List of basic music topics

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

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:

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

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) –

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

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

Ensembles

Main articles: Musical ensemble and list of musical ensembles

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

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

Musical compositions

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

Sections of a piece or composition

Main article: Section

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

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

Vocal ranges

Main article: Vocal range

Female ranges

Soprano – Mezzo-soprano – Contralto

Male ranges

Boy soprano

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

Instruments

Main articles: Musical instrument and List of musical instruments

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

See also the List of musical instruments by Hornbostel-Sachs number

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

Fundamental aspects

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

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

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

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

Scales

Main article: Scale

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

Ornaments

Main article: Ornament

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

Tempo

Main article: Tempo

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.

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.

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.

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

See also

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