.abrupt modulation: Modulation moving suddenly from an established key to a new key, often a semitone or whole tone higher.
accidental: Character indicating chromatic alterations to pitches; commonly used accidentals include flats, sharps, naturals, double flats, and double sharps.
anticipation: Nonharmonic tone foreshadowing an approaching harmonic change.
appoggiatura: Nonharmonic tone sounding on a strong beat and then resolving, chromatically or diatonically, immediately afterward.
augmented triad: Three-note chord containing two stacked major thirds, for example, C-E-G sharp. The interval between the root and the fifth is raised, “augmented,” by one semitone.
authentic cadence: Cadence featuring a dominant (V) chord progressing to a tonic (I) chord.
bar lines: Vertical lines on the staff delineating measures.
bridge: The B section of an AABA song form (also called the release) that features contrasting music, often in a relative or parallel key, and provides reflection while preparing for the climactic return of the final A section.
cadence: Progression of two or more chords establishing the ultimate key of a musical section or phrase.
cambiata: A nonharmonic tone overshooting in the direction of resolution by a third and then resolving by step in the opposite direction.
chorus: The most memorable section of a musical theatre song. The text brings specificity to the notions expressed in the verse. A typical chorus is built of four eight-measure phrases. The most frequently found form is AABA, in which the A sections are exact or near-repeats of each other. The B, also called the bridge or release, features contrasting music, often in a relative or parallel key. The text of the bridge provides reflection and prepares the climactic return of the final A section.
chromatic scale: Scale built entirely of semitones.
coda: A short musical section serving as a finishing theme.
common chord modulation: Modulation featuring a chord that is common to, and can be analyzed in, both the established and destination keys.
common time: Time signature of .
cut time: Time signature of 
wherein the half note carries the predominant beat and a faster tempo than is intended.
deceptive cadence: Cadence featuring a dominant (V) or dominant seventh (V7) chord progressing to a mediant (iii) or submediant (vi) chord rather than the tonic (I).
diatonic scale: Seven-note major or minor scale built on a combination of major and minor seconds.
diminished triad: Three-note chord containing two stacked minor thirds, for example, C-E-flat-G-flat. The interval between the root and the fifth is lowered, “diminished,” by one semitone.
dominant: Fifth degree of any major or minor scale.
double flat: Character 
indicating the lowering of a pitch by two semitones.
double sharp: Character 
indicating the raising of a pitch by two semitones.
downbeat: First beat or primary accent of a measure.
duple meter: Rhythmic patterns featuring two beats to a measure or multiples thereof.
échappée: Nonharmonic tone that “escapes” resolution in the wrong direction by step and therefore resolves by a leap of a third in the right direction.
eleventh chord: Six-note tertian chord that features the root, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh scale degrees.
enharmonic: Pitches sounding the same but written or notated differently, for example, d-sharp and e-flat.
enharmonic modulation: Modulation featuring a chord in the original key that can be respelled enharmonically in the destination key.
first inversion: Chord in which the notes are arranged with the third on the bottom and the root on the top.
flat: Character 
, indicating lowering of a pitch by one semitone.
half cadence: Chord progression ending on a dominant (V) chord approached from a variety of possible chords.
harmonic minor: Natural minor scale featuring a raised seventh step and resulting in a leading tone.
harmonic tones: Tones drawn from the momentary harmony upon which they are sounded.
harmony: Simultaneous sounding of two or more pitches.
higher-order tertian (H.O.T.) chords: Chords built upon thirds featuring four or more tones, for example, sevenths, ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths.
interval: Distance (diatonic) between two notes.
introduction: Instrumental prelude; can be as simple as a single note providing a starting pitch for the singer or as complex as a multimeasure cell introducing a musical motif.
key: Sequence or organization of tones forming major or minor scales with particular attention paid to the relationship of all tones to the tonic.
key signature: Musical tonality indicated by the placement of accidentals at the intiation of a composition and any subsequent key change.
leading tone: Seventh degree of any major or minor scale that is one semitone below, thereby urging resolution to, the tonic.
