Absolute Music: Music without associationsoutside of itself, in contrast to program music.

Absolute Pitch: seeperfect pitch.

A Cappella: "In the manner of the chapel". Sungmusic without instrumental accompaniment.

Accidentals: Sharps,flats, or natural signs that raiseor lower a given diatonic pitch to deviate from itskey signature.

Accompaniment: A vocal or instrumental part that supports the primary part, or provides background for a soloist.

Achromatic: Seediatonic.

Acoustic: Any instrument that can provide soundwithout the use of electronic amplification.

Acoustics: 1. The science relating to thecreation and dissipation of sound waves. 2. The way in which sound productionis affected by the physical properties of the room or chamber in which they areproduced.

Advent: Christian religious observance which takesplace in the four weeks immediately preceeding Christmas.

Aeolian Mode: A medieval modewhose scale pattern is that of playing A to Aon the white keys of a piano. This scale is also called the natural minor scale.

Agnus Dei: "Lamb of God". In theMass, the fifth part of theordinary.

Air: A song or melody.

Alberti Bass: A pattern of bass notes thatoutlines the chord being sounded in the pattern low-high-middle-high.

Albumblatt: (Ger.) A page or leaf from abook, or a short, easy piece.

Allemande: (Fr.) "German." A stately16th-century German dance, initially in a duple meter. During the 17th and18th centuries, it was used as the first movement of the suite.

Alteration: The use of asharp or flat to raise or lower apitch from its natural state.

Altered Chord: A chord in which a note hasbeen changed from its normal position, usuallychromatically.

Alto: 1. In most choirs, the lowest female vocalpart. Occasionally, extremely high tenors may be saidto sing this part. 2. An instrument in the alto range. 3. Aviola.

Alto Clef: The C cleffalling on third line of the staff, in modern practice, is usually only usedby the viola.

Analysis: The study of the form and structureof music.

Answer: In a fugue, thesecond entry of the subject.

Antescedent: The first phrase of a musicalperiod. In a fugue, thesubject.

Anthem: A choral or vocal composition, often witha religious or political lyric, with or without accompaniment, written eitherfor performance in a church, or another place with significance to the songitself.

Antithesis: In the fugue,the answer.

Aria: A musical work usually found in anopera or oratorio, whichgenerally dwells on a single emotional theme of one of the characters.

Arietta: A short aria.

Arpeggio: The notes of a chord played insuccesssion to one another, rather than simultabniously. A broken chord.

Arrangement: An adaptation of a givencomposition into a form other than as originally composed.

Ars Antiqua: "Old Art". Refers to the oldmusical practices of Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries.

Ars Nova: "New Art". A term invented byPhilippe De Vitry to describe the musicof his era, the 14th century, as opposed to the music of earlier generations.

Art Song: A serious vocal composition, generallyfor voice and piano. Denotes a self-contained work, as opposed to anaria.

Atonal: Music that lacks a tonal center, or inwhich all pitches carry equal importance.

Augmentation: The lengthening of note valuesused in a theme to alter the melody without changing thepitches.

Augmented: Raised, or enlarged. Generallyrefers to the raising of a pitch chromaticallyby one half step.

Augmented Chord: A chord which containsa root, a major third, and anaugmented fifth.

Augmented Sixth Chord: Achord which contains an augmentedsixth above the bass, in addition tovarious other tones, which determine weather the chord is aGerman Sixth Chord,French Sixth Chord,Italian Sixth Chord,Neopolitan Sixth,or Doubly Augmented Sixth Chord.

Authentic Cadence: Acadence that starts of the fifthof the key, and resolves to the tonic.

B

B: The key of B, or in the German musical system,B-flat.

Bagatelle: A short light or whimsical piece,usually written for piano.

Ballad: 1. A simple song. 2. A song that tells astory.

Ballet: A theatrical dance form with a story,sets, and music.

Band: An instrumental ensemble, usually consistingof percussion, woodwind, and brass instruments, and excluding strings.

Baritone: A low male singing voice betweentenor and bass.

