Music - General Terms

Accompaniment

musical background to a principal part or parts

Allegro di molto e con brio

very quickly and lively

Arpeggiation

notes of a chord played in quick succession, usually bottom to top

Articulation signs

symbols showing how notes should be played

Baroque period

musical era from 1600–1750

Bend

slight raising of pitch on a note

Break

moment where most instruments stop and one continues alone

Bossa nova

Brazilian style derived from samba, slower and more melodic

Cantabile

in a singing style

Chord

two or more notes sounded together

Chorus

repeated section of a song, often containing the title

Classical period

musical era from 1750–1820

Colla voce

follow the solo voice

Compound time

time signature where each beat divides into three

Concertino

group of soloists in a concerto grosso

Concerto

work for orchestra plus soloist(s)

Concerto grosso

Baroque concerto for concertino and ripieno

Continuo

bass line + harmony instrument typical of Baroque music

Counterpoint

combination of independent melodic lines

Contrapuntal

made of independent melodic lines

Cue

individual piece of music in a film score

Development

middle section of sonata form where ideas are transformed

Dissonant

unstable harmony needing resolution

Drone

sustained or repeated note throughout a passage

Dynamics

volume of music and symbols indicating it

Ensemble

small group of performers

Exposition

first section of sonata form presenting main themes

Extended chord

chord with added 9th, 11th or 13th

Fanfare

loud brass flourish

Flauto traverso

early side‑blown flute

Fugal writing

contrapuntal writing using imitation

Gigue

lively dance

Grave

very slow and solemn

Ground bass

repeating bass line over which melodies develop

Harpsichord

Baroque keyboard instrument that plucks strings

Improviser

performer who creates music spontaneously

Instrumentation

instruments and voices used

Key

major or minor tonal centre of a piece

Leitmotif

recurring musical idea linked to a character or theme

Loop

repeated musical sample

Maestoso

majestically

Modulation

change of key

Mordent

ornament of main note, upper/lower note, main note

Musical

theatre work combining songs, dialogue and dance

Multi‑tracking

recording technique layering separate tracks

N.C.

no chord

Oratorio

large religious work for soloists, choir and orchestra

Orchestration

arrangement of instruments used

Ornaments

decorative notes such as trills or turns

Overdubbing

adding recorded sound to an existing track

Patronage

financial support from a patron

Pedal note

sustained bass note under changing harmony

Polyphonic

multiple independent melodic lines

Quintuplet

five notes in the time of four

Range

distance between lowest and highest notes

Recapitulation

final section of sonata form restating themes

Ripieno

larger ensemble in a concerto grosso

Romantic period

musical era from 1810–1910

Seventh chord

triad with added seventh

Simple time

beats divide into two

Slide

continuous pitch movement between notes

Solo concerto

concerto for one soloist and orchestra

Sonata form

structure with exposition, development, recapitulation

Space opera

sci‑fi genre involving space travel

Stab

single accented chord

Staccato

short, detached notes

Syncopation

emphasis on normally weak beats

Tasto solo

continuo instruction to play without harmony

Tempo

speed of music

Texture

how musical layers relate to each other

Timbre

tone colour of an instrument or voice

Tonality

organisation of music around a tonic note

Tre corde

release the left pedal on piano

Tremolo

rapid alternation of two notes

Triplet

three notes in the time of two

Tutti

passage where all players perform

Una corda

press the left pedal on piano

Verse

repeated song section with different lyrics

Vibrato

rapid pitch fluctuation adding warmth

Viol

bowed string instrument used in Renaissance/Baroque

Word setting

how words are set to music

Word‑painting

music reflecting the meaning of the text