Miscellaneous Terms
A battuta--with the beat; in strict rhythm. [Transcriber's Note:
Corrected error battua in original.]
A quatre mains--for four hands.
Accompagnamento--the accompaniment.
All'unisono--in unison.
Alla breve--2/2 measure.
The term alla breve is also sometimes used as a tempo
indication, to show a rate of speed so great that a half
has a beat, i.e., only two beats in a measure--hence twice as
fast as before.
Alla capella--usually the same as a capella (see p. 76, Sec. 162) but
sometimes used in the same sense as alla breve.
Alla marcia--in march style.
Alla zingara--in gypsy style.
Alt--see in alt.
Alto--the lowest female voice. Range approximately g-e''.
The word alto is derived from the Latin word altus, meaning
high, the term being formerly applied to the highest male
voice, which originally sang (and still does so in many male
choirs) the alto part.
Animato come sopra--in animated style as above.
Antiphony (antiphonal)--the responsive singing of two choirs,
usually one at either end of the church, or at either side of the
chancel.
Arabesque--an instrumental composition in light, somewhat fantastic
style.
The term arabesque is derived from the word Arabian, and
was originally applied to a style of decoration.
Arioso--in the style of an air or song, i.e., a flowing, vocal
style.
Attacca--attack the next division without any pause.
Attacca subito--same as attacca.
Attacca subito il seguente--attack at once that which follows.
[Transcriber's Note: In last 3 entries, corrected misspelling attaca
in original.]
Attack--the promptness or firmness with which a phrase is begun.
Bagpipe--A Scotch instrument on which the tone is produced by a
combination of bellows and reeds. Its characteristic effect is the
continuous sounding of a low tone (sometimes several tones) while the
melody is being played on the higher reeds.
Barcarole (or barcarolle)--a boat song. Also applied to a vocal or
instrumental composition in the style of the gondolier's boat song.
Baritone (or barytone)--the male voice having a range between that
of the tenor and that of the bass. Approximate range G-g'.
Bass--the lowest male voice. Approximate range E-e'.
Basso--same as bass.
Berceuse--a cradle song.
Binary form--a form in two parts.
Binary measure--a measure having two beats.
Bis--twice. Used to indicate a repetition. (Rare.)
Brace--the sign used to join several staffs, showing that all tones
represented on these staffs are to be performed together. The term is
often used also in referring to the music written on staffs so joined;
as--Begin with the upper brace.
Broken chord--a chord whose tones are not all sounded simultaneously,
as e.g., in an accompaniment group.
Broken octave--an octave whose tones are sounded one at a time instead
of simultaneously.
Cacophony--harsh, discordant, unpleasant, especially incorrect
combinations of tones. The opposite of euphony.
Cadenza--A brilliant passage, usually in an instrumental composition,
introduced just before the close of a movement. The cadenza was
formerly improvised by the performer, (thus giving an opportunity of
displaying his technical skill), but since Beethoven, composers have
usually written their own cadenzas.
Cantabile--in a singing style.
Cantando--same as cantabile.
Canto--the highest voice part; i.e., the soprano part.
Note the derivation of canto, cantabile, etc., from the
Latin word cantus, meaning a song.
Carol--a hymn of joyful praise, usually sung in connection with Easter
or Christmas festivities. The word carol meant originally a dance,
hence the happy character of songs of this type.
Catch--a round set to humorous words.
Chromatic (noun)--a term somewhat loosely applied to any tone not
belonging to the key as indicated by the signature. Many teachers are
replacing the word chromatic in this sense with the term intermediate
tone, this term being applicable whether the foreign tone is actually
used for ornamental purposes as a chromatic, or to effect a
modulation. Thus e.g., F[sharp] is the intermediate tone between F
and G in the key of C.
Clavichord--an instrument with keys, resembling the square piano in
appearance. The tone was produced by forcing wedge-shaped pieces of
metal against the strings, thus setting them in vibration. The
clavichord was one of the immediate predecessors of the piano, much of
the music written by Bach being composed for it, although this music is
now played on the modern piano.
