Glossary of Terms

Chord: two or more notes played simultaneously.
Coda: the tail or end piece of a song.
Crotchet:  the main one-beat note value.
Downbeat: the strong first beat of the bar.
Groove: steady, established rhythmic style of a song, often determined by the bass-line.
Interval: the gap between two notes in a melody.
Lydian mode: scale that has the beautiful character of a sharpened 4th: F_G_A_B_C_D_E_F’.
Major:  the bright and cheerful key of songs 1-4, also known as the Ionian mode.
Melody: the tune or main vocal line.
Minor:  the dark key of songs 5-6 and 8-10, also known as the Aeolian mode.
Mode: combinations of notes which make characteristic scales.
Octave: makes up the main eight notes in a scale.
Ostinato: a repeated rhythmic or melodic pattern.
Phrase: a group of notes that shape music, helping singers make sense of their breathing.
Pulse: the driving rhythm or beat underlying a song.
Quaver: half of a crotchet; three quavers are equal to a dotted crotchet.
Rap: rhythmically delivered poetry, spoken with accents and a cool style.
Rhythm: a combination of different note values that give music its distinctive character.
Riff:  a short rhythm.
Semitone: the smallest interval between notes in a melody or chord.
Syncopation: uneven rhythms which interrupt musical lines for expressive effect.
Trill: rapid oscillation of adjacent melodic notes or vibration of percussion instruments.
Upbeat: the beat preceding the strong first beat of the bar.