| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Accelerando | gradually faster |
| Accidental | a sharp, flat or natural not included in the given key |
| Accompaniment | a vocal or instrument part that supports or is background for a solo part |
| Allegro | quick tempo, cheerful |
| Andante | moderate tempo |
| Arpeggio | a term used to describe the pitches of a chord as they are sung or played one after the other, rather than simultaneously |
| Arrangement | an adaptation of a composition. May be different from the original |
| Articulation | the degree to which notes are seperated or connected, such as staccato or legato |
| A Tempo | return to the previous tempo |
| Augumentation | compositional technique in which a melodic line is repeated in longer note values. |
| Augumentation | the opposite of diminution |
| Baby Grand | a small grand piano |
| Balance | the harmonious adjustment of volume and timbre between instruments or voices; it can be between players or vocalists or electronically while recording or mixing |
| Bar Line | the vertical line placed on the staff to divide the music into measures |
| Baroque | the time period 1600-1750 |
| Bass Clef | the other name for the F clef |
| Beat | a regular pulse |
| Baton | conductor's stick |
| Cadence | a chordal or melodic progression which occurs at the close of a phrase, section, or composition, giving a feeling of repose; a temporary or permanent ending. |
| Caesura | a sudden silencing of the sound; a pause or break, indicated by the following symbol: // often called the railroad tracks |
| Canon | the strictest form of imitation, in which two or more parts have the same melody part start at different points |
| Cantabile | in singing style |
| Carol | the term was derived from a medieval French word carole, a circle dance. In england it was associated with pagan songs celebrating the winter solstice. It then developed into a song of praise and celebration, usually for Christmas |
| Chord | a combination of three or more tones sounds simultaneously |
| Chromatic | ascending or descending by half steps |
| Chromatic Scale | a scale composed of 12 half steps |
| Classical | music conforming to certain form and structure. usually music composed during the period 1750-1825 |
| Clef | a symbol placed at the end of the staff to indicate the pitch of the notes on the staff. the most commonly used of these symbols in choral music are the G, or the treble, and the F, or the bass |
| Coda | closing section of a composition. an added ending |
| Common Time | 4/4 meter |
| Composer | any person who creates music |
| Con | with |
| Concert | a public performance of music |
| Concert Grand Piano | the largest of the pianos, usually about nine feet long |
| Conductor | the person who directs a group of musicians |
| Conjunct | pitches on successive degrees of the scale |
| Conjunct | opposite of disjunct |
| Con moto | with motion |
| Consonance | intervallic relationships which produce sounds of repose. frequently associated with octave, third and sixth intervals |
| Crescendo | gradually louder |
| Cue | indication by the conductor or a spoken word or gesture for a performer to make an entry. small notes that indicate another performers partr |
| Cut Time | 2/2 meter |
| Da capo | return to the beginning or the head (D.C.) |
| Dal segno | repeat to; frequently followed by al fine |
| Decrescendo | gradually softer |
| Decrescendo | a synonym to diminuendo |
| Degree | one of the eight consecutive tones in a major or minor scale |
| Diminuendo | gradually softer, dim |
| Diminution | the shortening of note values; the opposite of augumentation |
| Disjunct | the term used to describe intervals larger than a second |
| Disjunct | the opposite of conjunct |
| Dissonance | sounds of unrest |
| Dissonance | the opposite of consonance |
| Divisi | an indication of divided musical parts |
| Do | the first degree of the major scale |
| Dolce | sweetly |
| Double Bar | two vertical lines placed on a staff to indicate the end of a section or a composition. also, used with two dots to enclose repeated sections |
| Down Beat | the first beat; given by the conductor with a downward stroke |
| Duet | a piece for two performers |
| Duplet | a group of two notes performed in time of three of the same kind |
| Dynamics | varying degrees of loud and soft |
| Eighth | octave |
| Eighth Note/Rest | a note/rest half the length of a quarter note and an eighth of the length of a whole note |
| Encore | to repeat a piece or play an additional piece at the end of a performance |
| Enharmonic | a term used to describe notes of the same pitch which have different names |
| Fa | In solmization, the fourth degree of the major scale |
| Fermata | hold |
| Fifth | the fifth degree of the diatonic scale. also the interval formed by a given tone and the fifth tone above or below it |
| Finale | the last movement of a symphony or sonata, or the last section of an opera |
| Fine | the end |
| First Ending | one or more measures which occur at the end of the stanza or stanzas |
| Flat | a symbol which lowers the pitch of a note one half step |
| Form | the design or structure of a musical composition. the way music is organized |
