Musical Terms
A cappella -
One or more vocalists performing without an
accompaniment.
Accelerando -
A symbol used in musical notation indicating to
gradually quicken tempo.
Accessible -
Music that is easy to listen to and understand.
Adagio -
A tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.
Allegro -
A direction to play lively and fast.
Atonal -
Music that is written and performed without
regard to any specific key.
Baroque -
Time in music history ranging from the middle
of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Characterized by emotional,
flowery music; written in strict form.
Beat -
The unit of musical rhythm.
Cadence -
A sequence of chords that brings an end to a
phrase, either in the middle or the end of a composition.
Cadenza -
Initially an improvised cadence by a soloist;
later becoming an elaborate and written out passage in an aria or concerto,
featuring the skills of an instrumentalist or vocalist.
Cadenza -
Originally an improvised cadence by a soloist.
Later it became a written out passage to display performance skills of an
instrumentalist or performer.
Canon -
A musical form where the melody or tune is
imitated by individual parts at regular intervals. The individual parts may
enter at different measures and pitches. The tune may also be played at
different speeds, backwards, or inverted.
Cantabile -
A style of singing which is characterized by
the easy and flowing tone of the composition.
Cantata -
Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most
often religious in nature.
Capriccio -
A quick, improvisational, spirited piece of
music.
Carol -
A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.
Castrato -
Male singers who were castrated to preserve
their alto and soprano vocal range.
Cavatina -
A short and simple melody performed by a
soloist that is part of a larger piece.
Chamber music -
Written for 2 to 10 solo parts featuring one
instrument to a part. Each part bears the same importance.
Chant -
Singing in unison, texts in a free rhythm.
Similar to the rhythm of speech.
Choir -
Group of singers in a chorus.
Chorale -
A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often
in unison.
Chord -
3 or 4
notes played simultaneously in harmony.
Chord progression -
A string of chords played in succession.
Chorus -
A group singing in unison.
Chromatic scale -
Includes all twelve notes of an octave.
Classical -
The period of music history which dates from
the mid 1700’s to mid 1800’s. The music was spare and emotionally reserved,
especially when compared to Romantic and Boroque music.
Classicism -
The period of music history which dates from
the mid 1800’s and lasted about sixty years. There was a strong regard for
order and balance.
Clavier -
The keyboard of a stringed instrument.
Clef -
In sheet music, a symbol at the beginning of
the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.
Coda -
Closing section of a movement.
Concert master -
The first violin in an orchestra.
Concerto -
A composition written for a solo instrument.
The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.
Conductor -
One who directs a group of performers. The
conductor indicates the tempo, phrasing, dynamics, and style by gestures and
facial expressions.
Consonance -
Groups of tones that are harmonious when
sounded together as in a chord.
Contralto -
Lowest female singing voice.
Counterpoint -
Two or three melodic lines played at the same
time.
Courante -
A piece of music written in triple time. Also
an old French dance.
Da Capo -
In sheet music, an instruction to repeat the
beginning of the piece before stopping on the final chord.
Deceptive cadence -
A chord progression that seems to lead to
resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.
Development -
Where the musical themes and melodies are
developed, written in sonata form.
Dissonance -
Harsh, discordant, and lack of harmony. Also a
chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.
Drone -
Dull, monotonous tone such as a humming or
buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.
Duet -
A piece of music written for two vocalists or
instrumentalists.
Dynamics -
Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a
musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.
Elegy -
An instrumental lament with praise for the dead.
Encore -
A piece of music played at the end of a recital
responding to the audiences enthusiastic reaction to the performance, shown by
continuous applause.
Energico -
A symbol in sheet music a direction to play
energetically.
Enharmonic Interval -
Two notes that differ in name only. The notes
occupy the same position. For example: C sharp and D flat.
Ensemble -
The performance of either all instruments of an
orchestra or voices in a chorus.
Espressivo -
A direction to play expressively.
Etude -
A musical composition written solely to improve
technique. Often performed for artistic interest.
Exposition -
The first section of a movement written in
sonata form, introducing the melodies and themes.
