Music Term Dictionary

ARCHIVE.ENTRY

DOCUMENT.CONTENT

1. Music Term Dictionary

Table of Contents

1.1. Terms Sorted by Category

Tempo and Speed

Dynamics and Expression:

Rhythm and Meter:

Melody and Pitch:

Harmony and Tonality:

Notation and Symbols:

Musical Form and Structure:

Performance Techniques:

Genres and Styles:

Compositional Techniques:

Miscellaneous:

1.2. Dictionary

1.2.1. A

1.2.1.1. A capella

  • Singing without instrumental accompaniment.

1.2.1.2. Accent

  • Emphasis placed on a particular note or phrase.

1.2.1.3. Accelerando

  • Gradually increasing the tempo or speed of the music.

1.2.1.4. Accompaniment

  • The musical part that supports or complements the main melody or voice.

1.2.1.5. Adagio

  • A slow tempo, typically slower than andante but faster than largo.

1.2.1.6. Aleatory

  • Music that incorporates elements of chance or improvisation.

1.2.1.7. Allegro

  • A quick and lively tempo.

1.2.1.8. Andante

  • A moderately slow tempo, usually slower than allegretto but faster than adagio.

1.2.1.9. Arpeggio

  • Playing the notes of a chord sequentially rather than simultaneously.

1.2.1.10. Articulation

  • The manner in which notes are played or sung, affecting the transition or continuity between notes.

1.2.1.11. Atonal

  • Music that lacks a tonal center or key.

1.2.1.12. Atonality

  • The absence of a tonal center or key in music.

1.2.1.13. Augmentation

  • Lengthening the duration of notes in a melody or theme.

1.2.2. B

1.2.2.1. Barline

  • A vertical line that divides music into measures.

1.2.2.2. Beat

  • The basic unit of time in music, often defined by a repeating pulse.

1.2.2.3. Ballad

  • A slow, sentimental song that often tells a story.

1.2.2.4. Bridge

  • A passage that connects two sections of a composition, often providing contrast or transition.

1.2.3. C

1.2.3.1. Cadence

  • A melodic or harmonic formula that creates a sense of resolution or pause at the end of a phrase or section.

1.2.3.2. Canon

  • A compositional technique in which a melody is imitated by one or more voices, entering at different times.

1.2.3.3. Cantabile

  • A style of singing or playing that is smooth, flowing, and song-like.

1.2.3.4. Chord

  • Two or more notes played simultaneously, creating harmony.

1.2.3.5. Choral

  • Music written for or performed by a choir or chorus.

1.2.3.6. Chromatic

  • Relating to or using notes not belonging to the diatonic scale of the key in which a passage is written.

1.2.3.7. Chromaticism

  • The use of notes that are not part of the main scale or key, often creating a sense of tension or color.

1.2.3.8. Coda

  • A concluding section or passage added to the end of a piece of music.

1.2.3.9. Clave

  • A rhythmic pattern used as a foundational element in Afro-Cuban music.

1.2.3.10. Crescendo

  • Gradually increasing the volume or intensity of the music.

1.2.4. D

1.2.4.1. Da capo

  • An instruction to repeat the music from the beginning until reaching a specified point, often marked "fine."

1.2.4.2. Decrescendo

  • Gradually decreasing the volume or intensity of the music.

1.2.4.3. Diminuendo

  • Another term for decrescendo, gradually decreasing the volume or intensity of the music.

1.2.4.4. Diminution

  • Shortening the duration of notes in a melody or theme.

1.2.4.5. Dissonance

  • A combination of notes that creates a feeling of tension or harshness, often requiring resolution.

1.2.4.6. Diatonic

  • Relating to or using only the notes of the main scale or key.

1.2.4.7. Dolce

  • An instruction to play sweetly or softly.

1.2.4.8. Dominant

  • The fifth degree of a diatonic scale, often playing a key role in establishing the tonality of a piece.

1.2.4.9. Drone

  • A sustained tone or tones, often serving as a harmonic foundation in a piece of music.

1.2.4.10. Dynamics

  • The variations in loudness or softness of the music.

1.2.5. E

1.2.5.1. Enharmonic

  • Notes that sound the same but are written differently, such as F sharp and G flat.

1.2.5.2. Etude

  • A composition designed to improve a specific technical skill or showcase technical prowess.

1.2.5.3. Exposition

  • The first section of a sonata form, introducing the main themes or subjects.

1.2.6. F

1.2.6.1. Fermata

  • A symbol indicating that a note or rest should be held longer than its normal duration.

