Abstraction or Abstract art: artistic form that expresses itself by representing mostly shapes and colors. At its essence this art form tries to avoid representing any object from the real world.
Aleatoric music: music in which some parts of it are left to chance. In this genre, the performers are given some instructions as to how approach randomness
Ambitus: Refers to the actual ranger of a melodic segment. Not to be confused with register which refers to the total range of an instrument
Atonilism: or atonal music. Music that does not concern itself with the restraints of tonality.
Cluster: a chord containing at least three adjacent notes from a scale
Chord-tones: (or harmonic tones) Note that belongs to the chord. Can be referred to as consonance.
Chromatic interval: two notes separated by a semi-tone.
Consonance and dissonance: con-sonance [sounding together] / dis-sonance [not agreeing in sound] a cultural construct that differentiates pleasant intervals/chords from unpleasant ones.
Countermelody: a secondary melody played in counterpoint with the primary melody
Diatonic Interval: dia-tonic – [through the tone]. Refers to any interval between two notes belonging to the same scale (or mode)
Figurativism: artistic form that express itself by representing objects from the reality in partial forms. It can be a deformed expression of reality but it’s broadly speaking a subjective interpretation of the object. Since it’s attached to objects from the real world it can not technically be abstract in nature.
Incipit: beginning sequence of notes in a musical phrase.
Mode: equivalent to a scale, but attach its meaning to a cultural context. It is usually implied that a mode involves specific melody types and express specific colors or moods. The term has been used for more than a millennium in western music and it’s understanding has evolved over time, making a contemporary definition confusing.
Non-chord tones: (or non harmonic tones) a note that doesn’t belong to the chord structure. There are nine commonly described types of non-chord tones: Anticipation, Escape tone, Passing tone, Neighbor tone, Suspension, Appoggiatura, Changing tones, Non harmonic bass, Pedal point.
Modulation: process of changing from one key to another. It usually involves a pivot chord, but it’s not always necessary.
Ostinato: a constantly repeating motif
Polytonality: (or polyharmony)is the use of musical material belonging to different keys simultaneously.
Register: The total range of a given instrument (or vocalist). Not to confuse with 'Ambitus'
Scale: an ordered set of pitches where notes are organized in ascending or descending order. In western music it is strongly attached to the concept of tonality.
Scale Degrees: position of a note in a scale. Traditionally identified by a Roman numeral and/or a name as follow: I- Tonic, II- Supertonic, III- Mediant, IV- Subdominant, V- Dominant, VI- Submediant, VII- Leading tone.
Serialism: method of composition that exclusively uses a repeated series of pitches.
Spectral music: a sub-genre of electro-acoustic music that concerns itself in the manipulation of the spectral features of a sound. In film music it could be considered a part of sound design, but the access to powerful modern plugins have made it more accessible for composers to practice as a musical form.
Symmetrical scales: there are a total 35 symmetrical scales. None of them are heptatonic (7 notes scales). The most commonly used are: 1- the chromatic scale (12 notes) 2-the whole tone scale (6 notes) 3- the diminished scales (8 notes – 2 types)
Texture: how music elements (rhythmic, melodic and harmonic) are combined in a composition. The quality of a texture is usually described in terms of density (or layers) and range (or width). A musical piece can be segmented in the following elements: primary melody (PM), secondary melody (SM), parallel supporting melody (PSM), static support (SS), harmonic support (HS), rhythmic support (RS), and harmonic and rhythmic support (HRS). How those elements relate to each other will define the type of texture. We traditionally use six classifications: Monophonic, Biphonic, Polyphonic (or Contrapuntal), Homophonic, Homorhythmic and Heterophonic.
Tonality: Hierarchical relationships of notes that define a central tone as being the most important – usually referred to as the key or tonic.
Triad: a set of three notes distant of a third with each other.
