Melody
- Conjunct melody moves by step (next-door notes); disjunct melody moves by leaps.
- Scalic melodies run up or down a scale; arpeggios play the notes of a chord one after another.
- A sequence repeats a phrase at a higher or lower pitch. A riff or ostinato is a short, repeated pattern.
- Ornaments decorate a melody: a trill (rapid alternation of two notes), a mordent, a turn, an appoggiatura and an acciaccatura (a very quick "crushed" note).
- Phrases can be balanced as question and answer, like a conversation.
Harmony and chords
- A triad is a three-note chord built from a root, third and fifth. Chords I, IV and V are the primary chords.
- Consonant harmony sounds settled; dissonant harmony sounds clashing and tense.
- Diatonic harmony uses notes from the key; chromatic harmony adds notes from outside it.
- A pedal note is a held or repeated note (usually in the bass) under changing harmony; a drone is a held note or chord, often two notes a fifth apart.
Cadences
- A cadence is a pair of chords at the end of a phrase.
- Perfect cadence: V to I. It sounds finished.
- Imperfect cadence: ends on chord V. It sounds unfinished.
- Plagal cadence: IV to I. It sounds finished and is called the "Amen" cadence.
- Interrupted cadence: V to VI. It sounds surprising, as if it's going to finish but doesn't.
Key terms
- Conjunct
- A melody that moves by step.
- Disjunct
- A melody that moves by leaps.
- Sequence
- A phrase repeated at a higher or lower pitch.
- Ostinato
- A short pattern repeated many times.
- Triad
- A three-note chord of root, third and fifth.
- Perfect cadence
- Chord V to chord I, sounding finished.
- Plagal cadence
- Chord IV to chord I, the "Amen" cadence.
- Interrupted cadence
- Chord V to chord VI, sounding surprising.
- Dissonance
- Notes that clash and sound tense.