| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M |
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A | ||
A | Absolute | Absolute music. Music which is inspired by itself rather than extramusical implications such as the stories legends of “program” music. |
A Cappella | Without accompaniment. | |
Accelerando | Gradually faster; a term in general use to show that the music should be played at an increasing speed. | |
Adagio | Slowly; slower than andante, faster than largo; a musical composition in adagio tempo; a difficult ballet duet or trio. Adagietto is a little faster than adagio. |
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Adagietto | Slow, but a little faster than Adagio. | |
Addolorato | Sorrowfully. | |
Ad libitum | A term which permits the performer to vary the tempo and/or to include or omit a vocal or instrumental part. | |
Affrettando | Hurrying. | |
Agilmente | Lively. | |
Agitato | In a restless and agitated manner. | |
Air | (aria) The chief voice part or melody in choral music. | |
Aleatory | Improvisation or random in character. | |
Allargando | Gradual slowing of tempo, with increasing volume; most frequently occurs toward the end of a piece. | |
Allegretto | Fast, but not as fast as Allegro. | |
Allegro | Fast, though not as fast as vivace or presto. | |
Allemande | A German dance in 4/4 time, often the 1st dance in a baroque dance suite. | |
Andante | A moderate tempo or tempo at a walking pace. | |
Andantino | Can be a little faster or slower than Andante, usually meant to be a little faster. | |
Animato | With animation. | |
Anthem | A short vocal composition. | |
Appassionato | With passion. | |
Arabesque | A short decorative piano piece. | |
Arpeggio | Describing notes in a chord played individually (one after another) as opposed to simultaneously. | |
Arrangement | An adaption of a composition. | |
Atonality
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Lacking a tonal center; not in a specific key and therefore has no specific ‘home’ note or chord. The word atonality refers technically to various forms of 20th century music not in a key. | |
B | ||
B | Badiniere | A piece of music with a light-hearted character. |
Barcarolle | A boating-song, generally used to describe the boating songs of gondoliers in Venice, imitated by composers in songs and instrumental pieces | |
Baroque | The period of musical history from 1600 – 1750. | |
Berceuse | A berceuse is a cradle-song or lullaby, in lilting triple or compound time. | |
Bourree
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A French dance from the 17th century in brisk duple time starting with a pickup; a musical composition with the rhythm of this dance. | |
C | ||
C | Cadence | A cadence usually consists of two chords that provide musical punctuation at the end of phrases or sentences. |
Cadenza | A solo passage, either written by the composer or improvised by the performer, preceding the capitulation of the piece. |
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Camminando | Following easily and gently. | |
Canon | Two or more parts that have the same melody but start at different points. | |
Cantabile | At a walking speed and in singing style. | |
Cantata | Baroque sacred or secular choral composition of some length, containing solos, duets, and choruses, with or without orchestral or keyboard accompaniment. | |
Caprice/Capriccio | A fugal composition; dances or dance suites or any composition that allows a relatively free play of fancy. | |
Carol | A song of praise and celebration, usually for Christmas. | |
Cassation | describes a piece of music akin to a divertimento or serenade, music intended primarily for entertainment. |
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Chamber music | Music for a small ensemble of instruments, intended for performance in a room or chamber, as opposed to a church or larger building. | |
Chanson | A French song; originally, songs from troubadour compositions of the Middle ages. | |
Chorale | Hymn-like song, characterized by blocked chords. | |
Chord | A combination of three or more tones sounded simultaneously. | |
Classical | Music composed primarily during the period 1770 – 1825. | |
Coda | The closing section of a composition; an added ending. | |
Coloratura | Used to describe vocal music that is extensively ornamented and calls for ability in a very high register. | |
Composer | A person who creates (composes) music. | |
Con brio | With spirit; vigorously. | |
Con calore | With warmth. | |
Concert | A public performance of music. | |
Concertante | A concertante is a part that calls for some element of solo performance, as in a classical concerto. | |
Concertino | A short concerto; the small group of solo instruments used in a concerto grosso | |
Concert master | The first chair violinist in an orchestra. | |
