Jargon guide
Music theory’s tricky enough without the lexicon – get your head around the lingo with our quick dictionary
ASCENDING
Rising in pitch, or going up the piano keyboard from left to right
CADENCE
A short sequence of notes or chords at the end of a musical phrase
CHORD
More than one note is played at the same time
CIRCLE OF FIFTHS
A diagram charting the relationship between the twelve notes/keys in the chromatic scale
DESCENDING
Falling in pitch, or going down the piano keyboard from right to left
DIMINISHED FIFTH
An interval of a perfect fifth flattened by one semitone,
Gb Eb eg C- or A-
DOMINANT
The fifth note of a scale, an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic. Also, a chord built on this fifth note
EXTENDED
Extended chords contain extra notes added from further up the keyboard. A major ninth chord, for instance, contains root, third, fifth, seventh and ninth
FLAT
Determines that a note should be one semitone lower in pitch HARMONIC INTERVAL Notes of different pitches played together at the same time, as opposed to one after the other HARMONY A tune that complements a melody when played at the same time. Also refers to the relationship between a series of chords
INTERVAL
The difference between two note pitches. Intervals are named according to the number of letter names they span, eg from C to D is a second, C to F is a fourth, etc
INVERSION
The order of notes in a chord is changed. A first inversion would see the root shifted up an octave to the top of a chord
KEY
The scale on which a piece of music is based. The key takes its name from the tonic, or first note of this scale
MAJOR SCALE
The most common scale in Western music. A series of eight notes with a set pattern of intervals: 2-2-1-2-2-2-1
MAJOR SECOND
An interval of two semitones between two different notes. For example, C to D is a major second interval
MAJOR SEVENTH
The interval between the root note and the seventh note (or ‘degree’) of a major scale. Equivalent to eleven semitones
MAJOR SIXTH
An interval of nine semitones between two different notes. C to A, for example MAJOR THIRD An interval of four semitones between two different notes. Examples include C to E, G to B, D#
to F MELODIC INTERVAL When two notes of different pitches are played one after the other – in other words, a two-note melody
MELODY
A sequence of notes played one after the other to produce a tune
MINOR SCALE
The sad-sounding sequence of notes you get when you play a major scale from the sixth note upwards.
MINOR SECOND
An interval of one semitone between two notes. For example, C
Db to is a minor second interval
MINOR THIRD
An interval of three semitones between two different notes. For
Eb example, C to is a minor third
Bb interval, as is G to
MINOR SEVENTH
The interval between the root note and the flattened seventh note (or ‘degree’) of a major scale. Equivalent to ten semitones
MINOR SIXTH
An interval of eight semitones between two different notes.
Ab For example, C to is a minor sixth interval
MODE
A type of scale built by starting another scale from a note other than its root
OCTAVE
An interval of twelve semitones, at which the two notes have the same ‘quality’, just one higher and one lower ROOT The lowest note of a chord or scale. C is the root note of a C major chord and of the C major scale. ROOTLESS VOICING When an extended chord is played with the root note missing. Used a lot in jazz and gospel music
SCALE
A sequence of notes going up or down the keyboard with a particular pattern of intervals between them
SECONDARY DOMINANT
The name given to a chord based on the fifth, or dominant, note of any key or scale other than the tonic key
SEMITONE
The smallest interval in a chromatic scale, or the distance between any two notes on the piano keyboard
SEVENTH
A four-note chord formed by adding the seventh note of the scale to a triad that already contains a root, third and fifth
SHARP
Raised in pitch by one semitone. We’ve tried to stick to sharps instead of flats in our tutorials, in keeping with MIDI standards
TONE
Short for ‘whole tone’, an interval of two semitones
TONIC
The first note, or ‘root’ note, of a scale
TRANSPOSE
To shift a piece of music, note or chord up or down in pitch by a certain number of semitones TRIAD A chord made up of three notes. A major triad contains a root, a major third and a perfect fifth UNISON An interval that’s not an interval – in other words, the interval of zero semitones, the same note played twice.