BPart or parts written to support and enhance the main melody or part in a musical composition. For example, a piano part could be written to accompany the vocal melody.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBaerophones
BA family of instruments which use a vibrating column of air to produce sound. The column of air can be produced by blowing through the instrument, buzzing lips, etc.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBaleatoric music
BMusic which is composed using chance methods: compositional choices are made by the throwing of dice, tossing of coins, etc. John Cage's music is the primary example of this type of composition.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBallegro
BA musical term that means lively and quick.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBalto
BIn a four-part chorus, the second highest voice. This is usually the lowest sounding female voice, though the part can also be sung by boys or men.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBalto or contralto
BRange of a voice between tenor and mezzo-soprano. In a four-part chorus, it is the second highest part. It also refers to instruments that play within this same range.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBandante
BA musical term that means moderate tempo.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBaria
BThe episode of an opera in which the action stops and a character expresses his or her emotions in a phrased melodic style.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBarpeggios
BAn arpeggio is the playing of the notes of a chord in succession, rather than simultaneously.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBarrangement
BAn adaptation of a musical composition to other instruments or type of orchestra group than what it was originally written for.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBart song
BThe art song is a trained composer's setting of a poem for voice and accompanying instrument. Lieder is German for "song," which was perfected by Franz Schubert to such an extent that it became known as an art song.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBatonal
BMusic which avoids emphasis on any pitch, so that there is no sense of a tonic. Traditional tonal rhythm and phrase patterns are also avoided, and use of all twelve possible chromatic pitches is stressed. Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern were the first composers to work extensively with this approach to music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBballet
BA form of dancing which evolved into a recognized art form, with its own technique and conventions. It was first strongly established at the sixteenth-century French court. It is usually supported by orchestral music. Many early twentieth-century musical works were composed as ballets.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBBaroque period
BThe musical period which lasted (approximately) from 1600 to 1750. It is often characterized as a time period which emphasized strong contrasts in instrumentation, dynamics, etc. Important composers included Monteverdi, Vivaldi, Handel, Scarlatti, and Bach.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBbass drum
BThe bass drum is a large drum frequently used in the orchestra. Because of its size, it is placed upright so that both sides of the drum can be played, one with each hand.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBbass
BThe lowest sounding male voice, used as the lowest part in a four-part chorus.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBbebop
BBebop is a type of jazz that became popular after World War II. It is characterized by complex rhythms and patterns, experimental harmonic structures, and instrumental virtuosity.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBbongos
BA bongo is a type of drum, one of a pair of small tuned drums, played by beating or tapping with the fingers.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBbow
BA bow is an implement used for playing a stringed instrument. It is a wooden stick with horsehair stretched from its lower end to its tip.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBbrass
BThe orchestral group or family of instruments made of brass or metal that use cup-shaped mouthpieces, which a player buzzes into. Modern orchestras have trumpets, horns, trombones, and tubas as a standard part of their brass sections.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcadence
BA melodic and/or chordal idea which occurs at the end of a section or phrase of music, giving the impression of a temporary or permanent resting point or conclusion.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcanon
BA kind of contrapuntal device in which a melody is sung or played by one part, and imitated completely and exactly in one or more other parts. This was an important kind of music during both the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcelesta
BA celesta resembles a small upright piano and has hammers that act on steel bars. The celesta makes bell-like sounds.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcello
BThe cello is the third-largest member of the violin family. The correct name for the cello is violoncello, which means "little big-violin."
Ec[000000]f[16]LBchamber music
BMusic written for small instrumental ensembles, such as a string quartet with one player on each part, and intended for performance in more intimate settings than orchestral music. Chamber music began to be of importance during the Baroque period, and became very important during the Classical and Romantic periods.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcharacter piece
BA short work, often for solo piano, which concentrates on the presentation of a single mood or emotion. It is often in ABA form, with a contrasting middle section. It was a type of composition popular during the Romantic period.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBchivalrous
BHaving the qualities of loyalty, courage, and courtesy expected of a knight.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBchoir
BA group of singers, often divided into four different voice parts, ranging from high registers to low registers: soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. The word "choir" often implies a religious group, while the term "chorus" implies a secular group. Choir is also used for the instrumental families Ec[000000]f[16]LFfound in an orchestra: brass choir, string choir, etc.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBchord
BA blending of three or more notes which produces harmony.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBchordophonesB
A family of instruments which use vibrating strings to produce sound. The strings can be plucked, scraped with a bow, or struck by a hammer. Modern chordophones include the guitar, piano, violin, viola, and cello. The term is sometimes spelled as cordophone.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBchromaticism
BThe use of notes which do not fit the major or minor scale of a piece. These notes provide harmonic color and interest, while also weakening the sense of tonality. The nineteenth century saw a steady progression in the use of chromatic pitches, which led to the new musical approaches of the twentieth century.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBclarinet
BThe clarinet is a member of the wind family. It is a woodwind instrument with an end-blown pipe made of wood. The cylindrical mouthpiece is called a beak and has a single reed affixed to its back.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBClassical period
BThe musical period which lasted (approximately) from 1750 to 1800 and is characterized by simplicity and directness, with an emphasis on clear, balanced forms (such as sonata form). Important composers include Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcollage
BIn music, a mixture of different musical styles, or fragments of styles, in the same musical work: a combination of seemingly incongruous elements that form a whole. Charles Ives wrote many collage sections in his works, combining marches, hymn tunes, ragtime, and folk songs with Ec[000000]f[16]LFtraditional and twentieth century techniques.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcomedian
BA comedian is a person who tells jokes or does impressions for an audience as his or her profession; an entertainer that performs comedy.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcomposer
BA person who writes music.
