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
- 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 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
