IGCSE Music
,Rudiments
Standard European staff notation including dynamic, tempo and expression markings, simple ornaments and
articulation signs, treble, bass and alto clefs, key signatures up to 4 sharps and 4 flats in major and minor keys, time
signatures, intervals.
Melody and Rhythm
Major, minor, chromatic and pentatonic scales. Melodic movement by step or leap. Phrasing. Duple, triple or irregular
metre, syncopation, polyrhythm.
Harmony
Primary chords: I, IV, and V(7); secondary chords: II and VI. Perfect, imperfect, plagal, and interrupted cadences.
Modulations to related keys.
Ensembles and instruments/voices
Orchestras, wind and jazz bands, choirs and chamber ensembles. The main instruments and voices used in the above
ensembles. Piano, harpsichord, organ. Gamelan, rabab, kora, xylophone, sitar, sarangı, tabla, pan-pipes, guitar, un-
tuned percussion instruments.
Instrumental and/or vocal effects
Arco, pizzicato, glissando, tremolo (rapid bowing), harmonics, double stopping
(playing two notes simultaneously on a stringed or melodic percussion
instrument), strumming, pitch bending, mute, roll, melisma (singing one syllable
but moving it to different pitches Beyonce way), blue notes.
Structure
Binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variations, ground bass.
Compositional devices
Repetition, imitation, sequence, canon, inversion, ostinato, drone, Alberti bass (broken
chord accompaniment), pedal, contrary motion.
Texture
Melody and accompaniment, homophonic (two or more parts move together in harmony), polyphonic (two or more
independent melodies), monophonic (single line – one note at a time), heterophonic (all parts share the tune – with
slightly different variations).
Style
Baroque (1600 – 1750), Classical (1750 – 1820), Romantic (1820 – 1900), Twentieth Century (1900+) (including
impressionism, serialism, neo-classical, jazz).
Genre
Opera, oratorio (including recitative, aria and chorus), musical, symphony, concerto, string quartet, sonata,
march, waltz, minuet and trio.
, Glossary of Terms for Unprepared Listening
Word Meaning
Alberti Bass Broken chorded bass
Aleatoric Chance music, totally random.
Anacrusis Music starts with an upbeat.
Aria Solo song from opera or oratorio.
Boogie-woogie A distinctive style of piano jazz playing made famous by Fats Domino the
American Jazz Pianist.
Bothy Ballad Farm song sometimes sung in gibberish. Unaccompanied.
Broken Chord Notes of a chord played separately.
Cantata Short vocal composition accompanied by orchestra and tells a story.
Ceilidh Band A band which plays music for people to dance to. The instruments may include
fiddle, accordion, piano, bass and drumkit as well as modern accompanying
instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards.
Compound Time Time signatures with 6, 9 or 12 as their top number. Fits when you say coffee as if
‘cof’ was a dotted quaver and ‘fee’, a semiquaver.
Con legno Played with the back of the bow.
Con sordino Played with a mute (strings).
Delay You hear this alot in pop songs – when the singer stops singing but there is an
echo(es) that follow.
Descant Usually used in hyms, it is a counter-melody at a higher pitch.
Dissonance A dischord.
Dixieland The original Jazz which came from St Louis and the Deep south of America and
originated from the black American Slaves from the plantations. The line up for
this kind of band consisted of Trumpet, Clarinet, Trombone and a rhythm section
of String Bass, Drums, Piano and or banjo.
Downbeat When music starts on the first note of the first bar.
Free Metre Music with no particular metre.
Gaelic Psalm Unaccompanied gibberish church music.
Harmony Voices singing notes of a chord.
Impressionist A style of music from the early 20th Century which attempted to imitate in sound
what artists such as Monet and Degas did with paint. by giving an impression of a
scene or story.
Inverted Pedal Long, sustained note above the melody.
Irregular Metre Five or seven beats in a bar.
Melismatic/Word
Painting
Minimalist A 20th Century style of music based on repeated patterns of notes.