B Ec[000000]f[16]BLconcerto
BAn instrumental work which features a solo instrument contrasting with a larger group of instruments. It was developed in the Baroque period and continued to be popular during the Classical and Romantic periods. Concertos are often in three movements--two fast movements separated by a slow movement.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBconcerto grosso
BA popular type of instrumental work during the Baroque period which contrasts a small group of instruments with a larger group. J. S. Bach's well-known IBrandenburg ConcertosI are an example of this type of work.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBconch
BA sea conch is a mollusk with a thick spiral shell and wide outer lip. It is traditionally used by islanders as a horn.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBconsonance
BHarmonies or intervals which suggest stability or resolution.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcordophones
BA family of instruments which use vibrating strings to produce sound. The strings can be plucked, scraped with a bow, or struck by a hammer. Modern cordophones include the guitar, piano, violin, viola, and cello. The term is sometimes spelled as cIhIordophone.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcounterpoint
BThe compositional technique of creating and combining two or more independent melodic lines. The technique was important in all musical periods, but especially important in Renaissance and Baroque music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcrescendo
BAn Italian term for becoming gradually louder. This dynamic device was developed during the early Classical period by orchestral groups such as the Mannheim orchestra. The piano achieved importance and popularity from the 1700s on partially because of its ability to perform crescendos and diminuendos.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcycle
BA cycle is a name given to a group of works, usually songs, which are based on the poems of a particular poet that are connected by a general theme.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBcymbals
BA percussion instrument consisting of two round, large brass disks of equal size, with a strap attached to the middle of each plate. This allows the player to hold one in each hand. They are either clashed together, or one is struck with a drum stick.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBdamper pedal
BThe damper pedal is the mechanical device in a keyboard instrument that stops the vibration of a string and in so doing, stops the sound.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBdecibels
BDecibels are used to measure the differences in sound volume between two sounds. The human ear has a dynamic range of 130 decibels. Ec[000000]f[16]LBDelibes
BLeo Delibes (1836-1891) was sometimes known as "the father of modern ballet music." ICoppeliaI was his first full-length ballet. Ec[000000]f[16]LBdiminuendo
BAn Italian term for becoming gradually softer; the opposite of crescendo.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBdissonance
BHarmony or intervals which suggest instability or tension. All styles of music use dissonance, some styles (such as nineteenth and twentieth century styles) using more than others.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBdissonant
BHarsh or inharmonious sounds.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBdulcimer
BA dulcimer is a medieval stringed instrument with a sound board, often triangular in appearance. It has ten or more strings, which are struck with small hammers.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBdynamic range
BThe spectrum from loud to soft sounds.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBdynamics
BThe loudness or softness of a sound, often indicated in a composition by the use of Italian terms such as IpianoI (soft), Iforte I(loud), etc.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBelectronic music
BMusic produced by electronic instruments, such as a synthesizer, and recorded on tape for performance. The music may also use recorded acoustic sounds, such as voice, instruments, trains, rain, etc., which are modified electronically or by tape manipulation. Important composers Ec[000000]f[16]LFinclude Varese, Berio, Stockhausen, Babbitt, Mimaroglu, and many others.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBEnglish horn
BThe English horn is neither English nor a horn. It is really an alto oboe. It probably got its name from the French word "angle" (angled ) being confused with "anglais"I I(English). The tone of the English horn is soft and melancholy.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBEnlightenment
BA philosophical movement during the eighteenth century, coinciding with the Classical period in music. The movement emphasized and valued human reason and common sense, focusing upon the rights and abilities of the average individual. Humanity and nature were believed to be Ec[000000]f[16]LFpart of a rational scheme, with God as the master clock maker.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBethnomusicologistB
A person involved in the scientific study of the music of a specific culture, in relation to its sounds and practices, and in how it relates to other cultures.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBExistentialism
BA twentieth-century philosophical movement often characterized by the slogan "existence precedes essence."