Baroque Period: The musical era from roughly1600 to 1750 A.D., characterized by the establishment of major and minortonality, rather than modes, and the introduction ofopera.

Bass: "Low." 1. The lowest male singing voice, belowbaritone. 2. The lowest part in a piece of music.3. The lowest instrument in a musical work. 4. In theviolin family, the lowest instrument.

Bass Clef: The F clefindicating the fourth line of the staff. Used in combination with thetreble clef to make thegrand staff.

Basso Continuo: "Continuous Bass",sometimes referred to as "thoroughbass". Used in Baroquemusic, A continuo is a bass line that repeats throughout anentire work, or section of a work. Played by the lowest instrument, a continuousually consisted of a bass line, and a series offigures.

Battaglia: "Battle". A composition thatimitates the sounds and feel of battle, and martial music.

Bequadro: A naturalsign.

Berceuse: A lullaby.

Binary Form: A two-part song form consistingof an initial section, which is then followed by a contrasting section. (AB),see song forms.

Bitonal: The use of two different keys, ortonic centers at the same time.

Borrowed Chord: Use of a chord in a key inwhich it is not diatonic, or the substitution of achord from a different key into a work.

Bouts: In the violinand guitar families, the curves in the sides of theinstrument, especially the C-shaped inward curves that form thewaist.

Bow: The device used in the string instrumentfamilies, such as the violin family, consistingof a wooden stick, pointed at one end, and strung with horsehair. The bow isdrawn across the strings to generate a tone.

C

C: The key of C.

C Clef: A clef that indicateswhich line represents C on a staff, as opposed to aG clef, or an F clef.

Cabalistic Numerological Symbolism: A method ofinbedding hidden messages in music, by using a code of numbers based on whichnotes are used, their durations, arrangement, subdivision, etc--whereby thecomposer made symbolic referrence to specific persons, places, or things and/orevents in some way associated with the music.

Cacophony: A discordant or dissonant sound.

Cadence: The melodic or harmonic ending of a piece,or the sections or phrases within a piece. A chordprogression that gives a feeling of resolution, or conclusion.

Cadenza: An extended solo passage, usually nearthe end of a piece, improvised by the performer, or sometimes written out bythe composer.

Cambiata: Incounterpoint, anonharmonic tone inserted between adissonance and itsresolution.

Camera: Secular chamber music, as opposed to churchmusic, or chiesa.

Camerata: Small art or music schools dating fromthe 16th century.

Cancel: A natural sign, usedto remove a previously applied accidental.

Cannon: "Rule". Incounterpoint, a melody that is repeated exactly bya different voice, entering a short interval after the original voice.

Cantata: "Sung". A multi-movement vocal work forconcert or church performance by a choir, sometimes soloists, and aninstrumental ensemble.

Canticle: A non-metrical hymn or song.

Canto Fermo: Acantus firmus.

Cantus Firmus: "Fixed Song". A pre-existingmelody, used as the foundation for a polyphonic work.Used in counterpoint, Canti Firmus were usually basedon ecclesiatical chant.

Canzona: A song, or ballad, or"in the style of a song".

Capellmeister:Kapellmeister.

Cappella: Seea cappella.

Cello: In the violin family,the tenor instrument, played while held between the knees.

Chamber Music: Music for small ensemble.

Chanson: A song, usually secular. This term isusually applied to works composed during the Medieval and Renaissance periods,though many twentieth-century composers have also applied the term to their ownworks.

Chiesa: "Church". Church music, as opposed tochamber music, or camera.

Chorale: A German Lutheran hymn tune.

Chord: A set of notes, usually three or four,played simultaniously--usually containing a root, andother tones which have a tonal relationship to that root.

Chordal: A form of music in which a single melodyis accompanied by sets of chords, rather than a competingcounter melody.

Chromatic: Motion by half steps; or pitchesused outside of the diatonic scale in which theynormally occur.

Classical Era: The musical period from the late1700s to the mid 1820s, characterized by more rigidly defined musical forms,increased attention to instrumental music, and the evolution of thesymphony.

