Bar line
A vertical line that extends from the top to the bottom of the staff and seperates the measure.
Bass
A male voice type with an approximate range from E to c1; also, the term normally used to refer to the lowest voice of a multiple-voice texture
Beat
The basic durational unit in a piece of music
Bimodality
the use of two modes simultaneously in a composition or a portion thereof. Typically, one voice or musical line is in one mode while another is in a different mode
Binary
Any musical form that divides into two basic parts, usually designated AB
Blue Notes
In jazz, the slightly flat third, seventh, and sometimes 5th scale degree
Blue-note Scales
Scales combining blue notes with some or all of the pitches of the major scale (C,D,Eb,E,F,G,A,Bb,C)
Blues
An indigenous form of African American folk music combining African melodic practices and simple western harmonies in strophic forms that has been and continues to be an influence on jazz and rock music
Borrowed division
The use of simple division of the beat in compound meter, or the reverse -- a compound division of the beat in a simple meter
Borrowed harmonies
The altered chords that result from the process of modal borrowing. Chords that are borrowed for use in the parallel Major Key.
Bridge
In fugal exposition, a short passage linking the end of the answer with the next entry of the subject, often serving to modulate from the dominant back to the tonic; Also, in popular music, a short section, usually in a different tonality, that seperates the initial statement of the main melody and its return
Cadence
A point of melodic and/or harmonic repose, often created through a slowing or a pause in motion and serving as a punctuation between phrases
Cadential elision
A process in which the end of one phrase and the beginning of the mext phrase coincide, thereby avoiding a cadential separation between the two.
Cadentail Extension
The lengthening of a musical phrase upon repetition through a restatement or expansion of its cadence
Cadential process
Music that either prepares for or extends a cadence
Cadential six-four chord
A metrically strong 2nd inversion tonic triad preceding the dominant at a cadence
Cell
A short unit (usually 3-5 notes) without a corresponding rhythmic identity that may serve as the basis -- melodic or harmonic -- of a composition
Change of Mode
In a musical composition, the shift from a Major key to its parallel minor or the reverse
Changing Tone
A two-note embellishment involving the pitches a step above and below a more important tone and its repetition
Chorale
A hymn tune that began in the Lutheran Church during the 16th century, comprising several stanzas of verse sung to the same music
Chord
A single musical sound comprising three or more different pitches (not counting octave duplications
Chord mutation
A gradual and subtle chord change, in which one member of the harmony changes at a time, often generating unusual harmonic successions in the process
Chromatic
A term referring to music, intervals, or pitches not confined to the pitch material of a given scale
Chromatic Modulation
A modulation involving no common chords, in which a diatonic pitch moves to a chromatically altered pitch in one or more voices
Chromatic Pivot
The pivotal chord in a chromatic modulation. It usually serves a recognizable function in both keys. However, its function in at least one of the keys is chromatic, and in this way it differs from a common chord, which functions diatonically in both keys.