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AoS2 Additive Vocabulary: Melody and Harmony

Popular music has its own vocabulary. Learn the melody devices (riffs, hooks, blue notes) and the harmony features (power chords, chord symbols, stock progressions) that describe rock, pop and more.

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What you'll cover

The sound of pop 🎸

Area of Study 2 is Popular Music: rock, pop, musical theatre, and film and game music from 1950 to today. To write about it well, you need the words that describe how the melody and harmony work. This vocabulary is added on top of the Area of Study 1 words you already know, so keep both in mind.

Melody words 🔑

Four devices a melody can use. Learn what each one does.

Melody or harmony? ⚖️

Sort the popular-music vocabulary into melody devices and harmony features.

Match the melody word 🔗

  • Riff
  • Hook
  • Pitch bend
  • Melisma
  • A short, catchy repeated melodic pattern
  • A catchy, memorable phrase that stands out
  • Sliding a single note up or down
  • Many notes sung on one syllable

Spot the riff 🎯

A short, catchy melodic pattern is repeated through a whole song. What is it?

  • A riff
  • A hook
  • A pitch bend
  • A melisma

Harmony and tonality in pop 💡

A power chord is just the root note plus a fifth, giving a strong rock sound. A chord symbol is a letter that names a chord, such as C7. A stock chord progression is a common sequence, such as I VI IV V. Popular music also leans on the pentatonic scale (five notes), the blues scale and modal writing.

Match the harmony word 🔀

  • Power chord
  • Chord symbol
  • Chord progression
  • Pentatonic scale
  • A root note plus a fifth
  • A letter that names a chord
  • A common, familiar chord sequence
  • A scale of five notes

Harmony features ✅

Which TWO of these are HARMONY features? Choose all that apply.

  • Power chords
  • Chord progressions
  • A hook
  • A riff

Build a song part 🪜

An interactive activity.

Complete the sentences 🧩

A short repeated melodic pattern is a _____. A catchy, memorable phrase is a _____. A root note plus a fifth is a _____. A five-note scale is the _____ scale. Slightly flattened notes that give a bluesy feel are _____.

riff hook power chord pentatonic blue notes melisma pitch bend chord symbol glissando blues scale

Spot the melody devices 🖍️

An interactive activity.

Sung notes 🎤

A singer performs many notes smoothly on a single syllable. What is this?

  • Melisma
  • A riff
  • A power chord
  • A pentatonic scale

Name the technique 🧭

An interactive activity.

Describe the sound ✍️

An interactive activity.