Mouth music Music sung by the mouth, usually in gibberish – or has no language and sounds
like rubbish. It is used to imitate instruments.
Obbligato Essential part or decorative line above the melody.
Oratorio An extended composition based on Bible stories.
Passing Note A note which passes from one harmony note to the next which may be accented
or unaccented.
Pibroch Classical music of the bagpipe which consists of a ground and series of variations.
Recitative Main points of the plot of an oratorio, opera or cantata are made to the listener.
Reel A Scottish dance with two or four beats in a bar and is played quite fast. Each
beat divides equally into groups of two.
, Regular Metre Strong beats – duple, triple or quadruple.
Reverb To do with accoustics, it is the persistance of sound when the original sound stops
or is removed. It is abit like an echo.
Round Music where different parts of the tune sound well when played together. One
group of singers starts the song, and then a second group starts singing the same
song a couple of bars late.
Samba Latin American music with 2 beats in a bar – usually syncopated.
Scat Singing A type of singing where nonsense syllables are used instead of words (shoo wah
doobie do wah).
Scherzo Very fast movement with three beats in a bar. Means joke.
Scotch Snap A very short accented note before a longer note.
Scots Ballad Tells a story.
Sequence A melodic phrase which is repeated at a higher or lower pitch of one step.
Simple Time Time signatures with 2, 3 or 4 as their top number.
Strathspey A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar, usually featuring the Scotch snap and is
played slowly and syncopated.
Strophic A verse repeating song with a chorus such as a Ballad.
Through A song or melody with a chorus that is not repeated.
Composed
Tierce de Picardie When minor key unexpectedly ends on a major chord (like latin america style).
Unison Two or more parts/voices sounding at the same pitch.
Vamp When improvising an accompaniment at the piano the left hand plays the bass
note followed by the right hand playing the notes of the chord.
Waltz A dance with three beats in a bar.
Waulking Song Slave songs sung in Scotland. Easily distinguishable when you hear the sound of
thumping fabric.
,Rudiments
Standard European staff notation including dynamic, tempo and expression markings, simple ornaments and
articulation signs, treble, bass and alto clefs, key signatures up to 4 sharps and 4 flats in major and minor keys, time
signatures, intervals.
Melody and Rhythm
Major, minor, chromatic and pentatonic scales. Melodic movement by step or leap. Phrasing. Duple, triple or irregular
metre, syncopation, polyrhythm.
Harmony
Primary chords: I, IV, and V(7); secondary chords: II and VI. Perfect, imperfect, plagal, and interrupted cadences.
Modulations to related keys.
Ensembles and instruments/voices
Orchestras, wind and jazz bands, choirs and chamber ensembles. The main instruments and voices used in the above
ensembles. Piano, harpsichord, organ. Gamelan, rabab, kora, xylophone, sitar, sarangı, tabla, pan-pipes, guitar, un-
tuned percussion instruments.
Instrumental and/or vocal effects
Arco, pizzicato, glissando, tremolo (rapid bowing), harmonics, double stopping
(playing two notes simultaneously on a stringed or melodic percussion
instrument), strumming, pitch bending, mute, roll, melisma (singing one syllable
but moving it to different pitches Beyonce way), blue notes.
Structure
Binary, ternary, rondo, theme and variations, ground bass.
Compositional devices
Repetition, imitation, sequence, canon, inversion, ostinato, drone, Alberti bass (broken
chord accompaniment), pedal, contrary motion.
Texture
Melody and accompaniment, homophonic (two or more parts move together in harmony), polyphonic (two or more
independent melodies), monophonic (single line – one note at a time), heterophonic (all parts share the tune – with
slightly different variations).
Style
Baroque (1600 – 1750), Classical (1750 – 1820), Romantic (1820 – 1900), Twentieth Century (1900+) (including
impressionism, serialism, neo-classical, jazz).
Genre
Opera, oratorio (including recitative, aria and chorus), musical, symphony, concerto, string quartet, sonata,
march, waltz, minuet and trio.
