Appoggiatura
A long, dissonant ornamental note which resolves by step onto the next melodic note
Arpeggio
A broken chord in which the notes of a triad are played in either ascending or descending direction
Ascending
Going upwards in pitch
Auxiliary Note
A note that sits directly above (upper) or below (lower) a principal note and is used to decorate it
Conjunct
Describing melodic lines that move by step or small leaps between notes - stepwise movement
Contou
The direction and quality of changing pitch in a melodic line
Descending
Melodies go downwards in pitch
Disjunct
Describing melodic lines that move by large skips and leaps between notes
Échappée
A non-chord note that follows stepwise movement from a principal note and precedes a melodic leap
Fragmentation
The division of musical phrases and motifs into smaller ideas that can then be developed on their own
Grace notes
Non-specific ornamental notes which are written as physically smaller than normal notes
Interval
The distance in pitch between two notes
Mordent
A single rapid alternation between the written not and the one either directly above or below
Motif
A short melodic idea that can be developed and varied
Note of Anticipation
A note in a cadence that predicts the final melodic note before the harmony has resolved
Ornamentation
The use of added notes to decorate and embellish a melodic line
Passing note
A non-harmony note used to connect two harmony notes a 3rd apart in conjunct movement. An accented passing note is on the beat; an un accented passing note is off the beat
Phrasing
A word often used to talk about the length of the melodic phrases within a piece
Repetition
Melodic device in which a phrase is played again in order to to extend the melody and create a sense of balance
Scalic
A word used to describe melodic lines that make use of part or the whole of the scale
Sequence
A passage in which a motif is repeated at increasingly higher (or lower) pitches
Stepwise
Moving by step
Triadic
Relating to triads
Trill
A rapid, repeated alternation between a principal note and the note a step above it