| Forte | loud |
| Fortissimo | very loud |
| Fourth | the fourth degree of the diatonic scale also the interval formed by a given tone and the fourth tone above or below it |
| Grand Piano | a piano with a winglike shape and a horizontal frame, strings and soundboard |
| Grand Staff | also known as the great staff, the g and f clef staves together make it |
| Half Step | the interval from one pitch to the immediately adjacent pitch, ascending or descending |
| Harmony | the sounding of two or more tones simultaneously; the vertical aspect of music |
| Homophony | musical texture which is characterized by chordal support of a melodic line moving together at the same time |
| Instrument | any device that produces a musical sound |
| Interval | the difference in pitch between two tones |
| Key Signature | the sharps or flats placed at the beginning of the staff to denote the scale upon which the music is based |
| La | in solmization, the sixth degree of the major scale also the first degree of the relative minor scale |
| Largo | very slow |
| Ledger Lines | short lines placed above and below the staff for pitches beyond the range of the staff |
| Legato | smooth connected |
| Major | the designation for certain intervals and scales |
| Measure | a group of beats containing a primary accent and one or more secondary accents, indicated by the placement of bar lines on the staff the space betweentwo bar lines |
| Medieval | the period prior to the Renaissance 500-1400, marking the music of the early Christian church |
| Melody | in general, a succession of musical tones it represents linear or horizontal aspect of music |
| Meter | the structure of notes in a regular pattern of accented and unaccented beats within a measure, indicated at the beginning of a compostion by a meter signature |
| Meter Signature | the numbers placed at the beginning of a composition to indicate the meter of the music. the upper number indicates the number of a certain kind of note in each measure; the lower number tells what kind of note |
| Mezzo | half medium |
| Mezzo Forte | medium loud |
| Mezzo Piano | medium soft |
| Mi | the third degree of the major scale |
| Middle Ages | european historical period between roughly A.D. 500 and 1400 |
| Middle C | the note in the middle of the grand staff and near the middle of the piano |
| Minor | the designation for certain intervals and scales. this scale starts on la |
| Moderato | moderate speed |
| Modern | music written in the 20th sentury or contemporary music |
| Modulation | the process of changing from one key to another within a composition |
| Motive | a short melodic or rhythmic pattern |
| Movable Do | the system of solmization in which do changes to accommodate the key |
| Music | the organization of sounds with some degree of rhythm, melody and harmony |
| Music Theory | the study of how music is out together |
| Natural | a musical symbol which cancels a previous sharp or flat |
| Notation | a term used for a system of expressing musical sounds through the use of written characters, called notes |
| Note | the symbol which when placed on a staff with a particular clef sign indicates pitch |
| Nuance | subtle variations in tempo, phrasing, dynamics, etc to enhance a musical performance |
| Octave | the eighth note above or below a given pitch |
| Octet | a piece for eight instruments or voices |
| Open Fifth | a triad without a third |
| Ornamentation | note or notes added to the original melodic line for embellishment and added interest |
| Ornaments | melodic embellishments either written or improvised |
| Overture | the introductory music for an opera, broadway musical, oratorio or ballet |
| Percussion Family | intruments made of sonorous material that produce sound of definate pitch when shaken or struck |
| Perfect Pitch | the ability to hear and identify a note without any other musical support |
| Petite | little |
| Pallette | body part that must be raised for good pitch |
| Phrase | a relatively short portion of a melodic line which expresses a musical idea comparable to a line or sentence in poetry |
| Pianoforte | "soft-loud" |
| Pitch | the highness or lowness of a tone as determined by the number of vibrations in the sound |
| Poco | little used with other terms ; little by little |
| Postlude | "play after" the final piece in a multi-movement work, organ piece played at the end of a church service |
| Prelude | "play before" an introductory movement or piece |
| Presto | very quick |
| Primo | first |
| Quarter Note/Rest | a note/rest half the length of a half note/rest, a quarter of the length of the whole note/rest |
| Quartet | a piece for four instruments or voices. four performers |
| Rallentando | rall, gradually slower. |
| Rallentando | synonymous with ritardando |
| Range | the gamut of pitches from low to high which a singer can perform |
| Re | in solomization the second degree of the major scale |
| Recital | a performance by one or more performers |
| Relative Major and Minor Scales | major and minor scales which have the same key signature |
| Renaissance | the period 1400-1600 |
| Repeat | the repetition of a section or a composition as indicated by particular signs |