In other words, there is no self before action. Human beings, therefore, are completely free and responsible for their actions.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBExpressionism
BA term borrowed from painting and literature to apply to early twentieth-century musical works which expressed abnormal or neurotic states of mind, influenced by the studies and theories of Sigmund Freud. The music was usually extremely chromatic and often atonal. Ec[000000]f[16]LFComposers who produced Expressionistic works include Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg, and Alban Berg.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBfantasia
BA fantasia or fantasy is a musical composition that has a fanciful or dreamlike mood.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBflute
BThe flute is a wind instrument, usually silver plated, in the form of a straight pipe. It is held horizontally and played by blowing through a mouth hole near one end of the pipe.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBform
BThe overall shape of a composition, including the way in which the various musical sections relate to each other. Any musical work has a form, but form in music was especially emphasized during the Classical period, which created the important sonata form.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBFrench horn
BThe French horn is an orchestral horn in the brass family. It has a long, coiled tube with a flared bell.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBfrets
BFrets are narrow strips of metal or wood affixed across the finger board of some stringed instruments such as lutes, guitars, and banjos. They serve to differentiate notes from each other.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBfugue
BA contrapuntal composition based on a theme (or subject), which begins in one voice and is strictly imitated by other voices in close succession.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBfuhrer
BThe German word for leader. Adolf Hitler was given the title, Fuhrer.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBgamelan
BAn ensemble of metal and wooden percussion instruments found on the islands of Java and Bali. The music focuses on repeated musical ideas and has influenced many composers of the twentieth century, including Claude Debussy and Olivier Messiaen.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBglockenspiel
BA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument with steel bars arranged like a keyboard and played with two hammers.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBgong
BThe gong is a huge disk of brass that is struck with a large felt-headed stick.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBgrand piano
BA grand piano is a wing-shaped piano that comes in various sizes. The concert grand is about nine feet long. The baby grand is about five feet long.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBGregorian chant
BThe Liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church named after Pope Gregory I (540-604). The music consists of a single melodic line and lacks regular meter and measure.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBguitar
BThe guitar is a stringed instrument, somewhat in the shape of a violin, with a long fretted neck. It has six strings that are plucked or strummed with a plectrum (pick).
Ec[000000]f[16]LBhalf-tone
BThe smallest common interval in music. An example is: C to C-sharp.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBhammer
BA hammer is one of the padded levers that strikes the strings of a piano.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBharmony
BHarmony consists of three or more simultaneous pitches which form chords. Harmonic structures represent the vertical aspect of music, as opposed to the horizontal aspect, which is represented by melody. Chords are used by composers to form patterns which are called harmonic Ec[000000]f[16]LFprogressions. Harmony played an important role in music from the late sixteenth century to the present, but was strongly emphasized during the late Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBharp
BA stringed instrument that has a large triangular frame in which about forty-five parallel strings are placed that decrease in length. At the foot of the instrument are seven pedals that control different strings. These pedals can raise pitches, making it play in any key. It is a permanent instrument of the orchestra.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBharpsichord
BA keyboard instrument which was popular during the Baroque period, though also used during the Classical period. It was replaced in terms of popularity by the piano during the 1700s. When a performer presses a key, sound is produced by quills that pluck the strings. Ec[000000]f[16]LFDynamics are not affected by how hard the key is pressed; instead, different dynamic levels can be produced by a mechanism that increases the number of sounding strings.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBHeinrich Schutz
BA German composer of the Baroque period of music, influenced by Italian styles. Schutz wrote no instrumental music, but considerable church music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBhighlifeB
A form of African popular music that takes a satirical look at the human condition. Similar to the Caribbean calypso, highlife reflects a long tradition of African social comment.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBhomophony
BA musical texture which emphasized one primary melody over and against a largely chordal, harmonic background. The texture was emphasized in the Classical period, as a change from the contrapuntal textures favored by the Baroque.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBhorn
BThe horn is a member of the wind family. Horns consist of twelve feet of narrow coned-shaped tubing wound in a circle with a large bell and funnel-shaped mouthpiece. Inside the circle are three valves. Tubing is required for the valves. The horn is probably the most difficult to play of all the instruments.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBhumanism
BA philosophical movement during the Renaissance which emphasized the quality of life on earth, in contrast to the medieval view that life on earth was primarily a preparation for death.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBhymn
BA hymn is a religious or sacred song of praise.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBidee fixe
BA musical theme which recurs throughout a work, usually representing a character or idea in a programmatic work. The term was used specifically by Berlioz in regard to his ISymphonie FantastiqueI.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBidiophones
