Music Dictionary

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# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Term	Pronunciation	Definition
#
8va		abbr. for ottava alta.
8vb		abbr. for ottava bassa.
A
a battuta	It., ah baht-TOO-tah	with the beat.
absolute music		instrumental music without extramusical associations, as opposed to program music.
a cappella	It., ah kahp-PEL-lah	without accompaniment.
accelerando	It., aht-chel-le-RAHN-do	becoming gradually faster. abbr.: accel.
accentor	Lat., AHK-sent-er	an archaic term for one who sings the leading part; the director or leader.
acciaccatura	It., aht-chahk-kah-TOO-rah	a grace note which is played simultaneously with the principal note and immediately released.
accolade	Fr., AHK-koh-lahd; Eng., AHK-koh-laid	the brace used to join two or more staves. For "curly brace" in French.
accord, accordo	Fr., ahk-KOHR; It., ahk-KOHR-doh	chord.
adagio	It., ah-DAH-joh	a slow tempo, between largo and andante.
allegro	It., uh-ley-groh	Lively; rapid tempo
alto	It., Owl-toe	high; often refers to a particular range of voice, higher than a tenor but lower than a soprano.
andante	It., ahn-DAHN-teh	moving along, flowing, at a walking pace, faster than adagio but slower than allegretto.
a piacere	It., ah pee-ah-CHAIR-ree	at pleasure; the discretion of the performer, typically with tempo and the use of rubato. See ad libitum.
appoggiatura	It., ahp-pohd-jah-TOO-rah	a nonharmonic grace note that resolves stepwise to a harmonic note.
arco	It., AHR-koh	an indication that tells a string player play a passage with the bow, as opposed to pizz.
ardito	It., AHR-dee-toh	spirited, bold.
arioso	It., ah-ree-OH-zoh	lyrically.
arpa	It., AHR-pah	the harp, or in the style of a harp.
arpeggiato	It., ahr-ped-JAH-toh	arpeggiated, like a harp.
arpeggiando	It., ahr-ped-JAHN-doh	arpeggiated, like a harp.
arpeggio	It., ahr-PED-joh	the notes of a chord played one after another, as a harp.
arraché	Fr., ahr-rah-SHAY	a very strong pizzicato.
arrangement		an adaptation of a composition for a medium other than that which it was originally written.
ars antiqua	Lat., ahrs ahn-TEE-kwah	"old art;" music of the 12th and 13th centuries, esp. of Leonin and Perotin.
ars nova	Lat., ahrs NOV-vah	"new art;" music of the 14th century, esp. of Machaut and Landini.
are subtilor	Lat., ahrs SUHB-ti-lore	"hidden art;" a style of the 14th century and occasionally used in the 20th century, which involved highly decorated scores, often in unusual shapes, which only the performers could see.
articulation		the manner in which notes are performed (staccato, legato, etc.)
artificial harmonic		a harmonic played on a fingered string, rather than an open string.
ASCAP		abbr. for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
assai	It., ahs-SEI	very, extremely.
assez	Fr., ahs-SAY	enough, fairly
assoluto	It., ahs-soh-LOO-toh	absolute, absolutely.
a tempo	It., ah TEM-poh	an idication to return to the original tempo.
atonal	Eng., ay-TOH-nul	music without a tonal center or key.
Aufschwung	Ger., OWF-shvoong	soaring.
augmentation		elongating the duration of notes.
augmented		raised, as in a note of a chord or interval by a semitone.
auxiliary note		a note a whole step above or below the main note.
avec	Fr., ah-VEK	with.
B
bass	It., bayseh	the lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano); the lowest melodic line in a musical composition, often thought of as defining and supporting the harmony.
C
cadenza	It., cah-den-zah	a solo section, usually in a concerto or similar work, that is used to display the performer's technique, sometimes at considerable length.
chromatic scale		the common octave scale divided into 12 pitches referred to as half steps.
coda	It., co-dah	a tail, i.e. the closing section of a movement.
col legno	It., col LEN-ee-oh	lit. 'with the wood': hitting the strings of a stringed instrument with the bow.
concerto	It., con-SHER-toe	an extended composition involving an instrumental soloist (sometimes more than one) and orchestra.
con moto	It.	lit. 'with motion'
continuo	It., con-TIN-you-oh	the bass part in baroque music, played by cello and a keyboard instrument which would also fill in the harmony.
D
da capo	It., dah CAH-po	lit. 'to the head'; repeating the opening section of a piece. Often abbreviated to D.C.
da segno	It., dah SEN-yo	lit. 'to the sign'; an indication to repeat a section starting from a sign consisting of a decorated letter 'S'. Often abbreviated to D.S.
diminished seventh		A chord consisting of successive minor thirds, producing a dramatic effect now regarded as something of a cliché.
dissonance		in strict theory, any interval other than a major third, perfect fifth, major sixth or octave. In common usage, it describes notes or chords that 'clash'.
dodecaphonic	DOUGH-dec-a-fon-ic	Using all twelve pitches, used as an alternative term for serial composition.
dolce	It., DOL-chay	lit. 'sweet', implying the indicated passage should be performed in this way.
dominant		The chord a fifth above the tonic.
