A cappella
choral music without instrumental accompaniment
Accidental
a sharp, flat, or natural symbol before a note; indicates a pitch from outside the specified scale
Adagio
slow tempo
Aerophone
an instrument that creates sound by the vibration of a column of air
Allegro
fast tempo
Alto
a female voice with a range lower than soprano, or a high male voice
Andante
moderate, walking tempo
Ballet
musical form written to coincide with a story to be danced
Baritone
a male voice with a range between tenor and bass
Bar Line
a vertical line on the staff that separates one measure from the next
Bass
a male voice with the lowest range
Bass clef
a symbol that indicates that the fourth line from the bottom of a staff represents the pitch of F below middle C; also called an F clef
Beat
the underlying pulse in music
Binary Form
the form of a piece that has two sections, AB
Bridge
1) a linking passge in a piece of music; 2) the part of a string instrument over which the strings pass
Cadence
a progression of notes or chords that gives the effect of closing a passge of music
Chanson
the French word for "song," used specifically in reference to French polyphonic songs in medieval times and during the Renaissance
Chorale
a traditional German hymn
Chord
a combination of three or more pitches played at once
Chordophone
an instrument that produces sound via the vibration of a stretched string that is bowed, plucked, or struck
Chromatic scale
a scale based on an octave of twelve semitones as opposed to a diatonic scale
Clef
a symbol that designates the pitch range to be displayed on the staff
Coda
a passage at the end of a movement or composition that brings it to a formal close
Concerto
originally referred to a work that featured effects of contrast, but now refers to a work in which a solo instrument is contrasted with a larger ensemble or orchestra
Consonance
refers to a combination of sound that is smooth and harmonious
Continuo
a bass accompanient, usually played on a keyboard or plucked instrument, in which numerals written underneath the notes indicate the kind of harmony to be played; the group of instruments playing the continuo part
Crescendo
gradually increasing in loudness
Descrescendo
gradually decreasing in loudness
Diatonic scale
a scale using only the eight tones of a standard major or minor scale without chromatic deviations
Dissonance
refers to combinations of sounds that are rough and inharmonious
Dominant
the fifth step or degree of a scale
Downbeat
the accented beat at the beginning of a measure
Dynamics
the gradations of loudness in music
Electrophone
an instrument that produces sound by electronic means
Equal temperment tuning
a system of tuning based on a scale whose "steps" or degrees have logarithmically equal intervals between them*
Form
the structure or organization of a piece of music
Forte
loud
Fortissimo
very loud
Frequency
refers to the number of vibrations per second that create a sound; this determines the pitch of a sound
Fugue
a type of composition or technique in which a meoldic theme is subjected to melodic imitation
Galliard
a lively court dance in triple meter that was popular in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries*
Harmonics
the sounds heard together when a sound is produced by a vibrating string or air column, through its vibration in parts (two halves, then thirds, and so on)*
Harmony
the combination of more than one musical pitch at a time and the subsequent relationships between intervals and chords
Hertz
the unit of measure of frequency; the number of cycles per second
Heterophony
a texture in which several different versions of the same melody are played simultaneously
Homophony
a texture with one melody and varied supporting accompaniment; a texture in which the parts generally move together
Homorhythmic
a texture in which the melody and the supporting parts perform similar rhythms
Idiophone
an instrument that produces sound by being struck, plucked, rubbed, or bowed
Interval
the distance between two pitches
Key
the tonality and major or minor scale of a piece of music; this is labeled according to the note to which the piece gravitates*
Key signature
the group of flats or sharps placed on the staff at the beginning of a piece that indicates the tonality of the scale used
Largo
very slow
Leading tone
the seventh degree of a scale, a semitone below the tonic, which gives music a seonse of leading back to the tonic
Leitmotif
a recognizable theme or musical idea that represents a character or concept in a dramatic work
Libretto
the text of an opera or oratorio
Madrigal
a secular Renaissance composition of poetic text for several unaccompanied vocal parts; usually has a ritornello
Major scale
a scale in which the distance from the first to the third tone is four semitones
Measure
a metrical division of music, marked by vertical lines through the staff called bar lines
Melisma
a succession of notes sung on one syllable
Melody
a sequence of musical pitches with a recognizable shape or tune
Membranophone
an instrument that produces sound when its stretched membrance is struck or rubbed
Meter
the grouping of beats to a regular pulse
Mezzo Forte
medium loud
Mezzo Piano
medium quiet/soft
Mezzo-soprano
a female voice with a range midway between soprano and alto
Minor scale
a scale in which the distance between the first and third notes is three semitones
Monophony
a texture with only one melody and no supporting accompaniment
Motet
a polyphonic choral work that was one of the most important musical forms from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries and was commonly used the the Roman Catholic Church
Movement
a self-contained section of a larger musical work
Octave
the internval between two notes of the same name (e.g. the interval between C1 and C2), twelve semitones apart
Opera
a sung drama that is set to music and has costumes and scenery and usually has a secular theme
Opus
the Latin word for "work" that is used with a number to sequence and identify the work of a composer
Oratorio
a sung drama that is performed chorally with no costuming or scenery and that has a religious theme
Organum
a type of medieval polyphony with one or more voices added to a plainsong
Pavane
a slow court dance in duple meter popular in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries*
Pianissimo
very quiet/soft
Piano
quiet/soft
Pitch
the highness or lowness of a sound
Plainsong
liturgical chants to Latin text used since the Middle ages, also called Gregorian chants
Polymeter
the simultaneous use of more than one meter
Polyphony
a texture in which two or more melodic lines are combined
Polyrhythm
the use of simultaneous contrasting rhythms
Presto
very fast
Program music
instrumental music that is narrative or descriptive of a nonmusical idea, e.g. a work of literature, a painting, etc.
Reed
a flexible strip of cane or metal set into the mouthpiece or air opening of certain instruments that produces a tone by vibrating in response to a stream of air*
Resonance
the amplification or prolongation of a musical tone produced by sympathetic vibration
Rest
in a musical notation, one of several symbols corresponding to a given number of beats that indicates a period of silence
Rhythm
the organization of sounds and silences through time
Ritornello
a recurring section in a piece of music
Rounded Binary
an extension of the binary form wherein the first section is repeated at the end
Rondo
a form that has a repeating "A" section, which alternates with two or more contrasting sections (e.g. ABACA)
Scale
a set of conjunct pitches within an octave used for musical composition
Score
the written form of a musical composition for several performers