Expressionism -
Atonal and violent style used as a means of
evoking heightened emotions and states of mind.
Falsetto -
A style of male singing where by partial use of
the vocal chords, the voice is able to reach the pitch of a female.
Fermata -
To hold a tone or rest held beyond the written
value at the discretion of the performer.
Fifth -
The interval between two notes. Three whole
tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.
Finale -
Movement or passage that concludes the musical
composition.
Flat -
A symbol indicating that the note is to be
diminished by one semitone.
Form -
The structure of a piece of music.
Forte -
A symbol indicating to play loud.
Fourth -
The interval between two notes. Two whole tones
and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.
Fugue -
A composition written for three to six voices.
Beginning with the exposition, each voice enters at different times, creating
counterpoint with one another.
Galliard -
Music written for a lively French dance for two
performers written in triple time.
Gavotte -
A 17th century dance written in Quadruple time,
always beginning on the third beat of the measure.
Glee -
Vocal composition written for three or more
solo parts, usually without instrumental accompaniment.
Glissando -
Sliding between two notes.
Grandioso -
Word to indicate that the movement or entire
composition is to be played grandly.
Grave -
Word to indicate the movement or entire
composition is to be played very slow and serious.
Grazioso -
Word to indicate the movement or entire
composition is to be played gracefully.
Gregorian Chant -
Singing or chanting in unison without strict
rhythm. Collected during the Reign of Pope Gregory VIII for psalms and other
other parts of the church service.
Harmony -
Pleasing combination of two or three tones
played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also
refers to the study of chord progressions.
Homophony -
Music written to be sung or played in unison.
Hymn -
A song of praise and glorification. Most often
to honor God.
Impromptu -
A short piano piece, often improvisational and
intimate in character.
Instrumentation -
Arrangement of music for a combined number of
instruments.
Interlude -
Piece of instrumental music played between
scenes in a play or opera.
Intermezzo -
Short movement or interlude connecting the main
parts of the composition.
Interpretation -
The expression the performer brings when
playing his instrument.
Interval -
The distance in pitch between two notes.
Intonation -
The manner in which tones are produced with
regard to pitch.
Introduction -
The opening section of a piece of music or
movement.
Key -
System of notes or tones based on and named
after the key note.
Key signature -
The flats and sharps at the beginning of each
staff line indicating the key of music the piece is to be played.
Klangfarbenmelodie -
The technique of altering the tone color of a
single note or musical line by changing from one instrument to another in the
middle of a note or line.
Leading note -
The seventh note of the scale where there is a
strong desire to resolve on the tonic.
Legato -
Word to indicate that the movement or entire
composition is to be played smoothly.
Leitmotif -
A musical theme given to a particular idea or
main character of an opera.
Libretto -
A book of text containing the words of an opera.
Ligature -
Curved line connecting notes to be sung or
played as a phrase.
Madrigal -
A contrapuntal song written for at least three
voices, usually without accompaniment.
Maestro -
Refers to any great composer, conductor, or
teacher of music.
Major -
One of the two modes of the tonal system. Music
written in major keys have a positive affirming character.
March -
A form of music written for marching in
two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.
Measure -
The unit of measure where the beats on the
lines of the staff are divided up into two, three, four beats to a measure.
Medley -
Often used in overtures, a composition that
uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.
Mezzo -
The voice between soprano and alto. Also, in
sheet music, a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.
Minor -
One of the two modes of the tonal system. The
minor mode can be identified by the dark, melancholic mood.
Minuet -
Slow and stately dance music written in triple
time.
Modes -
Either of the two octave arrangements in modern
music. The modes are either major or minor.
Modulation -
To shift to another key.
Monotone -
Repetition of a single tone.
Motif -
Primary theme or subject that is developed.
Movement -
A separate section of a larger composition.
Musette -
A Boroque dance with a drone-bass.
Musicology -
The study of forms, history, science, and
methods of music.
Natural -
A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to
its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.
Neoclassical -
Movement in music where the characteristics are
crisp and direct.
