pique French directive to a violinist to bow in an intermittently detached or bouncing manner to produce a slurring, staccato effect.
pizzicato in music for violin or cello, a directive to pluck the strings with the fingers or thumb instead of or in addition to bowing.
punta play with the point of the bow.
sautille French directive to a violinist to bounce the upper portion of the bow off the strings.
scordatura Italian directive to change the tuning of a stringed instrument in order to perform a particular composition.
sinistra play with the left hand.
sopra in keyboard music, a directive to cross one hand over the other to play a particular passage.
sordino, con Italian directive to a player of a stringed or wind instrument to use a mute.
sotto in keyboard music, a directive to cross one hand under the other to play a particular passage.
spiccato Italian directive to a violin or cello player to play in staccato style with the portion of the bow between the frog and the midpoint.
talon, au French directive to a violinist or cellist to play with the frog end of the bow.
music terms
accent emphasis on a particular note or chord.
accent, apogic a tone held for a longer time than others.
accent, dynamic a tone played louder than others.
accent, tonic a tone higher in pitch than others.
acciaccato playing the notes of a chord not quite simultaneously, but in quick succession from bottom to top.
accidentals collective term for the signs that raise or lower a pitch or that cancel these; includes sharp, double sharp, flat, double flat, and natural.
acoustics the science of sound properties.
air a simple melody.
aleatory music musical compositions with elements left to chance or the whims of the individual musician.
alto the second or third highest voice class of instruments—alto clarinet, alto sax, and so on.
answer repeating an original theme in a lower or higher register.
answer, call and the repeating or nearly repeating of a theme played by one instrument by another instrument, creating a kind of echo effect.
answer, real an answer played exactly the same as the original theme, with the exception of being in a higher or lower key.
answer, tonal an answer in which the distances between the notes are played differently than in the original theme.
anthem a hymn or composition set to words from the Bible.
anticipation the playing of a single note before a chord that harmonizes with that chord.
aquarelle a delicate composition.
arabesque the musical counterpart to arabesque architecture, an ornate or florid melody section.
arpeggio a chord in which the notes are played individually in quick succession instead of simultaneously.
arrangement the arrangement of a composition for another medium than that for which it was intended. Also known as a transcription.
ASCAP American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.
aubade French term for early morning music as opposed to a serenade or evening music.
augmentation the lengthening of the time values of notes in a composition, for example, from quarter notes to half notes or from half notes to whole notes. Opposite of diminution.
bagatelle French term for any short composition, usually for piano.
bar a measure; a bar line. Also, a guitar chord made by one finger laid straight across all six strings and pressed down.
bar line the vertical line in a musical staff that separates two measures.
baroque a term borrowed from baroque architecture to describe the musical developments between 1600 and 1750, characterized by growing complexity and the popular use of contrasts.
bass the lowest voice in a family of instruments.
baton the stick used by the conductor to direct a symphony orchestra's timing, phrasing, volume, and so forth.
battle music any musical composition in which battle sounds are re-created.
bebop jazz style, frequently with a fast tempo, originating in the 1940s and characterized by scat singing, complex rhythms, and off-time beats. Also known as bop.
berceuse French term for lullaby, usually involving an instrumental composition.
bitonality playing two keys simultaneously.
blues originally a form of jazz song, characterized by depressing themes, a slow tempo, and having flatted thirds and sevenths.
BMI Broadcast Music Inc., an American performing rights society.
boogie woogie jazz piano style popular in the 1930s and 1940s, characterized by the left hand playing a repeating bass pattern while the right plays a melody.
bowing the employment of a bow over the strings of a violin, cello, or other stringed instrument.
break in jazz, an improvised solo.
brevis a double whole note, the longest note in use.
bridge passage a short musical passage that helps one body of a composition flow smoothly into another body.
broken chord a chord in which notes are played not simultaneously but in quick succession; an arpeggio.
buffa comic, as in comic opera.
cadence rhythmic flow, beat. Also, a progression of chords or notes leading to the close of a composition.
cadence, deceptive a cadence that ends on a note or chord other than what the listener expects or anticipates. Also known as an interrupted cadence.
cadence, imperfect a cadence that gives the impression that more music is to follow and is therefore used in the middle of a composition.
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.