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Complete Concept List

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Concepts

Select a word to see which modules on the site contain a piece of music which uses that concept

accented Notes which sound louder than others.
anacrusis The notes which appear before the first strong beat of a musical phrase particularly at the start of a piece. It sounds as an up beat.
arco Instruction given to string players to use a bow.
arpeggio Notes of a chord played one after the other - spread out.
ascending Notes rising in pitch.
binary form A/B A form in which the music is made up of two different sections labelled A and B. Each section may be repeated.
bothy ballad A folk song particularly associated with north-east Scotland. It tells a story of rural farming or farming life and the lyrics are usually in Scots dialect.
bowing The sound produced by drawing the bow across the strings of a stringed instrument, e.g. violin or cello.
broken chord The notes of a chord are played separately.
chord I IV V in a major key Different progressions using the chords built on the 1st, 4th, 5th notes of a major scale.
contrary motion Two parts which move in opposite directions, e.g. as one part ascends the other part descends.
compound time The beat is divided into groups of three pulses.
descending Notes falling in pitch.
dominant 7th Chord built on the dominant (5th) note of a key which adds the 7th note above its root. It is sometimes written as V7 or in the key of C major, G7(GBDF).
down beat The first beat of each bar, which the conductor would show with a downward stroke. The opposite is Up beat.
fiddle Another name for the violin, used in Scottish folk music.
glissando Sliding from one note to another, taking in all the notes in between where possible.
grace note A type of ornament played as a quick note before the main note of a melody. Sometimes there may be a group of grace notes at the start of a Phrase.
groupings in compound time The beat is a dotted note which divides into three, e.g. 6/8 = two dotted crotchet beats in a bar and each beat can be divided into three quavers.
groupings in simple time The beat is not dotted and can be subdivided into multiples of two (e.g. 3/4 = three crotchet beats in a bar and each beat can be divided into two quavers).
interval The distance in pitch between two notes, e.g. C - F is a 4th.
inversion When a musical shape is mirrored.
jig A fast dance in compound time usually with two or four beats in a bar.
leaping Moving between notes which are not next to each other.
legato The notes are played or sung smoothly.
major tonality The music sounds in a major key.
march Music with a strong steady pulse with two or four beats in a bar.
modal Term used to describe music based on a mode, a type of early scale used before major and minor keys were developed. Modes are used in jazz and pop music for improvising.
modulating to... A change of key.
mordent An ornament which sounds the main note, the note above and then the main note again. An inverted mordent sounds the main note, the note below and then the main note again.
mouth music Puirt a beul (Gaelic for Mouth Music - literally "tunes of the mouth") is a way of singing dance tunes to Gaelic texts in imitation of the sound of bagpipes as an accompaniment to dancing. It is a performance art in its own right, often used to display the singer's vocal agility and was also used as a way of passing on instrumental music from one person to another.
octave The distance between a note and the nearest note with the same name - e.g. C – C'.
passing note A note which moves between two notes of the same chord which are a 3rd apart.
pause The musical flow is held up by a long note or silence.
pedal Short for pedal point. A note which is held on or is repeated continuously in the bass beneath changing harmonies. Very often the note held on will be the tonic (tonic pedal) or the dominant (dominant pedal).
pentatonic scale Any five-note scale. In practice, the most common one is that on which much folk music is based, particularly Scottish and Celtic. Auld Lang Syne is composed using this pentatonic scale. The five notes could be G A C D E.
perfect cadence A cadence consists of two chords at the end of a phrase. A perfect cadence is the dominant to tonic chords (V - I). In the key of C major, chords G - C.
phrase A short musical idea, part of a melody.
pipes Short for bagpipes.
plagal cadence A cadence is formed by two chords at the end of a phrase. A plagal cadence is the subdominant to tonic chords ( lV-I ). In the key of C major, chords F to C.
reel A Scottish dance in simple time with two or four beats in a bar, and which is played quite fast. Each beat divides equally into groups of two.
relative major A change from minor to major key with the same key signature found 3 semitones higher, e.g. D minor to F major.
repetition (melodic) A musical idea is heard more than once.
repetition (rhythmic) A musical idea is heard more than once.
repetition (structure) A musical idea is heard more than once.
scotch snap A very short accented note before a longer note.
Scots ballad A narrative song often depicting dramatic events featuring two main characters. Subject may be tragic, historical, humorous or supernatural. Originally classified by F J Child and sometimes known as "Child" ballads.
Scottish instruments Any instrument such as fiddle, guitar, flute, percussion, penny whistle, pipes and clarsach, which might be used in the folk music of Scotland.
Scottish Music which represents the various elements of Scottish music.
section Part of the music - e.g. the music could be in two sections, section A and section B.
semitone Half a tone, e.g. C to D b on a keyboard. From one fret to another on a guitar.
sequence A melodic phrase which is immediately repeated at a higher or lower pitch.
simple time (2 beats in a bar) The beat is divided into groups of two pulses.
simple time (3 beats in a bar) The beat is divided into groups of three pulses.
simple time (4 beats in a bar) The beat is divided into groups of four pulses.
single line A melody with no accompaniment.
slow air Instrumental tune for listening rather than dancing. May be based on song air, or specially composed for instruments like fiddle, pipes or accordion.
solo One instrument or voice. A prominent instrument or voice can be solo even when part of a larger ensemble.
stepwise Moving up or down between notes which are next to each other.
strathspey A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar and usually featuring the scotch snap.
string instruments Types of instruments whose sounds are produced by making the strings vibrate.
strophic A vocal/choral composition in which each verse has the same music.
syncopation Strongly accented notes playing off or against the beat.
tonal Based on a key. The tonality of a piece may be major or minor.
tone An interval of two semitones making a major 2nd, e.g. C to D on a keyboard, two frets on a guitar.
trill Rapid and repeated movement between two adjacent notes.
turn Four notes which turn round the main note, the note above, the main note, the note below, and the main note again. An inverted turn starts with the note below reversing the process.
unaccompanied No other instrument(s) or voice(s) sound.
upbeat The last beat in the bar. A conductor might show this with an upward stroke.
waltz A dance with three beats in a bar in simple time.