Glossary extracted starting with automatic seeds, with BOW for the domain mus and language EN

fingerboard	On string instruments, the top surface of the neck where the fingers press down on the strings.
dynamics	Element of musical expression relating to the degree of loudness or softness, or volume, of a sound.
supertitles	Translations into English of the original words, projected on a screen above the stage.
chops	Technical ability; the lips of a brass player....
mechanism	In philosophy, a belief in a mechanical conception of life and consciousness
mestizo	Natives of Mexico and South America haying mixed Indian and Spanish blood.
emancipation proclamation	Declaration by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863 that freed all persons previously held as slaves.
arietta	A short aria.
arranger	A person who writes arrangements....
raked stage	A stage which slants upward away from the view of the audience.
nickelodeon	a juke-box, record-player, or player piano operated by the insertion of a nickel or other coin
lebhaft	lively (like the Italian “vivace”)
d.s.	Dal Segno (see above)
crosspicking	method of playing guitar with a pick where the guitarist uses a steady stream of single notes, usually played across three or four strings
amorevole	A directive to a musician to perform a selected passage of a composition in a loving manner
perception	The process by which sensations are assembled into a mental representation of the external world
vittorioso	victoriously
florilegium	One of Britain's greatest early music ensemble gives fresh and exciting performances of seventeenth and eighteenth century works
inland waterway	A canal, river or lake that can be used by boats, barges or ships.
normal progressions	A set order moving from one chord to the next.
slide guitar	A method of guitar playing that produces a gliding sound by pressing a metal bar or glass tube against the strings.
ballata	A type of fourteenth-century italian secular song, similar to the French virelai.
vespers	Vespers is the evening service of the Divine Office, elements of which have proved suitable for more elaborate setting than the normal plainchant
overtone	A tone that is present in the sounding of a fundamental, due to the physics of the production of musical tones.
rinforzando	becoming strong
demo	A recording made as a demonstration of a group's sound, for the purpose of selling the group to a record company or promoter.
magnificat	A setting of the Biblical hymn of the Virgin Mary (as given in St
accent	A stress or emphasis on a particular tone.
atonalism	1
shimmer	The variability in amplitude as measured from cycle to cycle
phasing	A technique in which a musical pattern is repeated and manipulated so that it separates and overlaps itself, and then rejoins the original pattern; getting "out of phase" and back "in sync."
protestantism	Religions that "protested" against the Church of Rome (later called the Roman Catholic Church) during the Renaissance and broke away from it in what was called the Reformation.
come prima	like the first (time); i.e., as before, typically referring to an earlier tempo
hymnody	1
wunderkind	(German) child prodigy, very young and very talented virtuoso musician (e.g
extrospection	The process of observing the behavior of others
gross behavior	Any behavior that entails movement or change of body posture
assembly	A military bugle call, in the category of formation calls, played to signal troops to assemble at a designated location
carol	A song or hymn celebrating Christmas
harmoniemusik	Harmoniemusik is music for wind band
sextuplet	Six notes that take up the time of four (or another number).
repertoire	A stock of opera (or songs or plays etc) that a company knows and can perform
triangle	The triangle is now part of the orchestral percussion section
attenuate	To lessen; especially to lessen the amplitude of a signal
argives	in order to honour her, set up her statue depicting her putting on her helmet while her books lie on the ground at her side
bridge	the section for fixing and supporting the strings on an acoustic guitar
deduction	Knowledge claim based on deriving a specific result from one or more general principles
rest	A section of silence or pause in a musical passage.
hymn	Religious songs that usually praise God.
pseudo-periodic	A function is described as pseudo-periodic when the period changes (slightly) between successive cycles
click	When the duration of a sound is less than a time threshold (about 20 milliseconds) required for pitch recognition, the sound is heard as a click rather than a tone.
freddo	cold(ly); hence depressive, unemotional
al fine	An indication to the performer to repeat a composition either from the beginning (da capo), or from the dal segno symbol, to the place marked fine (the end of the composition)
habituation	The process of decreasing responsiveness to a recurring stimulus
ma non troppo	but not too much
cross rhythm	The simultaneous use of two or more different rhythmic patterns; a basic feature of most African American musics....
architectural acoustics	The term used to describe how the structure of a room or building affects the flow of sound
segregated	Racially separated.
program music	Instrumental music associated with a nonmusical idea, this idea often being stated in the title or in an explanatory program note.
gig	A musician's playing job. The term is occasionally used to represent any job.
shed	Also "shedding." See woodshed....
aphasia	A general term referring to any neurological disorder which causes a complete or partial loss of language-related abilities
orchestration	The art of arranging a musical composition for play by a large array of instrumental forces.
progressive rock	A term used to replace "art rock," related to '70s bands that relied on the musical language of rock to create longer, more complex works that they hoped could be taken seriously as classical works--this in distinction from the earlier rock-with-orchestra and rock-opera advocates.
