A
Allemande:
the first dance movement in the suites of Bach and his predecessors; in the late 18th century the name was used for quick waltz-like dances in three-four or three-eight
Aquinaldo: a style of Puerto Rican folk music
Arpeggio: the playing of a chord with its notes sounded out in
succession , rather than simultaneously
Art song: a song of serious artistic intent written by a trained composer, as distinct from a folk song
Atonality: a term used frequently to denote certain practices in 20th century music in which a definite tonal center or "key" is purposely avoided
B
Backbeat: the accentuation of beats two and four; usually found in the genres of rhythm and blues
Ballata: a form of italian 14th century poettry and music
basso continuo: music that is played by one or more bass instruments and a keyboard instrument; it is one of the most distinct features of the Baroque era
Bebop: a termed coined about 1945 to describe jazz characterized by improvised solo performances in dissonant and complex patterns, often by accentuation of the second and fourth beats in each four-four measures and by the twelve-bar “blues” phrase structure, and sometimes by the singing of nonsense syllables
Blues: a style of jazz, both vocal and instrumental, introduced in the first decade of the twentieth century. The most persistent characteristic of the blues is a twelve-measure pattern, instead of the eight-measure and sixteen-measure patterns of ragtime. The blues are further characterized by a smoother, less percussive rhythm, and a slower tempo than ragtime. The name is obviously related to the “blue notes,” i.e., the third and seventh scale degrees which are used either natural or flatted and which are frequently played deliberately out of tune.
Bomba: a style of Puerto Rican folk music derived primarily from African music and dominated by percussion instruments as well as call and response vocals.
C
Cacce: a type of 14th century Italian music in which a lively text is presented in two-voice canon form
Cadenza: a passage or section in the style of a brilliant imprvisation, placed near the endof a solo composition
Cannon: a contrapuntal device whereby an extended melody, stated in one part, is imitated strictly an for its entire length in one or more other parts. The cannon is the strictest species of imitative counterpoint
Cantus firmus: a pre-existing melody which is made the basis of a polyphonic composition, contrapuntal voices being added to it
Canzona: 1) designation for a lyrical song, particularly in Italian operas; 2) an important type of instrumental music of the 16th and 17th centuries, which developed from a Franco-Flemish chansons or the early 16th century
Chadracha: modern, popular Cuban music
Character pieces: a convenient denomination for a large repertory of short 19th century compositions, mostly for piano forte, designed to express a definite mood or character
Chorale:a hymn tune of the German Protestant Church
Chorale partitia: a chorale variation in which the basic structural properties (including rythmic) of the chorale are retained
Chromaticism: the use of raised or lowered notes instead of the normal degrees of the scale; chromaticism often serves to heighten the emotional tension of music
Clavicembalo: another name for a harpsichord-used in Italy
Clavecen: another name for a harpsichord-used in France
Clef: signs written at the beginning of each staff which designate the pitches of the lines and spaces; there are three such signs
Codetto: the intermediate coda at the end of the exposition in sonata form
Coloration: any elaborate ornamentation o figuration, whether written or improvised; most common during the 17th and 18th centuries
Concerti grossi: a concerto for a small group of soloists and an orchestra
Cantata: a composite form of vocal music, mainly in the Baroque period, consisting of a number of movements (four to six or more) such as arias, recitatives, duets, and choruses. The text may be either religious or secular
Conductus: Latin songs of the 12th and 13th centuries of varied forms and content
Contrabass: another term for a double bass, or bass viol
Contradaza: a form of Cuban classical music
Contrapuntal: in the style of counterpoint
Counterpoint: music consisting of two or melodic lines played simultaneously
Courante: a French dance of the late 16th century which, in the 17th century, became one of the four standard movements of the suite
D
Disco: a kind of popular dance music with a strong beat, elements of the blues and Latin American rythms, and simple repetitous lyrics, usually accompanied by pulsating lights etc.
Dissonance: tones sounding simultaneously are said to be dissonant if they produce an unpleasant effect; among intervals seconds and sevenths are dissonant
Double bass: also known as the contrabass or bass viol
E
Expressionism: a term denoting a certain trend in music beginning during the second decade of the 20th century, particularly in Austria and Germany. It was taken over from the graphic arts in which it designated a group of German painters who cultivated a style of emotionalism and deeply probing self expression
F
Figured bass: another term for basso continuo; see above
Fantasia: a musical composition of no fixed form, with a structure determined by the composers fancy
Fugue: a polyphonic composition based on a theme (subject) which is stated at the beginning in one voice part alone, being taken up (imitated) by the other voice or voices in close succession, and reappearing throughout the piece at various places in one voice part or another
Funk: a musical style that arose during the late 20th century; it de-emphasized melody and harmony and made rythm the most important element
G
Gallop: a dance of the mid-nineteenth century in lively duple time, with a characteristic rhythmic pattern executed with hopping movements and frequently changing steps
Gigue: a dance in lively triple meter (usually six-eight) which forms the last movement of Baroque suites
H
Habon: Cuban classical music; lighter and more rhythmic than the Cuban contradaza
Harmony: the simultaneous occurrence of musical tones, as opposed tomelody
Homophony: music consisting of a single melodic line supported by chords or other subordinate material
I
Intonation: degree of adherence to correct pitch. Good intonation implies close approximation of the pitch; poor intonation implies deviation from pitch
J
Jiharo: Puerto Rican folk music which reflected European influence rather than African influence
Jump blues: an early rhythm and blues style; it was an up-tempo style that featured the horn section
K
Klavier: another named for a harpsichord-used in Germany
L
Listera: a Romantic languid style of modern Cuban popular music
ledger lines: short lines drawn underneath or above the staff for notes too high or too low to appear on the staff
