Music Glossary
A
- Accelerando
- Gradually increase the tempo.
- Accent
- Attack the note louder.
- Accidental
- A sharp, flat or natural thrown into a piece with a different key signature.
- Adagio
- Slow, tranquil
- Affretando (affret.)- Quickening, hurrying.
- Alla Breve
- Same as cut time.
- Alla Marcia
- In march style.
- Allegretto
- Quite lively, moderately fast, (faster than Andante, slower than Allegro).
- Allegro
- Lively, rapid
- Andante
- "Moving", moderately slow
- Andantino
- A little faster than Andante.
- Appagiatura
- Note of embellishment, or grace note.
- Arabesque
- Ornamented.
- Arietta
- A short melody.
- Arpeggio
- The notes of a chord played one at a time.
- Articulation
- The type of attack used to play one note or a group of notes.
- Assai
- Very
- A Tempo
- Return to the original rate of speed or tempo before the Accelerando.
B
- Bar Line
- It divides the music staff into measures.
- Breath Mark
- It looks like a comma at the top of the staff. It means, take a breath.
- Brio
- Vigor, life, spirit
C
- Cantabile
- In a singing style.
- Chord
- Two or more pitches sounded at the same time.
- Chromatic Scale
- Scale of half steps (C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, etc...)
- Common Time (C)
- Same as 4/4 time.
- Con Moto
- With motion.
- Countermelody
- A less important melody that can be played along with the main melody.
- Crescendo
- Gradually increasing in loudness. Written as a less-than sign. (cres. or cresc.)
- Cut Time (Alla Breve)
- A time signature indicating two counts in each measure (2/2, time signature), the half note gets one count.
D
- Da Capo al Coda (D.C. al Coda)
- Go back to the beginning and play until the coda sign. When you reach the coda sign, skip to the Coda.
- Da Capo al Fine (D.C. al Fine)
- Repeat from the beginning to the end-Fine
- Dal Sengo al Fine
- Repeat from the sign (it looks like an "S" with two dots and a line through it) to the end-Fine
- Decrescendo
- Gradually decreasing in loudness (decres. or decresc.)
- Diminuendo
- Gradually softer. (dim.)
- Divisi
- Means that part of the section should play the top notes and the other half of the section should play the bottom notes.
- Dolce (dol.)
- Softly, sweetly, delicately.
- Dominant
- The fifth note of a scale
- Double Appogiatura
- Two grace notes before the melody note.
- Double bar-line
- It marks the end of a piece of music.
- **Drone-bass
- A bas on the tonic, or tonic and dominant, throughout a movement or a piece, as in a musette.
- Duet
- A composition for two performers.
- Dynamics
- The loudness or softness of music.
E
- Embouchure
- The mouth formation used to play an instrument.
- Enharmonics
- Notes that sound the same but are written differently.
- Espressivo
- With expression.
- Etude
- A study
F
- Fermata
- A symbol that means to hold the note or rest until the conductor directs you to stop.
- Fine
- The end; the conclusion.
- Flat
- It lowers the pitch of a note 1/2 step.
- Forte (f.)
- Loud.
- Fortissimo (ff.)
- Very loud but under control.
G
- Gavotte
- An old French dance in double rythm beginning on the unaccented beat.
- Grave
- Slow, solemn, deep.
- Grazioso
- In a graceful manner.
H
- Harmony
- Two or more different notes played or sung at the same time.
I
- Il canto ben marcato
- The melody played distinctly.
- Interval
- The distance between two notes.
- Introduction
- A section of the music that preceds the first theme.
L
- Largo
- Broadly, slowly; the slowest tempo mark.
- Ledger Lines
- Short lines used to extend the staff.
- Legato
- Play as smoothly and connected as possible.
- Leggiero (leggo.)
- Easily, lightly, delicately.
- Long Rest
- A long rest looks like a bold line in a measure with a number above it. It means to rest the number of measures indicated.
M
- Maestoso
- Majestically
- Marcato (marc.)
- Marked, accented.
- Measure
- The space between two bar lines; also known as a "bar".
- Melody
- An organized succession of tones.
- Meno mosso
- Less motion; slower
- Mezzo Forte (mf.)
- Medium loud.
- Mezzo Piano (mp.)
- Medium soft.
- Minuet
- An early French dance in triple rythm, stately movement.
- Misterioso
- In a style suggestive of mystery.
- Moderato
- Moderate speed.
- Molto
- Much.
- Monophony
- A single unaccompanied melody.
- Musette
- Short piece imitating a bagpipe or a small oboe. **Drone-bass
N
- Natural
- Cancels a flat or a sharp for that measure. Unless the natural is placed in the key signature. Then that note is natural in the whole section.
P
- Pesante
- Heavy, ponderous; with weight.
- Phrase
- A musical though or sentence.
- Piano (p)
- Soft.
- Pianissimo (pp)
- Very soft.
- Pick-Up Notes
- Note or notes that come before the first full measure.
- Poco
- Little.
- Poco a poco
- Little by little.
- Polyphony
- Two or more melodies played at the same time.
- Presto
- Quickly; faster than Allegro.
- Primo
- First part.
R
- Rallentando (rall.)
- Gradually growing slower.
- Repeat Sign ( ||: )
- Repeat from the beginning or repeat section of music between the repeat signs.
- Ritardando (rit. or ritard.)
- Gradually slackening the pace.
S
- Scale
- A collection of pitches arranged from lowest to highest or highest to lowest.
- Secondo
- Second part.
- Sempre
- Always.
- Sforzando (sfz.)
- With sudden emphasis.
- Sharp (#)
- Raises the pitch of a note 1/2 step.
- Short Appogiatura
- One grace note before the melody note.
- Slur
- A curved line over or under two or more notes of different pitches to show they are played legato.
- Soli
- The whole section plays.
- Solo
- Only one person plays.
- Staccto
- A dot placed above or below the note which means to play short and detached.
- Staff
- The lines and spaces on which music is written.
- Stringendo (string.)
- Pressing or accelerating.
- Subdominant
- The fourth note of a scale; chord built on the fourth note of a scale.
T
- Tempo
- The speed of the music.
- Tenuto
- A line placed above or below the note meaning to sustain for full value.
- Texture
- The character of a composition as determined by the relationship of its melodies, countermelodiees, and/or chords.
- Theme
- The main musical idea in a piece of music.
- Tie
- A curved line that connects two notes of the SAME pitch; tied notes are played as one unbroken note.
- Time Signature
- A time signature consists of two numbers at the beginning of a piece of music but can change throughout the piece. The top number tells you the number of counts in each measure; the bottom number tells you the type of note that recieves one count.
- Tonic
- The first note of a scale; a chord built on the first note of a scale.
- Treble Clef
- Also called the "G Clef"; read by Saxophone, Flute, Oboe, Clarinets, Trumpet, French Horn & Mallet Percussion.
- Triad
- Three toned chord; root-its third and its fifth.
- Triplet
- A group of three notes to be played in time of one note to the next higher value.
- Turn
- An embellishment consisting of four notes (usually) a principal note played twice with its higher and lower auxiliary.
- Tutti
- Everyone plays.
U
- Unison
- Everyone plays the same notes and rhythms.
V
- Variation
- A repeated musical idea which has been slightly changed in some way from the original.
- Vivace
- With vivacity; lively, quick.
- Vivo
- Lively.
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