Clef: The symbol used at the beginning of a staffto indicate which lines and spaces represent which notes. In modern practice,only three clefs are commonly used, the G clef ortreble clef, the F clef orbass clef, and the C clef, whenused as an alto clef.

Close Harmony: Aharmonic voicing technique in which all the partsinvolved remain as close together as the chords allow, often within a singleoctave.

Clusters: Groups of notes that are the interval ofa second apart from one another.

Coloratura: "Coloring". Elaborate coloration ofthe melodic line, usually by a vocalist.

Comic Opera: An operawith light-natured music, comedy, and a happy ending. In contrast togrand opera.

Common Chord: A chord composed of aroot, third, andfifth.

Common Time: 4/4 meter.

Common Tone: A note that remains the samebetween two different chords.

Compound Interval: An interval greaterthan an octave, such as a ninth, or eleventh.

Concert: A public performance of music.

Concertante: A piece for two or moreinstruments with orchestral accompaniment.

Concerto: A piece for soloist(s) and orchestra.

Consequent: The second phrase in a musicalperiod, in a fugue, theanswer.

Consonance: Sounds that are in agreement interms of physical generation of sound; i.e. sounds found in theharmonic series of a pitch being harmonized, incontrast to dissonance.

Consort: A Renaissancechamber group.

Continuo:Basso continuo.

Counterpoint: The combination of two or moremelodic lines played against one another. A horizontal structure built uponcompeting melodic lines, rather than a chordalsetting.

Countertenor: "Against the tenor". Thehighest male singing voice, above tenor.

Crab Cannon: Acontrapuntal piece in which one part is identicalto another, but backwards.

Crecendo: A gradual increase in volume.

Credo: "I believe". In the Mass,the third part of the ordinary. The Creed.

D

D: 1. "Deutsch". D numbers are used instead ofopus numbers to catalogue works by Schubert 2. The key of D.

Deceptive Cadence: Acadence where the dominanttonality resolves to any chord other than the tonic, mostespecially when it goes instead to the sixth.

Degree: A note of a scale, usually as identifiedby number. See second, third,fourth, fifth,sixth, seventh, andoctave.

Descant: 1. Soprano ortenor voice. 2. The melodic line orcounterpoint accompanying an existing melody.3. The upper part of a polyphonic composition.

Descriptive Music:Program music.

Development: The elboration of melodic,thematic, or harmonic progressions in a piece.

Diatonic: The notes that occur naturally in ascale, without being modified by accidentals otherthan in the key signature.

Dies Irae: "Day of Wrath". Thesequence for the Requiem Mass.

Diminished: Lowered, or reduced. Generallyrefers to the lowering of a pitch chromaticallyby one half step.

Diminished Seventh Chord: A chordwhich contains a root, a minor third,a diminished fifth, and adiminished seventh.

Diminished Triad: A chord which containsa root, a minor third, and adiminished fifth.

Diminuition: The shortening of note valuesused in a theme to alter the melody without changing thepitches.

Dirge: A piece that is performed at a funeral ormemorial service.

Dissonance: Notes that conflict, or soundoutside of a chord in which they occur. Such notes usually fall outside of theovertones which are being generated by the note orchord that is sounding.

Divertimento: An entertaining instrumentalpiece made up of several short movements.

Dodecaphonic:Twelve-tone music.

Dominant: A chord based on thefifth degree of the diatonic scalebeing used. A dominant usually resolves to thetonic.

Dorian Mode: A medieval modewhose scale pattern is that of playing D to D on the white keys of a piano.

Double Concerto: Aconcerto for two solo instruments, and orchestra.

Double Counterpoint:Invertible Counterpoint.

Double Flat: Anaccidental that lowers the note it preceeds by onewhole step.

Double Fugue: A fuguewith two themes that occur at the same time.

Double Sharp: Anaccidental that raises the note it preceeds by onewhole step.

Doubly Augmented Sixth Chord: Anaugmented sixth chord, which contains asharp second from thetonic.

Dramatic Soprano: A female singer witha slightly lower range than a Lyric Soprano.

Dramatic Tenor: A male singer witha slightly lower range than a Lyric Tenor.

