This document provides descriptive words for various elements of music including dynamics, timbre, structure, melody, duration, pitch, harmony, rhythm, and texture. For dynamics, it lists words to describe sounds that are soft, loud, getting louder, or getting softer. For timbre it provides words for dark, light, or unpleasant tones. The structure section defines terms for small and large segments as well as classical and modern forms. The remaining sections offer descriptive words related to melody, duration, pitch, harmony, rhythm, and texture.

1. Dynamics- descriptive words
Soft: quite, whispering, hushed, piano, muted, subdued, ghostly, delicate
Loud: intense, powerful, forte, thundering, strong, booming
Getting louder: crescendo, increase in volume, intensification of sound,
rise/swell/surge of sound.
Getting softer: decrescendo, decrease in volume, diminuendo, dying away, wane,
recede, taper off.
Timbre (Tone colour)- descriptive words
Dark: mellow, warm, resonant, rich, velvety, muddy, lush
Light: pure, clean, ringing, bright, vibrant, ethereal, clear, breathy
Unpleasant: harsh, coarse, rough, brassy, shrill, thin, heavy, piercing, grating,
aggressive, abrasive, raspy, scratchy, dry, dull
Structure
Terms for small segments: Phrase, question and answer, theme,
ostinato/loop/motif/hook/riff, cadence point, solo, statement/reinstatement,
repetition/difference, transition, climax point.
Terms for larger segments: Introduction, verse, pre-chorus, chorus/refrain,
bridge/development section, coda/outro.
Classical forms: binary, ternary, rondo, sonata form, theme and variations
Modern forms: verse-chorus, 32 bar form, AABA, 12-bar blues, free-form
Melody- descriptive words
Small intervals between the notes: Stepwise motion, scalic, smooth line
Big intervals between the notes: Leaps, angular, jagged
Lyrical, singable, tuneful, lilting, melodious, diatonic, repetitive
Disjointed, fragmented, chromatic, constantly changing

2. Duration- descriptive words
Fast tempo: quick, lively, spirited, hurried, rapid, speedy, frantic, animated, busy,
active.
Moderate tempo: ambling, relaxed, laid-back, steady.
Slow: dignified, stately, drawn-out, leisurly, sluggish
Get faster: accelerate, speed up, gather momentum, hasten
Get slower: decelerate, slacken, reduce speed, loose momentum
Separated notes notes: staccato, choppy, percussive, sharp, abrupt, disconnected,
fragmented
Joined notes: long, smooth, flowing, blended, sustained, legato, flowing, connected
Pitch- descriptive words
High pitched: soaring, soprano, shrill, treble, piping
Low pitched: deep, bass, boomy, sonorous
Harmony
Clashing, dissonance, discordant, harmonic tension/resolution.
Tonal, harmonious, consonant, harmonious
Terms: Major, minor, modal, key changes, modulation, transposition, chord
progression, cadence point
Rhythm
Strong beats/weak beats, on the beat/ off the beat, syncopated, steady pulse/free
rhythm, regular rhythm/ irregular rhythm, fragmented
Texture
Dense, heavy, thick, full, weighty, fat
Light, thin, sparse, spare, delicate, open.
Terms: Monophonic, homophonic, melody-dominated homophony, polyphonic,
counterpoint