BA family of instruments which are struck, scraped, rattled or rubbed, and produce sound by the vibration of their own material, not by vibrations of a string, skin or air column. Examples of this large family include the triangle, gong, cymbals, rattles, and chimes.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBimitative counterpoint
BA specific type of counterpoint in which each voice or part enters successively by imitating the pattern of notes heard in the first or opening melodic line. This was emphasized during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBImpressionism
BA term borrowed from painting to identify a French musical movement at the beginning of the twentieth century. Debussy is the most important composer identified with this movement, though he disliked the term. The style is characterized by emphasis on color, transparent textures, Ec[000000]f[16]LFfluid rhythms, harmony used for color instead of precise function, and a blurring of form.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBimprovised music
BMusic that is created at the time of the performance, not composed or notated in advance.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBindeterminacy
BA trend in music of the late twentieth century in which certain aspects of the music are not notated, leaving some musical decisions to the performer, instead of the composer. John Cage and Morton Feldman are two composers who used this technique.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBinstrumentation
BArrangement of instruments of the orchestra to obtain desired effects within the limitations of the individual instruments. This is also known as orchestration.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBinterval
BThe specific distance between any two pitches.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBjazz
BAmerican music developed out of African-American styles, such as blues and ragtime. It uses syncopated rhythms and tonal harmonic progressions, and features improvised instrumental solos. The history of jazz can be divided into many different style periods, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, and fusion.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBJohn Blow
BJohn Blow was an English composer of the Baroque period, very much influenced by Italian and French musical styles. He wrote songs and church music and a pastoral opera.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBjongleurs
BJongleurs were French professional musicians who entertained in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They were often in the service of troubadours, whose songs they sang and performed.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBkazoo
BThe kazoo is an American toy instrument from around the year 1880. When the performer hums into one end, a buzzing sound is produced. It is about the size and shape of a cigar.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBkettledrums
BKettledrums, or timpani, can be tuned to a definite pitch. Sheep or calf skins are stretched across large copper kettles and sounded with felted wooden hammers. Kettledrums are standard drums of the orchestra.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBkoto
BThe Japanese koto is a stringed instrument like a zither. It usually has thirteen strings that are plucked to produce sound.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBleitmotiv
BWagner's term for a musical theme used to symbolize characters, places, and things in his operas. The theme also serves as a musical means of unifying the works.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBlento
BA musical term that means slow.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBlibretto
BThe written text of a musical drama such as an opera or stage play.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBLied
BThe German word for "song," usually referring to nineteenth-century works for piano and voice, which were settings for significant poems of the day. Schubert wrote over six hundred Lieder (the plural of Lied).
Ec[000000]f[16]LBliturgy
BThe arrangement or collection of services for public worship, particularly the Eucharistic service.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBloudness
BLoudness is the amount or volume level of sound perceived by the ears. It is one of the characteristics of sound.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBlullaby
BA lullaby is a song to lull a child to sleep.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBlyre
BThe lyre is an ancient stringed instrument which may have originated in Greece. It had a sound box made from the shell of a turtle.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmandolin
BThe mandolin is a ten-stringed instrument with a pear-shaped body and is like a lute.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBMass
BThe most solemn service of the Roman Catholic Church. During the Middle Ages, much of the Mass was sung to the music of Gregorian Chant. Machaut is credited as the first composer to write music for the principal texts of the Mass (in the fourteenth century). Composition of Ec[000000]f[16]LFMasses was an important type of music during the Renaissance, culminating with the works of Palestrina (c.1525-94). After that, this type of work lost its importance, though most composers of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries still wrote them.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmeasure
BA group of beats contained within two bar lines.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmelody
BAny succession of pitches which are heard separately (as opposed to simultaneously) and form a recognizable shape. Melody represents the horizontal aspect of music, as opposed to harmony, which represents the vertical. The highness and lowness of the pitches, in Ec[000000]f[16]LFaddition to their duration or rhythm, can form sections or units, which are called phrases.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmembranophones
BMembranophones produce sound by the vibration of a stretched skin (or membrane), which encloses an air space by being stretched tightly across a box-like chamber. Any drum is a membranophone.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmeter
BIn a composition it is the basic grouping of beats and accents found in each measure. It is usually denoted by the time signature.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmezzo-soprano
BThe range of the mezzo-soprano is midway between a soprano and an alto.