Dynamics: The degrees of loudness or softnessin a musical work, and the symbols that represent them.

E

E: The key of E.

Eighth: An octave.

Elegy: A melancholy piece.

Eleventh: The interval of elevendiatonic degrees.

Embellishment:ornaments added to music to make it more interesting.

Ensemble: A group of singers, or instrumentalists.

Equal Temperament: Any tuning systemwhich divides the octave into equal intervals.

Ethnomusicology: The study of varioustypes of music in relation to their geographic, racial, and cultural context.

Etude: A short song, usually written for pedagogicalor instructional use.

Evaded Cadence: Acadence that implies one type ofresolution, but goes to another instead.

Even Tuning Seeequal temperament.Excercise: A short piece written to improveperformance technique.

Exposition: The first occurence of thetheme or subject in a work, wherethe prinicpal idea of the piece is stated.

Expressionism: An early 20th-century musicalstyle, employing an abstract approach to music, unlikeimpressionism.

F

F: The key of F.

F Clef: A clef that indicateswhich line represents F on a staff, as opposed to aC clef, or an G clef.

False Cadence: Adeceptive cadence.

Falsetto: A high, light, artificial voice usedto sing notes that are above the normal register.

Fantasy, Fantasia, Fantaisie: A piece in freestyle and form.

Feminine Cadence: Acadence ending on a weak beat.

Fibbonacci Series: A mathematicalsequence in which the next number in the series is the sum of the previoustwo numbers. Used by many 20th century composers to determine various elementsof composition, espeically Bela Bartok.

Fifth: The interval of fivediatonic degrees.

Figured Bass: The bass part of a piecewritten by giving a single bass note, with numbers beside it to indicatethe inversion of the chord to be played.

Figured Melody: A highlyornamented melody.

Finale: The last movement of asonata or symphony, or the lastsection of an opera.

Fingerboard: On string instruments, the topsurface of the neck, where the fingers press down on the strings.

Flats: An accidentalthat lowers a given pitch by one half-step. See alsokey signature.

Fourth: The interval of fourdiatonic degrees.

French Sixth Chord: Anaugmented sixth chord, which contains asecond from the tonic.

Fret: On certain string instruments, a thin,raised bar placed across the fingerboard to indicatea specific position of a note, and aid in tuning that note.

Fugue: "Flight." Acontrapuntal piece, in which two or more parts arebuilt or "layered" on a recurring subject that isintriduced alone, and followed by an answer, whichis the subject (or theme) at a different pitch,usually the fifth.

Function: The way in which chords, and individualtones within the chord, tend to imply movement toward another chord.

Fundamental: Any note that sounds, producingovertones in theharmonic series.

G

G: The key of G.

G Clef: A clef that indicateswhich line represents G on a staff, as opposed to a C clef,or an F clef.

Gallant: an 18th century compositional stylethat was light, elegant, non-contrapuntal, andhighly ornamented.

German Sixth Chord: Anaugmented sixth chord, which contains aflat third from thetonic.

Gloria: "Glory". In the Mass,the second part of the ordinary.

Golden Section: A mathematical proportionwhere the ratio between a small section and a larger section is equal to theratio between the larger section and both sections put together. Used by many20th century composers, especially Bela Bartok,to determine the point of climax for a given work.

Grace Note: A note, or notes that are playedquickly, usually before the beat. See ornaments.

Grand Opera: Opera on alarge scale, usually entirely sung, in contrast tocomic opera.

Grand Staff: The combination of a staff linenotated in treble clef with one notated inbass clef. Used primarily in scoring for piano, andother keyboard instruments, this staff is also sometimesused to score vocal works, such as hymns.

Gregorian Chant: A body of chants of the RomanCatholic Church, most of which are part of two liturgical rites, theMass and the Offices. Origins traditionally areascribed to the period of Pope Gregory I (590-604).

Guitar: A string instrument from Spain, with alarge, flat-backed sound box, violin-like curved shape,a fretted neck, and six strings.

