Glossary

Accidental	A symbol that raises or lowers a pitch by a half or whole step.



Augmented	An interval modifier used when a perfect or major interval is made a half step larger without changing its numerical name.



Bass	Informally, the lowest voice in a vocal or instrumental texture.



Circle of Fifths	A diagram arranged like the face of a clock that aids in the memorization of key signatures. Moving clockwise around the circle, each new key begins on of the previous key while, moving counterclockwise around the circle, each new key begins on of the previous key.



Clef	Symbol that appears at the beginning of the staff indicating which pitches are to be associated with which lines and spaces.



Compound Intervals	Intervals larger than and including the 8ve.



Consonant	A quality ascribed to an interval that is pleasing to the ear (including major and minor 3rds and 6ths, perfect 4ths [when they do not occur harmonically above the bass], perfect 5ths, and perfect 8ves). (Triads are also considered consonant when their bass note forms only consonances with the upper notes.)



Diminished	An interval modifier used when a perfect or minor interval is made a half step smaller without changing its numerical name.



Dissonant	A quality ascribed to an interval that is not pleasing to the ear (including major and minor 2nds and 7ths, perfect 4ths [when they occur above the bass], tritones, and all augmented and diminished intervals). Triads and other chords are also considered dissonant when at least one dissonance is formed with their bass note.)



Enharmonic	Notes that have the same pitch but are spelled differently. Keys can be enharmonic as well.



Grand Staff	A combination of two staves joined by a brace, with the top and bottom staves typically using treble and bass clefs, respectively.



Half Step	The distance from a key on the piano to the very next key, white or black. This is typically the smallest interval encountered in tonal music.



Harmonic Interval	The distance between pitches that are sounded simultaneously.



Harmonic Minor Scale	A minor scale type, which can be thought of as a natural minor scale with raised , or as a major scale with lowered and .



Interval	The measurement of the distance in pitch between two notes.



Interval Inversion	A procedure wherein the lower note of an interval is shifted up one or more octaves to a point immediately above the upper note (or vice versa).



Key	The scale used in a piece (or some portion of a piece), identified according to its most important pitch—the scale's first degree (e.g. the key of D major).



Key Signature	A pattern of sharps or flats corresponding to a key that appears at the beginning of a staff and indicates that certain notes are to be consistently raised or lowered.



Ledger Lines	Lines used to extend the staff both above and below the standard five-line format.



Major Interval	An interval modifier used only to 2nds, 3rds, 6ths, and 7ths, equivalent to the respective intervals between —, —, —, and — from the major scale.



Major Scale	A specific pattern of half steps and whole steps (w-w-h-w-w-w-h) encompassing an octave.



Melodic Interval	The distance between pitches that are sounded successively.



Melodic Minor Scale	A minor scale type with both an ascending and descending form. The ascending form can be thought of as a natural minor scale with raised and , or as a major scale with lowered . The descending form is the same as the natural minor scale.



Minor Interval	Formed when a major interval is lowered by one half step without altering its numerical name.



Minor Pentachord	The minor scale pattern w-h-w-w.



Natural Minor Scale	A specific pattern of half steps and whole steps (w-h-w-w-h-w-w) encompassing an octave. The natural minor scale is like a major scale with lowered , , and .



Octave	The interval between any note and the next highest or lowest note of the same letter name and accidental.. This term is used instead of "8th," and can also be written as "8ve."



Octave Register	A collection of pitches from one C up to, but not including, the next C (e.g. C4–B4). Each such register is given a numerical label that can be shown after the letter name.



Parallel Keys	Major and minor keys that share the same starting note.



Perfect	An interval modifier used only in connection with unisons, 4ths, 5ths, 8ves, and their compounds (11ths, and so on).



Pitch	The highness or lowness of a sound.



Relative Keys	Major and minor keys that share the same key signature. The relative major of any minor key starts on of the minor scale, while the relative minor of any major key begins on of the major scale.



Simple Intervals	Intervals smaller than an 8ve.



Staff	An arrangement of five lines and four spaces used to indicate the precise pitch(es) desired; the staff can be extended through the use of ledger lines.



Tetrachord	A four-note scalar pattern spanning a perfect 4th.



Transpose	To write or play music in a key other than the original.



Tritone	The term used for the interval of the +4 or its enharmonic equivalent, the ^o5.



Unison	The interval formed between pitches with the same note name in the same octave register, this term is used instead of "1st."



Whole Step	The distance between two pitches that are separated by a single key, white or black. This interval is equivalent to the combined distance of two half steps.

Log In
You must be a registered user to view the premium content in this website. If you already have a username and password, enter it below. If your textbook came with a card and this is your first visit to this site, you can use your registration code to register.
Username:
Password:
	Forgot your password?

Site Preferences	(Log out)

		Send mail as:

TA email:
Other email:

"Floating" navigation?
Drawer speed:

Notes		(What is this?)

Add a note
1.	(optional) Enter a note here:
2.	(optional) Select some text on the page (or do this before you open the "Notes" drawer).
3.	Highlighter Color:
4.

Search
Search for:
Search in:

Home > Chapter 1 > Glossary

	Course-wide Content
		Workbook Assignment Te... Workbook Recordings Self Tests

	More Resources
		Glossary

	Instructor Resources
		Instructor's Manual

	Course-wide Content
		Workbook Assignment Te... Workbook Recordings Self Tests

	More Resources
		Glossary