1.2.6.2. Form

  • The structure or organization of a piece of music, often defined by sections such as verse, chorus, or movements.

1.2.6.3. Fortissimo

  • Very loud, louder than forte.

1.2.6.4. Forte

  • Loud or strong in volume.

1.2.6.5. Fugue

  • A compositional technique in which a short melody or phrase is introduced and then imitated by other voices, often in a contrapuntal style.

1.2.7. G

1.2.7.1. Glissando

  • A sliding effect between two notes, often achieved by running the finger along the keys or strings of an instrument.

1.2.8. H

1.2.8.1. Harmony

  • The combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords and chord progressions, supporting and enhancing the melody.

1.2.8.2. Homophony

  • A musical texture in which one melody is supported by chordal accompaniment, often found in popular music and hymns.

1.2.9. I

1.2.9.1. Improvisation

  • The act of creating or performing music spontaneously, without prior preparation or written notation.

1.2.9.2. Instrumentation

  • The particular combination of instruments used in a composition or ensemble.

1.2.9.3. Interval

  • The distance between two pitches, often measured in terms of the number of scale steps between them.

1.2.9.4. Interlude

  • A short passage or section that connects two larger sections of a piece, often providing contrast or a brief break.

1.2.9.5. Intonation

  • The accuracy of pitch in playing or singing, or the way in which an instrument is tuned.

1.2.10. K

1.2.10.1. Key signature

  • The arrangement of sharp or flat symbols at the beginning of a staff, indicating the key of the music and the notes that should be consistently played as sharps or flats.

1.2.11. L

1.2.11.1. Legato

  • A smooth and connected manner of playing or singing, with no perceptible gaps between notes.

1.2.11.2. Leitmotif

  • A recurring musical theme associated with a particular character, idea, or situation, often found in operas and film scores.

1.2.11.3. Libretto

  • The text or script of an opera, musical, or other vocal work.

1.2.11.4. Licks

  • Short, memorable musical phrases or patterns, often used in jazz or rock improvisation.

1.2.12. M

1.2.12.1. Measure

  • A unit of time in music, defined by the number of beats and the time signature, and separated by barlines.

1.2.12.2. Melisma

  • The singing of multiple notes on a single syllable of text, often used for expressive purposes.

1.2.12.3. Melody

  • A sequence of musical notes that form a recognizable tune or theme, often the most prominent and memorable aspect of a piece.

1.2.12.4. Meter

  • The recurring pattern of accents and beats in music, often defined by the time signature.

1.2.12.5. Mezzo

  • A term indicating a moderate or medium volume, tempo, or pitch range, as in mezzo-piano (moderately soft) or mezzo-soprano (a female voice with a range between soprano and contralto).

1.2.12.6. Modulation

  • The process of changing from one key or tonality to another within a piece of music.

1.2.12.7. Motif

  • A short, recognizable musical idea or fragment that recurs throughout a composition, often serving as a unifying element.

1.2.13. N

1.2.13.1. Nocturne

  • A musical composition, typically for solo piano, that evokes a nighttime mood or atmosphere.

1.2.13.2. Notation

  • The system of written symbols used to represent musical notes, rhythms, and other elements of a composition.

1.2.14. O

1.2.14.1. Octave

  • The interval between two notes with a frequency ratio of 2:1, or the range of pitches between two such notes.

1.2.14.2. Opus

  • A number assigned to a musical composition or set of compositions, often indicating the chronological order of a composer's works.

1.2.14.3. Ornament

  • A musical flourish or embellishment added to a melody or harmony to provide decoration or expression.

1.2.14.4. Ostinato

  • A continuously repeated musical phrase or rhythm, often serving as a foundation for a composition or section.

1.2.14.5. Overture

  • An instrumental piece played at the beginning of an opera, oratorio, or other large-scale musical work, often introducing themes or motifs from the main composition.

1.2.15. P

1.2.15.1. Pentatonic

  • A musical scale consisting of five notes, often found in folk and traditional music from various cultures.

1.2.15.2. Phrasing

  • The way in which a musician or singer shapes a musical line or passage, often through the use of dynamics, articulation, and breathing.

1.2.15.3. Piano

  • Soft or quiet in volume.

1.2.15.4. Pitch

  • The perceived frequency or height of a musical sound, often determined by the rate of vibrations producing the sound.

1.2.15.5. Pizzicato

  • A technique used on string instruments in which the strings are plucked with the fingers rather than bowed.

1.2.15.6. Polyphony

  • A musical texture consisting of two or more independent melodic lines played or sung simultaneously.

