All Terms Flashcards
A capella
Singing without instrumental accompaniment.
Acciccatura
An ornament, printed as a small note with a slash through it, played as quickly as possible before the main note that follows it.
Accordion
An instrument with hand-operated bellows that force the air to vibrate metal reeds.
Aeolian Mode
A scale that can be found by playing the white notes on the piano from A to A (an octave higher).
Alla breve
A pulse of 2/2 time, sometimes referred to as cut time.
Alto voice
Lowest female voice.
Anacrusis
An upbeat before the first strong beat of a phrase.
Antiphonal
A texture in which two or more spatially separated soloists or groups perform alternately and in combination.
Appoggiatura
Play the first note as half the value of the second note. Often resolves a dissonance by step.
Aria
A song sung by one voice with accompaniment in an opera or oratorio.
Atonal
Music that lacks a tonal center; absence of key.
Augment
A proportionate increase in note length (e.g. when a rhythm of two quavers and a crotchet is augmented it becomes two crotchets and a minim.
Backbeat
A term used in pop and rock to describe accenting the normally weak second and fourth beats in 4/4 time.
Backing vocals
Singers who support the lead singer(s), usually by singing in harmony in the background.
Ballad
In jazz and pop, a slow, romantic song.
Baroque
The period between 1600-1750.
Bass voice
Lowest male voice.
Bass viol
A bowed string instrument of the viol family, similar in size to the later cello, but having between five and seven strings and a fretted fingerboard (like a guitar).
Bell chord
A chord that is sounded as a downward succession of sustained notes.
Bend
A slight change in pitch of note while it is sounded (often used for expression).
Bitonal
Using two keys simultaneously.
Bodhran
An Irish wooden drum, held in one hand and played with a wooden beater. Often used in Irish traditional music.
Book Musical
A musical play where songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals.
Bossa Nova
A dance and highly syncopated style of music. It is slower and gentler than samba and influence by jazz of the period (1960s).