B Ec[000000]f[16]BL"mighty handful"
BA group of five Russian nationalist composers active in the last part of the nineteenth century. Their rhythms and melodies were strongly influenced by Russian folk music, and their works also featured brilliant orchestration. Known as the "mighty five," the composers were: Ec[000000]f[16]LFBalakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov, the last two being the best known.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBminimalism
BA movement in late twentieth-century music initiated by LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, and others. The music focuses on simple, repeated patterns which change slowly over a long period of time. It usually uses tonal elements and a steady, obvious pulse or beat. This movement Ec[000000]f[16]LFwas partially influenced by ethnic music, as well as American pop and rock.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBminimalist music
BMinimal music is a style of music that is sparse, simple, and often repetitious. This style emerged around the mid-1960s and still exists today.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBminstrels
BMinstrels were professional musicians of the Middle Ages, same as jongleurs.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmonks
BMen who are members of a religious order who live in seclusion in a monastery and take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBmovement
BAn independent single piece that forms part of a large composition, such as a sonata or symphony.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBNaples
BNaples is a seaport in southwest Italy on the Bay of Naples. It was the musical center during most of the eighteenth century.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBnationalism
BThe use of folklore as subject matter and folk music as a stylistic influence in music from Scandinavia, eastern Europe, and other countries in the nineteenth century, as well as the early twentieth century. Important composers include Grieg, Sibelius, Dvorak, and Smetana.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBneoclassicism
BA musical movement initiated by Stravinsky during the 1920s which returned to eighteenth-century musical qualities, such as clear textures, abstract subject matter, clear forms, small ensembles, tonal harmony, and dry sonorities.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBnew romanticism
BA movement in late twentieth-century music which originated in eastern Europe and was developed further in the United States. It is characterized by emphasis on evocative expression, coloristic orchestration, unusual sonorities, and an atonal harmonic framework. Principal Ec[000000]f[16]LFcomposers include Ligeti, Penderecki, and Crumb.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBnocturne
BThe nocturne is a night piece. Romantic in character, its mood is often reflective and lyrical.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBnon-reversible rhythmic music
BNon-reversible rhythms were developed by twentieth-century composer, Olivier Messiaen. This form consists of two groups of rhythmic durations each retrograde to the other. Retrogradation is a contrapuntal procedure of reading from right to left what was normally read from left to right.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBnotation
BAny set of symbols designed for the documentation of music in written form. The symbols of today differ from those of earlier periods.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBopera
BA drama set to music and performed on stage with scenery and costumes, usually with orchestral accompaniment. Most of the text is sung, though there can be spoken sections. Opera first came into existence around 1600 in northern Italy, at the beginning of the Baroque period. Ec[000000]f[16]LFMonteverdi's IOrfeoI was the first opera to achieve artistic and public acclaim. From that time until the present, opera has continued to be of importance to composers and audiences.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBopera buffa
BThe name given to Italian comic opera in the 1700s. Comic operas used the local language and customs, had plots which featured commonplace people and events, and also contained portions which were spoken.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBoratorio
BA composition based on a religious story, using soloists, chorus, and orchestra. The types and forms of music are similar to those of opera, but there is no action, costumes, or scenery. Handel achieved great success with his oratorios written for the English public.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBorchestra
BA large instrumental ensemble, which usually includes the following groups or choirs: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Orchestras have been an important ensemble from the Baroque period to the present.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBorchestration
BThe technique or art of arranging and composing effectively for orchestral instruments, which involves specific knowledge of each instrument's capabilities.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBorgan
BA keyboard instrument, usually consisting of at least two keyboards (or manuals) for the performer's hands, and one keyboard (the pedals) to be played by the performer's feet. When a key is depressed, air is sent from a wind supply (or chest) through a pipe. The first organ Ec[000000]f[16]LFprobably dates from c. 250 B.C., when a Greek engineer invented an hydraulic instrument in which the wind supply was regulated by water pressure. Music for organ has been an important type of religious music from the Baroque period to the present.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBornamentation
BGroups of tone that decorate a principal melodic tone is known as ornamentation. It is an embellishment to add beauty to the music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBovertones
BOvertones are secondary tones or frequencies, also known as harmonics. The basic frequency of naturally occurring sound is called the fundamental. Overtones are usually quieter than the fundamental. Overtones are a by-product of sound.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBpantomimist
BA person who silently conveys emotions, actions, and thoughts by gestures in body movement, all without speech.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBphrase
BA section or unit of a melody with a clear beginning and ending. The ending is called a cadence. A clear phrase structure was valued and emphasized during the Classical period.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBpiano
BA keyboard instrument (originally named the Ipianoforte Ior IfortepianoI) which became popular during the 1700s. Sound is produced by strings, which are struck by felt hammers. The dynamic of the sound can be controlled by the amount of force used to strike the key. Pianos replaced Ec[000000]f[16]LFthe harpsichord in popularity partially because of their ability to play loud and soft, including all levels in between. The piano was an extremely important solo instrument during the nineteenth century.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBpizzicato
BA pizzicato is an indication that strings of the violin are to be plucked instead of bowed.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBpolonaise
BA polonaise is a dance in three-quarter time. It is a stately Polish dance that began in the seventeenth-century Polish court.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBpolyphony
BA musical texture which features the combination of two or more independent (equally important) musical lines. Techniques used to combine the lines are known as counterpoint.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBpop
BPop music is short for popular music, which can come in many forms, but usually appeals to a wide audience. Folk music, rock music, and country music are examples of popular music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBprelude and fugue
BA type of instrumental composition developed during the Baroque period, usually written for solo keyboard. The prelude was a short work in a "free style," focusing on one primary texture, which would prepare the listener for the fugue. The fugue was a contrapuntal piece that Ec[000000]f[16]LFmade systematic use of imitative counterpoint. It would begin with a theme or subject in one part, which would then be successively imitated by the other parts.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBprelude
BA piece of music that serves as an introduction, either before singing a hymn, such as a "chorale prelude," or before another composition, such as a "prelude and fugue."