Concerto | A piece of instrumental music that contrasts a solo instrument or a small group of solo instruments with the main body of the orchestra. | |
Con intensita | With intensity. | |
Con moto | With motion. | |
Consort | Indicates a group of like instruments; the music written for it. | |
Con spirito | With spirit. | |
Countermelody | A vocal part which contrasts with the principal melody. | |
Courante | A triple-time dance movement found frequently in the baroque dance suite; generally follows the allemande | |
Crescendo
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Gradually rising in volume. | |
D | ||
D | Decrescendo | Gradually lower in volume; synonymous with diminuendo. |
Delicato | Delicately. | |
Diminuendo | Gradually lower in volume; synonymous with decrescendo. | |
Dirge | A very slow piece that is usually performed at a funeral or memorial service. | |
Divertimento | A divertimento is an instrumental composition intended for entertainment, usually in a number of movements. | |
Divertissement | Indicates the additional dance entertainment that is often a part of classical ballet. | |
Divisi | An indication of divided musical parts. | |
Dolce | Sweetly; dolcissimo is very sweetly. | |
Doloroso | Sadly; mournfully. | |
Down beat | The first beat; given by the conductor with a downward stroke. | |
Dynamics
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Varying degrees of loud and soft. | |
E | ||
E | Elegy | A lament, either vocal or instrumental. |
Encore | To repeat a piece or play an additional piece at the end of a performance. | |
Entr’acte | The music between acts of an opera or play. |
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Espressivo | Expressively. | |
Esuberante | Exuberant. | |
Etude | Originally a study, intended for the technical practice of the player. Later, elevated the into a significant piece of music, no mere exercise. | |
Exposition
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The first section of the movement, in which the principal thematic material is announced; in a fugue, the voices or parts enter one by one with the same subject: the exposition ends when all the voices have entered. | |
F | ||
F | Fanfare | A prelude or opening; a flourish; usually played by brass instruments. |
Fermata | Hold; pause . | |
Festivo, festoso | Festive; merry. | |
Finale | The last movement of a symphony or sonata; the last selection of an opera. | |
Fine | The end. | |
(La) Follia | A well known dance tune popular from the 16th century or earlier and found in the work of composers. | |
Forte | Loud | |
Fortissimo | Very loud | |
Fugue | A musical composition in which one or 2 themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices/instruments and developed in a continuous interweaving of the parts. | |
Full score
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An instrumental score in which all the parts for the instruments appear on their own staves in standard instrumental family order. | |
G | ||
G | Galliard | A courtly dance of the late 16th and early 17th century often found in instrumental compositions of the period, sometimes in suites. |
Gigue | The gigue became the accepted final dance in the baroque instrumental suite. | |
Giocoso | Playful. | |
Giubilante | Exultant; jubilant. | |
Glissando | Used to describe sliding in music from one note to another. | |
Grandioso | Grandiose; majestic. | |
Grand pause | A rest for the entire ensemble. | |
Grave | Slow; solemn. | |
Grazia | Grace; Con grazia – with grace. | |
Grazioso | Graceful. | |
Gregorian Chant | The modal chant of early Christian and continuing Catholic worship and its derivatives | |
Grosso
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Great; large. | |
H | ||
H | Habanera | A Cuban dance from Havana, later introduced to Spain. |
Harmony | The sounding of two or more tones simultaneously; the vertical aspect of music. | |
Hymn
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A song of praise. | |
I | ||
I | Impressionism
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A musical movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by the French impressionist painters, the movement had its impetus in the music of Debussy and Ravel. |
Sorry, we don’t have any J K | ||
L | ||
L | Lacrimoso | Tearful; mournful. |
Lament | Dirge; a slow mornful piece. | |
Lamento | Mournful; sad. | |
Landler | The Landler is an Austrian country dance in a slow triple metre, a precursor of the waltz. |
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Langsam | Slow. | |
Largamente | Broadly. | |
Larghetto | Slower than largo. | |
Largo | Very slow. | |
Legato | Smooth; connected. | |
Leggiero | Light; graceful. | |
Lento | Slow; slightly faster than largo, slower than adagio. |
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Liberamento | Freely. | |
Lied | Indicates songs in the great German tradition of song-writing. | |
