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Absolute music
Is born of the delight in combining musical tones, being a product of
the musical faculty only.
Accent
A note that is played slightly harder, faster and louder than the others.
Accidental
Any chromatic sign not found in the key-signature, occurring in the course of a
piece of music.
Accompaniment
Any part or parts which attend the voices or instruments bearing the principal
part or parts in a musical composition.
Acoustic
Color; The timbre (character or quality) of a musical tone.
Acoustics
Musical acoustics is the science of musical tones as distinguished from
mere noises. A tone of sustained and equal pitch is caused by regular and
constant vibrations of the air, set in motion by similar vibrations in the body producing
the tone ( for instance, a guitar string, piano string, a vocal chord); while a noise is
caused by irregular and unequal vibrations.
Action
In keyboard instruments the mechanism set in motion by the
players fingers, or by feet(pedals). For the guitar it refers to the over all
playability of the instrument, (string height, pitch, bridge adjust, and fret shape &
height).
Acute
High in pitch, sharp, shrill; opposed to Grave.
Adaptation
An Arrangement.
Additional keys
Those above f 3.
After-beat
An ending to a trill, comprising two notes, the lower auxiliary and the principal
note.
After-note
The un-accented note of a pair.
Allegretto
Quite lively; moderately fast ( slower than allegro).
Allegro
Lively, brisk, rapid.
Alto
The deeper of the two main divisions of women's or boys voices, the Soprano being
the higher.
Arpeggio
Playing the tones of a chord in rapid, even succession; playing broken chords.
Arrangement
The adaptation of a composition for performance on an instrument.
Artificial Harmonics
Are those produced on a stopped string.
Augmentation
Doubling (or increasing) the time-value of the notes of a theme or motive in
imitative counterpoint.
Bar
A vertical line dividing measures on the staff.
Baritone
The male voice between bass and tenor, and more or less similar in quality to
both.
Bass
The lowest tone in a chord.
Broken cadence
Broken chords; chords whose tones are sounded in succession instead of
together.
Cadence
Rhythm.
Cat gut
A popular name for classical guitar strings.
Chord
A harmony of 2 or more tones.
Circle of Fifths
A series of Fifths tuned in equal temperament, so that twelfth Fifth in
the series has the same letter name as the first tone.
Coda
A tail;hence , a passage ending a movement.
Common Chord
A major or minor triad.
Concert
A musical performance requiring the cooperation of several musicians.
Consecutive intervals
Intervals of the same kind following each other in immediate succession;
"consecutives" are progressions of parallel fifths or octaves, forbidden in
strict harmony.
Conservatory
A public institution for providing practical and theoretical instruction in music.
Consonant chord
One containing no dissonant interval;a consonance of two tones.
Contrary motion
Parts progress in contrary motion when one moves up while the other moves down.
Count
An accent, beat, or pulse of a measure.
Counter
Any vocal part set to contrast with the principle part or melody.
Counterpoint
The art of polyphonic composition. The art of adding one or more parts (melodies) to a
given part.
Crescendo
Swelling, increasing in loudness.
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Decibel
A scientific unit for the measurement of loudness or intensity of sound.
Degree
One of the 8 consecutive tones in a major or minor diatonic scale. degrees are counted
upward from the key note, ( rootnote).
Diatonic
By, through, with, within, or embracing the tones of the standard major or minor scale... Diatonic
harmony or melody, that employing the tones of but one scale.
Diminished Interval
A perfect or minor interval contracted by a chromatic semitone.
Diminished triad
A root with a minor third and diminished fifth.
Dissonant interval
Two tones forming a dissonance. The dissonant intervals are the Seconds, sevenths and all
diminished and augmented intervals.
Distance
Interval.
Dominant
The fifth tone in the major or minor scale.
Down-beat
The downward stroke of the hand in beating time, which marks the primary or first accent
in each measure, hence the accent itself.
Dynamics
The varying and contrasting degrees of intensity or loudness in musical tones.
Enharmonic tones
Are tones derived from different degrees, but practically identical in pitch.
Ensemble
General effect (of a composition).-2. Style of performance.
Essential harmony
Chord note, or melody note.
Etude
A study; especially, one affording practice in some particular technical difficulty.
Execution
Style, manner of performance.
Exercise
A short technical study for training the fingers to overcome some special difficulty.
