Music Definitions Flashcards
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A capella
Unaccompanied singing
Acciaccatura
An ornament, printed as a small note with a slash through its tail, that is performed as quickly as possible on or just before the beat that follows it
Accordion
An instrument with hand operated bellows that force air to vibrate metal reeds. The sound is controlled from small buttons on both sides of the bellows, although the larger piano accordion has a small vertical keyboard on one side. An instrument often used in folk music
Aeolian mode
A scale that can be found by playing the white notes on the piano from A to A an octave higher. It is the same as C major except that the home note is A. The mode can be transposed to start on any note providing that the order of tones and semitones in its scale is retained
Alla breve
A pulse of two minim beats in a bar (2/2 time). Sometimes called cut-C time after its alternative time signature of a cut C
Alto
The lowest female singing voice
Anacrusis
One of more notes that occur before the first strong beat of a phrase. Often called a ‘pick up’ in jazz and pop music
Antiphonal
A texture in which two or more spatially separated soloists or groups perform alternately and in combination
A[[pggoatire
An expressive dissonance that then usually moves by step to a note of the current chord. If written as an ornament the note forming the appoggiatura is printed in small type
Aria
A song for solo voice accompaniment, usually forming part of a longer work such as an opera, oratorio or cantata.
Atonal
Western music that is not in a key or a mode and that is often dissonant
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
- An augmented interval is a semitone larger than a major or a perfect interval. Augmentation is the opposite of diminution
Backbeat
A term used in pop and rock to describe accenting the normally weak second and fourth beats in 4/4 time
Backing vocals
The vocal accompaniment to the lead vocal in a pop song. The part us often labelled BVOX
Ballad
In jazz and pop, a slow romantic song
Baroque
In music, the period between about 1600 and 1750
Bass
- Lowest male singing voice
2. An abbreviation of double bass
Bass guitar
A guitar that has the same pitch and tuning as a double bass and, also like the double bass, that sounds an octave lower than its written notes. Usually electrically amplified, it forms the harmonic foundation of a rock group by playing the bass line
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
The technique of sounding a chord as a downward succession of sustained notes
Bend
A slight change in the pitch of a note while it is sounding. The change is usually upward and is made for expressive purposes
Bitonal
Music in which two distinctly different keys are used simultaneously
Bodhran
A hand held drum played with a double headed tipper used in much Irish traditional music
Book
A document containing the spoken dialogue of a stage musical
Book musical
A musical in which songs, vocal ensembles and dances are fully integrated into a plot with serious dramatic goals
Bossa Nova
A dance and highly syncopated style of music that developed in the 1960s. It is slower and gentler than samba, from which it developed and the music was influenced by jazz of the period
Bouzouki
A plucked string instrument of the lute family usually associated with the music of Greece, but used by a number of Celtic folk musicians in recent decades
Break
In pop and jazz, an instrumental solo
Breakbeat
A short section of a dance track in which most instruments other than drums stop playing. The term is also used for a type of EDM
Bridge
A short and often contrasting passage in a pop song that links two other sections. Sometimes called a middle eight, even if not eight bars in length
Broken octaves
Rapidly alternating notes that are an octave apart
Build
An abbreviation of build up. A term used mainly in electronic dance music for a long crescendo and thickening of texture.
Cadence
The end of a musical phrase, often harmonised by two chords
Cadenza
- Improvised vocal flourish just before a singer’s final cadence in an aria
- In music from the Classical period onwards, an improvised or written out solo towards the end of a movement in a concerto, when the soloist plays alone to demonstrate their virtuosity
Canon
A contrapuntal device in which the melody in one part is overlapped by the same melody in another part, starting a few notes later. This process of exact imitation continues throughout the length of the canon or canonic passage
Chamber orchestra
A small orchestra, typically consisting of a small but complete string section plus a limited number of wind players
Chord
Three or more pitches sounded simultaneously, although just two notes can often imply a chord by their context. In a broken chord or arpeggio, the notes are sounded separately but in close proximity to each other
Chordal
A homophonic texture that consists mainly of block chords. Also known as homorhythmic
Chromatic
Notes that don’t belong to the current key. The opposite of diatonic
Circle of 5ths
A series (or progression) of chords whose roots are each a 5th lower than the previous chord (e.g: E-A-D-G-C). In practice, the bass usually alternates between falling a 5th and rising a 4th, which produces a less angular line from the same set of pitches
Classical
- In music, the period between about 1750 and 1825
- In a wider sense, any type of music that is regarded as ‘art music’ rather than pop, folk or jazz - so styles as varied as Baroque, Romantic and postmodernist, can all be described in a very general way as ‘classical’
Close harmony
A style of singing in which most of the accompanying voice parts lie close to the melody and close to each other, often no more than an octave apart
Cluster
A dissonant chord that includes several adjacent notes only one step apart from each other
Coda
A closing section at the end of a movement, song or other piece. Often called an outro in pop and rock music
Codetta
A short coda, used to end a section within a longer movement. Also known as a closing section
Colla voce
Italian for ‘with the voice’, indicating that an accompaniment should follow the rhythm of the singers
Coloratura
Elaborate decoration, especially in vocal music, generally employed to display the skill of the singer
Compound time
In compound time, the beat is a dotted note that can be divided into three shorter notes of equal length. Time signatures with 6,9 or 12 as the upper number indicate compound time
Concept album
A collection of pop songs related by lyrics that share a common theme
Concertino
The group of soloists as opposed to the ripieno (the orchestra), in a concerto grosso
Concerto
A large-scale composition for orchestra with a soloist or group of soloists, often in three movements. A solos concerto has one soloist, a concerto grosso (a genre of the Baroque period) has a group of soloists.
