OAE Music (032) key terms

The art of combining two or more independent melodic lines so they sound harmonious together, governed by rules about consonance, dissonance, and the motion between voices.

A melodic or harmonic formula that creates a point of rest or conclusion at the end of a phrase, such as authentic, half, plagal, or deceptive types.

A diagram arranging the twelve pitch classes by perfect fifths, showing key signatures, closely related keys, and the relationship between major and relative minor keys.

A change from one tonal key to another within a piece, usually prepared by a pivot chord, a chromatic alteration, or a secondary dominant.

A chromatic chord that acts as the dominant of a scale degree other than the tonic, briefly tonicizing that chord within the prevailing key.

A large-scale structure often used in first movements, consisting of an exposition presenting themes, a development that transforms them, and a recapitulation that restates them in the home key.

A Baroque shorthand in which numbers under a bass line indicate the intervals or chords a keyboard player should realize above that note.

A contrapuntal composition built on a subject that is imitated by successive voices in related keys, with episodes and harmonic motion linking the entries.

A twentieth-century method that orders all twelve pitch classes into a row and derives melodies and harmonies from that row's original, inverted, retrograde, and retrograde-inverted forms.

The seven scale patterns, including Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Mixolydian, used in medieval and Renaissance music, each defined by its final and its range.

The way individual melodic lines move from one chord to the next, guided by principles that favor smooth motion, resolved tendency tones, and avoidance of parallel fifths and octaves.

Shifting a piece or part to a different key or pitch level; also the process by which instruments such as clarinet or horn sound a different pitch than the one written.

The monophonic, unaccompanied Latin liturgical song of the medieval Western church, sung in modes and transmitted orally before it was notated.

The imitative, flowing choral texture characteristic of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century composers, often built from points of imitation and governed by modal harmony.

A Baroque form alternating a small group of soloists, the concertino, with the full orchestra, the ripieno, across several contrasting movements.

Instrumental music that depicts a scene, story, or idea, often explained by a descriptive title or a written program, as in symphonic poems and program symphonies.

A nineteenth- and early twentieth-century tendency in which composers used folk songs, dances, legends, and distinctive scales to give music a recognizable regional identity.

A twelve-bar harmonic and phrase pattern, usually with a three-line AAB text, built on the I, IV, and V chords and often using blue notes and shuffle rhythm.

A jazz rhythmic feel in which paired eighth notes are performed with a long-short lilt, and a style of big-band jazz from the 1930s built on that feel.

An Indonesian ensemble of predominantly bronze metallophones, gongs, and drums, characterized by interlocking parts, colotomic cycles, and tuning systems unlike Western equal temperament.

A late twentieth-century style built on short repeated motifs, steady pulses, gradual processes, and slow harmonic change, associated with composers such as Reich and Glass.

The study of music as a social and cultural practice, combining fieldwork, transcription, and analysis to understand how people make and use music around the world.

The standard hand motions a conductor uses to indicate meter and beat placement, such as the three-beat pattern of down, out, up or the four-beat pattern of down, left, right, up.

A notational sign over a note or rest telling performers to hold it longer than its written value, usually released on the conductor's cue.

The accuracy of pitches relative to a reference, including the tuning of individual notes and the ensemble's agreement on a shared pitch center.

The adjustment of relative volume among parts and the matching of tone quality within and across sections so the ensemble sounds unified.

The formation of lips, facial muscles, and jaw that a wind player uses to set the mouthpiece and control pitch, tone, and endurance.

A string bowing in which the bow bounces lightly off the string, producing short, separated, crisp notes, usually at moderate or fast tempos.

A controlled, periodic fluctuation of pitch, and sometimes intensity, used by singers and instrumentalists to enrich tone and add expressive warmth.

The ability to follow and interpret a full ensemble score, hearing or imagining all parts together and locating entrances, cues, and balance problems.

Performing unfamiliar music accurately on the first attempt, requiring pattern recognition, rhythmic reading, and the ability to keep going despite mistakes.

A rehearsal of a subset of the ensemble, such as the woodwinds or the violas, focused on parts, intonation, and precision before the full group meets.

An approach that teaches music through speech, singing, movement, and barred percussion, building from simple ostinatos and improvisation toward increasingly complex ensemble work.

A Hungarian approach emphasizing folk song, movable-do solfège, hand signs, and rhythm syllables to develop inner hearing and music literacy in a carefully sequenced progression.

An approach that uses bodily movement and physical response to develop rhythmic understanding, ear training, and expressive sensitivity before notation is introduced.

Ongoing checks of student understanding during instruction, used to adjust teaching and give feedback rather than to assign a final grade.

An evaluation at the end of a unit, term, or project that measures what students have learned against standards and typically contributes to a grade.

A scoring guide that lists criteria and describes levels of quality, helping teachers grade performances or projects consistently and helping students understand expectations.

Planning lessons with varied content, process, and products so students with differing readiness, interests, and learning needs can meet shared musical objectives.

A legally required written plan for a student with a disability that specifies goals, services, accommodations, and placement, developed with parents and school staff.