AoS1 Base Vocabulary - Melody, Harmony and Tonality
Build the vocabulary you need to describe any piece of music: how a melody moves, the cadences that end a phrase, and whether the music sounds major or minor.
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The building blocks of music 🎵
When you listen to a piece of music, you can describe it with a shared vocabulary. This module covers three of the most important elements: **melody** (the tune), **harmony** (the chords that support it), and **tonality** (whether the music sounds major or minor). Learn this vocabulary and you can describe almost any piece you hear.
Describing a melody 🎶
A melody is the tune. Here is how we describe the way it moves:
Steps or leaps? ⚖️
The two most common ways to describe how a melody moves:
Match the melody term to its meaning 🔗
- Conjunct
- Disjunct
- Scalic
- Triadic
- Moves by step, between neighbouring notes
- Moves by leap, between notes far apart
- Follows the notes of a scale
- Built from the notes of a chord
Step or leap? 🔍
A melody moves smoothly between notes that are right next to each other. How is it described?
- Conjunct
- Disjunct
- Dissonant
- Plagal
The four cadences 🎹
A cadence is a pair of chords at the end of a phrase, like musical punctuation. There are four to know:
Match the cadence to its sound 🔀
- Perfect cadence
- Plagal cadence
- Imperfect cadence
- Interrupted cadence
- Chords V to I, sounds finished
- Chords IV to I, the Amen cadence
- Ends on chord V, sounds unfinished
- Chord V to VI, a surprise
True about harmony? ✅
Select the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- A perfect cadence uses chords V to I and sounds finished
- Dissonant notes clash and sound tense
- A plagal cadence ends on chord V
- Consonant notes always clash and sound tense
Major or minor? 🎼
**Tonality** is whether the music is built on a major or a minor scale. A **major** key usually sounds bright or happy; a **minor** key usually sounds darker or sadder. Music can also **modulate**, or change key, often moving to the **dominant** or the **subdominant**. Every major key has a **relative minor** that shares its key signature, so C major and A minor use the same notes.
Smallest to largest 🪜
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Complete the vocabulary 🧩
A melody that moves by step is _____, while one that moves by leap is _____. A cadence with chords V to I sounds finished and is called a _____ cadence. Music that usually sounds bright or happy is in a _____ key. Changing from one key to another is called _____.
Spot the true statements 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Describe what you hear 🧭
An interactive activity.
Describe a piece ✍️
An interactive activity.