H

H: 1. In the German musical system, Bnatural, or the key of B natural. 2. "Hoboken", thecataloguer of Haydn's works; H numbers areused instead of opus numbers for the works of Haydn.

Half-Cadence: Acadence that ends on the dominantinstead of the tonic. Also called animperfect cadence.

Half-Step: The smallestinterval that is commonly used in Western music. Thereare 12 half-steps in an octave.

Harmonic Progression: The movementfrom one chord to another, usually in terms of theirfunction.

Harmonic Series: A series of notesproduced above the fundamental (the series includesthe fundamental) which fall in the overtones of thatpitch.

Harmony:1. The study of progression, structure,and relationships of chords. 2. When pitches are in agreement, orconsonance.

Head Voice: The upper register of the singingvoice.

Heldentenor: A heroictenor with a strong, robust singing voice.

Hemitonium: Ahalf-step.

Heterophony: The simultanious performance oftwo slightly different melodies.

Homophony: Music in which one voice has themelody, performed with a chordalaccompaniment.

Hymn: A song, often a chorale,written in praise of God, or for a religious congregation.

I

Imitation: A fugaltechnique of composition, in which one part introduces a theme, orsubject which is then answeredby the other parts by reitorating the same theme later in the work. This termis usually applied to fugal passages in choral music.

Imperfect Cadence: Seehalf-cadence.

Impressionism: A stylistic period ofcomposition that sought to put to music only the most immediate, directimpressions, upon the composer, of a given subject. Impressionism avoidedtraditional harmony of thirds, employing more oftenquartal or quintal tonality.

Impromptu: A short, improvisational-soundingpiece.

Improvisation: Spontanious Composition. Theperformance of music that is composed on the spur-of-the moment by theperformer, usually as a solo, or cadenza. Also usedextensively in jazz.

Incidental Music: Short musical segmentsthat accompany, or highlight dramatic moments in, a play, or other stage work.

Instrumentation: The art of composing,orchestrating or arranging works for aninstrumental ensemble.

Interlude: Short music used to bridge theacts of a play, or the verses of a hymn.

Introduction: The preparatory section,movement, or phrase of a musical work.

Interval: The distance between two notes, interms of occilations per second. The difference in onehalf-step is about 35 beats per second.

Introit: "Entrance". A psalm sung at the start ofthe Roman Catholic Mass.

Invention: A short,contrapuntal piece.

Inversion: The different forms that a chord maytake by changing the chord member that is the bass of the chord.

Invertible Counterpoint:counterpoint in which two or more voices can beinterchanged for one another.

Ionian Mode: A medieval modewhose scale pattern is that of playing C to C on the white keys of a piano.This scale is identical to a major scale.

Italian Sixth Chord: Anaugmented sixth chord, which contains aonly three tones, as opposed to a German Sixth Chord,or a French Sixth Chord.

J

Jazz: A style of music of Afro-American rootschracterized by a strong rythmic understructure, blue notes, and improvisationon melody and chord structure.

Jubilate: A song of praise, usually based onPsalm 100.

Just Tuning: Any system of tuning in which theintervals are pure, and do not deviate from theovertone series.

K

K: 1. "Kochel", used instead of opusnumbers to designate the works of Mozart.2. "Kirkpatrick", used to designate the works ofDomenico Scarlatti.

Kanon: Canon.

Kapellmeister: "Master of the chapel."Director of music for a church or royalty.

Key: The tonal center based on thetonic note of the scale.

Key signature: Sharpsor flats written at the beginning of a staff line toindicate which pitches are to be raised or lowered from theirnatural state during the piece.

Kreuz: (Gr.) A sharp.

Kyrie: "Lord." In the Mass,the first part of the ordinary.

L

Lament: A mournful piece, either meant to beplayed at a funeral, or to commemorate a death.

Landini Cadence: The melodiccadence that moves in the sequence 7-6-8, usedprimarily by Francesco Landini, and laterby other composers.

Leading Tone: Theseventh degree of the diatonicscale, when it is only a half-step below the tonic. Itis called "leading" because it gives the feeling of wanting to move up ahalf-step toward the tonic.

Leap: the movement of a single musical line by morethan a second at a time.

