Glossary

Consonance: In harmony, not clashing.

 

Dynamics: Loudness or softness.

 

Meter: Structure made of time signatures such as 5/4 (pronounced “five four,” and containing five beats in a bar)

• Is typically broken into sets of two or three, each starting with a stronger pulse (ONE two three FOUR five, or ONE two THREE four five)
• The bottom number is fairly consistent–generally 2, 4, 8, or 16. The top is anything-goes–4, 7, 10, 11, 15, 19, 21 etc.

 

Phrasing: A phrase is a musical “sentence” consisting of several bars–generally four or eight. Tells a story through changes in dynamics, rhythm etc. shaping the song the way a story is shaped as a whole and in its individual arcs.

• Good phrasing makes a song feel well-paced and interesting.

 

Polyphony: A mix of independent melodies. Contrast with one melody on its own (monophony), or one melody with one or more harmonies (homophony).

 

Stringendo: A pressing feeling. Can be due to an increase in tempo, or a change in rhythm or phrasing.

 

Syncopation: An emphasis on the offbeat, such as a vocalist beginning each phrase a beat before the end of the next bar.

 

Tempo: The speed of the song in Beats Per Minute.

• 100 BPM is considered standard, and it’s also the speed of compressions used in CPR! You can find your own CPR song on a site like BPM Database, but I personally like This One.

 

Texture: How many voices there are at a time, and how they interact (see polyphony)

 

Timbre (TAM-ber): How a voice sounds–its distinctive qualities. An acoustic guitar has a much earthier timbre than electric for example.

 

Tuning: A note’s accuracy, whether it’s sharp, flat, or in tune.