, Glossary of Terms for Unprepared Listening
Word Meaning
Alberti Bass Broken chorded bass
Aleatoric Chance music, totally random.
Anacrusis Music starts with an upbeat.
Aria Solo song from opera or oratorio.
Boogie-woogie A distinctive style of piano jazz playing made famous by Fats Domino the
American Jazz Pianist.
Bothy Ballad Farm song sometimes sung in gibberish. Unaccompanied.
Broken Chord Notes of a chord played separately.
Cantata Short vocal composition accompanied by orchestra and tells a story.
Ceilidh Band A band which plays music for people to dance to. The instruments may include
fiddle, accordion, piano, bass and drumkit as well as modern accompanying
instruments such as electric guitar and keyboards.
Compound Time Time signatures with 6, 9 or 12 as their top number. Fits when you say coffee as if
‘cof’ was a dotted quaver and ‘fee’, a semiquaver.
Con legno Played with the back of the bow.
Con sordino Played with a mute (strings).
Delay You hear this alot in pop songs – when the singer stops singing but there is an
echo(es) that follow.
Descant Usually used in hyms, it is a counter-melody at a higher pitch.
Dissonance A dischord.
Dixieland The original Jazz which came from St Louis and the Deep south of America and
originated from the black American Slaves from the plantations. The line up for
this kind of band consisted of Trumpet, Clarinet, Trombone and a rhythm section
of String Bass, Drums, Piano and or banjo.
Downbeat When music starts on the first note of the first bar.
Free Metre Music with no particular metre.
Gaelic Psalm Unaccompanied gibberish church music.
Harmony Voices singing notes of a chord.
Impressionist A style of music from the early 20th Century which attempted to imitate in sound
what artists such as Monet and Degas did with paint. by giving an impression of a
scene or story.
Inverted Pedal Long, sustained note above the melody.
Irregular Metre Five or seven beats in a bar.
Melismatic/Word
Painting
Minimalist A 20th Century style of music based on repeated patterns of notes.
Mouth music Music sung by the mouth, usually in gibberish – or has no language and sounds
like rubbish. It is used to imitate instruments.
Obbligato Essential part or decorative line above the melody.
Oratorio An extended composition based on Bible stories.
Passing Note A note which passes from one harmony note to the next which may be accented
or unaccented.
Pibroch Classical music of the bagpipe which consists of a ground and series of variations.
Recitative Main points of the plot of an oratorio, opera or cantata are made to the listener.
Reel A Scottish dance with two or four beats in a bar and is played quite fast. Each
beat divides equally into groups of two.
, Regular Metre Strong beats – duple, triple or quadruple.
Reverb To do with accoustics, it is the persistance of sound when the original sound stops
or is removed. It is abit like an echo.
Round Music where different parts of the tune sound well when played together. One
group of singers starts the song, and then a second group starts singing the same
song a couple of bars late.
Samba Latin American music with 2 beats in a bar – usually syncopated.
Scat Singing A type of singing where nonsense syllables are used instead of words (shoo wah
doobie do wah).
Scherzo Very fast movement with three beats in a bar. Means joke.
Scotch Snap A very short accented note before a longer note.
Scots Ballad Tells a story.
Sequence A melodic phrase which is repeated at a higher or lower pitch of one step.
Simple Time Time signatures with 2, 3 or 4 as their top number.
Strathspey A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar, usually featuring the Scotch snap and is
played slowly and syncopated.
Strophic A verse repeating song with a chorus such as a Ballad.
Through A song or melody with a chorus that is not repeated.
Composed
Tierce de Picardie When minor key unexpectedly ends on a major chord (like latin america style).
Unison Two or more parts/voices sounding at the same pitch.
Vamp When improvising an accompaniment at the piano the left hand plays the bass
note followed by the right hand playing the notes of the chord.
Waltz A dance with three beats in a bar.
Waulking Song Slave songs sung in Scotland. Easily distinguishable when you hear the sound of
thumping fabric.