1.2.15.7. Polyrhythm

  • The simultaneous use of two or more contrasting rhythms or time signatures in a musical composition or performance.

1.2.15.8. Prelude

  • A short musical piece that introduces or precedes a larger work, or a standalone composition often used as a technical exercise or to establish a mood or key.

1.2.16. R

1.2.16.1. Rallentando

  • Gradually slowing down the tempo.

1.2.16.2. Range

  • The span of pitches that a musical instrument or voice can produce, from the lowest to the highest note.

1.2.16.3. Recapitulation

  • The section of a sonata form where the main themes from the exposition are restated, usually in the home key.

1.2.16.4. Recitative

  • A style of singing or vocal delivery that closely mimics the rhythms and inflections of natural speech, often used in operas and oratorios.

1.2.16.5. Resolution

  • The movement of a dissonant or unstable chord or note to a consonant or stable one, providing a sense of completion or relaxation.

1.2.16.6. Rhythm

  • The pattern of durations and accents in music, often organized into measures and beats.

1.2.16.7. Riff

  • A short, repeated musical phrase or melody, often used as a basis for improvisation or as a memorable hook in popular music.

1.2.16.8. Rubato

  • A flexible approach to tempo, allowing for expressive speeding up or slowing down of the music at the performer's discretion.

1.2.17. S

1.2.17.1. Scale

  • A sequence of notes ordered by pitch, typically within an octave, used as a basis for melodies and harmonies.

1.2.17.2. Scherzo

  • A lively, playful, or humorous musical composition or movement, often in a fast tempo and triple meter.

1.2.17.3. Sforzando

  • An instruction to play a single note or chord with sudden, strong emphasis.

1.2.17.4. Slur

  • A curved line connecting two or more notes, indicating that they should be played smoothly and without separation.

1.2.17.5. Sonata

  • A musical composition typically consisting of three or four movements, often for solo piano or a solo instrument accompanied by piano.

1.2.17.6. Staccato

  • A manner of playing or singing characterized by short, detached notes with spaces between them.

1.2.17.7. Stanza

  • A group of lines in a poem or song lyric, often with a regular meter and rhyme scheme.

1.2.17.8. Subdominant

  • The fourth degree of a diatonic scale, often serving a harmonic function that leads back to the tonic.

1.2.17.9. Syncopation

  • The placement of accents or emphasis on normally unaccented beats or parts of beats, creating a rhythmic tension or displacement.

1.2.17.10. Symphony

  • A large-scale orchestral composition, typically consisting of four movements and showcasing the capabilities of the ensemble.

1.2.18. T

1.2.18.1. Tempo

  • The speed or pace at which a piece of music is played or sung.

1.2.18.2. Tessitura

  • The general range or average pitch level in which a vocal or instrumental part lies.

1.2.18.3. Theme

  • A central musical idea or melody that forms the basis of a composition or section, often recurring or developed throughout the piece.

1.2.18.4. Timbre

  • The characteristic quality or color of a musical sound that distinguishes it from other sounds, often determined by the harmonics and overtones present.

1.2.18.5. Time Signature

  • A notation at the beginning of a piece or section indicating the number and type of beats in each measure.

1.2.18.6. Tonal

  • Relating to or based on a central key or tonic, as opposed to atonal music.

1.2.18.7. Tonic

  • The first degree of a diatonic scale, serving as the main pitch center or point of resolution in a piece of music.

1.2.18.8. Transcription

  • The process of adapting a piece of music for a different instrument, ensemble, or medium than the original.

1.2.18.9. Transposition

  • The process of moving a piece of music or a musical passage up or down in pitch, while maintaining the same intervallic relationships between notes.

1.2.18.10. Transpose

  • To perform the process of transposition.

1.2.18.11. Triad

  • A chord consisting of three notes, typically built on the root, third, and fifth degrees of a scale.

1.2.18.12. Triplet

  • A rhythmic grouping of three notes played in the time normally occupied by two notes of the same value.

1.2.18.13. Tremolo

  • The rapid repetition of a single note or the rapid alternation between two notes, often used as a means of sustaining a pitch or creating a trembling effect.

1.2.19. U

1.2.19.1. Unison

  • The simultaneous playing or singing of the same pitch or melody by multiple instruments or voices.

1.2.20. V

1.2.20.1. Vibrato

  • A pulsating effect created by rapidly and subtly varying the pitch, volume, or timbre of a sustained note.

1.2.20.2. Vivace

  • A lively, brisk, or fast tempo, often indicating a speed between allegro and presto.