Ec[000000]f[16]LBprepared piano
BAn "invention" by composer John Cage in which materials such as nuts, bolts, pieces of rubber, and keys, are inserted between the strings of a piano, changing the timbre. The result is a one-person percussion orchestra, which resembles the sounds heard in much of ethnic music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBprodigy
BA prodigy is a person who displays great talent as a young child or young person. Mozart was a musical prodigy.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBprogram music
BInstrumental music which narrates a story or depicts other ideas or images. This was an important type of music during the nineteenth century, and includes works such as Berlioz' SIymphonie FantastiqueI and Liszt's thirteen symphonic poems.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBPrussia
BA state in northern Europe which became a military power in the 1700s and led to the formation of the German Empire in 1871. Frederick the Great (Frederick II) ruled Prussia from 1740 until 1786 (during the Enlightenment) and was an amateur flutist and composer who knew or Ec[000000]f[16]LFemployed many of the important musicians of that time.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBquartet
BA quartet is a composition written for four voices or instruments.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBquintet
BA quintet is a composition written for five voices or instruments.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBragas
BArrangements of five-seven pitches used as the basis for melodies in Indian music, and which can be associated with specific emotions, parts of the body, times of day or seasons. Arabian music features a similar approach.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBragtime
BRagtime is a type of jazz that originally was a style of popular music at the end of the nineteenth century. After 1915, it merged into jazz. Ragtime has syncopation as its chief feature.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBrecitative
BA type of vocal music which imitates the rhythm and inflections of speech, usually used for conversational and action-oriented sections of opera. It is also found in oratorios and cantatas.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBreed
BA reed is a single flat piece of cane vibrating against a flat surface (as used in a clarinet); or two small pieces vibrating against each other (the double reed) of the oboe and bassoon.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBRenaissance
BA musical period which lasted (approximately) from 1450 to 1600. The philosophical movement known as humanism placed emphasis on the quality of life on earth, which led to a rebirth in the arts. Music featured the development of imitative counterpoint, as well as harmonic Ec[000000]f[16]LFsuccession or progression. Important composers included Dufay, Josquin des Pres, and Palestrina.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBrhythm
BThe length or duration of sounds, as well as their organization into groups with a meter (pattern of accents) and pulse (beat).
Ec[000000]f[16]LBritard (ritardando)
BAn Italian term which means gradually becoming slower (the opposite of accelerando).
