Haydn Key Words Flashcards
Acciaccatura
A crushed note, played in as short a time as possible. It is notated as a small note with
a diagonal line through the stem to show that it really has no value.
Allegro
Fast, quick.
Andante
At a walking pace, a moderate speed.
Antiphonal
Where a bar or phrase is alternated between two instruments, groups of instruments
or singers; from ‘anti’ (opposite’ or ‘against’) and ‘phonos’ (voice).
Arco
With a bow (also con arco).
Crook
Lengths of tubing which could replace the central section of the natural horn to
increase or decrease its overall length, altering the range of notes available.
Diminished seventh
A chord built up of minor thirds.
Dominant
The fifth note of the scale or the key based on the fifth note of the tonic key eg if the
original key is C major, the dominant is G major.
Dominant seventh
The dominant chord plus an extra note a minor seventh above the root or first note.
Double-dotted
A dot after a note increases its duration by half the original value. The second dot adds
a further half of that half.
Forte
Loud (abbreviation f).
German sixth
A chord built on the flattened sixth of the scale. Above this are added the third and fifth
notes plus an augmented sixth.
Harmonic series
The range of notes available to a brass player by tightening or slackening the pressure
of his or her lips on the mouthpiece.
Inverted pedal
When the pedal (the sustained or repeated note) is played at a higher pitch than the other parts.
Ostinato
A repeated rhythm or melodic pattern; such short melodic patterns are often referred
to in pop music as ‘riffs’.
Pedal
A sustained or repeated note, usually in the bass or lowest part, above which the
harmony changes.
Perfect cadence
Two chords played as a progression to mark the end of a phrase. The chords are
dominant to tonic, often shown by Roman numerals as V-I.
Piano
Quiet (abbreviation p).
Pizzicato
An instruction for instruments from the string family to pluck the strings (abbreviation
pizz).
Sextuplets
Six notes played in the time usually taken by four. The feeling is of two triplets rather
than pairs of quavers or semiquavers.
Staccato
An instruction to play the notes crisply, detached, which is shown in the music by
placing dots above or below the notes being played.
Submediant
The sixth note of the scale where the degrees of the scale are referred to as tonic,
supertonic, mediant, subdominant, dominant, submediant, leading and then tonic again.
Tonic
The first note of the scale used by the piece of music, known as the home key of the
piece of music.
Vivace
Lively