time	Time, unlike the word tempo, which means speed or pace, is used in music for the metrical divisions or bar-lengths of a piece of music
afferent nerves	Nerves which convey signals to the brain from various parts of the body
cognitive style	A way of problem-solving or thinking
bravo!	An enthusiastic expression shouted out by audience members at appropriate moments during (or after) the opera in appreciation for a well-sung aria, ensemble or performance
sensation	The psychophysiological processes by which sensory input is acquired and assembled
parallel key	Same letter name
projection	The ability of the singing voice to be heard everywhere in the theatre.
canzona	(1) 16th/17th century instrumental genre in the manner of a French polyphonic chanson, characterized by the juxtaposition of short contrasting sections (2) term applied to any of several types of secular vocal music.
barrelhouse	A bar, or honky tonk, originally with whiskey barrels along the walls, or used as tables. The boogie-woogie-based piano style was often heard in such places.
grave	Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.
mg	see main gauche
allargando	broadening and becoming slower
ms	see mano sinistra
te deum	(from the Latin, "We praise Thee, O God") Lengthy hymn of praise to God in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other Christian liturgies.
leggiero	lightly, delicately
alegria	Joyful flamenco dance from the province of Cadiz
magnificat	The Virgin Mary's hymn of joy (beginning in the Book of Common Prayer as 'My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour')
post-romanticism	See neoromanticism.
inner ear	One of three conceptual anatomical divisions for the organ of hearing, including also the outer ear and the middle ear
a 2	see a due in this list
barcarolle	A barcarolle is a boating-song, generally used to describe the boating-songs of gondoliers in Venice, imitated by composers in songs and instrumental pieces in the 19th century
economic picking	playing with a pick, using downstrokes on the lowest three strings and upstrokes on the three highest strings.
bridge	Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition
holism	The explanation of phenomena where complex wholes are regarded as being greater than the sum of its parts (a process dubbed synergism) and that there are "emergent properties." A holist assumes that complex phenomena cannot be explained merely in terms of simpler processes
urban league	An organization that works to end racial discrimination and increase economic and political opportunities for blacks and other minorities in the United States.
fine	literally “finish”
acoustical instrument	Any musical instrument not relying on external power for operation
killer-diller	An exciting (or difficult to play) piece of music (swing era)....
allant	A directive to a musician to perform the indicated passage of a composition in a bustling or lively manner
amplitude	The value between the two largest points of a sound wave
loudness	The subjective psychological correlate of amplitude or sound intensity
hymnody	A body or a collection of hymns of a time, place, or church.
fugue	A contrapuntal composition following a strict tonal plan
noodling	Improvising in a random and wandering manner....
prologos	in Aristotle, the section of the play that precedes the parodos [2]; more loosely, 'prologue'
time	A general term for meter, but also the way in which drummers play meter....
frequency	In acoustics, the number of times per second that the air carrying a sound vibrates as a wave
fz	see sforzando in this list
assai	Indications to performers of the speed of a piece of music
inharmonicity	Partial components of a complex tone may be characterized according to the degree to which their frequencies conform with the harmonic series of overtones
ornament	a symbol of ornamentation
kapellmeister	The Kapellmeister is the director of music (= Italian: maestro di cappella; French: maître de chapelle) of a musical establishment, either of a king or prince, or of an opera-house or municipality
aber	But (German)
leitmotif	Short musical theme that the listener is intended to associate with a particular character, place, object, idea or emotion
choregus	The choregus was the person whose public duty (liturgy) was to finance a dramatic performance in ancient Greece.
texture	the way in which different layers of sound are heard at once, and how these different layers relate to one another
pantomime	Although a pantomime in Britain has come to indicate a children's Christmas entertainment, making use of traditional and topical elements in a mixture of fairy-story, comic routine and popular song, the word originally indicated a performance entirely in mime, in this sense having a long history
passion	Musical setting of the Crucifixion story as told by one of the four Evangelists in the Gospels.
lament	Dirges or laments are an important element in primitive musical practice in mourning the dead or at other moments of parting
neapolitan chord	A chromatically altered chord built on the lowered second scale degree. It is a major chord, generally found in first inversion and functions as a pre-dominant chord, resolving to the Dominant. It is most commonly found in minor keys. In a major key it would contain a lowered second scale degree (b2) and a lowered sixth scale degree (b6). It derives its name from an important group of 18th century opera composers who were associated with the city of Naples.
polytonality	Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.
gustoso	with gusto
troubadour	Troubadours were the court poets and composers of Southern France in the 12th and 13th centuries
electroencephalography	The recording of electrical changes in the brain as measured on the surface of the scalp
quadruplet	See →tuplet
plectrum	object for striking the strings held by the picking hand
subdominant	(1) The fourth degree of the diatonic scale- (2) the triad built on this degree; (3) the key oriented around this degree.