Ec[000000]f[16]LBrock 'n' roll
BA style of music derived from folk music and blues, with accented beats and repetitive phrase structure.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBrock music
BA type of popular music originally known as "rock n roll," which developed in the United States in the early 1950s. Most rock bands feature voice, guitars, and drums, with optional keyboards. The music itself focuses on strong accents on rhythmic "off-beats"--the beats which are Ec[000000]f[16]LFnot accented in traditional music, combined with triadic harmonic progressions.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBRome
BRome is the capital of Italy, in the central part of the country, on the Tiber River. Sacred music had found its center there for a time in the seventeenth century.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBround
BA vocal work that is essentially the same as a canon; all voices enter successively and sing the same melody at the same pitch. A well-known example is IRow, Row, Row Your BoatI.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsandpaintingB
A religious ritual of North American Indians for curing the sick. Healing is believed to take place as the painting is erased by the wind or the sea.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsaraband
BA saraband is a slow and dignified dance in three-quarter time, which appeared in the sixteenth century in Spain and may have come originally from the Orient.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBscales
BA scale is a Western term for a collection of notes arranged in an order from lowest to highest (or vice-versa). The principal scales used in Western music from the Baroque through the Romantic period are known as major, minor, and chromatic. Unlike ragas, scales are not associated with specific emotions.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBscore
BThe score is the full arrangement of a vocal or instrumental part or parts of a composition on separate lines, one above the other. It is the entire written music for all parts.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsecular
BMusic and texts that are not associated with a religion or spiritual ideas; the opposite of sacred.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBserialism
BA movement in twentieth-century music based on the twelve-tone technique of Arnold Schoenberg, and later influenced by the development of that technique by Anton Webern. Specific musical elements (pitch, rhythm, etc.) are ordered through the use of a number and/or pitch series, Ec[000000]f[16]LFproviding a pervasive structural organization to the musical vocabulary for a particular work. Important composers include Milton Babbitt, Pierre Boulez, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, among others.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsinfonia
BAn Italian term which implies blending separate sounds into one. It was originally used during the Baroque period for a variety of instrumental works, but eventually referred to Italian opera overtures that were in three sections: fast, slow, and fast. These works were the Ec[000000]f[16]LFprecursor to the Classical period symphony.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsitar
BThe most popular Indian string instrument, similar to a lute, with a long neck and three to seven strings.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsnare drums
BSnare drums are small drums that have metallic "snares" that rattle against it and that are played with wooden sticks.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsnares
BThe snare of a snare drum is a metal disk that rattles.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsonata form
BAn important musical form that was developed during the Classical period and used often for the first movements of instrumental works such as the symphony and the string quartet. The form consists of: 1) presentation of two different ideas in different keys or tonalities in an opening Ec[000000]f[16]LFsection, known as the "exposition;" 2) elaboration and expansion of those ideas and tonal relationships (the "development"); and 3) a restatement of the opening section with all ideas in the same tonality, producing a convincing resolution and conclusion (the "recapitulation").
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsone
BA sone is the acoustical unit for measuring loudness. One sone is equal to 40 decibels.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsoprano
BThe highest female voice and the highest part in a four-part chorus. Soprano parts can also be sung by boys.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsound
BSound is a series of pressure waves produced by vibration.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBspinet
BA spinet is a small piano keyboard instrument, different than an upright or a grand piano. It was originally the name for a small harpsichord.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBSt. Gregory
BSt. Gregory (pope from 590-604) was said to be the creator of the Gregorian Chant. Legend has it that the Holy Spirit descended upon St. Gregory with the melodies of chant. Gregorian chant, however, covers a period of one hundred and fifty years and is said to have been Ec[000000]f[16]LFwritten by many different unknown composers.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBStradivarius
BAny of the stringed instruments made by the Antonio Stradivarius family (1643-1737). A Stradivarius violin is priceless and made with great craftsmanship and beauty, unsurpassed in tonal quality, as are all Stradivarius instruments.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBstring quartet
BA work for an ensemble of four string instruments: two violins, one viola, and one cello. This became an important type of work during the Classical period, when it featured forms similar to those found in a symphony.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBstrings
BAny instrument in which sound is produced by a stretched string (a cordophone). However, the name usually refers to the instruments used in the string family of the orchestra: violins, violas, cellos, and double basses.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBstudy
BA study is an exercise to improve a player's technique.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsuite
BAn instrumental piece in several movements, often with a particular subject, theme, or (in older use) in the character of a dance.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBswing
BSwing is a type of jazz that came into being around 1935 and was utilized in the music of Benny Goodman. It is characterized by the use of large bands and fast tempos.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsymphonic poem
BA specific kind of program music: a one-movement work for orchestra which narrates a story or refers to an extra-musical idea or subject. This is also called a tone poem. Important nineteenth-century composers in this style include Liszt and Richard Strauss.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsymphony
BAn orchestral work in four movements, usually of a serious nature, and complex in structure.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBsynthesizer
BAn electronic instrument which can produce sound and quickly modify aspects of that sound: timbre, attack and decay, dynamics, overtones, and pitch. The instrument can be used for studio or live purposes, and usually has a piano-like keyboard.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtalas
BTalas are specific rhythmic patterns found in Indian music. The patterns are repeated and combined throughout a section of music
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtarantella
BThe tarantella is a fast Italian dance in six-eighth time, said to be named after the tarantula spider. It was believed that the dance could cure the poisonous effects of the spider bite.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtempo
BTempo is the rate of speed of a composition or section of a composition, indicated by tempo marks or metronome markings.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtenor
BThe highest conventional adult male voice. The third highest voice in a four-part chorus.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtheme
BA primary musical idea which forms the basis of a composition or movement of a composition. It is often a recognizable, memorable melodic idea. Themes are emphasized in musical works from the late Baroque period through the early twentieth century.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtheory of music
BThe theory of music refers to the science or rules of music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtimbre
BTimbre is another word for tone color. It is the tone quality of a voice or instrument, or any sound.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtonality
BThe musical principle which features a gravitational pull towards a specific pitch, known as the tonic. Music arriving at the tonic produces a sense of resolution or completion. Much of Western music utilizes this principle, but it was especially emphasized from the Baroque period through the Romantic period.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtone
BA tone is a very basic element of music. A tone is a sound. It has pitch, duration, intensity, and timbre. All music consists of tones; they are the building blocks of music.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtone color
BThe timbre of a particular sound, determined by the instrument or combination of instruments, which produces the sound. The tone color of an individual instrument, or any sound, is determined acoustically by the overtones it produces.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtonic
BThe principal pitch of a piece of music. The other pitches lead and gravitate towards it. (See tonality).
