Dictionary Flashcards
Choir
A group of singers who perform together.
Beat
A regular pulse that runs underneath a piece of music. Time is counted in music by using beats.
Bow
A stick with horsehair stretched along it, that is used to play instruments like the violin.
Classical
The term “classical” is often used to describe non-contemporary music or contemporary music that is not rock, pop, jazz or another style. However, there is also a Classical era in music history that includes compositions written from about 1750 to 1825. Music from this period is orderly, balanced and clear.
Concertmaster
The principal violinist designated as the leader of an orchestra.
Continuo
A way to play instruments together so they sound good. One instrument plays the bass line (the low notes), while other instruments play music that go along with the bass line.
Accompaniment
Accompaniment is the music played by instruments that is heard behind the main performer. For example, singers might have “piano accompaniment.”
Allegro
Italian for “happy.” To play a piece in a lively manner, at a fast (but not too fast) pace.
Alto
A vocal range that is usually the lowest female voice in choral music. In choral music, there are 4 classifications of vocal range; soprano (the highest), alto (the next lowest), tenor (the next lowest, usual for a male singer), and bass (a low male voice). Alto is also used to describe the range of many instruments. The range is between F3 and F5.
Bar
A made-up way of breaking down a piece of music into evenly spaced breaks. This makes navigating a piece of music easier (for instance, we can say to a whole orchestra, ‘turn to page 6, bar 89 and let’s go!). A bar is composed of a certain number of beats. The number and type of beats is denoted by the ‘Time Signature’. Also called a measure.
Barcarole
A boating song from Venice that sounds like the rhythm of rowing a boat. e.g. “Les contes d ́Hoffmann” by Jacques Offenbach
Bass Drum
The largest drum. It stands upright and is hit on the side. It is used in both orchestras and marching bands.
Ballad
A slow song that tells a story.
Baton
A stick used by conductors to guide the musicians or singers.
Chorus
- A group of singers.
- The music for a group of singers.
- The section of a song that is repeated, usually after a verse.
For example, in the song ‘Sorry’ by Justin Bieber, the chorus is the repeating part that begins with the words ‘Is it too late now to say Sorry…’
Ballet
A theatrical performance that tells a story using music, costumes, sets, and dance.
Consonance
A combination of sounds that give a pleasing effect, with a feeling of satisfation and rest.
Alla
In the style of – for example, “alla turca” means in the Turkish style.
A cappella
People singing without instruments.
Arrangement
Changing a written piece of music so that it can be played by many different instruments.
Amplification
The process of making sound louder.
Clarinet
A long, black woodwind instrument that has a mouthpiece with one reed and keys down the sides. You play a clarinet by blowing in the mouthpiece and moving the reed. The sound changes by pressing on the keys.
Concerto
A piece of music in which one or more solo instruments alternate with the larger orchestra, providing contrast and a the opportunity for virtuoso (fancy and impressive) performance. A concerto can be written for any instrument or groups of instruments.
Consort
A group of instruments of the same family or a group of singers or instrumentalists performing together.
Aria
A vocal solo, with instrumental accompaniment, from an opera.
Accelerando
Italian for “accelerating.” To grow faster and faster.
Chord
When three or more notes are played at the same time.
Cantata
A musical work sung by a choir with instrumental accompaniment and solo voices.
Arpeggio
Playing the notes in a chord quickly one after the other.
Cello
An instrument with four strings, that is played by sitting behind the instrument and placing it between your legs with the bottom of the instrument resting on the floor. It plays medium to low notes by drawing a bow across the strings or plucking them.
Crescendo
Italian for growing louder.
Clavichord
A keyboard instrument whose sound is made when hitting a key causes metal pins to hit the strings inside the instrument.
Concert
When any group of musicians plays in front of people.
Bagatelle
A short, lively piece of music, usually for piano.
Concertante
A part of a piece of music written so that a person can show off how good they are at playing an instrument.
Canon
A song made up of different parts that copy each other. Each part uses the same notes, but they start one after the other until everyone is playing a different part of the song at the same time.
Canzone or canzona
A song whose words come from medieval poems. They may be sung with musical instruments playing in the background.
Cadence
The notes at the end of a song. A cadence usually consists of two chords that provide musical punctuation at the end of a phrase.
Countertenor
A male voice that is higher than a tenor. A countertenor sounds very similar to a female voice.
Chamber Music
Music written to be played by a small group of people in a small, private room. Today, chamber music is still played by small groups of three or four musicians, but it is played at larger concerts.
Clef
A sign put at the start of each line of a piece of music. The clef tells you what pitch the notes on the stave (staff) are in.
Bourrée
A quick French dance.
Arabesque
A short piano composition with extra musical decoration.