E
embouchure	Fr., OM-bur-shure	The particular position of the lips, throat and mouth of a wind or brass player or a singer. It is an important part of producing a note correctly.
enharmonic equivalents		Notes which sound at the same pitch but can be written differently; e.g. C, B sharp and D-double-flat.
en serrant	Fr., on serr-ONT	Becoming faster.
ethnomusicology		The study of traditional (folk) musics outside of the Western art music tradition.
expressif	Fr., eks-press-EEF	Expressively.
F
fine	It., FEE-nay	lit. 'end'; used to show the end of a da capo or da segno repeat.
G
gestopft	Ger., ge-STOP-ft	stopped; with the hand inserted into the bell (as in French horn playing). See offen.
grace note		a small note (usu. with stem slash) played quickly before the beat. Not to be confused with an appoggiatura.
H
half step		the smallest common interval, the difference between two adjacent notes on a chromatic scale.
half tone		see half step.
Hauptstimme	Ger., HOWPT-stimm-er	Lit. 'head part', used in serial music to indicate the most important line.
hemiola	from Gr., hem-ee-OH-la	a rhythmic device whereby notes in triple meter are grouped in twos so that the accented beats occurs across the bars rather than at the barline.
hexachord		a chord consisting of six notes.
I
J
K
klangfarbenmelodie	Ger., klang-fahr-ben-MEL-od-dee	a style of composition that employs several different kinds of tone colors to a single pitch or to multiple pitches, Klangfarbenmelodie is achieved by distributing the pitch or melody among several different instruments.
L
largamente	It., larh-ga-MEN-tay	becoming slower and broader (more like largo)
largo	It., LARH-goh	very slow and broad.
leitmotif	Ger., lite-mow-TEEF	A "Representative Theme", an idea or motif in an opera associated with a particular character, emotion, object etc. Most often associated with the operas of Wagner, but also with the symphonic poems of Liszt.
M
Mass/Missa	Latin	a musical setting of the words of the Catholic rite. See the Wiki entry for further detail on this form.
melisma	mah-LIZ-mah	the singing of more than one musical pitch to a single syllable in vocal music.
multiphonic		lit. 'many tones': playing more than one note at a time on a wind or brass instrument. Called double-stopping on stringed instruments.
N
Nebenstimme	Ger., NAY-ben-stimm-er	lit. 'under part', used in serial music to indicate the line of secondary importance.
nocturne	Fr.	a 'night piece', in free form, first developed by John Field and Frederic Chopin.
O
offen	Ger., Of-fn	open; with the mute or hand removed from the bell (as in brass instruments). See gestopft.
open		1. a note produced on any musical instrument where no fingers are applied to strings, valves, or tone holes. 2. an instruction to play without a mute or in the case of the horn, no longer gestopft.
ottava	It., aht-TAW-vah	octave.
ottava alta	It., aht-TAW-vah AHL-tah	to be played one octave higher than written. abbr.: 8va.
ottava bassa	It., aht-TAW-vah BAHS-sah	to be played one octave lower than written. abbr.: 8vb.
overture	Fr.	Lit. 'the opening' an instrumental composition in a single movement traditionally at the beginning of an opera or church work, but later composed for orchestral concerts.
P
pesante	It., pes-AN-tay	'peasant-like', heavy.
pitch		the quality of highness or lowness in a musical note; its frequency.
pizz.	It., pitz	abbr. for pizzicato.
pizzicato	It., peed-zee-KAH-toh	an indication for a string player to pluck the strings with the finger, as opposed to arco.
presto	It., Preh-stoh	very fast.
Q
R
recitative	It., re-sit-ah-TEEVE	singing in a speaking style over held chords. Commonly found in baroque opera and church music.
ritardando	It., ree-tahr-dahn-doh	becoming gradually slower. abbr.: rit.
S
semitone		a half step.
sonata	It., son-AH-ta	an extended composition, usually in several movements, for one or more instruments, with at least one movement in sonata form.
sonatina/sonatine	It., son-ah-TEE-na	lit. a 'little sonata'; usually shorter, lighter in tone and with fewer movements than a full sonata.
soprano	It., Sah-prahn-oh	the highest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano.)
sprechgesang		voice delivery midway between song and speech. The crosses through the note stems are one form of sprechgesang notation, another is to use crosses for the noteheads themselves.
stopped		a note produced on a stringed instrument involving a finger depressing the string. Also see gestopft.
symphony	SIM-fon-ee	an extended composition for orchestra, often in several movements. The term can also be used for a similar composition for solo organ.
T
tempo	It., TEM-poh	Time. The speed at which a piece of music is to be played.
tenor	It., TEN-er	the second lowest of the standard four voice ranges (bass, tenor, alto, soprano.)
timbre	It. TAM-brer	the particular sound of an instrument or voice at a given pitch.
tone		1. see tone colour. 2. a pitch. 3. a whole tone.
tone colour		the quality of sound of a voice or instrument.
U
V
W
whole step		an interval of two half steps; a whole tone or major second.
whole tone		see whole step.
X
Y
Z