Musical Terms

A

• a capella: Sung without music
• accelerando: An increase in tempo
• accent: Stress on a beat, to make it stand out from others in the measure or phrase
• accompaniment: Music that is played along with the main theme or voice
• adagio: Slowly
• allegro: Lively
• alto: Normally the lowest female voice, also sometimes sung by high tenors or young boys. See also Contralto
• andante: Moderately slow
• arpeggio: The notes of a chord played in succession, rather than together
• atonal: Having no specific key

B

• bar: A section of music with one strong beat and one or more lesser beats
• baritone: A low male singing voice, between tenor and bass
• bass: The lowest male singing voice, or the lowest range of a type of instrument
• beat: The pulse of music, marking its rhythmic pattern
• brass: A type of wind instrument, consisting of a metal tube, with tone regulated by the position of the musician's mouth

C

• cadence: A musical phrase or group of tones punctuating the end of a phrase or composition of music
• chord: Three tones sounded together
• chromatic: Having to do with sharps and flats
• clef: The symbol at the beginning of a line of written music to signify the range of notes indicated
• Contralto: Normally the lowest female voice, also sometimes sung by high tenors or young boys. See also Alto
• crescendo: A gradual increase in volume

D

diminuendo: A gradual decrease in volume dynamics: The markings in written music that indicate the volume to be used

F

flat: A lowering of the tone by a half-step forte: Loud

G

glissando: A musical effect involving a slide from one note to another

H

harmony: Two or more tones sounding together in a pleasant manner

I

improvisation: Music that does not follow a written score instrumentation: The writing of music for instruments, or a musical composition intonation: Exactness of pitch or lack of it

K

key: The home note of a composition; the first note of the predominant scale used key signature: The sharps or flats at the beginning of a line of music

L

largo: Slow and stately

legato: Smooth

lento: Slow

M

measure: A bar of music

N

notation: Written music

note: A single sound or its representation

O

octave: An interval of eight whole notes

P

percussion: A class of instruments that are played by striking a surface with the hand, a stick, or a mallet

phrase: A segment of music comprising a complete musical thought

piano: Softly

pitch: The frequency of vibration of a note; the ability to distinguish between one note and another

presto: Fast

R

register: The range of a voice or instrument

rest: A pause in written music

rhythm: The arrangement of notes by duration and accent

ritardando: A gradual slowing of the music

S

scale: A series of tones arranged in a specific graduated order

score: Written music that shows all parts

sharp: A raising of the tone by a half-step

soprano: The highest female singing voice

staccato: The playing of notes in a short, detached manner

staff: A set of five lines used to indicate notes in a written form

string: A class of instrument played by the vibration of a string or series of strings set to particular tensions

T

tempo: The speed of a composition of music

tenor: Normally the highest male singing voice

theme: A short yet complete musical passage

tone: A musical sound, or the quality of the musical sound

treble: The highest voice or part of a composition

trill: A musical effect involving the alternating sounds of a note and the note above it

U

unison: One or more voices or instruments sounding together as one

V

vibrato: A musical effect involving vibration, used by instrument or voice

voice: A particular musical line; refers to instrumentation as well as vocal

W

woodwind: A class of instruments that requires blowing into or across a wooden tube, with tone changed by placement of the fingers over air holes

See Also: Harper Hall