M
Madrigal: a name of uncertain derivation for two types of early vocal music, one of the 14th, the other of the 16th century, both of Italian origin. The 14th century madrigal is in a fixed form, consisting of two or three short stanzas with identical music an a final one with different music. Usually the term refers to the 16th century type, which is based on love lyrics having no set form and is composed in four or, more often, five voices in an imitative style but often interspersed with homophonic passages
Mambo: modern Cuban popular dance music; an instrumental big band style
Mazurka: a Polish national dance, in triple time and of moderate speed, frequently with dotted rhythms and with strong accents either on the second or third beat
Mass: the central service of the Roman Catholic rites
Meldoy: a succession of musical tones, as opposed to harmony
Mento: a style of Jamaican folk music
Menuetto: a French dance of the 17th century; usually written in triple time; also known as a minuet
Merengue: a folk and popular dance-music genre of the Dominican Republic
Modal: in the character of a mode, either a church mode, or of a rhythmic mode
Monophony: music consisting of a single melodic line without additional parts or chordal accompaniment; it is the oldest type of music
monothematic: compositions based on one theme
Motet: the most important form of early polyphonic music
N
Nationalism: a love of one’s country; expressed by composers of the Romantic period and again in 20th century music neo-classicism: a movement of the 20th century which is essentially a reaction against the subjectivity and unrestrained emotionalism of Romanticism. It is characterized by the adoption of aesthetic ideals and of forms or methods derived from the music of earlier masters, especially those of the eighteenth century
Neo-Romanticism: a term synonymous with post-Romanticism or late Romanticism, embracing the period from about 1880 to about 1910, as represented by R. Strauss Maler, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, etc.
O
Octaves: the interval embracing eight diatonic tones
Oratorio: a musical setting, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, of an extended story, of a religious or contemplative nature, performed in a concert hall or church, without scenery, costumes, or physical action
P
Pitches: a term referring to the high-low quality of a musical sound. The pitch is determined by the frequency of the tone, i.e., the number of vibrations per second
Pizzicato: an indication that the strings of a violin are to be plucked with the fingers instead of being bowed
Plainsong: common designation for Gregorian chant
Polka: a Bohemian (not Polish) dance in quick duple meter; originated about 1830 and was extremely popular until the end of the century
Polyphony: music consisting of several (two or more) melodic lines, each having individual significance and independence
Prelude: a piece of music designed to be played as an introduction; also used for operatic overtures
Punk rock: a style of rock 'n' roll that developed in the 1970s
Punto: a style of Cuban folk music reflecting a more European than African influence
Q
Quartets: a composition that is written for four instruments or voices; also the four performers assembled to play or sing such compositions; most important type is the string quartet
Quintets: a composition that is written for five instruments or voices
R
Recitative: a vocal style designed for the speechlike declamation of narrative episodes in operas, oratorios or cantatas
Reggae: modern popular Jamaican music which emerged in the late 1960s as a reinterpretation of American rhythm an blues music
Rondo: a form used for the final movement of classical sonatas, string quartets, symphonies and concertos
Rumba: a Cuban dance which, about 1930, became a popular ballroom dance in the United States and Europe. It is of African origin, with strong emphasis on rhythm, complicated syncopation, and indefinite repetitions of an eight measure theme, while melody and text are of subordinate importance. The dancing emphasizes movements of the body rather than of the feet.
S
Sacred music: music that was specifically written for use in church services
Salsa: a collective label for contemporary Latin American dance music, based principally on the styles and forms of Afro-Cuban urban popular tradition
Secular music: music that has no relation to the church
Scat singing: a style of singing introduced into jazz about 1930, characterized by the interpolation of nonsense syllables and other peculiar vocal effects, expressing an attitude of uninhibited exuberance
Sonata: the most important form of instrumental music from the Baroque era to the present. It usually consists of four independent pieces called movements, each of which follows certain conventions of character and structure
Sonority: the tonal quality produced by a performer on an instrument
Staff: five parallel horizontal lines, upon and between which musical notes are written, thus indicating their relative pitch and, in connection with a clef, their absolute pitch
Strophic: a song is termed strophic if all the stances of the poem are sung to the same music. Hymns and folk songs are usually strophic, as are most of the art songs written before 1800; the opposite of through composed
Swing: a term applied to the style of jazz that originated about 1935, particularly in the music of the Benny Goodman orchestra
Symphonic poem: a type of music in which an extra musical idea (literary, descriptive, etc.) serves as the basis of an orchestral composition
T
Through-composed: songs in which there is new music to each stanza; the opposite of strophic
Toccata: an important type of early keyboard music, originating in the sixteenth century but cultivated mainly in the Baroque period
Tonic key: the first, or basic note of a diatonic scale, the keynote
Tremelo: a quick reiteration of the same note; produced by a rapid up-and-down movement of the bow
Trios: designation for a group of three performers; also for the music that they perform. The most important type is the piano trio for piano, violin, and cello
Tower sonatas: compositions for a small group of wind instruments that were played from church steeples and towers
Turmsonatan: another term for a tower sonata; see above
V
Variations: an important musical form, the principal of which is to present a given melody, called the theme, in a number of modifications, each of which is a variation
Virtuoso: a performer who excels in technical ability
W
waltz: a dance in moderate triple time characterized chiefly by an accompaniment pattern consisting of a low bass note on the first beat and two chords in the middle register on the second and third beats
