Music KS3 Vocab

MELODY:

• Pitch (High or Low)
• Range (Wide or Narrow)
• Sequence (Ascending or Descending)
• Scalic or Broken Chords
• Steps or Leaps
• Ornaments
• Ostinato
• Leaps / Intervals

ARTICULATION:

• Strummed
• Finger-picked
• Sustained (held notes)
• Staccato (short & spiky)
• Legato (smooth)
• Slurred (notes joined together)
• Pizzicato (plucked strings)
• Arco (bowed strings)
• Accents (played with emphasis)

DYNAMICS:

• Pianissimo (pp) – very quiet
• Piano (p) – quiet
• Mezzopiano (mp) – medium quiet
• Mezzoforte (mf) – medium loud
• Forte (f) – loud
• Fortissimo (ff) – very loud
• Crescendo (gradually get louder)
• Diminuendo (gradually get quieter)

TEMPO & METRE:

• Tempo = Speed
• Metre = number of beats in a bar (time signature e.g. 4/4)
• Accellerando – gradually get faster
• Rallentando – gradually get slower
• Allegro – fast & lively
• Andante – walking pace
• Adagio – slow and stately

 STRUCTURE:

• Sections
• Order
• Repetition/Repeats
• Ternary Form = ABA
• 12 Bar Blues
• Introduction
• Verse
• Chorus
• Bridge
• Outro
• Strophic (Verse Form)

HARMONY:

• Major Chord
• Minor Chord
• Root Position
• Inversion
• Consonant (fits together)
• Dissonant (clashes)
• Added notes (e.g. C7 chord)
• Harmonic Rhythm (how many chords per bar)
• Drone
• Pedal Note
• Blue Notes

 INSTRUMENTATION:

• Strings- violin / viola / cello / double bass / harp
• Woodwind – flute/ oboe / clarinet / bassoon
• Brass – trumpet / french horn / trombone / tuba
• Percussion – timpani / snare / cymbals / glockenspiel / xylophone
• Voices – Soprano / Alto / Tenor / Bass
• Keyboards – piano / keyboard / organ / synthesiser
• Rock/Pop

 RHYTHM:

• Duration (long or short notes)
• Even or uneven note lengths
• Dotted rhythms
• Triplets
• Syncopation
• Which beat of the bar?
• Rests
• Pauses
• Rhythmic Ostinato

 TEXTURE:

• Thick
• Thin
• Sparse
• Dense
• Melody + Accompaniment
• Countermelody
• Unison
• Imitation
• Call & Response