Document Text Contents
Page 1
© University of Sheffield 1
HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST SONG
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
GLOSSARY
ACCENT An emphasis applied to a note or beat.
ARPEGGIO Notes of chord played individually, in a pattern.
BAR
A unit of time measured by the number of beats. Typically a musical
piece contains several bars each with the same number of beats,
specified by the time signature.
BEAT A main accent or rhythmic unit.
CHORD A simultaneous combination of notes, usually three or more.
CONTOUR The shape of a melody as it rises and falls.
CROCHET
A note a quarter of a whole note, these are also known as quarter
notes.
DORIAN
The mode based on the series of intervals formed by playing from D
to D using only natural notes (i.e. the white notes on a piano). In this
example, these notes would be DEFGABCD.
HARMONY The broader name for the way chords are used in a piece.
INTERVAL The distance between any two notes.
KEY
The way that notes of a scale are used with some degree of hierarchy,
centring around the tonic and the dominant notes.
Page 2
© University of Sheffield 2
MEASURE The same as ‘bar’ but this term is more commonly used in the US.
MELODY A series of pitches organised into a recognisable shape.
METRE
This occurs where beats are organised into groups, often 3s or 4s in
Western music.
MINIM
Also known as a half note, this is a note played for half of the
duration of a whole note.
MINOR
A scale or key that contains a flattened 3rd (in comparison with
Major), 6th and 7th. There are several versions of the minor scale –
natural, harmonic and melodic.
MODE A type of scale but with less reliance on tonic-dominant relationship.
NOTES
A musical sound of a particular frequency and length. The word note
can also be used as an informal name for ‘pitches’. See PITCH.
OCTAVE An interval of 12 semitones, for example C to C.
PITCH The frequency of a musical sound.
PHRASE An identifiable section of melody, with a sense of beginning and end.
PULSE Synonymous with beat.
QUAVER
A note played for one eighth the value of a whole note. It is also
known as an eighth note.
RHYTHM The organisation of time in music.
SCALE
A series of notes organised in pitch order most often following a
defined pattern of tones and semitones.
© University of Sheffield 1
HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST SONG
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
GLOSSARY
ACCENT An emphasis applied to a note or beat.
ARPEGGIO Notes of chord played individually, in a pattern.
BAR
A unit of time measured by the number of beats. Typically a musical
piece contains several bars each with the same number of beats,
specified by the time signature.
BEAT A main accent or rhythmic unit.
CHORD A simultaneous combination of notes, usually three or more.
CONTOUR The shape of a melody as it rises and falls.
CROCHET
A note a quarter of a whole note, these are also known as quarter
notes.
DORIAN
The mode based on the series of intervals formed by playing from D
to D using only natural notes (i.e. the white notes on a piano). In this
example, these notes would be DEFGABCD.
HARMONY The broader name for the way chords are used in a piece.
INTERVAL The distance between any two notes.
KEY
The way that notes of a scale are used with some degree of hierarchy,
centring around the tonic and the dominant notes.
Page 2
© University of Sheffield 2
MEASURE The same as ‘bar’ but this term is more commonly used in the US.
MELODY A series of pitches organised into a recognisable shape.
METRE
This occurs where beats are organised into groups, often 3s or 4s in
Western music.
MINIM
Also known as a half note, this is a note played for half of the
duration of a whole note.
MINOR
A scale or key that contains a flattened 3rd (in comparison with
Major), 6th and 7th. There are several versions of the minor scale –
natural, harmonic and melodic.
MODE A type of scale but with less reliance on tonic-dominant relationship.
NOTES
A musical sound of a particular frequency and length. The word note
can also be used as an informal name for ‘pitches’. See PITCH.
OCTAVE An interval of 12 semitones, for example C to C.
PITCH The frequency of a musical sound.
PHRASE An identifiable section of melody, with a sense of beginning and end.
PULSE Synonymous with beat.
QUAVER
A note played for one eighth the value of a whole note. It is also
known as an eighth note.
RHYTHM The organisation of time in music.
SCALE
A series of notes organised in pitch order most often following a
defined pattern of tones and semitones.
