| No. | Term | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Accelerando | Gradually speed up. |
| 2. | Accent | Emphasized note or beat. |
| 3. | Accompaniment | Supporting musical parts. |
| 4. | Acoustic | Sound produced without amplification. |
| 5. | Adagio | Slow tempo. |
| 6. | Allegro | Fast, lively tempo. |
| 7. | Alteration | Change to a note or chord. |
| 8. | Amplitude | Wave height; perceived loudness. |
| 9. | Arpeggio | Chord tones played separately. |
| 10. | Arrangement | Adapted version of a piece. |
| 11. | Articulation | How notes are attacked and released. |
| 12. | Atonal | Without a clear key center. |
| 13. | Attack | Initial part of a note. |
| 14. | Audio interface | Converts audio to/from digital. |
| 15. | Audition | Performance to win a role. |
| 16. | Balance | Relative loudness among parts. |
| 17. | Bandpass filter | Passes only a frequency range. |
| 18. | Bar | Measure of beats. |
| 19. | Barline | Vertical line separating measures. |
| 20. | Bass | Low-frequency range or part. |
| 21. | Beat | Regular pulse in music. |
| 22. | Bend | Pitch change by finger or breath. |
| 23. | BPM | Beats per minute. |
| 24. | Bridge | Contrasting section connecting parts. |
| 25. | Cadence | Harmonic ending or pause. |
| 26. | Canon | Imitative melody at fixed delay. |
| 27. | Capo | Clamp raising guitar pitch. |
| 28. | Chord | Three or more notes together. |
| 29. | Chord progression | Sequence of chords. |
| 30. | Chorus | Repeated main section of a song. |
| 31. | Chromatic | Using notes outside the key. |
| 32. | Clef | Symbol fixing note names on staff. |
| 33. | Coda | Concluding passage. |
| 34. | Compression | Reduces dynamic range. |
| 35. | Concert pitch | Standard tuning reference pitch. |
| 36. | Consonance | Stable, pleasing harmony. |
| 37. | Counterpoint | Interweaving independent melodic lines. |
| 38. | Crescendo | Gradually get louder. |
| 39. | Cue | Signal to enter or change. |
| 40. | DAW | Software for recording and editing. |
| 41. | Decrescendo | Gradually get softer. |
| 42. | Delay | Echo effect with repeats. |
| 43. | Diatonic | Using notes of a key. |
| 44. | Dissonance | Tense, unstable harmony. |
| 45. | Dotted note | Note length increased by half. |
| 46. | Downbeat | First beat of a measure. |
| 47. | Dynamics | Levels of loudness and softness. |
| 48. | Echo | Repeated sound reflection. |
| 49. | EDM | Electronic dance music genre. |
| 50. | Eighth note | Note worth half a quarter. |
| 51. | Ensemble | Group performing together. |
| 52. | Equalization (EQ) | Adjusts frequency balance. |
| 53. | Etude | Study piece for technique. |
| 54. | Fermata | Hold a note longer. |
| 55. | Fifth | Interval of seven semitones. |
| 56. | Flat | Lowers pitch by one semitone. |
| 57. | Form | Overall structure of a piece. |
| 58. | Forte | Loud. |
| 59. | Fortissimo | Very loud. |
| 60. | Frequency | Cycles per second; pitch relation. |
| 61. | Fugue | Contrapuntal form with recurring subject. |
| 62. | Glissando | Slide between pitches. |
| 63. | Groove | Rhythmic feel that drives music. |
| 64. | Harmony | Simultaneous combination of pitches. |
| 65. | Headroom | Margin before distortion or clipping. |
| 66. | Hook | Catchy memorable musical idea. |
| 67. | Improvisation | Spontaneous creation while performing. |
| 68. | Interval | Distance between two pitches. |
| 69. | Intonation | Accuracy of pitch. |
| 70. | Key | Tonal center and scale. |
| 71. | Key signature | Sharps or flats indicating key. |
| 72. | Largo | Very slow tempo. |
| 73. | Lead sheet | Melody, chords, and lyrics outline. |
| 74. | Legato | Smoothly connected notes. |
| 75. | Leitmotif | Recurring theme linked to an idea. |
| 76. | Loop | Repeated audio or pattern. |
| 77. | Lydian | Major mode with raised fourth. |
| 78. | Major | Scale or chord with bright quality. |
| 79. | Mastering | Final polish for release. |
| 80. | Measure | Group of beats in notation. |
| 81. | Melody | Main sequence of pitched notes. |
| 82. | Meter | Pattern of beats per measure. |
| 83. | Metronome | Device marking steady tempo. |
| 84. | Microphone | Converts sound into electrical signal. |
| 85. | Minor | Scale or chord with darker quality. |
| 86. | Mixing | Balancing and processing recorded tracks. |
| 87. | Mode | Scale type with characteristic intervals. |
| 88. | Modulation | Change from one key to another. |
| 89. | Motif | Short recurring musical figure. |
| 90. | Mute | Device or technique reducing sound. |
| 91. | Notation | Written representation of music. |
| 92. | Octave | Interval of twelve semitones. |
| 93. | Ostinato | Repeated musical pattern. |
| 94. | Overdrive | Mild distortion from saturation. |
| 95. | Pan | Stereo left-right placement. |
| 96. | Phrasing | Shaping musical sentences. |
| 97. | Pitch | Perceived highness or lowness. |
| 98. | Portamento | Smooth glide between notes. |
| 99. | Pre-chorus | Section leading into chorus. |
| 100. | Program change | MIDI message switching instrument sound. |