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Pitch
The quality of a note that distinguishes a high note from a low one.
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Frequency
Number of sound waves per second.
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Hertz
Measurement of frequency.
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Harmony
Playing different pitches simultaneously
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Interval
The distance in pitch between any two notes.
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Octave
Most fundamental interval, with 2 to 1 ratio of frequencies.
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Parallel octaves
Two otherwise identical melodies sung simultaneously an octave apart.
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Tuning system
A method by which musicians decide which frequencies will be represented on instruments or in a musical system.
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Twelve-tone equal temperament
Tuning system in America and in Europe that enables musicians to notate music and recombine instruments into different ensembles.
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Tonic
Pitch that functions as a center to which the melody always returns at the end or other points of rest.
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Tonal center
Same as tonic.
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Key center
Same as tonic.
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Tonality
The feeling that a melody revolves around the tonic pitch.
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Tonal
Music that revolves around a tonic pitch.
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Atonal
Music that defies identification of a tonal center.
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Nontonal
Other word for atonal.
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Diatonic
Western mode that uses seven of the available twelve pitches (represented by the white keys)
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Mode
A subset of pitches within a tuning system with a defined tonic. Also distinguished by motives, ornaments, and other melodic practices as well as melodic range.
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Pentatonic
Mode with five pitches
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Hexatonic
Mode with six pitches
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Heptatonic
Mode with seven pitches
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Scale
Modes arranged from tonic in one octave to the tonic in the next octave. Convenient construction for illustrating the tonic and pitch set used in a piece of music.
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Major mode
Associated with happy melodies in the West
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Minor mode
Associated with sad melodies in the West
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Motive
Melodic fragment, characteristic of certain modes but not others
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Melody
Variation in pitch (along with rhythm)
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Contour
General direction or shape of a melody over time.
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Melodic motion
Defined by the sizes of the intervals between adjacent notes in the melody (steepeness of the contour)
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Conjunct motion
Small intervals between adjacent notes.
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Disjunct motion
Large intervals between adjacent notes.
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Range
The difference between the highest and lowest notes in a melody
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Tessitura
Where a melody lies in relation to the possible range of the singer or instrument.
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Cadence
Points of momentary rest or arrival (like the end of a phrase). Often fall on the tonal center or another important pitch.
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Phrase
Section of melody from one cadence to another.
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Cadential motive
Recurring melodic fragment that can signal cadences
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Half-cadence
Cadences that create a resting point in relation to what immediately precedes, but could not be used to end the piece.
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Semi-cadence
Same as half-cadence.
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Ornamentation
Added notes or other small changes in pitch or loudness that don't change the overall character of the melody as much as they enhance or embellish it.
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Trill
A rapid alternation between two notes a step apart.
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Ornament
Added notes or other small changes in pitch or loudness that don't change the overall character of the melody as much as they enhance or embellish it.
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Theme
An entire melody recognizable as a discrete entity, and may be anywhere from the length of one phrase to over a minute in length. Listener's recognition of these repeated melodies is one of the most important ways performers and composers structure music.
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Structure
Largest level of musical architecture that guides our listening experience through expectations and surprises that come from following repetitions and contrasts, sectional changes, and variations.
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Movement
Large sections within a composition, set apart by stopping the music. Analogous to a chapter.
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Strophic
A song that repeats a group of melodic phrases over and over but with different words. Each repetition is a verse, stanza, or strophe.
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Refrain
A section repeated in music with the same words.
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Verse-refrain
Common in modern popular songs, stanzas are punctuated with refrains.
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Variation
Used to increase interest while maintaining elements of repetition. Common ways include the following: transposition, increased or different ornamentation, different mode, different tonal center, different tempo or rhythmic density, different instruments used, different texture
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Transposition
Repetition at a different pitch level.
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Modulate
The tonic changes to a new pitch, or the melody has changed key or modes (even if the tonic doesn't change).
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Theme and variations form
A melody is introduced and then played many times in different variations. The variations are arranged to articulate a larger form with beginning, middle, and end, with rising tension and resolution.
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