homophony
musical texture in which a melody is accompanied by chords
hymn
a sacred song of praise or thanksgiving to God
idiophones
instruments that generate sound by being shaken or struck
imitation
a restatement of thematic material in close succession in different voice or instrumental lines
imitative entrances
music in which each part comes in separately, using the same melodic material
impressionism
a style in art and music, dominant during the last quarter of the 19th century, that emphasized the impression of an object rather than the object itself; characterized by an interplay of light and color rather than in definite lines
improvisation
performing music spontaneously rather than reading written music
incidental music
music intended for performance during a play; such music may set a mood behind dialogue or between scenes
interlude
music performed between two entities, such as two acts of a play or opera, two compositions, or two sections of the same composition
interval
the distance between two pitches
introduction
a passage of music that introduces a composition
inversion
the process of inverting the intervals in a melody; primarily used in theme and variations form and in serial music
inversion-retrograde
the process of inverting the intervals in a melody while simultaneously reversing the intervals in a melody; primarily used in theme and variations form and in serial music
key
the organization of music around a tonic or keynote
key signature
the sharp or flat signs placed on the staff after the clef sign to indicate the key of a composition
keynote
the tonic or principal note of a scale
largo
tempo meaning “very slow, broad”
legato
smooth and connected; the opposite of staccato
lento
tempo marking meaning “very slow”
libretto
the text of an opera or oratorio
lied (pl. lieder)
a solo song in which the vocalist and pianist complement each other and are equally important
lyrics
the words of a song
maestoso
Italian: in a majestic style
major
music having C (do) as its tonic
major scale
a scale having a certain pattern of half steps and whole steps (WWHWWWH
marcato
an accented, separated style of performance
measure
the distance between two bar lines
melisma
a vocal passage with several notes sung to one syllable of text
melodic contour
the shape or outline of a melody
melodic rhythm
the rhythm pattern of a melody and words of a song; different from the pulse
melody
a group of pitches with contour and rhythm; a tune
membranophones
instruments that generate sound with a vibratin membrane
meno mosso
Italian: with less motion, not as fast
meter
the division of of music based on strong and weak pulses; most commonly divided into groups of twos or threes
meter signature
a sign, usually at the beginning of a composition, that indicates the meter of a piece; the top number indicates how many pulses are in a measure, the bottom indicates what kind of note receives one pulse, also called TIME SIGNATURE (that’s more like it!)
mezzo forte
Italian: moderately loud
mezzo piano
Italian: moderately soft
mezzo soprano
a female singer whose range is between a soprano and alto
middle C
the C nearest the middle of the piano keyboard
MIDI
the acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface
minimalism
a trend in the arts in the 20th century; reduces art to a minimal design or motive
minor
music having A (la) as its tonic