| Term | Definition |
|---|
| A capella | choral music w/o accompaniment |
| absolute music | music free from extra musical associations, such as a story or mood, depending only on its formal structure for its comprehension |
| acoustics | The science of the production, propagation and perception of sound |
| Allegretto | a moderately fast tempo slightly slower than allegro. Often implying lighter texture or character as well |
| Anthem | A choral composition with at sacred or moralizing text (in English) performed in a liturgical or ceremonial context |
| Aria | a self-contained composition for solo voice, usually with instrumental accompaniment and occurring withing the context of a larger form such as opera, oratorio, or cantata |
| Arpeggio | A chord whose pitches are sounded successively, usually from lowest to highest, rather than simultaneously |
| Articulation | the way a tone is begun and ended |
| Atonal music | music with the absence of key and tonality. the elimination of a central tonic triad and the diatonic functionality of the harmonies relationg to it |
| Augmentation | statement of a theme in uniformly longer note values |
| ballad | a song that tells a story in which all verses are sung to the same melody |
| baroque | the style of art. architecture and music approx. 1600-1750 |
| blues | style of jazz, vocal and/or instrumental, in a slow tempo and characteristically sad mood; based on a twelve measure pattern |
| cadence | a succession of chords at the end of a musical phrase, section, or composition, giving a feeling of rest or finality |
| call and response | a form of music originating in Africa where one person sings a phrase or part of a melody and a group responds, often with a slightly different melody |
| canon | composition in which a melody is stated in one part and is imitated in its entirety by one or more parts |
| cantata | a musical composition of the Baroque era consisting of vocal solos, recitatives, duets, and choruses with instrumental accompaniment |
| chamber music | music written for and performed by a small ensemble, usually instrumental, with one performer on a part |
| Chromatic | The scale that includes allof the l2 pitches (and thus all of the 12semitones) contained in an octave;Tones outside the diatonic scale whichare identified by the use of accidentalsigns |
| Classical | The term usually refers to the music in the period from 1750 through the early l9'n century (Haydn, Mozart) It is characterized by emotional restraintin which formal structure and designplay predominant parts |
| Concerto | a composition usually in three movements for solo instrument and a large ensemble such as an orchestra |
| Counter melodv | A subordinate melodywhich is played simultaneously with adistinct melody |
| Develonment | the second part of thefirst movement of a symphony in whichthe exposition of the first movement arestructurally altered |
| Diatonic | the tones of the major orminor scale; opposite of chromatic |
| Dominant | The fifth scale degree of amajor or minor scale |
| Drone | a repeated, sustained or constant tone usually played below the melody |
| Duple meter | meter in which theprimary division of a measure is into twoor four beats |
| Ethnomusicology | the comparativestudy of music of the world, music as anaspect of culture, and the music of oraltraditions |
| Exposition | the first parl of the firstmovement of a symphony, in which themusical ideas of the symphony arepresented |
| Fanfare | Music played by trumpets orother brass instruments sometimesaccompanied by percussion, forceremonial purposes, especially to callattention to the arrival of a dignitary orto the beginning of a public ceremony |
| Folk songs | Music in oral tradition, oftenin relatively simple style, primarily orrural provenance, normally performedby nonprofessionals, used andunderstood by broad segments of apopulation characteristic of an ethnicgroup |
| Form | the shape of a musicalcomposition as defined by all of itspitches, rhythms, dynamics, and timbres. The structure and design of acomposition |
| Frequency | in acoustics, the number ofcomplete vibrations or cycles occurringper unit of time: number of cycles persecond which specifies the pitch |
| Fugue | The most fully developed procedure of imitative counterpoint, in which the theme is stated successivelv in all voices of the composition and developed according to a set pattem |
| Homophonic | music in which themelody is concentrated in one part thathas a subordinate accompaniment |
| Impressionism | A term pricipally applied to the musical style cultivated by Claude Debussy during the final decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th. Non-climatic melodies leading to complex and elaborate textures |
| Inversion | when one of a chord's notes other than the root is in the bass |
| mass | a large form of sacred music derived from the ritual commemoration of the Last Supper |
| Minuet | an elegant dance in moderate triple meter; also a movement in a symphony, sonata, or chamber work |