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtremolos
BTremolos are rapid alternations between two notes, usually an octave apart. Liszt used tremolos as a virtuosi feat.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtriad
BA triad is a three-note chord. It consists of two superimposed intervals of a third. There are different types of triads, depending on the intervals. For instance, a major triad has a major third plus a minor third in its construction.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtriangle
BThe triangle is a small metal triangular bar struck with a small metal rod. It produces a high-pitched tinkly sound.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtrills
BTrills are rapid alternations between notes. It is an ornamental method of performance that enhances the design of the melody.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtrio
BA trio is a composition for three voices or instruments.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtrombone
BThe trombone is a brass instrument with a cup-shaped mouthpiece and a cylindrical tube bent into an oblong shape with two parallel sides and expanding into a bell. The trombone uses a device called a slide, which is a movable part. This takes the place of the valves, which are part of other Ec[000000]f[16]LFbrass instruments, and fills in the gap between tones.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtroubadours
BTroubadours were traveling poet-musicians of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, devoted to fighting, hunting, poetry, music-making, and chivalrous love.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtrumpet
BA trumpet is a brass instrument with a cup-shaped mouthpiece and a narrow cylindrical tube for its length, which widens out into a bell shape. It has a brilliant tone color.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtuba
BA tuba is a brass instrument with the range of a bass. Orchestral tubas have the look of a horn with the cupped mouthpiece of the trumpet.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtutti
BA tutti is a musical passage or movement performed by all players simultaneously.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBtwelve-tone method
BA method or technique of composing devised by Arnold Schoenberg in the early 1920s. Each note of the twelve-note chromatic scale is used once in a series called a "row." The row provides the basis for all pitches used in the composition. This technique was devised as a way of Ec[000000]f[16]LFproviding a more complete structure for atonal music. Important composers include Berg, Webern, Babbitt, Boulez, and many others.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBukulele
BThe ukulele is a small Hawaiian guitar with four strings. It became popular in America around 1920.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBupright piano
BAn upright is one of two possible shapes for a piano, the other being a grand.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBvariation
BA technique of changing or modifying a musical theme or idea. Theme and variations is a specific musical form in which a stated theme is varied with each restatement.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBVenice
BVenice is a seaport in northeast Italy built upon many small islands in the Lagoon of Venice. In the seventeenth century, it was the music capital of the Baroque world.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBverismo
BA style of late nineteenth-century Italian opera primarily based on everyday life, which often featured violent actions and emotions. The leading composer of this style was Giacomo Puccini.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBVienna
BVienna is the capital of Austria. At various times throughout history it has been a music capital.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBviola
BThe viola is the second member of the string family. It is slightly larger and is tuned lower than the violin.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBviolin
BThe principal Western string instrument and the highest sounding string instrument of the orchestral string family. The violin has four strings and can be plucked, but is usually played by drawing a bow across the strings. Violins have existed since the sixteenth century, with the golden age of Ec[000000]f[16]LFviolin-making occurring in the seventeenth century in Italy.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBvirtuoso
BAn extremely skilled and accomplished solo performer, capable of a rare degree of technical achievement. The term was first used during the nineteenth century to refer to performers such as Liszt and Paganini.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBwind machine
BA machine or device used to imitate the sound of the wind, and used occasionally for descriptive purposes. A barrel framework is covered with cloth and revolved so that the cloth creates friction against the framework. This creates the "wind" effect.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBwoodwinds
BAerophones which produce sound by blowing air through the instrument or through a reed which vibrates. The conventional woodwind family of the Western orchestra includes the flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. At one time, all of these instruments were made out of Ec[000000]f[16]LFwood, but flutes are now usually made out of metal. Ec[000000]f[16]LBxylophone
BThe xylophone is a series of small wooden bars that are struck with hard hammers. The xylophone is a percussion instrument.
Ec[000000]f[16]LBzither
BAn ancient stringed instrument consisting of a flat wooden sound box over which thirty to forty-five strings are stretched. The strings can be plucked and strummed.