Colla voce--with the voice: i.e., play the accompaniment according
to the soloist's performance rather than strictly according to the
rhythm indicated in the score.
Colla parte--same as colla voce.
Coloratura--florid passages in singing. Also applied to the style of
singing employed in rendering such passages. (See p. 76, Sec. 171.)
Consonance--A combination of tones agreeable to the ear and requiring
no resolution to other tone-combinations in order to give the effect of
finality. The major triad C--E--G is an example of a consonant chord.
Contralto--same as alto.
Con variazioni--with variations.
Direct--a sign ([direct symbol]) placed at the end of the last staff
on a page, to indicate what the first note on the next page is going to
be. This sign is now practically obsolete.
Dirge--a funeral chant. The dirge is named from the first word of a
chant used in the office for the dead, which begins--Dirige Domine,
Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam (Direct, O Lord, My God, my way
in Thy sight).
Discord--an ugly, unharmonious combination of tones.
Dissonance--a harmonic combination of tones giving rise to the feeling
of incompleteness or unrest, and therefore requiring resolution to some
other combination which has an agreeable or final feeling. (cf.
consonance.) The diminished triad C--E[flat]--G[flat] is an example of a
dissonant chord.
Divisi--divided. An indication showing that the first violins, or the
sopranos, or any other body of performers ordinarily sounding in unison
are now to divide into two or more parts.
Duet--a composition for two performers. (From the It. word
due--two.)
Ecole--a school or style of composition or performance.
Etude--a study. Also an instrumental composition in the style of a
study, but intended for artistic performance.
Euphony--agreeable tone combinations; the opposite of cacophony. (From
the Greek word meaning well-sounding.)
Facile--easy.
Fanfare--a trumpet call.
Fantasia--An instrumental composition not based on any regular form.
Fiasco--a complete failure or breakdown.
This use of the word fiasco (which means in Italian a flask,
or bottle) is said to have reference to the bursting of a
bottle, the complete ruin of the bottle being compared with
the complete failure of a performance.
Gamut--all the tones of a scale.
Glissando--playing a scale on the keyboard by drawing the finger along
over the keys, thus depressing them in very rapid succession. The word
is derived from the French word glisser--to glide.
Harpsichord--one of the immediate predecessors of the piano.
Humoresque--a capricious, fantastic composition. (Cf. fantasia.)
Idyl--a short, romantic piece of music in simple and unaffected style.
In alt--pitches in the first octave above the treble staff. Thus
e.g., C in alt is the C represented by the second added line above
the treble staff.
In altissimo--pitches in the octave above the alt octave.
Instrumentation--see orchestration.
Interlude--a short movement between two larger movements.
Loco--place; i.e., play as written. (See p. 15, Sec. 46.)
Lunga trillo--a long trill.
More
-
Terminology Adoptions 1907-1910
1. Tone: Specific name for a musical sound of definite pitch. Use neither sound, a general term, nor note, a term of notation. 2. Interval: The pitch relation between two tones. Not properly applicable to a single tone or... Some Principles Of Correct Notation
1. The note (from nota--Latin--a mark or sign) consists of either one, two, or three parts, (<img src=/images/notes.jpg>) these being referred to respectively as head, stem, and hook. The hook is often called tail or cross-stroke. The stem appea... Abbreviations Signs Etc
49. A dot after a note shows that the value of the note is to be half again as great as it would be without the dot, i.e., the value is to be three-halves that of the original note. <img src=/images/dot.jpg> 50. When two dots follow the note ... Acoustics
NOTE:--It is usually taken for granted that the student of music is familiar with the significance of such terms as over-tone, equal temperament, etc., and with principles such as that relating to the relation between vibration... Auxiliary Words And Endings
96. Being a list of articles, adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, and endings, often utilized in compounding terms relating to musical effects. A--preposition--variously translated to, at, for, by, in, with, towards. A cappella--in church st... Chords Cadences Etc
196. A chord is a combination of several tones sounding together and bearing an harmonic relation to each other. The simplest chord is the triad, which consists of a fundamental tone called the root, with the third and fifth above it. C--E--G is a... Dynamics