Conductor
The person who makes sure that everyone in the orchestra or choir is playing or singing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time. They stand in front of the orchestra and direct them when they play each song.
Banjo
A string instrument that is like a guitar, but smaller and round. A banjo has five strings, and they make different notes when plucked.
Coda
Italian for “tail.” A passage added to the final section of a movement or piece of music to give a feeling of ending.
Chanson
French for “song.” Usually refers to an old French part song, similar to a madrigal.
Brass
Family of wind instruments made of metal with a cup-shaped mouthpiece (the part you blow in). Examples of brass instruments are the trumpet, trombone and tuba.
Cymbals
Circular metal instruments that are hit together to make sound. They can also be hit one at a time with a drumstick. The different sizes of the cymbals make different sounds, so a smaller one does not sound like a larger one.
Capriccio
A type of music that is short, fast and humorous.
Chamber Orchestra
A small orchestra that plays in small concert halls.
Celesta
An instrument that is played by striking a key (like a piano), which in turn, makes a hammer hit a flat steel bar to produce the sound.
Accent
When you are playing music, to accent a note is to make it stand out from other notes by playing it differently.
Chaconne
Originally a French dance, chaconne now refers to a piece of music where chords are played over and over again, but keep getting higher and higher.
Counterpoint
When there are two or more different sounding tunes in the same piece of music.
Andante
Italian for “going.” To play a piece at a moderate speed – not too fast, not too slow.
Coloratura
Very fancy vocal music that is sung by a woman with a high voice.
Bassoon
A long, narrow woodwind instrument with a double reed. Blowing in it makes the reed move quickly and makes sound. The sound can be changed by opening and closing small holes on the sides.
Baritone
A deep male voice, lower than tenor and higher than bass. In choral music, there are 4 main classifications of vocal range; soprano (the highest), alto (the next lowest), tenor (the next lowest, usual for a male singer), and bass (a low male voice). Baritone sits between bass and tenor. From A2 to A4 on a piano.
Baroque
The period of music from around 1600 to 1750. Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel were famous Baroque composers. Collections of music from the Baroque period.
Bass Clef
The bass clef is the bottom five lines in a piece of music, which make the lowest notes. The sign for the bass clef is a backward C followed by two dots.
Adagio
At first translated as comfortable, at one’s ease, without hurrying, adagio has come to be accepted as the slowest tempo. Adagio is also used as a noun to designate a slow movement or work.
Atonal
Music that has no key. All the notes are treated as equal.
Bass
The lowest male voice. The word bass is also used to describe the lowest instruments.
Carillon
Bells in a church tower that are played like an organ.
Chromatic
A music scale made up of 12 notes, each a semitone apart.
For example, on the piano a chromatic scale is played by playing each white and black key between two notes with the same letter name.
Cadenza
A part near the end of a song where the performer plays by himself to show off his/her skill.
Dampener/Damper
Two words for the same thing. A piece of soft material, usually felt, which sits on the string of a piano to stop it vibrating. The damper automatically rises when a note on the piano is pressed, allowing the string to vibrate and sound to be made. When a note is released, the damper falls, thus stopping the vibration and ending the note.
Decrescendo
Italian for “growing softer.”
Digital Piano
The digital piano is essentially an electronic keyboard in a wooden box. They tend to have better quality speakers, and weighted keys.
Diminuendo
Play softer. See Dynamics.
Dissonance
A harsh or disagreeable combination of sounds, or a combination of sounds that creates a feeling of tension needing to be resolved. Literally comes from the Latin word Dissonare meaning
‘disagreeing’.
Divertissement
A song made up of pieces and arrangements of other well-known songs. Also called a ‘mash up’.
Dolce
Italian for “sweet.”
Downbeat
When the conductor moves his baton down to show which notes to accent.
Drum
Percussion instrument on which sound is made by hitting a skin pulled across a hollow space on a round frame with a stick (called a drumstick). There are lots of kinds of drums, and they all sound different depending on their size and shape.
Duet
A piece of music written for two performers.
Duo
Two singers or musicians.
Dynamics
How loudly or softly to play a piece of music. Comes from the Greek word Dynakios meaning ‘Power’. Here is a table of the most common dynamic terms and their symbols and meanings.
Dynamic Range
- The range of acceptable or possible volumes of sound occurring in the course of a piece of music or a performance.
- The range of possible volumes of sound an instrument or sound system can make from quiet to loud. Bigger ranges meaning a bigger span of volume possibility.
Encore
French for “again.” The call for a performer to continue playing at the end of a concert. Also the name for an additional piece of music, not listed in the program, that is played at the end of a concert.
Eighth Note
A note that lasts 1/8 the duration of a whole note. See below chart for relative note lengths and rest lengths (periods of time where you don’t play), and how to write them.