Conjunct
A melody that moves mainly by step between adjacent notes (the opposite of a disjunct melody). Conjunct movement can instead be described as stepwise movement
Continuo
A bass part (basso continuo) in Baroque music played by one or more bass instruments (such as cello, bass or bassoon) and used by the players of chordal instruments (such as lute, harpsichord and organ) as the basis from which to fill out the harmonies of the music, sometimes aided by a figured bass. The group of instruments that play this part is also known as the continuo
Contrapuntal
Music in which two or more melodic lines occur simultaneously (a texture known as counterpoint)
Contrary motion
Simultaneous melodic lines whose pitches move in opposite directions
Counterpoint
A texture in which two or more melodic lines occur simultaneously. This texture can also be described as polyphony
Countertenor
An adult male voice with a range similar to that of an alto. Today many countertenors use falsetto in their higher register
Cross rhythm
- A rhythm that conflicts with the regular pattern of beats
2. The combination of two conflicting rhythms within a single beat (e.g a triplet of quavers against two normal quavers)
Cue
An individual piece of music in a film score
Da capo form
A type of ternary from in which the repeat of the A section is indicated by the instruction Da capo (‘from the start’) instead of being written out
Dal segno
Literally ‘from the sign’. An instruction to repeat from the bar marked
Development
The central section of a sonata form. Also used more generally to describe the manipulation and transformation of motifs and themes in any sort of music
Dialogue
A texture in which motifs are exchanged between different parts without the use of imitation
Diatonic
Notes that belong to the current key. The opposite of chromatic
Diegetic music
In film music, music that occurs as part of the action in the film, such as when a character turns on the radio. Also called ‘source music’
Diminish
- A proportionate decrease in note lengths, e.g. when a rhythm of two crotchets and a minim is diminished it becomes two quavers and a crotchet.
- A diminished interval is a semitone smaller than a minor or a perfect interval. Diminution is the opposite of augmentation
Diminished 7th
- An interval notated as a 7th that is one semitone smaller than a minor 7th, such as E to Db
- A chord based on this interval, and made up of superimposed minor 3rds (or their enharmonic equivalents), for example, E-G-Bb-Db
Disjunct
A melody that moves mainly in leaps between adjacent notes the opposite of conjunct
Dissonant
Music whose notes mainly seem to clash harshly when sounded together
Distortion
An effect that can make the sound of an electric guitar harsher and more gritty
Djembe
A goblet-shaped drum from West Africa, played with the hands
Dominant
The fifth note of a major or minor scale (e.g. G is the dominant of C major). A triad on the dominant can be described with the Roman numeral V
Dominant preparation
A passage that creates expectation for the return of the tonic key, typically at the end of the development in a sonata form movement, by extending use of dominant harmony and by chords that lean onto the dominant. There is also often a dominant pedal
Dominant 7th chord
A triad on the dominant plus a diatonic 7th above its root. In the key of C the dominant chord is G-B-D and the dominant 7th chord is G-B-D-F
Dotted rhythms
Successive pairs of notes in which the first is a dotted note and the second is a short note, the two together making a complete beat or complete division of a beat
Double stopping
Playing two notes at the same times on a string instrument such as the violin
Double tracking
A recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance in order to produce a thicker sound
Doubling
- The performance of the same melody, in unison or in octaves by two or more musicians at the same time
- Playing two different instruments in a work such as a musical. For example, a saxophone player may be required to double on the flute in some sections
Drone
The term preferred in folk music for a continuous pedal note
Drum kit
A set of percussion instruments played by one person in a rock group. Usually includes a bass drum (played with a foot-operated beater), hi-hat cymbals (also played with a foot pedal), a snare drum, a suspended cymbal and one or mote tom-toms
Dynamics
The levels of loudness or softness in music and the symbols used to indicate those levels, such as f (loud) and p (soft)
Effects
Methods of modifying sounds through the use of music technology
End title
In film music, the music heard during the ‘end credits’ of a film
Enharmonic
Notes or keys that sound the same but are noted differently, such as C# and Db
Ensemble
A small group of musicians who perform together
Episode
A passage of music linking two appearances of the same or similar material
Exposition
The first section of a fugue; the first section of a movement in sonata form
Extended chords
Chords in which further notes a 3rd apart are added to 7th chords to produce chords of the 9th, 1tth and 13th above the root
False relation
The effect produced when the natural and chromatically altered versions of a note (such as G and G#) in different parts occur either simultaneously or in close proximity
Falsetto
A technique of singing notes higher than the normal top register by using only the edges of the vocal chords
Fanfare
A short and lively flourish for trumpets or a group of brass instruments, typically used to introduce something or someone
Figured bass
A basso continuo part with figures and other symbols beneath the notes to indicate the harmonies of the music
Fill
In pop music and jazz, a brief improvised flourish (often on drums) to fill the gap between the end of one phrase and the beginning of the next
Film score
The complete set of original music to accompany a film
Finale
- The last movement of a multi-movement work such as a concerto
- The closing scene in an act of an opera or musical
Form
The structure of a musical composition, often symbolised by capital letters. For example, an ABA structure has three sections
Free time
Music in which the rhythm does not have to fit a regular pulse
Fugato
A passage of music like the opening section of a fugue
Fugue
A contrapuntal piece or texture that begins with a single voice announcing an unaccompanied tune called the subject. Other voices enter with the subject, one at a time and sometimes at different pitches, while the previous voices continue. There is no set structure after this opening section, called the exposition, although the voices continue to interweave material (mainly from the subject), using much imitation and passing through related keys before the fugue ends in the tonic key. At some point there is often stretto (‘a tightening’) where the voices enter in turn with the subject but at close time intervals than before
Full score
A score showing the individual parts for all the instruments required
Genre
A type of music, such as the concerto, sonata or pop ballad