Nocturne -
A musical composition that has a romantic or
dreamy character with nocturnal associations.
Nonet -
A composition written for nine instruments.
Notation -
First developed in the 8th century, methods of
writing music.
Obbligato -
An extended solo, often accompanying the vocal
part of an aria.
Octave -
Eight full tones above the key note where the
scale begins and ends.
Octet -
A composition written for eight instruments.
Opera -
A drama where the words are sung instead of
spoken.
Operetta -
A short light musical drama.
Opus -
Convenient method of numbering a composer’s
works where a number follows the word “opus”. For example, Opus 28, No. 4.
Oratorio -
An extended cantata on a sacred subject.
Orchestra -
A large group of instrumentalists playing
together.
Orchestration -
Arranging a piece of music for an orchestra.
Also, the study of music.
Ornaments -
Tones used to embellish the principal melodic
tone.
Ostinato -
A repeated phrase.
Overture -
Introduction to an opera or other large musical
work.
Parody -
A composition based on previous work. A common
technique used in Medieval and Renaissance music.
Part -
A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an
individual voice or instrument.
Partial -
A harmonic given off by a note when it is
played.
Partita -
Suite of Baroque dances.
Pastoral -
A composition whose style is simple and
idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.
Pentatonic Scale -
A musical scale having five notes. For example:
the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.
Phrase -
A single line of music played or sung. A
musical sentence.
Piano -
An instruction in sheet music to play softly.
Abbreviated by a “p”.
Pitch -
The frequency of a note determining how high or
low it sounds.
Pizzicato -
String instruments that are picked instead of
bowed.
Polyphony -
Combining a number of individual but
harmonizing melodies. Also known as counterpoint.
Polytonality -
Combination of two or more keys being played at
the same time.
Portamento -
A mild glissando between two notes for an
expressive effect.
Prelude -
A short piece originally preceded by a more
substantial work, also an orchestral introduction to opera, however not lengthy
enough to be considered an overture.
Presto -
A direction in sheet music indicating the tempo
is to be very fast.
Progression -
The movement of chords in succession.
Quadrille -
A 19th century square dance written for 4
couples.
Quartet -
A set of four musicians who perform a
composition written for four parts.
Quintet -
A set of five musicians who perform a
composition written for five parts.
Recapitulation -
A reprise.
Recital -
A solo concert with or without accompaniment.
Recitative -
A form of writing for vocals that is close to
the manner of speech and is rhythmically free.
Reed -
The piece of cane in wind instruments. The
players cause vibrations by blowing through it in order to produce sound.
Refrain -
A repeating phrase that is played at the end of
each verse in the song.
Register -
A portion of the range of the instrument or
voice.
Relative major and minor -
The major and minor keys that share the same
notes in that key. For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.
Relative pitch -
Ability to determine the pitch of a note as it
relates to the notes that precede and follow it.
Renaissance -
A period in history dating from the 14th to
16th centuries. This period signified the rebirth of music, art, and literature.
Reprise -
To repeat a previous part of a composition
generally after other music has been played.
Requiem -
A dirge, hymn, or musical service for the
repose of the dead.
Resonance -
When several strings are tuned to harmonically
related pitches, all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck.
Rhythm -
The element of music pertaining to time, played
as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.
Ricercar -
Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque
and Renaissance periods.
Rigaudon -
A quick 20th century dance written in double
time.
Rococo -
A musical style characterized as excessive,
ornamental, and trivial.
Romantic -
A period in history during the 18th and early
19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an
emotional, expressive, and imaginative style.
Rondo -
A musical form where the principal theme is
repeated several times. The rondo was often used for the final movements of
classical sonata form works.
Root -
The principal note of a triad.
Round -
A canon where the melody is sung in two or more
voices. After the first voice begins, the next voice starts singing after a
couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat
continuously.
Rubato -
An important characteristic of the Romantic
period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a
more emotional tone.
Scale -
Successive notes of a key or mode either
ascending or descending.
Scherzo -
Pertaining to the sonata form, a fast movement
in triple time.
Scordatura -
The retuning of a stringed instrument in order
to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual
tone color.
