AP Music Theory Unit 2 Notes: Minor Tonality and Melodic Thinking

Scale

An ordered collection of pitches used in a piece or passage, usually centered around a tonic (home pitch).

Tonic

The “home” pitch of a key; the note and chord that sound most stable and final.

Minor (as a key quality)

A mode/key in which the tonic triad typically contains a minor third above the tonic (e.g., A–C instead of A–C#).

Scale Degree

A note’s position within a scale, numbered 1–7 (with 1 = tonic).

Natural Minor

The default minor scale form; compared to major on the same tonic it has lowered scale degrees 3, 6, and 7.

Harmonic Minor

Natural minor with raised scale degree 7, creating a leading tone for stronger harmonic/cadential pull.

Melodic Minor

A minor-scale behavior used to smooth melody: typically raises scale degrees 6 and 7 when ascending and reverts to natural minor when descending.

Leading Tone

A raised scale degree 7 that lies a half step below tonic and strongly tends to resolve up to tonic.

Dominant Chord (in minor)

The chord built on scale degree 5; raising scale degree 7 turns it into a major V that supports strong cadences (e.g., E–G#–B in A minor).

V–i (Authentic Cadence in minor)

A cadence where the dominant (V) resolves to the tonic minor chord (i), often strengthened by raising scale degree 7.

Augmented Second

A large, “gappy” interval created between scale degrees 6 and 7 in harmonic minor (e.g., F to G# in A minor).

Accidental

A symbol (sharp/flat/natural, etc.) that alters a pitch from what the key signature indicates for that specific note.

Key Signature

Sharps or flats at the start of the staff indicating which notes are altered by default throughout the piece (unless changed by accidentals).

Minor Key Signature (Baseline)

The key signature in minor corresponds to the natural minor (and the relative major), not to harmonic/melodic minor alterations.

Relative Major

The major key that shares the same key signature as a given minor key (e.g., C major is relative major of A minor).

Relative Minor

The minor key that shares the same key signature as a given major key; its tonic is scale degree 6 of the major scale (or a minor third below the major tonic).

Parallel Minor

The minor key with the same tonic as a major key but a different key signature (e.g., C major vs. C minor).

Movable-Do Solfege

A solfege system where syllables represent scale degrees relative to the key rather than fixed pitches.

La-Based Minor

A movable-do approach where minor is sung starting on “la” (the relative minor of the major scale’s do).

Melodic Motion

How a melody moves from one note to the next (e.g., repeated notes, steps, skips, leaps), affecting singability and direction.

Conjunct Motion

Melodic motion that is mostly stepwise (smooth and connected).

Disjunct Motion

Melodic motion with many skips/leaps (more angular).

Tendency Tone

A scale degree with a strong directional “pull” to resolve in a typical way (e.g., raised 7 up to 1; 2 often to 1).

Leap Compensation

A common-practice melodic habit where a leap is often followed by a change of direction and stepwise motion to balance the line.

Sequence

A melodic pattern (motive) repeated at a different pitch level, creating coherence and aiding analysis/dictation.