Descriptionary

cadence, masculine a cadence that ends on a strong beat as opposed to one that ends on a weak beat, as a feminine cadence.

cadenza a virtuoso solo performance near the end of a composition.

calypso music originating in the West Indies and especially in Trinidad, characterized by high syncopa­tion and repetition, and improvised lyrics of a humor­ous or topical nature.

cantata a vocal or instrumental composition of sev­eral movements that include arias, duets, and cho­ruses; a type of opera.

chamber music music in which each part is played by a single instrument as opposed to several instru­ments in an orchestra; music performed by a trio, quartet, quintet, or other group.

chamber orchestra a small orchestra of 40 players or less.

chord any simultaneous playing or sounding of three or more notes.

chord, chromatic a chord played along with one or more notes that are out of key.

clef the symbol at the beginning of a musical staff indicating the pitch of the notes.

coda the final or closing passage of a movement.

colpo the stroke of a bow.

composition a piece of music.

concertmaster the first violinist and assistant con­ductor.

concerto a composition for the orchestra and one or more soloists, usually performed in three movements.

concert pitch the pitch to which orchestral instru­ments are tuned, specifically the A above middle C to a frequency of 440 cycles per sound.

conservatory a school of music instruction.

consonance in-tune, harmony; pleasant-sounding. The opposite of dissonance.

consort a small instrumental ensemble.

counterpoint the combining of two or more differ­ent melodies to create a richer tapestry of sound. Sim­ilar to polyphony or the use of multiple voice parts.

cross rhythm the playing of two different rhythms at the same time.

decibel one unit in the measurement of sound volume.

demisemiquaver a thirty-second (V32) note.

diminution shortening the time values of notes, such as whole notes to half notes, half notes to quar­ter notes. Opposite of augmentation.

discord a harsh or unpleasant-sounding chord, dis­sonance.

dissonance harsh; unpleasant-sounding; disharmony.

Dixieland New Orleans jazz combining elements of ragtime and blues, originating in the early 20th century.

dotted note a note with a dot over it is to be played lightly and quickly, or staccato. A dot after a note has half of its time value added to it. That is, a dotted quarter (%) note equals % note plus V8 note, and so on. A double dot after a note adds three-fourths the time value to that note, so a double-dotted % note equals % note plus V8 note, plus У16 note.

double-handed a musician who can play two dif­ferent instruments well.

downbeat the first beat in a measure, named for the starting downswing of a conductor's baton.

duet a performance by two musicians.

duple meter two beats per measure.

dynamics the graduations of sound volume, from soft to loud.

ear, playing by playing music without notation, either by memory or by improvising.

ear training the teaching of pitch and rhythm rec­ognition.

echo a softly repeated musical passage.

eighth note a note having a time value equal to V8 of a whole note.

eighth rest a rest or silence lasting as long as an eighth note.

elegy a sad song, vocal or instrumental, lamenting the death of someone or something.

embouchure the placement, shaping, and actions of the mouth, lips, and tongue in achieving proper pitch, tone, and effects in a wind instrument. Also, the mouthpiece of a wind instrument. See tonguing.

enharmonics notes, intervals, or chords that sound the same but differ by name. For example, C sharp is the equivalent of D flat, D sharp the equivalent of E flat.

ensemble a small performing group of musicians.

etude French term for "study," referring to an instrumental composition designed to test and improve a player's skills, or any difficult piece con­taining arpeggios, trills, scales, and such like.

expression marks collective term for musical direc­tives, including tempo, volume, technique, phrasing, and mood, often expressed in Italian.

fanfare a short piece for trumpets to announce the arrival of royalty or to begin some festivities.

fantasia any musical composition that relies more on the whims of the composer than on any standard form; music of an improvisational or fanciful quality. Also, a short mood piece.

finale the final movement in a composition.

fine Italian word for "end."

flamenco Spanish music with vocals, guitar, and percussive accompaniment by castanets and fingernail tapping on the belly of the guitar.