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.