| Term | Definition |
|---|
| music | an art, based on the organization of sounds in time. It's four elements are pitch, dynamics, timbre (tone color), and duration. |
| pitch | The relative highness or lowness of sound. |
| interval | The difference in pitch between any two tones. |
| tone | Sound which has a definite pitch. |
| octave | Distance between two tones which sound alike, the lower being half the frequency of the higher. |
| pitch range | The distance between the highest and lowest tones a voice or instrument can produce. |
| dynamics | The degrees of loudness or softness used in music. |
| accent | Emphasis of a tone by playing it more loudly, at a higher pitch, or holding it longer than those around it. |
| pianissimo or pp | very soft |
| piano or p | soft |
| mezzo piano or mp | moderately soft |
| mezzo forte or mf | moderately loud |
| forte or f | loud |
| fortissimo or ff | very loud |
| decrescendo or diminuendo | gradually softer |
| crescendo | gradually louder |
| tone color or timbre | sonorous quality creating various expressive effects, described with words such as bright, dark, brilliant, mellow and rich. |
| soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto (or contralto) | Voice classifications for women |
| tenor, baritone, bass | Voice classifications for men |
| string, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboard, electronic | Classification of instruments |
| conductor | Coordinates the performers and shapes the interpretation of the composition. |
| concertmaster | The principal first violinist, who plays solos and coordinates bowing of string section. |
| violin, viola, cello, double bass | Instruments which form the string section |
| pizzicato | plucked string |
| double stop | drawing the bow over two strings at once |
| vibrato | throbbing tone produced by rocking the hand while pressing the string down |
| mute | to muffle or veil the tone by fitting a clamp onto the bridge |
| tremolo | rapid repetition of tones by quick up and down strokes of the bow |
| harmonics | Very high-pitched tones, like a whistle's, produced when the musician lightly touches certain points on the string. |
| plectrum | small wedge or pick |
| harp | only plucked instrument which has gained wide acceptance in the symphony orchestra |
| piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, English horn, bassoon, contrabassoon | woodwind instruments |
| piccolo, flute | Flute family (woodwinds) |
| clarinet, bass clarinet | Clarinet family (woodwinds) |
| oboe, English horn | Oboe family (woodwinds) |
| bassoon, contrabassoon | Bassoon family (woodwinds) |
| trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba | Instruments of the brass section |
| definite pitch percussion instruments | timpani, glockenspiel, xylophone, celesta, chimes |
| indefinite pitch percussion instruments | snare drum, bass drum, tambourine, triangle, cymbals, gong |
| keyboard instruments | piano, harpsichord, pipe organ, accordian |
| rhythm | the flow of music through time, or the particular arrangement of note lengths in a piece of music. |
| beat, meter, accent and syncopation, and tempo | aspects of rhythm |
| beat | A regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time. |
| meter | Organization of beats into regular groups |
| measure | A group containing a fixed number of beats |
| downbeat | The first, or stressed, beat of the measure |
| duple meter | a measure of two beats |
| upbeat | unaccented pulse preceding downbeat |
| tempo | Speed of beat -- basic pace of music. |
| largo, grave, adagio, andante, moderato, allegretto, allegro, vivace, presto, prestissimo | tempo indications |
| largo | very slow, broad |
| grave | very slow, solemn |
| adagio | slow |
| andante | moderately slow, a walking pace |
| moderato | moderate (pace) |
| allegretto | moderately fast |
| allegro | fast |
| vivace | lively |
| presto | very fast |
| prestissimo | as fast as possible |
| frequency | speed of sound vibrations, measured in cycles per second |
| melody | series of single notes which add up to a recognizable whole |
| pitch, dynamics, timbre, duration | four basic elements of music |
| step | interval between two adjacent tones on the do-re-me scale |
| leap | any interval larger than a step |
| legato | smooth, connected style |
| staccato | short, detached style |
| phrase | shorter part of a melody |
| sequence | A repetition of a melodic pattern at a higher or lower pitch |
| cadence | A resting place at the end of a phrase. It may set up expectation (incomplete), or give a sense of finality (complete). |
| harmony | Refers to the way chords are constructed and sequenced. Adds support and depth to melody. |
| consonance | A stable tone combination -- a point of arrival, rest, and resolution. |
| dissonance | An unstable tone combination -- it's tension demands an onward motion to a stable chord. |
| chord | Combination of three or more tones played simultaneously |
| triad | The simplest chord -- it has three notes which are alternating notes on the scale. |
| tonic chord | A triad built on the first, or tonic, note of the scale (do). It is the main chord of the piece, the most stable and conclusive. |
| dominant chord | A triad built on the fifth note of the scale (sol). This chord is pulled strongly toward the tonic chord. It sets up tension which is resolved by the tonic chord. |
| cadence | The progression from the dominant to the tonic chord, often at the end of a piece. |
| arpeggio | When the individual notes of a chord are sounded one after another, it is called a broken chord, or |
| tonic | Central note -- in the key of C, the note is C |
| scale | The basic pitches of a piece of music, arranged in order from low to high or high to low. |
| key | Refers to the presence of a central note, scale, and chord. Also called tonality. |
| major scale | The brighter sounding scale consisting of a certain pattern of whole and half steps: whole whole half whole whole whole half. |
| minor scale | The darker sounding scale consisting of this pattern of steps: whole half whole whole half whole whole |
| chromatic scale | All twelve tones of an octive (black and white keys on the piano). All tones are a half step apart. |
| modulation | A shift from one key to another within a piece of music. |
| monophonic | The texture of a single unaccompanied melodic line. |
| polyphonic | The texture of the simultaneous performance of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal interest. |
| homophonic | The texture of melody accompanied by chords. |
| Ternary | Three part (ABA) form. Statement (A), contrast or departure (B), return (A). |
| Binary | Two part (AB) form. Statement (A), counterstatement (B). |
| MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) | A standard adopted by manufacturers for interfacing synthesizer equipment. |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace
!