Extreme interval
Augmented interval.
Extreme key
A key having more than 3 sharps or flats.
Falsetto
The highest of the vocal registers.
Fifth
An interval of 5 diatonic degrees; also , the 5th degree in ANY diatonic scale, (major
scale, minor scale, etc).
Fingering
The method of applying the fingers to the strings, etc., of a musical instrument.-2.
The marks guiding the performer in placing his or her fingers.
First
The rootnote, keynote, or tonic note. (all the same, just different names).
Flat
The character b, which lowers the pitch of the note before which it is set by a
semitone.
Form
The melodic and rhythmic shape and order in which a piece of music is built up.
Fourth
An interval embracing 4 degrees., also the 4th degree in ANY diatonic scale. (the
subdominant).
Fret
One of the narrow ridges of metal, ivory, or sometimes wood, crossing the fingerboard of
the guitar, mandolin, zither, etc., on which the strings are "stopped".
Fundamental
The root of chord.-2. A tone which produces a series of harmonics.
Glissando
Demands a flowing, un-accented execution of a passage in a song.
Grace
A vocal or instrumental ornament or embellishment not essential to the melody or harmony
of a composition.
Grace note
A note of embellishment, usually written small in sheet music.
Guitar
An instrument of the lute family. The standard Spanish guitar has 6 strings, and a compass
of 3 octaves and a fourth from E to a2. On 24 fret guitars this increases to 4
octaves, and on modern 7 string guitars give you get a "low" B string.
Harmonic
Pertaining to chords and to the theory and practice of harmony.-2. The chime like sounds
produced on the guitar by lightly touching the strings above a fret wire.
Harmonic mark
The sign º set over notes to be touched (not stopped or fretted).
Harmony
A musical combination of tones or chords.
Holding-note
A note sustained in one part while the other parts are in motion.
Impromptu
An improvisation.
Improvisation
Off-hand musical performance.
Incidental music
Music supplementary to a spoken drama.
Instrumentation
The theory and practice of composing, arranging, or adapting music for a body of
instruments of different kinds, especially for the orchestra.
Interval
The difference in pitch between two different tones. Intervals are regularly measured from
the lower tone to the higher.
Intonation
The production of tone, either vocal or instrumental.
Intonating
A method of adjusting the distance between the bridge of the guitar and the twelfth fret
in order to make sure the guitar will be in tune with itself.
Invention
A short piece in free contrapuntal style, developing one motive in an impromptu fashion.
Inversion
The transposition of the notes of an interval or chord. ( A chord is inverted when its
lowest note is note the root note).
Jazz
General term loosely applied to popular American music, including such types as ragtime,
blues and swing. Its characteristics traits, such as duple time, syncopation, etc. can be
traced to afro-American origin.
Just intonation
Singing or playing music precisely true to pitch; opposed to tempered intonation.
Key
The series of tones forming any given major or minor scale, considered with reference to
their harmonic relations, particularly the relation of the other tones to the tonic or
rootnote.
Keynote
The first note of a key or scale.
Key signature
The sharps or flats at the head of the staff.
Lead
The giving out of a theme by one part.
Legato
bound, slurred; a direction to perform the passage in a smooth and connected manner, with
no breaks between the notes.
Ledger-line
A short line used for writing notes which lie above or below the normal staff lines and
spaces.
Major
"Greater"; opposed to minor. "lesser".
Mandolin
A small kind of lute, the body shaped like a half pear with wire strings tuned in unison
and octave pairs.
Measure
The notes and rests comprised between two bars.
Melody
The rational progression of single tones; contrasted with Harmony, the rational
combination of several tones.
Meter, Metre
In music, the symmetrical grouping of musical rhythms.
Metronome
The familiar "time keeper" of music students; characterized by its
"click", "click", "click" sound.
Middle-C
The C note in the middle of the piano-keyboard.
Minor
Lesser, smaller.
Mode
Formerly, an octave scale; that is a scale beginning on any of the notes in a major scale
and running up or down one octave.
Moderato
Moderate tempo or rate of speed.
Modulate
To pass from one key or mode into another.
Modulation
Passage from one key or mode into another.
Naked fifth
An harmonic fifth(fourth) without an added third.
Natural
Notes that are NOT sharp or flat; A,B,C,D,E,F,G.
Ninth
The interval of an octave, plus a major or minor second.
