AP Music Theory Vocabulary - Barron's Chapter 16

Alberti Bass

A stereotyped accompaniment played on a keyboard instrument with the left hand. The chords of the Alberti bass are played as arpeggios, or broken chords. The Alberti bass pattern uses a three pitch chord with the pattern - lowest pitch - highest pitch - m

Cadence

A stylized close in music which divides the music into periods or brings it to a full conclusion.

Candential Extension

Delay of cadence by addition of material

Canon, Canonic

Strict counterpoint in which each voice exactly imitates the previous voice at a fixed distance.

Chorus

1. A fairly large company of singers who perform together, usually in parts.
2. A composition to be performed by a chorus.
3. The refrain of a song.
4. Outer section of an AABA song form, similar musical material throughout

Coda

The closing few measures of a composition, usually not a part of the main theme groups of the standard form of a composition, but a finishing theme added to the end to give the composition closure; in sonata form, the coda is anything that occurs after th

Codetta

1. A passage within a composition of sonata form which resembles a coda, but occurs at the end of the exposition rather than at the end of the composition.
2. In a fugue, a codetta is the linking passage between the entries of the subject or theme.
3. The

Concert Pitch

1. The pitch that non-transposing instruments sound.
2. The tuning pitch of an ensemble. Instruments in a band or orchestra tune to the concert pitch which is typically the universal standard A1 = 440 Hz. While concert pitch is non-transposing, a variety

Contour

Contour typically applies to melody, meaning what is the general shape of the melody--does it ascend, descend, etc.

Countermelody

A second but subordinate melodic line sometimes found in music which has a melody and an accompaniment.

Fragment

Small but recognizable part of motive

Brass

Vibrating the lips against the tube to create sound

Continuo

A continuous accompaniment found in Baroque music normally consisting of a bass-pitched instrument (such as cello, bassoon, or double bass) and a keyboard instrument (typically the harpsichord). This practice was eventually abandoned after the Baroque per

Percussion

Instruments that are sounded by striking, shaking, plucking, or scraping.

Strings

The string is tightened to an appropriate tension, and set into vibration by being struck, plucked, or bowed.

Woodwinds

Those instruments that are made of wood and sounded by means of air.

Introduction

A preparatory movement, usually in a slow tempo, to introduce a larger composition. Often, the introduction will prepare the listener for the tonality or key of the larger composition. The term is chiefly applied to Classical and Romantic music, but is no

Obbligato

An accompanying, yet very important part of the music that that should not be omitted, such as a countermelody.

Ostinato

A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or some portion of a composition.

Phrase

A musical unit, often a component of a melody.

Antecedent-Consequent

1. The subject of a fugue or canon; the first phrase of a musical period.
2. Antecedent and consequent, a pair of musical statements that complement one another in rhythmic symmetry and harmonic balance.

Contrasting

A compositional device which has come to be one of the principal properties of good music. A variety of contrast(s) such as tempo (contrasting fast to slow), timbre (contrasting strings to brass or strings to woodwinds), dynamics (contrasting loud to soft

Double Period

There are two antecedent and two consequent phrases

Parallel Period

Period in which two phrases share the same beginning melodic material

Period

1. A complete musical thought, concluded by a cadence, having two phrases, each usually two to eight measures in length, called the antecedent and the consequent.
2. A time frame that encompasses a unique set of performance practices and styles. The main

Binary Form

Two-part (A - B) structure of music; usually each part is repeated. The term can also mean any form with two periods, or sections.

Rondo Form

Term referring to a form of composition in which the first section recurs after the second section is performed in an A-B-A style. Also, a rondo could have more sections arranged: A-B-A-B-A, or A-B-A-C-A, etc. This form is found especially in compositions

Sonata-Allegro Form

The form generally used for the opening movement of the Classical sonata. It is also known as first-movement form. It consists of an exposition, followed by a development and a recapitulation.
The thematic material is presented for the first time in the e

Ternary Form

A compositional form which consists of three major sections, an A section which states the thematic material, a B section which presents a contrasting theme, and a final A section which restates the opening thematic material. Also, any three part form.

Theme and Variations

A style of composition that first presents a basic theme and then develops and alters that theme in successive statements.

Heterophony

The practice of two or more musicians simultaneously performing slightly different versions of the same melody.

Homophony

A style of composition in which there is one melody, and all the voices and accompaniments move rhythmically together. This is opposed to polyphony, in which each voice may move independently.

Monophony

Music that is written for only one voice or part is said to be monophonic (the music itself is called "monophony"). This is in contrast to polyphonic music (polyphony), which has more than one part or voice.

Through Composed

A composition organized so that each section consists of different music, with little or no previous material recurring as the work progresses

Chordal Texture

A texture in which the musical material is concentrated into chords with relatively little melodic activity.

Homorhythmic

It is a texture where there is a "sameness of rhythm in all parts" or "very similar rhythm" as would be used in simple hymn or chorale settings.

Antiphonal

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Contrapuntal

Using counterpoint. Any music that contains two or more voices heard simultaneously.

Counterpoint

The art of combining two or more melodies to be performed simultaneously and musically. In counterpoint, the melody is supported by another melody rather than by chords.

Solo

A single performer or a passage that is to be performed by a single performer.

Soli

A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition with an entire section of an ensemble as opposed to the directive solo where only one member of the section performs.

Song form

Formal design associated with quaternary song form (AABA)

Stanza

In music, a stanza, or verse, is a poem set to music with a recurring pattern of both rhyme and meter. A "strophic" song (as opposed to a "through-composed" song) has several stanzas or verses set to music that remains the same or similar with each stanza

Strophic

Song structure in which every verse (strophe) of the text is sung to the same musical tune.

Tessitura

The general range of a composition (usually referring to vocal range) or of a particular voice of a composition.

Theme

The musical basis upon which a composition is built. Usually a theme consists of a recognizable melody or a characteristic rhythmic pattern. The theme may sometimes be called the subject.

Timbre

The quality of a sound; that component of a tone that causes different instruments (for example a guitar and a violin) to sound different from each other while they are both playing the same note.

Transposition

Shifting a composition to a different pitch level.

Tutti

A directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition with all instruments together. The opposite of solo.

Variation

A deviation from a theme that uses the same bass pattern or harmonic progression that the theme used, and usually having the same number of measures as the theme.

Verse

1. Solo passage from the Gradual which precedes the response. See respond.
2. In poetry or song, a verse is a group of lines which constitutes a unit. Often there are several verses in a single text, and usually the rhyme scheme, rhythm, and number of poe

Walking Bass

1. Term used in Baroque music for a bass line that moves steadily in a rhythm contrasting to that of the upper parts.
2. In jazz, a walking bass usually moves by steps played on bass or piano, with each note usually having the duration of a quarter note.