Ledger Lines: Lines written above or belowthe staff to help indicate the correct pitches for noteswritten outside of it.

Leitmotif: "Leading Motive". Use of a musicalphrase to identify with a certain person, place or thing in a dramatic work,especially an opera, usually repeated every time itsreferrant appeared in the work.

Lent: The season of the church year from AshWednesday to Easter (40 days, not counting Sundays).

Libretto: The text (lyrics and any spoken parts)of an opera or oratorio.

Lied/Lieder: A German art song, usually those of the Romantic or Classical eras.

Litany: A set of prayers recited by a leaderalternating with responses by the congregation, often set inplainsong form.

Liturgy: A perscribed order of worship in achurch, usually used in referrence to the Mass.

Locrian Mode: A mode whosescale pattern is that of playing B to B on the white keys of a piano. Whilethis mode theoretically existed in medieval times, it was never used.

Lullaby: A cradle song.

Lydian Mode: A medieval modewhose scale pattern is that of playing F to F on the white keys of a piano.

Lyric: 1. The words to a song. 2. In a singing andmelodious manner.

Lyric Soprano: A female singer witha slightly higher range than a Dramatic Soprano.

Lyric Tenor: A male singer with a slightlyhigher range than a Dramatic Tenor.

M

Madrigal: A Renaissancechoral piece, usually unaccompanied.

Maggiore: The major mode.

Major: "Greater". A term used to describe certainintervals (seconds,thirds, sixths andsevenths), chords andthe Ionian Mode.

Major Chord: a triadcomposed of a root, a third, and afifth.

Major Scale: A diatonic scale where the half-steps fallbetween the third and fourth, andthe seventh and . This scale isidentical to the Ionian Mode.

Mannheim School: APreclassical group of Germansymphonic composers whose style including extendedcrecendos (called steamrollers) andmelodies that arpeggiated upward, (calledrockets).

March: Music for marching, such as in a parade orprocession.

Mass: The musical setting of the Roman Catholic Churchservice, usually just the ordinary, but sometimes alsothe proper.

Mixolydian Mode: A medievalmode whose scale pattern is that of playing G to G on thewhite keys of a piano.

Meter Signature: Seetime signature.

Mode: A scale pattern consisting of set intervals ofwhole and half steps. The primary modes areAeolian, Dorian,Ionian, Locrian,Lydian, Mixolydian, andPhrygian.

Modal: Pertaining to modes.

Modern: Music written in the 20th century, orcontemporary music.

Modulation: 1. To change keys, the movementfrom one tonic center to another.

Monody: A solo or unison song withaccompaniement.

Monothematic: Music based upon a singletheme.

Monophony: Music written in a single melodicline, as opposed to polyphony.

Morceau: "Morsel". A musical work or composition.

Mordent: An ornamentconsisting of a single alternation between a given pitch, and the oneimmeditatly below or above it--called an inverted mordent.

Motet: A choral composition, usually on a religioustext.

Motif: A short musical idea, or melodic theme thatruns through a piece.

Movement: A self-contained segment of a largerwork. Found in works such as sonatas,symphonies, concertos, etc.

Musicology: The study of music and musichistory.

Music Drama: Opera,specifically that of Richard Wagner and hissuccessors.

Musique Concrete: Music composed bymanipulating recorded sounds, specifically aucoustically generated real-worldsounds.

N

Nachschlag: An ornamentconsisting of an unaccented note or notes at the end of the main note, or atthe end of a trill.

Nachtmusik: "Night Music", aseranade.

Natural: A note that has not been raised orlowered from its named pitch. On a piano, naturals are the white keys.Sharps or flats may be used toalter a natural pitch up or down a half step, respectively.

Neopolitan: Any chord built upon theflat second degree of the tonic key.

Neopolitan Sixth Chord: Anaugmented sixth chord built upon theflat second degree of the tonic key.

Ninth: The interval of ninediatonic degrees.

Nocturne: A night-piece, or seranade.

Nonharmonic: Notes that fall outside of theharmonic structure in which they occur.