major scale: Scale consisting of, from the tonic upward, two consecutive whole tones followed by one semitone, three whole tones, and one semitone (Starting Note/WT/WT/ST/WT/WT/WT/ST).
measure: Metrical divisions indicated by bar lines and the notes and rests contained therein.
mediant: Third degree of any major or minor scale.
melodic minor: Natural minor featuring raised sixth and seventh steps ascending and lowered sixth and seventh steps descending.
melody: Succession of individual pitches expressing musical contour and shape.
meter: Regular recurrence of alternating stressed and unstressed beats.
mode: Resulting color or tonality elicited from scales or melodic sequences, as in the distinction between major and minor modes.
modulation: Shift in key or tonal center characterized by a new dominanttonic relationship.
mutation: Changing modality (major to minor or vice versa) without formally altering the key.
natural: The character 
canceling a previous alteration (sharp or flat).
natural minor scale: Scale consisting of, from the tonic upward, one whole tone followed by one semitone, two whole tones, one semitone, and two whole tones (Starting Note/WT/ST/WT/WT/ST/WT/WT).
neighbor tone: Nonharmonic tone serving as a melodic ornament that moves stepwise (diatonically or chromatically) away from and then back to a given harmonic tone.
ninth chord: Five-note tertian chord that features the root, third, fifth, seventh, and ninth scale degrees.
nonharmonic tone: Tone foreign to the momentary harmony upon which it is sounded.
octave: Interval spanning eleven semitones.
parallel keys: Key relationships wherein two keys share the same tonic pitch but have different key signatures, for example, C-major and c-minor.
passing tone: Nonharmonic tone occurring between two stepwise (diatonic) tones on an unaccented beat; passing tones may move in any direction.
pedal point: A tone that is sustained in the bass as harmony above changes.
perfect: Term applied to the intervals of a unison, octave, fourth, and fifth in a major or minor scale.
plagal cadence: Cadence featuring a subdominant (IV) chord progressing to a tonic (I).
relative keys: Key relationships wherein two keys share the same key signature but have different tonics a minor third apart, for example, E-flat major and c-minor.
release: See bridge.
rest: Duration of silence.
retardation: Nonharmonic tone forestalling, by melodic extension, a complete harmonic resolution.
rhythm: Pattern established by unit duration providing musical movement and animation.
rideout: An instrumental “tag” that punctuates the end of a song.
rondo: ABACA song form.
root: Synonym for the tonic or fundamental note of a chord.
scale: Stepwise sequence of semitones or whole tones; can be diatonic or chromatic.
secondary dominant: Subordinate chords built upon the fifth of a primary chord; for example, the secondary dominant of the tonic chord in C-major (C-E-G) would be the triad built upon the G (G-B-D).
second inversion: Chord in which the notes are arranged with the fifth on the bottom and the root and third on the top.
semitone: Distance between two adjacent pitches; a half step.
seventh chord: Four-note tertian chord that features the root, third, fifth, and seventh scale degrees.
sharp: Character # indicating raising a pitch by one semitone.
strophic: Song forms that feature musical repetition.
subdominant: Fourth degree of any major or minor scale.
submediant: Sixth degree of any major or minor scale.
subtonic: Seventh degree of any scale which is one whole tone below the tonic.
supertonic: Second degree of any major or minor scale.
suspension: Nonharmonic tone sounding on a strong beat that is then tied or carried over into the resolution.
tempo: Relative speed of rhythm.
tertian: Concept of building chords in thirds.
thirteenth chords: Seven-note tertian chord that features the root, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth scale degrees.
through-composed: Songs that are written with no sectional repetition.
time signature: Symbol indicating meter by specifying note values within measures.
tonic: First degree of any scale.
triad: Three-note chord containing the root and its third (major or minor) and fifth (perfect, diminished, or augmented).
triple meter: Rhythmic patterns featuring three beats.
upbeat: Final, unaccented beat of a measure just before a downbeat in a new measure.
verse: Typically following the introduction, the verse features expository text and its music serves as transition from speech into singing.