120. The word dynamics (cf. dynamic--the opposite of static) as used in the nomenclature of music has to do with the various degrees of power (i.e., the comparative loudness and softness) of tones. As in the case of words referring to tempo, the... Embellishments
64. Embellishments (or graces) (Fr. agrements) are ornamental tones, either represented in full in the score or indicated by certain signs. The following are the embellishments most commonly found: Trill (or shake), mordent, inverted mordent (or p... Measure
97. From the standpoint of the eye, a measure is that portion of the staff found between two bars, (in certain cases this space may be less than a measure, as e.g., at the beginning and end of a movement); but from the standpoint of the ear a sing... Miscellaneous Terms
A battuta--with the beat; in strict rhythm. [Transcriber's Note: Corrected error battua in original.] A quatre mains--for four hands. Accompagnamento--the accompaniment. All'unisono--in unison. Alla breve--2/2 measure. The term a... Miscellaneous Terms (_continued_)
Lyric--a short, song-like poem of simple character. Also applied to instrumental pieces of like character. Maggiore--major. Marcato il canto--the melody well marked; i.e., subdue the accompaniment so that the melody may stand out strongly. ... Musical Instruments
1. Broadly speaking, musical instruments may be divided into two classes, viz.: (1) those that have a keyboard and are therefore capable of sounding several tones simultaneously; (2) those that (as a rule) sound only one tone at a time, as the vio... Rhythm Melody Harmony And Intervals
178. The four elements commonly attributed to music (in the order of their development) are: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony, and Timbre (or tone-color). 179. Rhythm is the regular recurrence of accent. In music it is more specifically the regular recu... Scales
76. A scale (from scala, a Latin word meaning ladder; Ger. Ton-leiter) is an ascending or descending series of tones, progressing according to some definite system, and all bearing (in the case of tonality scales at least) a very intimate relation... Scales (_continued_)
84. The minor diatonic scale is used in several slightly different forms, but the characteristic interval between the first and third tones (which differentiates it from the major scale) remains the same in every case. This interval between the fi... Symbols Of Music Defined
12. A staff is a collection of parallel lines, together with the spaces belonging to them. The modern staff has five lines and six spaces, these being ordinarily referred to as first line, second line, third line, fourth line, and fifth line (be... Symbols Of Music Defined Part Two
21. The natural[8] (sometimes called cancel) annuls the effect of previous sharps, flats, double-sharps, and double-flats, within the measure in which it occurs. After a double-sharp or double-flat the combination of a natural with a sharp, or a n... Tempo
104. The word time in musical nomenclature has been greatly abused, having been used to indicate: (1) Rhythm; as the time was wrong. (2) Variety of measure-signature; as two-four time. (3) Rate of speed; as the time was too s... Tempo (_continued_)
110. Innumerable combinations of the words defined in Sec. 109 with one another and with other words occur. Some of these combinations with their approximate meanings follow. The meaning of any such expression not found in the list may usually be ... Terminology Reform
A recent writer[43] on vocal terminology makes the following statement as an introduction to certain remarks advocating a more definite use of terms relating to tone production by the human voice:--The correct use of words is the most potent facto... Terms Relating To Forms And Styles
132. A form in music is a specific arrangement of the various parts of a composition resulting in a structure so characteristic that it is easily recognized by the ear. Thus e.g., although every fugue is different from all other fugues in actual m... Terms Relating To Forms And Styles (_continued_)
(Sections 144 to 160 relate particularly to terms used in descriptions of monophonic music[33].) [Footnote 33: There is a very pronounced disagreement among theorists as to what terms are to be used in referring to certain forms and pa... Terms Relating To Vocal Music
161. An anthem is a sacred choral composition, usually based on Biblical or liturgical[34] words. It may or may not have an instrumental accompaniment, and is usually written in four parts, but may have five, six, eight, or more. [Footnote 34: ... The History Of Music Notation
Many conflicting statements have been made regarding the history and development of music writing, and the student who is seeking light on this subject is often at a loss to determine what actually did happen in the rise of our modern system of wr...