Composition Technique Dictionary

Writing original music. Melody, harmony, form, texture and the working vocabulary of putting a piece together from a first idea to a finished score.

5 sections, 92 terms planned

• 🎵
  Melody Writing
  18 terms

  Contour, motif, phrase structure, climax, melodic rhythm

• 🎹
  Harmony and Voice Leading
  22 terms

  Progressions, modulation, cadence types, voice leading, colour chords

• 📐
  Form and Structure
  20 terms

  Binary, ternary, sonata, rondo, through-composed, development

• 🎨
  Texture and Colour
  16 terms

  Monophony, homophony, polyphony, register, density

• ✍️
  Notation and Score Craft
  16 terms

  Score layout, transposed parts, articulation marks, engraving basics

This encyclopedia is being written. In the meantime, explore the violin technique dictionary, which is complete with 230 defined terms, browse the rest of the music dictionary, or use our free practice tools.