| mode | a particular way of sequencing the tones of a scale |
| modulation | the process of changing from one key to anoter in the course of a composition |
| monophonic | music consisting of a single line or melody without an accompaniment that is regarded as part of the work itself |
| mordent | an ornament using single or multiple alternations of the principal note with its lower auxiliary |
| Motet | unaccompanied choral compositions usually based upon Latin sacred texts; a form of early choral music from the 13th through the 18th centuries |
| Motif | a short rhythmic and or melodic idea that is sufficiently well defined to retain its identity when elaborated or transformed and combined with other material |
| Nocturne | literally, a night piece; title for a slow lyrical, often reflective musical composition |
| Opera | a drama that is primarily sung, accompanied by instruments, and presented theatrically |
| opus | literally "a work," a term used for the enumeration of a composer's compositions |
| oratorio | a musical setting of an extended narrative, usually of a religious or contemplative nature, for chorus, solo voices, and orchestra |
| overtones | in accoustics, a series of frequencies all of which are integral multiples of a single frequency or fundamental. The harmonics above the fundamental. |
| Overture | an orchestral piece introducing an opera, oratorio, etc.; also a term sometimes used for a self contained concert piece |
| pentatonic scale | five tone scale (1 2 3 5 6, C D E G A) |
| pitch | the quality of highness or lowness of sound |
| Polyphonic | music in which several melodies are interwoven but which maintain their identity to some degree |
| Prelude | music designed as an introduction to another to another work;a short self-contained piece. |
| Program music | music that attempts toexpress or depict one or more nonmusical ideas, images, or events. |
| Ragtime | A composed instrumental genre, primarily for piano and principally created by black Americans,which combines syncopated melodies with the forms of the march. |
| Recapitulation | The third part of the first movement of a symphony, in which the exposition is repeated with some changes in instrumentation and/or keys. |
| Relative pitch | The ability to identify specific intervals or to notate music by ear alone, without the ability to identify individual pitches independent of context |
| Ritornello | An alternation of tutti andsolo sections (characteristic form of the first and often the last movement of the late-baroque or classical concerto. |
| Requiem | the mass for the dead. |
| Resonance | The large oscillatory response of a system to a weak driving force whose frequency matches precisely one of the natural frequencies |
| Rhapsody | a composition for instrumental pieces which borrowed from the epic poem with loose episodicsections with no particular compositionalmethod |
| Romantic | a style of music of primarily the l9h century in which the main concem of the composer is theexpression of emotions. |
| Rondo | A multi-sectional form,movement, or composition based on theprinciple of multiple recurrence of atheme or section in the tonic key. |
| Scherzo | literally, 'Joke"; a playfulmovement in a fast tempo often used insonatas, symphonies, and chamber music. |
| Sonata | a composition usually for oneor two solo instruments, arranged in aseries of three or four separatemovements of somewhat contrastingcharacter. |
| Sonata-allegro form | the form of thefirst movement of a symphony,consisting of exposition, developmentand recapitulation. |
| Sonority | Om 20ft century music, asound defined by some combination oftimbres or registers, especially one thatplays a significant role in a work; thetonal quality produced by a performer onan instrument. |
| Spiritual | a religious folk song mostoften of African American origin. |
| Suite | a series of disparate instrumentalmovements with some element of unity,most often to be performed as a single work. |
| Symphony | a work for orchestra inmultiple movements |
| Texture | The general pattern of sound created by the elements of a work or passage ie:homophonic, polyphonic etc |
| Timbre | tone quality or tone color |
| Toccata | an instrumental piece in freeform, usually for solo keyboard,designed to exhibit the resources of theinstrument and the virtuosity of the performer |
| Tone row | a series of tones containingall twelve tones of the chromatic scale ina succession chosen by the composerand used as the basis of a composition |
| Triad | a chord consisting of three tonesprimarily consisting of the tonic, thirdand fifth |
| Twelve-tone music | a style of music in the 20th century in which acomposition is based entirely on an arranged series of twelve tones (see tone row) |
| Tremolo | The quick and continuous reiteration of a single pitch |
| Virtuoso | a performer with exceptional technical skill |
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