Music Glossary
Music language, made useful.
Find a term, understand what musicians mean by it, then connect it to something you can hear or try in practice.
46 terms
Expression
Accent
A note played with extra emphasis.
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Pitch & Harmony
Arpeggio
The notes of a chord played one after another.
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Expression
Articulation
The way a note begins, continues, and ends.
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Rhythm
Backbeat
A strong emphasis on beats 2 and 4 in common time.
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Rhythm
Bar (Measure)
A group of beats organised by the time signature.
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Rhythm
Beat
The steady pulse you count or move along with.
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Pitch & Harmony
Chord
A group of notes heard together as one harmony.
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Expression
Dynamics
How loud or quiet music is played.
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Practice
Ear Training
Practising how to recognise and understand sounds.
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Rhythm
Groove
The repeating rhythmic feel that makes music move.
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Pitch & Harmony
Harmony
The effect created when different notes sound together.
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Pitch & Harmony
Interval
The distance in pitch between two notes.
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Expression
Legato
Notes played smoothly and connected.
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Song & Structure
Melody
A sequence of notes heard as a recognisable musical line.
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Practice
Metronome
A tool that marks a steady beat at a chosen tempo.
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Song & Structure
Phrase
A musical thought with a sense of shape or completion.
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Expression
Phrasing
How a performer shapes a musical phrase.
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Pitch & Harmony
Pitch
How high or low a sound is.
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Rhythm
Pulse
The regular underlying flow of time in music.
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Song & Structure
Riff
A short, memorable musical pattern that repeats.
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Rhythm
Rhythm
The pattern of long, short, sounded, and silent events.
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Pitch & Harmony
Scale
A set of notes arranged in pitch order.
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Practice
Slow Practice
Reducing the tempo enough to practise with control.
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Expression
Staccato
Notes played short and clearly separated.
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Rhythm
Subdivision
Dividing each beat into smaller, equal parts.
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Rhythm
Syncopation
Emphasis placed where the strong beat is not expected.
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Rhythm
Tempo
The speed of the musical beat.
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Rhythm
Time Signature
A sign showing how beats are grouped in each bar.
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Technique
Tone
The particular quality or character of a sound.
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Practice
Transcription
Working out music by listening and recording what you hear.
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Technique
Tuning
Adjusting pitch so notes match an agreed reference.
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Pitch & Harmony
Intonation
How accurately pitch is controlled while playing or singing.
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Pitch & Harmony
Drone
A sustained reference note used for pitch and tonal-centre work.
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Technique
Alternate Picking
Playing with alternating downstrokes and upstrokes.
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Technique
Ghost Notes
Very quiet or muted notes that add rhythmic detail.
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Rhythm
A stable, convincing place within the groove.
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Rhythm
Swing
An uneven subdivision that gives paired notes a long-short feel.
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Technique
Paradiddle
A sticking pattern played right-left-right-right, then reversed.
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Pitch & Harmony
Relative Pitch
Hearing a note by its relationship to another note.
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Pitch & Harmony
Modes
Scales with distinct interval patterns and tonal centres.
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Pitch & Harmony
Pentatonic Scale
A five-note scale used across many musical traditions.
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Pitch & Harmony
Root Note
The note that names a chord and acts as its foundation.
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Practice
Chunking
Breaking difficult music into small, manageable sections.
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Practice
Interleaving
Alternating between related skills or problems during practice.
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Practice
Deliberate Practice
Focused work on a specific weakness with feedback.
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Practice
Retrieval Practice
Strengthening memory by recalling without immediately checking.
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