Notation: written music indicating pitch andrhythm.

O

O: The symbol for diminished.

Oblique Motion: Two melodic lines, where one voiceremains stationary, while the other moves.

Octave: An interval eightdiatonic scale degrees above it. Two notes an octaveapart have the same letter name, and form the mostconsonant interval possible.

Octet: A piece written for eight parts, or the groupthat performs such a piece.

Oeuvre: (Fr.) opus.

Offertory 1. A part of the Roman CatholicMass proper, following theCredo and sung during the offering. 2. In Protestantchurch services, any music sung or played during offering.

Open Fifth: A triadthat does not contain a third, consisting only of aroot and a fifth.

Opera: A musical play, usually entirely sung,making use of costumes, staging, props, sets, and dramatic elements. Operasusually consist of two types of musical elements, the aria,which primarily expresses a single idea or theme, and therecitative which advances the story.

Opera Comique: Comic Opera.

Operetta: A light opera.

Opus: "Work". With a number, used to show the orderin which the works by a given composer were written or published. Opus numbersare most often used for composers who catalogued their own works.

Oratorio: An operaticwork without staging, sets, or elaborate costumes. Usually performed in amore relaxed setting than a formal opera, and usually having a religioustheme.

Orchestration: The art of arranging,writing or scoring music for an orchestra.

Ordinary: In the Mass,the parts that are used every day, as distinct from theproper. The ordinary consists of theKyrie, Gloria,Credo, Sanctus, andAgnus Dei.

Ornament: A melodic embellishment, either writtenor improvised. Types of ornaments included trills,turns, mordents, andgrace notes.

Overtone: A tone that is present in the soundingof a fundamental, due to the physics of theproduction of musical tones.

Overture: The introductory music for an opera, ballet, or oratorio.

P

Parallel Chords:The movement of specificchords or chord combinations up and down a scale.Parallel Intervals:The movement in twoor more parts of the same intervals in the samedirection.

Parallel Keys:Major and Minor keys havingthe same tonic note.

Parallel Motion:The movement in twoor more parts of the same intervals in the samedirection.

Partial: Either thefundamental or an overtonein the harmonic series.

Partita: 1. A set ofvariations. 2. A suite.

Part Song: An unaccompaniedhomophonic song for three or more voices.

Perfect Pitch: The ability to distinguishand identify any given note without any musical or tonal support.

Period: A musical statement, made up of two ormore phrases, and a cadence.

Phrase: A single musical idea, or element. Usuallyvery short, often consisting of only one or two measures.

Phrygian Mode: A medieval modewhose scale pattern is that of playing E to E on the white keys of a piano.

Plainsong: A monophonicchant which is unmeasured, and unaccompanied; such asgregorian chant.

Polonaise: A stately Polish dance in moderatetriple time, often with a repeated rhythmic pattern.

Polychoral: A style in which an ensemble isdivided into groups that may perform individually, alternately, or together.

Polyphony: "Many sounds". Music that has manynotes sounding together, either in a chordal, orcountrapuntal setting.

Prelude: "Play-before". An introductory movementor work.

Program Music: A piece that conveys apicture or story, in contrast to absolute music.

Proper: The parts of the Masswhose parts change daily, as distinct from the ordinary.The proper consists of the introit, Gradual, Alleluia orTract, Offertory, and Communion.

Q

Quartal Harmony: Harmony based on the interval ofa perfect fourth, rather than on thirds.

Quintal Harmony: Harmony based on the interval ofa fifth, rather than thirds.

R

Recitative: A musical work usually found in anopera or oratorio, which mimicsthe patterns of speech, in order to advance the story.

Red Notes: In medieval music, notes that werecolored red on the page in order to distinguish differences in rhythm oroctave transposition for specific notes. They were also used to showdifferences in a cantus firmus from theoriginal.

Renaissance: "Rebirth." The era from themid-15th century to the end of the 16th century. The music was charactarizedby the use of freer forms, and a progression from modestoward major and minor scales, and harmony.

Requiem: A version of the Massperformed to commemorate the dead. The sections are:introit, Kyrie, Gradual and Tract,Sequence(Dies Irae),Offertory, Sanctus, andAgnus Dei.