| Rest | a symbol used to denote silence |
| Rhythm | the term which denotes the organization of sound in time; the temporal quality of sound |
| Ritardando | rit, gradually slower |
| Ritardando | synonymous with rallentando |
| Romanticism | the period 1825-1900 |
| Round | like canon, a song in which two or more parts having the same melody, starting at different points |
| Rubato | the term used to denote a change in tempo to assist in achieving expressiveness |
| Scale | a succession of tones |
| Score | the written depiction of all the parts of a musical ensemble with the parts stacked vertically and rhythmically alligned |
| Second | the second degree of the diatonic scale |
| Second | the interval formed by a given tone and the next tone above or below it |
| Section | a division of a musical composition |
| Segno | sign |
| Semitone | a half step the smallest interval on the keyboard |
| Sempre | always |
| Senza | without |
| Sequence | the repitition of a melodic pattern on a higher or lower pitch level |
| Seventh | the interval formed by a given tone and the seventh tone above or below it |
| Sforzando | sudden strong accent on a note or chord |
| Sharp | a symbol which raises the pitch of a not one half step |
| Sheet Music | an individually printed song, most often voice piano guitar or a combination of the three |
| Sixteenth Note/Rest | a note/rest half the length of an eighth note/rest and a sixteenth the length of a whole note/rest |
| Sixth | the interval formed by a given tone and the sixth tone above it or below it |
| Skip | melodic movement of more than one whole step |
| Slur | a curved line placed above or below two or more notes of different pitch to indicate that they are to be performed in legato style |
| Sol | in solmization, the fifth degree of the major scale |
| Solmization | the term used for do re mi fa sol la ti do in the major scale |
| Solmization | the term used for la ti do re mi fa sol la in the minor scale |
| Solo | to perform alone or as the predominant part |
| Staccato | detached sounds indicated by a dot over a note |
| Staccato | opposite of legato |
| Staff | the most frequently used has five lines and four spaces upon which the notes and other musical symbols are placed |
| Stanza | a selection of a song two or more lines long characterized by a common meter rhyme and number of lines |
| Strophic | a term used to describe a song in which all the stanzas of the text are sung to the same music |
| Subito | suddenly |
| Symphony | a piece of for large orchestra usually in four movements in which the first movement often is in sonata form, a large orchestra |
| Syncopation | accent or an unexpected beat |
| Tacet | don't sing |
| Tempo Primo | return to the original or first tempo of the piece |
| Tenuto | hold or sustain a note longer than the indicated value usually not as long as a duration as the fermata |
| Tempo | the speed of the beat in a musical work |
| Tessitura | the range at which most of the nots fall |
| Texture | the term used to describe the way in which melodic lines are combined either with or withour accompanient types include monophonic, heterophonic, polyphonic, homophonic |
| Theme | the musical subject of a piece(usually a melody), as in a sonata form or a fugue an extramusical concept behind a piece |
| Third | the interval formed by a given tone and the third tone above or below it |
| Through-Composed | a term used to describe a song in which the music for each stanza is different |
| Ti | in solmization, the seventh degree of the major scale |
| Tie | a curved line over or below two or more notes of the same pitch the first pitch is sung or played and held for the duration of the notes affected by it |
| Time Signature | synonymous with the meter signature |
| Tonality | the term used to describe the organization of the melodic and harmonic elements to give a feeling of a key center or a tonic pitch |
| Tone | a note, the basis of music |
| Tonic | the first note of a key also the name of the chord built on the first degree scale indicated by I in a major key or i in a minor key |
| Transcription | a direct transfer of the music to different instruments exactly like the original but a different instrumentation |
| Transposition | the process of changing the key of a composition |
| Treble Clef | the G clef falling on the second line of the staff |
| Triad | a chord of three tones arranged in thirds |
| Triple Meter | meter based on three beats or a multiple of three in a measure |
| Triple | a group of three notes performed in the time of two of the same kind |
| Tutti | all a direction for the entire ensemble to sing or play simultaneously not necessarily the same pitches |
| Unison | singing or playing the same notes by all singers or players either at exactly the same pitch or in a different octave |
| Un Poco | a little |
| Vibrato | repeated fluctuation of pitch and intensity |
| Virtuoso | a brilliant skillful performer |
| Vivace | lively brisk quick and bright |
| Whole Note/Rest | a not/rest equal to two half notes and four quarter notes |
| Whole Step | interval equal to two half steps |
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