Septet -
A set of seven musicians who perform a
composition written for seven parts.
Sequence -
A successive transposition and repetition of a
phrase at different pitches.
Serenade -
A lighthearted piece, written in several
movements, usually as background music for a social function.
Sextet -
A set of six musicians who perform a
composition written for six parts.
Sharp -
A symbol indicating the note is to be raised by
one semitone.
Slide -
A glissando or portamento. Also refers to the
moving part of a trombone.
Slur -
A curve over notes to indicate that a phrase is
to be played legato.
Sonata -
Music of a particular form consisting of four
movements. Each of the movements differ in tempo, rhythm, and melody; but are
held together by subject and style.
Sonata form -
A complex piece of music. Usually the first
movement of the piece serving as the exposition, a development, or
recapitulation.
Sonatina -
A short or brief sonata.
Song cycle -
A sequence of songs, perhaps on a single theme,
or with texts by one poet, or having continuos narrative.
Soprano -
The highest female voice.
Staccato -
Short detached notes, as opposed to legato.
Staff -
Made up of five horizontal parallel lines and
the spaces between them on which musical notation is written.
Stretto -
Pertaining to the fugue, the overlapping of the
same theme or motif by two or more voices a few beats apart.
String Quartet -
A group of 4 instruments, two violins, a viola,
and cello.
Suite -
A loose collection of instrumental compositions.
Symphony -
Three to four movement orchestral piece,
generally in sonata form.
System -
A combination of two or more staves on which
all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing
registers and instruments.
Tablature -
A system of notation for stringed instruments.
The notes are indicated by the finger positions.
Temperament -
Refers to the tuning of an instrument.
Tempo -
Indicating speed.
Tessitura -
The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.
Theme -
A melodic or, sometimes a harmonic idea
presented in a musical form.
Timbre -
Tone color, quality of sound that distinguishes
one verse or instrument to another. It is determined by the harmonies of sound.
Time Signature -
A numeric symbol in sheet music determining the
number of beats to a measure.
Tonal -
Pertains to tone or tones.
Tonality -
The tonal characteristics determined by the
relationship of the notes to the tone.
Tone -
The intonation, pitch, and modulation of a
composition expressing the meaning, feeling, or attitude of the music.
Tone less -
Unmusical, without tone.
Tonic -
The first tone of a scale also known as a
keynote.
Treble -
The playing or singing the upper half of the
vocal range. Also the highest voice in choral singing.
Tremolo -
Quick repetition of the same note or the rapid
alternation between two notes.
Triad -
Three note chords consisting of a root, third,
and fifth.
Trill -
Rapid alternation between notes that are a half
tone or whole tone apart.
Trio -
A composition written for three voices and
instruments performed by three
persons.
Triple time -
Time signature with three beats to the measure.
Triplet -
Three notes played in the same amount of time
as one or two beats.
Tritone -
A chord comprised of three whole tones
resulting in an augmented fourth or diminished fifth.
Tune -
A rhythmic succession of musical tones, a
melody for instruments and voices.
Tuning -
The raising and lowering a pitch of an
instrument to produce the correct tone of a note.
Tutti -
Passage for the entire ensemble or orchestra
without a soloist.
Twelve-tone music -
Music composed such that each note is used the
same number of times.
Unison -
Two or more voices or instruments playing the
same note simultaneously.
Verismo -
A form of Italian opera beginning at the end of
the 19th century. The setting is contemporary to the composer’s own time, and
the characters are modeled after every day life.
Vibrato -
Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly
alternating between notes.
Virtuoso -
A person with notable technical skill in the
performance of music.
Vivace -
Direction to performer to play a composition in
a brisk, lively, and spirited manner.
Voice -
One of two or more parts in polyphonic music.
Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.
Waltz -
A dance written in triple time, where the
accent falls on the first beat of each measure.
Whole note -
A whole note is equal to 2 half notes, 4
quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, etc.
Whole-tone scale -
A scale consisting of only whole-tone notes.
Such a scale consists of only 6 notes.