Resolution: The changing of adissonant pitch, usually by stepwise orchromatic motion, so that it becomesconsonant with the chord being sounded.

Romantic Era: The musical period from roughly1827-1900, characterized by freer forms, larger, more elaborate works, and anincreased attention to emotional themes within the music.

Root: the most fundamental note of a chord, oftenthe bass note, which usually contains the other members ofthe chord in its overtones.

S

Scale: A series of notes which define adiatonic tonality, often consistingof eight degrees, and containing atonic and sometimes also aleading tone.

Serialism: A form of music writing based onTwelve-Tone technique, in which pitch classes, rythyms, and often dynamics aredetermined systematically.

Second: The interval of twodiatonic degrees.

Sequence: 1. Repetition of the same basicmelodic theme at a different pitch. 2. A type of Gregorian chant withnon-biblical texts, lines grouped in rhymed pairs, and one note per syllable.

Serenade: A love song, or piece traditionallyperformed below a loved one's window in the evening.

Seventh: The interval of sevendiatonic degrees.

Sharps: An accidentalthat raises a given pitch by one half-step. See alsokey signature.

Sixth: The interval of sixdiatonic degrees.

Sonata: A piece for a solo, or accompanied,instrument, usually in 3 or 4 movements.

Song Forms: The arrangement of sections in asong to contrast similiar and different sections. Often, letters are used torepresent different parts of a given selection: ABA, AABA, ABACA, etc.

Soprano: The highest female vocal range, abovealto.

Staff: The five horizontal lines upon which musicis written. Usually including a clef, and having atime signature andkey signature.

Subject: A theme or motif that is the basis fora musical form, such as a fugue orsonata.

Symphony: A piece for large orchestra, usuallyin four movements.

T

Tenor: "Holder." 1. A high male voice betweenalto and baritone. In earlypolyphonic music, it sang thecantus firmus in long held notes. 2. Instrumentsin the tenor range.

Tenorlied: A german song, in which thetenor vocal line predominates, or has the melody.

Theme: 1. A phrase thatserves as the subject, or melody for a given work,as in a fugue, or sonata. 2. Aconceptual idea that motivates a given work.

Third: The interval of threediatonic degrees.

Time Signature: The numbers written onstaff of any piece, indicating which type of note gets asingle beat, and also how many beats are in each measure.

Tonal: Music with a center, ortonic, which employs tones which relate to that tonicin a predictable and measurable manner.

Tonic: The key center, or foundation of, a scale ormelody.

Treble: The highest voice, instrument, or part.

Treble Clef: The G cleffalling on the second line of the staff. Used with thebass clef to form thegrand staff.

Triad: A chord consistingof a root, and two other members, usually athird and a fifth.

Trill: An ornamentconsisting of a rapid alternation between two pitches, the main pitch, and thepitch a whole or half step above it.

Turn: An ornamentconsisting of four or five notes that move up and down 'around' a givenpitch, using that pitch as a tonal center.

Twelve-Tone Music: Music in which no pitchclass (or note) is repeated until all other chromatic pitches have been used.Any group of twelve pitches arranged this way is called a row.

V

Venetian School: Late-Renaissance groupof composers in Venice whose style included polychoraltextures and the foundations of orchestration.

Viola: In theviolin family, the altoinstrument, played under the chin.

Violin: In theviolin family, the trebleinstrument played under the chin.

Violin Family: A family of four-stringinstruments originating during the 17th century, tuned infifths, and characterized by rounded backs and shoulders,f-shaped sound holes, and deep middle bouts. Seeviolin, viola,cello, and bass.

Votive: A chant or hymn honoring a particularsaint, or the Virgin Mary.

W

Wagner Tuba: A five-valved tuba designed byRichard Wagner, for use in his music.

Waist: A narrowing in the middle of the body of aninstrument, resulting in a shape like an hourglass. Typically found in stringinstruments, and some drums.

Z

Zigeunermusik: Gypsy music.

Zwischenspiel: Interlude.