Linear | Melodic; horizontal lines. | |
L’istesso tempo | An instruction to the player to return to the previous speed of the music. | |
Loure
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A French dance of the 17th and 18th centuries; it has been described as a slow gigue. | |
M | ||
M | Madrigal | Originally a form of vocal composition of 14th century Italy; a favourite form of part-song, stemming first from Italy. |
Maestoso | Suggests a majestic manner of performance, either in mood or speed. |
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Magnificat | The Magnificat is the canticle drawn from the biblical words attributed to the Mother of Christ | |
Malaguena | A Spanish dance from the region of Málaga; later used to indicate a form of Spanish gypsy song. | |
Mancando | Fading away | |
Marcato | Emphasized; heavily accented. | |
Mazurka | A Polish dance, transformed by Chopin in some fifty piano pieces in this form. |
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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 between two bar lines. | |
Medesimo | The same. | |
Medieval | The period prior to the Renaissance, c. 500 – 1450, marking the music of the early Christian church. | |
Melodie | The French art- songs of the 19th and 20th centuries are known as mélodies | |
Melody | In general, a succession of musical tones. It represents the linear or horizontal aspect of music. | |
Meno | Less. | |
Meno mosso | Less motion. | |
Mesto | Sad | |
Mezzo | Half; medium | |
Mezzo forte | Medium loud. | |
Mezzo piano | Medium soft. | |
Middle Ages | European historical period between roughly A.D. 500 and 1450. | |
Minuet | A triple metre French dance popular from the second half of the 17th until at least the end of the 18th century. | |
Missa | Originally the Catholic Mass or Eucharist; later came to be used on occasion for settings that included only the first two parts of the ordinary of the Mass, the Kyrie and the Gloria. | |
Misterioso | Mysteriously. | |
Mit | With | |
Moderato | Moderate speed. | |
Modern | Music written in the 20th century; contempory music. | |
Molto | Very; used with other terms, e.g. molto allegro. | |
Morendo | Gradually decreasing in volume; fading away. | |
Mosso | Rapid; meno mosso – less rapid; piu mosso – more rapid. | |
Motive | A short melodic or rhythmic pattern. | |
Motet | A choral composition for a church, without necessarily using text from the liturgy. | |
Motif | A group of notes that has a recognisable thematic character | |
Moto | Motion; con moto – with motion. | |
Movement | A section of a larger piece that usually is in itself a complete work. | |
Mute
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Usually an attachment used to dampen the sound of an instrument. | |
N | ||
N | Nach | After (as “in the manner of”); behind. |
Nachtmusik | Night music; a serenade. | |
Neoclassic | A musical style from the 20th century indicating the return to styles from earlier periods (e.g.romantic, baroque). | |
Nocturne | A night-piece; music that evokes a nocturnal mood. | |
Nonet | A composition for nine performers | |
Non troppo | Not too much; used with other terms (e.g. non troppo allegro – not too fast) | |
Note | The symbol which, when placed on a staff with a particular clef sign, indicates pitch. | |
Nuance
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Subtle variations in tempo, phrasing, dynamics, etc., to enhance a musical performance. | |
O | ||
O | Obbligato | Indicates an additional instrumental part that cannot be omitted. |
Octave | The eighth tone above a given pitch, with twice as many vibrations per second, or below a given pitch, with half as many vibrations. | |
Octet | A piece for eight instruments or voices. | |
Opera Bouffe/Buffe | A comic operetta | |
Opera Seria | A serious opera governed by strict rules as to subject and structure. | |
Operetta | A light opera. | |
Opus/Op | Meaning work, is used by composers to show the chronological order of their works; however is not necessarily accurate. | |
Oratorio | A work in which religious texts often with a narrative content are set for performance by singers and instruments. | |
Orchestra | A large group of musicians made up of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. | |
Orchestration | The art of writing, arranging, or scoring for the orchestra. | |
Ornaments | Melodic embellishments, either written or improvised. | |
Ossia | “Or.” Indicating an alternative passage or version. | |
Ostinato | A part that repeats the same rhythm or melodic element. | |
Ottava | Octave. | |
Ottava alta | An octave higher. | |
Ottave bassa | An octave lower. | |
Overtones | The almost inaudible higher tones which occur with the fundamental tone. They are the result of the vibration of small sections of a string (instrument) or a column of air. Other general terms for overtones are partials and harmonics. | |
