grouped into periods of antecedent and consequent phrases and marked by cadences.

A large-scale structure built on exposition, development, and recapitulation, usually with contrasting themes and keys that are reconciled by the end of the movement.

A technique in which a theme is altered in character, rhythm, or harmony while keeping its identity recognizable, often used to unify a multi-movement work or programmatic piece.

A recurring musical idea associated with a character, object, or idea, developed and combined across a dramatic work to convey narrative meaning, most famously in Wagner's operas.

Instrumental music that tells a story, depicts a scene, or follows an extramusical idea, often described in a printed program or title, as in symphonic poems and programmatic overtures.

A structure in which music unfolds continuously without large-scale repetition of whole sections, common in art songs and dramatic works where the text drives the musical shape.

A song structure in which the same music is repeated for each stanza of text, sometimes with a contrasting refrain, producing a simple and memorable shape.

A Baroque concerto structure in which a recurring orchestral passage alternates with contrasting solo episodes, creating a pattern of return and departure across a movement.

A Baroque accompaniment practice in which a keyboard or plucked instrument realizes chords from a figured bass line while a bass instrument sustains the written bass.

A tuning system that divides the octave into twelve equally sized semitones, allowing free modulation to any key at the cost of slight deviations from pure intervals.

The aural skill of hearing a melody and writing it in notation, requiring accurate perception of pitch, rhythm, meter, and key, often after a stated number of hearings.

The aural skill of hearing a chord progression and notating it, typically by identifying bass motion, chord quality, inversion, and function within a key.

The aural skill of recognizing the distance between two pitches, either successively or simultaneously, and naming it by size and quality.

The aural skill of distinguishing major, minor, diminished, augmented, and seventh chord types by their characteristic sound and intervallic structure.

The aural skill of comparing a printed score with a performance and locating discrepancies in pitch, rhythm, articulation, or dynamics, a common task in conducting and ensemble preparation.

The ability to follow and interpret a full or condensed score, including transposing instruments, multiple staves, and rehearsal markings, while hearing the music mentally.

The process of rewriting or reading music at a different pitch level, or the relationship between a written pitch and its sounding pitch for transposing instruments.

The standardized hand motion used to show meter and beat placement, such as the three-beat triangle or four-beat cross, with the downbeat marking the strongest beat.

A conductor's gesture that signals a specific performer or section to begin an entrance, often paired with eye contact and a preparatory beat.

The craft of assigning musical material to instruments and combinations, considering range, timbre, balance, and doubling to realize a composition for an ensemble.

The arrangement of chord tones across voices or instruments, including spacing, doubling, and register, chosen to control sonority and clarity in an arrangement.

A texture in which one voice presents a melodic idea and another voice repeats it shortly afterward, sometimes at a different pitch level, as in canons and fugues.

Ongoing evaluation during instruction that gives feedback to adjust teaching and learning, such as questioning, exit tickets, and rehearsal observations, rather than assigning a final grade.

Evaluation conducted at the end of a unit or course to measure achievement against standards, such as a performance exam, portfolio, or written test, and typically reported as a grade.

A scoring guide that lists criteria and describes levels of quality for each, allowing consistent and transparent evaluation of performances, compositions, or projects.

Voluntary national standards in the United States that describe what students should know and be able to do in the arts, organized around creating, performing, responding, and connecting.

Planning and adapting instruction to address varied readiness, interests, and learning profiles in a class, through flexible grouping, tiered tasks, and varied materials.

The conductor's or teacher's preparation of a rehearsal timeline, including warm-ups, targeted passages, sequencing of objectives, and pacing, to use limited ensemble time efficiently.

An approach to music education that uses bodily movement to develop rhythmic awareness, internal hearing, and expressive response before notation is introduced.

An approach emphasizing singing, folk song repertoire, movable-do solfège, and hand signs, sequencing literacy skills from simple rhythmic and pitch patterns to complex ones.

An approach combining speech, singing, movement, and barred percussion instruments in child-centered improvisation and ensemble work, building from simple ostinato patterns to larger pieces.