List of basic music topics

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For a more comprehensive list, see the List of music topics.

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Music is a human expression in the medium of time using the structures of sounds or tones and silence. It is expressed in terms of pitch, rhythm, harmony, and timbre. Basic topics in music include:

[edit] General topics

Main articles: Music, musicology, and list of popular music terms

Music theory – Musical acoustics – Band (music) – Composition – Ensemble – Genre – Instrument – Keyboard – Mode – Musician – Music and politics – Music history – Music lessons – Music technology – Musical notation – Musical terminology – Tuning

[edit] History of music

Main articles: History of music and Music history

Timeline of trends in music (1900-1950) – Timeline of trends in music (1951-present) –

[edit] Music industry topics

Main article: Music industry

Album – Compact disk (CD) – Compact Cassette – Concert – Concert tour – Grammy Awards – Music recording sales certification – Performance – Record – Record industry – Recording studio

[edit] Participants

A&R – ASCAP – Arranger – Band manager – Booker – BMI – Composer – Copyright collective – MCPS – Musical ensemble – Musician – Musicians' Union – publisher – PRS – Record label – Record producer – Record manufacturer – Record distributor – Road crew ("roadies") – Singer – Songwriter – Performance rights organisation – Tour promoter

[edit] Ensembles

Main articles: Musical ensemble and list of musical ensembles

Band – Choir – Concert band – Duet – Marching Band – Orchestra – Quartet – Quintet

[edit] Genres of music

Main articles: Musical genre and List of musical genres

Examples of genres: Blues – Classical – Country – Dub – Electronic – Electronic dance – Electronica – Funk – Gospel – Hip hop – Jazz – Latin American – Melodic – Pop – Rapcore – Reggae – Rap – Rhythm and blues – Rock – Ska

[edit] Musical compositions

[edit] Types of musical pieces and compositions

Main article: Musical form

Single-movement forms: Strophic form (AA...) – Binary form (AB) – Ternary form less often tertiary (ABA) – Arch form (ABCBA)

Multi-movement forms: Ballet – Cantata – Chorale – Concerto – Dance – Etude – Fantasia – Fugue – Mass – Opera – Oratorio – Prelude – Requiem – Rhapsody – Sonata – Suite – Symphonic poem – Symphony

[edit] Sections of a piece or composition

Main article: Section

Introduction – Exposition – Recapitulation – Verse – Refrain (chorus) – Conclusion – Coda – Fadeout – Bridge – Interlude

[edit] Musical skills and procedures

Absolute pitch – Ear training – Fingering – Learning music by ear – Modulation – Numerical sight-singing – Practice – Relative pitch – Sight reading – Transposition – Tuning – Virtuosity

[edit] Vocal ranges

Main article: Vocal range

[edit] Female ranges

Soprano – Mezzo-soprano – Contralto

[edit] Male ranges

Boy soprano

Sopranist – Alto – Tenor – Baritenor – Baritone – Bass-baritone – Bass

[edit] Instruments

Main articles: Musical instrument and List of musical instruments

Wind instruments – Lamellaphones – Percussion instruments – String instruments – Voice – Electronic instruments – Keyboard instruments

[edit] Aspects and components of music

Main articles: Aspects of music, music theory, music notation, and musical terminology

A cappella – Ad libitum – Basso – Basso continuo – Cent – Circle of fifths – Clef – Compound metre – Crescendo – Diminuendo – Intonation – Inversion – Key – Key signature – Leading-tone – Ligature – Measure – Octave illusion – Range – Riff – Staccato – Staff – Step – Syncopation– Time signature

[edit] Fundamental aspects

European classical school: Melody – Harmony – Rhythm – Tone color – Form

[edit] Primary aspects

Pitch: Melody – Harmony – Tonality – Tessitura – Tuning or Temperament

Timbre: Tone color and Articulation

Dynamics (intesity): Loudness and Accent (stress)

Duration: Pulse – Beat – Rhythm – Rhythmic density – Meter – Tempo

[edit] Secondary aspects

Structure: Motive, Subphrase, Phrase, Phrase group, Period, Section, Exposition, Repetition, Variation, Development, Textural continuity

Texture: homophony, polyphony, heterophony, and simultaneity

Style: is what distinguishes an individual composer or group, period, genre, region, or manner of performance

[edit] Notes, chords and intervals

Main articles: Note, chord, and interval

Added tone chord – Augmentation – Augmented chord – Blue note – Chord progression – Diminished chord – Dominant – Fifth – Flatted fifth – Fourth – Hexachord – List of major chord shapes for guitar – Major chord – Major second – Major seventh – Major sixth – Major third – Minor chord – Minor second – Minor seventh – Minor sixth – Minor third – Octave – Perfect fifth – Perfect fourth – Power chord – Second – Seventh – Shape note – Sixth – Third – Triad – Wolf interval

[edit] Scales

Main article: Scale

Bohlen-Pierce scale – Chromatic scale – Diatonic scale – Diminished scale – Major scale – Minor scale – Pentatonic scale

[edit] Ornaments

Main article: Ornament

Acciaccatura – Appoggiatura – Glissando – Mordent – Tremolo – Trill – Turn

[edit] Tempo

Main article: Tempo

[edit] Basic tempo markings

The most common tempo markings in Italian are:

Grave - very slowly and almost solemn
Largo - slowly and broadly
Lento - "slow" but usually only moderately so
Adagio - slowly
Andante - at a walking pace
Moderato - at a moderate tempo, neither fast nor slow
Allegretto - "a little allegro", understood to be not quite as fast as allegro
Allegro - quickly
Vivace - very fast, lively and brisk
Presto - fast
Prestissimo - very, very fast.

[edit] Common Qualifiers

assai - very, as in Allegro assai
con brio [Italian : con, with + brio, vigour.]
non troppo - not too much or non tanto - not so much ; e.g. Allegro non troppo (or Allegro ma non troppo) means "Fast, but not too much."
molto - very, as in Allegro molto
poco - slightly, as in Poco Adagio
più - more, as in Più Allegro
meno - less, as in Meno Presto
Various diminutive suffixes in Italian have been used, in addition to Allegretto: Andantino, Larghetto, Adagietto, as well as superlatives such as Larghissimo, Prestissimo.

[edit] Mood markings with a tempo connotation

Some markings that primarily mark a mood (or character) also have a tempo connotation:

Vivace - lively (which generally indicates a rather fast movement)
Maestoso - majestic or stately (which generally indicates a solemn, slow movement)
Sostenuto - Sustained, sometimes with a slackening of tempo.

[edit] Terms for change in tempo

There is also a set of terms that are used to designate a change of tempo:

Accelerando - speeding up (abbreviation: accel.)
Meno Mosso - less movement or slower
Più Mosso - more movement or faster
Rallentando - slowing down (abbreviation: rall.)
Ritardando - slowing down (abbreviation: rit.)
Ritenuto - slightly slower

These generally designate a gradual change in tempo; for immediate tempo shifts, composers normally just provide the designation for the new tempo. There is also:

A tempo - return to the previous tempo after change(s); and
Tempo Primo - often at the beginning of a new section of a piece, denotes a return to the piece's original tempo.

These terms also indicate an immediate, not a gradual, tempo change. Composers typically use these terms for tempo change even if they have written their initial tempo marking in some other language.

More complex and less precise (though vital in many composers' music) is:

Rubato - free adjustment of tempo for expressive purposes

[edit] See also

List resources
Basic topic lists • Topic lists • Reference tables • Countries • People • Timelines

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