Overture
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An introductory piece, often designed to initiate an opera or other dramatic work. | |
P | Pacato | Indicates an additional instrumental part that cannot be omitted. |
Partita | Another word for suite. | |
Passion | The 4 accounts of the suffering and death of Christ (from the Gospel) | |
Pastorale | A musical expression of a genre familiar in European literature from Hellenistic times or earlier; suggesting a rural idyll. | |
Pausa | A rest. | |
Pavan | A stately duple metre dance of the 16th and early 17th centuries. | |
Pensieroso | Contemplative; thoughtful. | |
Pesante | Heavy. | |
Petite | Little. | |
Peu a peu | Little by little | |
Pianissimo | Very soft. | |
Pianississimo | Very, very soft; the softest common dynamic marking. | |
Pitch | The pitch of a note is the frequency of its vibrations. | |
Piu | More; e.g. piu mosso – more motion. | |
Pizzicato | Pinched; plucking the strings of an instrument. | |
Plainchant | The traditional monodic chant of the Catholic and Eastern Christian liturgies. | |
Poco | Little; e.g. poco accel., poco a poco – little by little. | |
Poi | Then or afterwards. | |
Polacca | In the Polish manner. | |
Polka | A Bohemian dance. | |
Polonaise | A Polish dance in triple metre. | |
Polyphony | The writing of music in many parts or in more than one part | |
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. | |
Premiere | First performance. | |
Prestissimo | Very, very fast; the fastest tempo. | |
Presto | Very quick. | |
Primo | First. | |
Principal | Instrumental section leader. | |
Prologue | An introductory piece that presents the background for an opera. | |
Psalm
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From the Book of Psalms in the Bible, sung to Plainchant. | |
Q | ||
Quadrille | A popular ballroom dance in a brisk duple metre. | |
Quartet | A piece for four performers. | |
Quintet | A piece for five performers. | |
Quodlibet
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A quodlibet is a light-hearted composition generally containing a combination of well known tunes. | |
R | ||
Rallentando | Gradually slower; synonymous with ritardando. | |
Range | The gamut of pitches, from low to high, which a singer may perform. | |
Rapide | Rapidly. | |
Refrain | A short section of repeated material which occurs at the end of each stanza. | |
Renaissance | The period 1450 – 1600. | |
Requiem | Mass for the Dead. | |
Resonance | Reinforcement and intensification of sound by vibrations. | |
Rhapsody | A work free in form and inspiration, often an expression of national temperament. | |
Rigaudon | A French folk-dance | |
Rinforzando | A reinforced accent. | |
Risoluto | Resolute. | |
Ritardando | Gradually slower; synonymous with rallentando. | |
Ritenuto | Immediate reduction in tempo. | |
Risoluto | Resolute. | |
Ritmico | Rhythmically. | |
Ritornello | A recurrent phrase or passage. | |
Rococo | A light decorative French style | |
Romanticism | Most commonly, a period or the predominant features of that period, from the early 19th century until the early 20th. | |
Rondo | The use of a recurrent theme between a series of varied episodes, often used for the rapid final movement of a classical concerto or symphony. | |
Round | Like the canon, a song in which two or more parts having the same melody, starting at different points; the parts may be repeated as desired. | |
Rubato | A direction to allow a player a measure of freedom in performance. | |
Ruhig | Quiet. | |
Rustico
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Pastoral; rustic; rural. | |
S | ||
Saltarello | A rapid Italian dance in triple metre. | |
Sanft | Soft; gentle. | |
Sarabande | A slow dance in triple metre, generally found in the baroque instrumental suite. | |
Scale | A succession of tones. The scale generally used in Western music is the diatonic scale, consisting of whole and half steps in a specific order. | |
Scherzo | A light-hearted movement found from the early 17th century. | |
Schnell | Fast. | |
Score | The written depiction of all the parts of a musical ensemble with the parts stacked vertically and rhythmically aligned. | |
Secco | “Dry;” unornamented. | |
Section | A division of a musical composition. | |
Segno | Sign. | |
Sequidilla | A fairly quick triple-metre Spanish dance. | |
Sehr | Very. | |
Sehr leise beginnend | Very soft in the beginning. | |
Semi | Opera-Dramatic works of the later 17th century that combined spoken drama with a significant element of music. | |
Semitone | A half step; the smallest interval on the keyboard. | |
Sempre | Always; e.g. sempre staccato. | |
Semplice | Simple. | |
Senza | Without; e.g. senza crescendo. | |
Septet | A piece for seven performers. | |
Serenade | A piece for evening performance; suggests a piece of music in honour of someone or something. | |
