Melody Key Terms List

[Jordan Winslow]

By the time you finish the melody portion of our class, you will know what every one of these words mean and be able to give an example!

How many of these words do you already know the definitions of?

– Waveform
– Pitch
– Volume
– Amplitude
– Note
– Whole Step
– Half Step
– Semitone
– Octave
– Polyphonic
– Monophonic
– Scale
– Key
– Keynote
– Chord
– Arpeggio
– Harmony
– Disharmony
– Melody
– Oscillation
– Frequency
– Tune
– Tone
– Major
– Minor
– Envelope
– Attack
– Decay
– Sustain
– Release

• This topic was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by Jordan Winslow.

[Marc]

– Waveform: the shape of a sound, sine, triangle, saw
– Pitch: How high or low a note sounds (not the volume)

[Marc]

– Note: 1 piece/tone of a scale for example C or Do
– Whole Note: the sounding of a note by duration of 1 count from a beat
– Half Note: the sounding of a note by duration of 1/2 count from a beat

[Jordan Winslow]

Thanks for making me aware of that error in the Key Terms, it should have said “Whole Step” and “Half Step.” All of your other definitions are correct!

[Marc]

– Polyphonic: the ability of different notes/tones played together
– Monophonic: only 1 note/tone can played after this finished, another can sound
– Scale: a list of 7 notes from the keynote to the tonic note example C1 to C2
– Key: the keynote of a scale
– Keynote: the base note of a scale
– Chord: a group notes from a scale played simultaneous
– Arpeggio: notes of a scale played individual in a pattern
– Harmony: notes sounding well to each other, from the same scale

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