Ensemble
A group of people singing or playing together.
Etude
French for “study.” A piece of music originally intended to help a practice an instrument.
Expression
The life we breathe into music. It’s not what is played, it is how it is played.
Fanfare
A flourish of trumpets, or other instruments imitating a group of trumpets making an announcement.
Fiddle
Another word for violin.
Finale
Italian for “end.” The final part of a piece of music.
Fingerwork
The movement and positioning of your fingers on an instrument such that you can play a piece of
music smoothly and comfortably.
Flat
A symbol ( b ) put in front of a written note in a piece of music to lower it by one semitone. All of the black notes on a piano are named after white notes, and have two names. They are sharps of the white note immediately below them, and they are ALSO flats of the white notes immediately above them.
For example the black note one semitone higher than F is F# or
F sharp, and is also G flat, as it is a semitone lower than G.
Flub
A slang word for a mistake.
Flute
A thin woodwind instrument held sideways to the mouth. It is played by blowing across the
mouthpiece. The notes are played by pressing small keys.
Flutist
A person who plays the flute.
Form
The pattern of a piece of music.
Forte
Italian for “loud.” See Dynamics.
Fortissimo
Italian for “very loud.” See Dynamics.
Frequency
How many times an objects vibrates per second. It is measured in Hertz, written Hz, (named after a German dude Heinrich Hertz).
For example, a string vibrating at 88 vibrations per second, would have a frequency of 88Hz.
Fugue
A composition with two or more voices or parts, in which the melody (called the subject), is played by one voice/part and then replayed and modified by the other voices/parts. There are usually from two to five voices or parts.
Glissando
A rapid succession of notes, often played on the piano or harp by sliding the fingers quickly over the keys or strings.
Gong
A metal disc with a turned down rim that makes a loud, booming sound when struck with a mallet.
Grave
Italian for “slow and serious.”
Grazioso
Italian for “graceful.”
Gregorian chant
Church music with no rhythm and no harmony. Sung without music by a number of people. Named for Pope Gregory.
Half Note
A note that is played for half the time of a whole note. See chart on page 8.
Harmony
A collection of sounds that sound good together. We use scales to learn which notes sound good together. Comes from the latin word Harmonia meaning ‘agreement’.
Harp
- A string instrument that dates back to 3500 BC. The modern harp has a large triangular frame with strings stretched vertically across the triangle. The strings are graduated in length, from longest/lowest pitches to shortest/highest, and there are foot pedals that can be used to raise the pitch of each string by a semitone. The sound is created by pucking the strings with the fingers.
- The name given to the metal frame inside a piano, which looks like a harp laid on it’s side.
Harpsichord
A keyboard instrument that was an ancestor of the piano. When the keys are pressed, the strings are plucked by quills. Because of this, it is nearly impossible to make changes in dynamics (volume) playing the harpsichord.
Homophonic
Melody backed up by chords. All the notes are moving the same way, accompanying the same
melody.
Hymn
A church song of praise.
Impressionism
A term transferred from painting to music. Instead of lifelike paintings with hard outlines, Impressionist artists used dots, or shades of colour to create the “impression” of a scene on canvas. Musical Impressionists used different chord combinations and scales to try and capture the same kind of mood in their compositions.
Improvisation
The art of composing music while performing it, without the help of a written score.
Incidental Music
Background music for a play, movie, or television show. It is used to set the mood and illustrate the action, and further the communication of the scene.
Instrument
An object used to make music. There three basic kinds of instruments: wind instruments, which use air to make the sound; percussion instruments, which involve something being hit to make the sound; and instruments with strings that are plucked or played with a bow.
Instrumentation
- The act of writing music for an instrument.
- Often used synonymously with ‘orchestration’ (which is the act of composing a piece of music for an orches existing piece of music for an orchestra, done by writing each instrument’s part one a time, and fitting each part with the others such that all parts sound good and complete when all played together).
Interlude
- A piece of music played between two other larger sections.
- Music played between acts in a play or opera.
Sharp
A symbol (#) used in written music, which raises a note by a semitone when put in front of it. A sharp note sounds a little higher than a regular one. All of the black notes on a piano are named after white notes, and have two names. They are
sharps of the white note immediately below them, and they are ALSO flats of the white notes immediately above them.
For example, the black note one semitone higher than F is F# or F sharp, and is also G flat, as it is a semitone lower than G.
Staccato
A direction in musical composition telling musicians to play short, sharp, disconnected notes. Press a piano note as if it was very hot, this would be staccato! It is written by placing a dot above or below the note.
Staff
Also called a stave. A set of five lines and four spaces on which notes are written to indicate their pitch. A clef at the beginning of the staff tells which notes are on which lines.