Sereno | Serene; peaceful. | |
Sforzando | Sudden strong accent on a note or chord. | |
Sharp | A symbol which raises the pitch of a note one-half step. | |
Siciliana | A Sicilian shepherd dance or song. | |
Simile | An indication to continue in the same manner. | |
Sin’ | Until. | |
Sinifonia | A passage or piece of instrumental music, sometimes an introductory piece, leading later to the Italian overture, known as the sinfonia before the opera, the origin of the Italian symphony. | |
Sinfonia Concertante |
A concerto that uses two or more solo instruments. |
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Singspiel | A stage work that makes some use of spoken dialogue, even in a context of primarily musical interest. | |
Sinistra | Left hand. | |
Sino | Until. | |
Smorzando | Fading away. | |
Soave | Sweet; mild. | |
Sognando | Dreamily. | |
Solo | To perform alone or as the predominant part. | |
Sonata | Originally designated music that was to be played rather than sung. | |
Sonatina | A short sonata. | |
Sostenuto | Sustaining of tone or slackening of tempo; play smoothly. | |
Spiccato | On string instruments, a bowing technique wherein the bow is bounced on the string at moderate speed. | |
Staccato | Detached sounds, indicated by a dot over or under a note; the opposite of legato. | |
Stanza | A selection of a song, two or more lines long, characterized by a common meter, rhyme, and number of lines. | |
Stesso | Same. | |
Stretto | The device by which a second voice enters with the subject overlapping a first voice, rather than starting after the completion of the subject by the first voice; also a faster speed. | |
Subito | Suddenly. | |
Suite | An instrumental piece consisting of several shorter pieces. | |
Sul | Same. | |
Stesso | On the. | |
Sur | Same. | |
Svelto | Quick; light. | |
Symphony | A piece for large orchestra, usually in four movements, in which the first movement often is in sonata form. A large orchestra. | |
Syncopation
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Accent on an unexpected beat. | |
T | ||
Tafelmusik | Music used to accompany banquets. | |
Tanto | Much; so much. | |
Tarantella | A folk- dance from the Southern Italian town of Taranto. | |
Te Deum | A canticle sung in thanksgiving and forming a part of the Divine Office, where it appears after Matins on Sundays and major feast days. | |
Tempo | The speed at which a piece of music is played. | |
Tempo primo | Return to the original tempo. | |
Teneramente | Tenderly. | |
Tenuto | Hold or sustain a note longer than the indicated value; usually not as long a duration as the fermata. | |
Ternary form | A tripartite musical structure; three part song form, in which the third part is an exact or modified repetition of the first. | |
Terraced dynamics | The Baroque style of using sudden changes in dynamic levels, as opposed to gradual increase and decrease in volume. | |
Theme | A complete tune or melody which is of fundamental importance in a piece of music. | |
Theory | The study of how music is put together. | |
Toccata | An instrumental piece, often designed to display the technical proficiency of a performer. | |
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. | |
Tosto | Quick. | |
Tranquillo | Tranquilly; quietly; calm. | |
Tremolo | The quick repetition of a note, particularly in string-playing. | |
Troppo | Too much; e.g. allegro non troppo – not too fast. | |
Troubadour | Court poets and composers of Southern France in the 12th and 13th centuries.. | |
Tutti
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All; a direction for the entire ensemble to sing or play simultaneously. | |
U | ||
Una corda | Soft pedal. | |
Unison | Singing or playing the same notes by all singers or players, either at exactly the same pitch or in a different octave. | |
Un peu | A little; e.g. un peu piano. | |
Un poco | A little. | |
Upbeat
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One or more notes occurring before the first bar line, as necessitated by the text for the purpose of desirable accent; the unaccented beat of a measure. | |
V | ||
Variation | The manipulation of a theme by the use of melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic changes. | |
Verismo | Soft; gentle. | |
Vespers | The evening service of the Divine Office. | |
Vibrato | Repeated fluctuation of pitch. | |
Virtuoso | A brillant, skillful performer. | |
Vivace | Lively; brisk; quick; bright. | |
Vivo | Lively; bright. | |
Vocalise | A vocal work, whether an exercise or not, that has no words. | |
Volti subito
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Turn [the page] quickly. | |
W | ||
Waltz
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A dance in triple time, became the most popular of all ball – room dances in the 19th century. | |
XYZ
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Sorry, we don’t have any XYZ. |