Notation
The art of representing musical tones, and their modifications, by means of written
characters.
Nuance
Shading; change in musical expression, either in the tone color, tempo, or degree of
force.
Nut
The ridge over which the strings pass at the end of the fingerboard next to the head of
the guitar. Usually made of plastic, bone, ivory or metal.
Octave
A series of 8 consecutive diatonic tones. The interval between the 1st and 8th tones of
such a series.
Overtone
Harmonic tone.
Parallel intervals
Are formed by the simultaneous progression of two parts in the same direction and at
exactly the same interval.
Passage
A portion or section of a piece, usually short. A scale passage is generally called a run.
Passing-notes or tones
Notes or tones foreign to the chords which they accompany, and passing by a step from one
chord to another.
Pentatonic scale
A 5-tone scale, usually that avoids semitonic steps by skipping the 4th and 7th degrees in
a major scale, and the 2nd and 6th in a minor scale.
Phrase
Half of an 8- measure period.
Pick
To pluck or twang the strings of a guitar or mandolin, a plectrum.
Piece
A musical composition.
Pitch
The position of a tone in the musical scale. Pitch is relative or absolute.
Plectrum (Latin)
a pick; a small piece of ivory, plastic, tortoise shell, or metal, held between the
forefinger and thumb and used to strum or pluck the strings of the guitar or mandolin.
Polyphonic
Consisting of 2 or more independently treated parts.
Polyphony
The combination in harmonious progression of 2 or more independent parts.
Position
The place of the left hand on the fingerboard of the guitar.
Principal chords
The basic chords of a key.
Progression
The advance from one tone to another, or from one chord to another.
Quadruplet
A group of 4 equal notes, to be executed in the time of 3 or 6 of the same kind in regular
rhythm.
Quintuplet
A group of 5 equal notes to be executed in the time of 4 of the same kind in the regular
rhythm.
Relative key
A minor key is relative to that major key, the tonic of which lies a minor third above its
own.
Resolution
The progression of a dissonance, whether a simple interval or a chord, to a consonance.
Rest
A pause or interval of silence between two tones.
Root
The lowest note of a chord or scale in the fundamental position.
Run
A rapid scale passage.
Scale
The series of tones which form any major or minor key (diatonic scale).
Second
The interval between two conjunct degrees. The tone between the Root and the 3rd.
Seventh chord
a chord of the 7th, composed of a root with its Third, Fifth, and Seventh.
Sextuplet
A group of 6 notes to be performed in the time of 4 of the same kind in the regular
rhythm.
Sharp
The symbol # ; The tones one half step above another.
Signature
The signs set at the head of the staff at the beginning of a piece or movement.
Soprano
The highest class of the human voice.
Sound-hole
A hole cut in the belly of a stringed instrument, usually an acoustic guitar, etc.
Staccato
a style in which the notes are played are more or less abruptly disconnected.
Staff
The 5 parallel lines used in modern notation.
Step
A melodic progression of a second, also a degree. Half step, step of a semi-tone.
Whole step, step of a whole tone.
Subdominant
The tone below the dominant in a diatonic scale; the fourth degree.
Subtonic
The leading note.
Suspension
A dissonance caused by suspending (holding back) a tone or some tones of a chord while the
other tones progress.
Syncopation
The tying-over of a weak beat to the next strong beat.
Tempo
Rate of speed, movement.
Tenor
The high natural male voice.
Tonic
The keynote of the scale. Root note.
Transcription
The arrangement or adaptation of a piece for some instrument other than that for which it
was originally intended.
Transition
Modulation without change of mode.
Tremolo
A quivering, fluttering.
Triad
A three note chord composed of a given tone (the root) with its Third and Fifth in
ascending order in the scale.
Trill
The even and rapid alternation of two tones a major and minor second apart.
Triplet
A group of 3 equal notes to be performed in the time of 2 of like value in the regular
rhythm.
Tritone
The interval of 3 whole tones, or the augmented fourth.
Unison
A tone of the same pitch as a given tone; also, a higher or lower octave of the given
tone.
Vamp
Expression in popular music meaning to improvise an accompaniment.
Vibrato
The wavering effect of tone obtained by rapidly shaking the finger on the string which it
is fretting.
Whole step
The step of a whole tone. The distance of 2 frets on the guitar.
Whole tone
A major second.
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