European Baccalaureate Music key terms

One or more notes at the start of a piece or phrase that come before the first strong beat, so the music begins on an upbeat and the following downbeat feels like the true beginning.

A melodic and harmonic formula that closes a phrase, ranging from a full stop (perfect cadence) to a comma-like pause (imperfect, plagal or interrupted), shaping how final the music sounds.

A change of tonal centre within a piece, prepared by chords such as the dominant of the new key, so that the listener perceives a new home key rather than a passing colouring.

A chord shared by the old and the new key, used to move smoothly from one tonality to another because it can be heard as belonging to either key.

The role a chord plays in a key, usually grouped as tonic (home), predominant (approach) or dominant (tension resolving to tonic), which explains why certain chord successions sound directed.

The art of combining two or more independent melodic lines so that they work together harmonically while keeping their own rhythmic and melodic character, as in a fugue or invention.

A procedure in which a melodic idea stated in one voice is repeated shortly afterwards in another voice, either exactly or altered, creating dialogue and unity in polyphonic textures.

The short, distinctive melodic line announced alone at the opening of a fugue, which is then taken up by successive voices and developed through episodes and entries.

The way individual melodic parts move from one chord to the next, including rules about resolving dissonances and avoiding parallel fifths and octaves in traditional tonal style.

The recurring pattern of strong and weak beats organised in bars, described by a time signature such as 3/4 or 6/8 and perceived as a regular pulse with accents.

Accenting a normally weak beat or the offbeat so that the expected metric accent is displaced, producing rhythmic tension and often associated with jazz and popular styles.

A rhythmic device in which the prevailing grouping is temporarily reorganised, for example three beats felt as two or two felt as three, often at cadences in triple metre.

A short musical figure repeated persistently, usually in the bass or an inner part, while other material changes above it; it can be rhythmic, melodic or harmonic.

A repeated bass line over which variations are built, common in Baroque vocal and instrumental music such as arias and chaconnes, giving a fixed harmonic foundation.

A short, recognisable musical idea of a few notes or a distinctive rhythm that is developed, transformed or combined to build larger structures across a movement.

The process of working a theme through fragmentation, sequence, inversion, rhythmic change or re-harmonisation, typical of sonata-form development sections and of symphonic writing.

A large-scale structure built on exposition (presenting contrasting themes), development (working them) and recapitulation (returning them, usually in the tonic), often with an introduction and coda.

A structure in which a theme is presented and then repeated several times, each repetition altering melody, harmony, rhythm, texture or instrumentation while remaining recognisable.

The way music divides into balanced units (motifs, phrases, periods) often marked by cadences, with antecedent and consequent phrases forming question-and-answer pairs.

Instrumental music that follows an extra-musical story, scene or idea, often signalled by a descriptive title and supported by recurring themes linked to characters or events.

A single-movement orchestral work from the nineteenth century that develops a literary or pictorial idea through thematic transformation rather than following a fixed formal scheme.

A recurring theme used to represent a person or idea across the movements of a work, a device associated with Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and later adapted by other composers.

The quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or voice from another, affected by harmonics, register, articulation and playing technique, and often used structurally by composers.

The perceived character of a sound, determined by its harmonic spectrum and envelope; on this course it is analysed alongside dynamics and articulation when comparing performances and recordings.

The craft of assigning musical material to instruments, choosing combinations, doublings and registers to balance texture, colour and clarity in an ensemble score.

How musical lines are combined and spaced: monophonic (one line), homophonic (melody with accompaniment), polyphonic (independent lines) or heterophonic, plus density and doubling.

Setting text so that the music literally reflects its meaning, for example a descending line on 'falling' or a rising line on 'ascending', common in madrigals and Baroque vocal music.

A Baroque shorthand in which numbers under a bass line indicate the intervals to be played above it, allowing a keyboard or lute player to realise the harmony.

The continuous accompaniment group of a Baroque ensemble, typically a bass instrument plus a chordal instrument reading figured bass, forming the harmonic backbone of the texture.

A tuning system dividing the octave into twelve equal semitones, making all keys usable and modulations smooth at the cost of slightly impure intervals compared with just intonation.

The system in which a piece is organised around a central tonic note and its scale, with other chords and keys heard in relation to that centre, dominant in Western art music c.1600-1900.

Borrowing chords or notes from the parallel key, such as a minor subdominant in a major key, adding colour and expressive weight without changing the overall tonal centre.

A short musical idea associated with a character, object or idea, transformed and combined across a music drama so that the orchestra comments on the action, as in Wagner's operas.

The skill of following a full or short score while listening, locating entries, transposing instruments and structural landmarks, and linking what is seen to what is heard.

An instrument whose written notes sound at a different pitch from those written, such as the clarinet in B flat or horn in F, requiring the reader to adjust when comparing score and sound.

The list and choice of instruments used in a work, shown in the score's opening and often fixed by tradition for genres such as the string quartet or symphony orchestra.

Identifying the sections of a piece, their boundaries and relationships, using cadences, thematic returns, key schemes and texture changes as evidence for a named structure.