choir	A choir is a group of singers
action	The mechanical workings of piano keys, also refers to the distance a string player has to depress the string to 'stop' a note
temp	in the time of ..
headmotive	a musical theme sometimes used at the beginning of each main component of a fifteenth-century polyphonic Mass Ordinary, in order to create a sense of unity
whole note	A whole note is equal to 2 half notes, 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, etc.
legend	A piece, usually short, that depicts legendary or mythical characters and/or events; especially popular in the 19th century.
instinct	An innate, goal-directed behavior often characterized by a strong compulsion or motivation.
messenger speech	a lengthy report of some off-stage event, usually delivered by an anonymous character of low status who has no other role in the play
carol	English medieval strophic song with a refrain repeated after each stanza; now associated with Christmas.
staff	Group of one to five horizontal lines used to lay on musical signs
solo	An improvised section of a piece of music by a single player...
crossovers	Records in one market which succeeded in another market. Crossovers were the key ingredient that enabled rock music to develop as a separate style.
tritagonist	third actor, usually assumed to have portrayed messengers, etc.
empirical	Related to knowledge from observation
memory	Those mental functions that allow a person to recall, or act on the basis of past events or experiences
bruscamente	brusquely
contrapuntist	1
rapido	fast
antibacchius	A musical foot of three syllables, the first two long or accented, the third short, or unaccented
eighth note	a kind of “note” that looks like a black oval with a stick attached vertically to it and then one flag attached to the far end of that stick
tone color	The acoustical properties of a sound, including its envelope and the distribution of overtones above the fundamental
suite	An set of unrelated and usually short instrumental pieces, movements or sections played as a group, and usually in a specific order.
texture	(1) The density of sound
overtone	1
recency	The tendency for a listener to better recall the last (most recent) items presented in a sequence
viola d'amore	The viola d'amore, used principally in the 17th and 18th centuries, is a bowed instrument generally with seven bowed strings and seven sympathetic strings, tuned to vibrate in sympathy with the playing strings
antiphony	Alternating sounding
griot	A member of a class of traveling poets, musicians, and storytellers who maintain a tradition of oral history in parts of West Africa.
dada	(Also Dadaism) A movement in art in which frustration over the destruction of human life that took place during WW I was expressed by fashioning artworks out of trash or other material put together in chaotic form. Also, a western European artistic and literary movement (1916-23) that sought the discovery of authentic reality through the abolition of traditional cultural and aesthetic forms.
motet	A motet is generally a choral composition for church use but using texts that are not necessarily a part of the liturgy
semiquaver	Sixteenth note
dissonante	dissonant
airplay	The number of times a popular song is broadcast on radio
elegy	An elegy (= French: élégie) is a lament, either vocal or instrumental.
cello	A large and fairly low-sounding member of the family of bowed string instruments
sarangi	Bowed chordophone from north India with three main strings and a large number of metal strings that vibrate sympathetically.
antiphonal choruses	Groups of singers or instrumentalists that are separated by physical distance in performance, and sing or play different material in response to one another.
scat singing	A jazz vocal style in which the singer uses nonsense syllables in the place of words.
reed	Flexible strip of cane or metal set into a mouthpiece or the body of an instrument; set in vibration by a stream of air.
fingerboard	wooden section with mounted frets for stopping the strings with the fretting hand, also known as a fretboard.
ad libitum	Indication that gives the performer the liberty to omit a section or to improvise.
improvisation	the process in which the performer creates original material during performance
suffrage antiphon	a short and fairly simple plainsong used in private or votive ceremonies and intended to beseech the intercession of a saint or the Blessed Virgin
unit pulse	A rhythmic technique in which meter is replaced by a focus on the shortest rhythmic value.
consort	A 17th-century term for instrumental chamber ensembles and for the compositions written for these ensembles.
overdubbing	The technique of adding more tracks of sound to a recording that has already been recorded.
alla	The Italian alla means 'in the manner of' (= French: la) and may be found in titles like that of Mozart's 'Rondo alla turca', Rondo in the Turkish Style.
bouts	In the violin and guitar families, the curves in the ribs (sides) of the instrument, especially the C-shaped inward curves that form the waist.
sanctus	“Holy.” In the Mass, the fourth part of the Ordinary.
prelude	A free-form piece that may introduce another piece or stand alone.
broadside	A song written on one large piece of paper with or without music notation
dithyramb	A dithyramb was a choral hymn (hymn performed by a chorus), in ancient Greek tragedy, sung by 50 men or boys to honor Dionysus
capriccioso	capriciously, unpredictable, volatile
loudness	The degree of intensity or energy producing a sound
phase	Two periodic functions may be identical in all respects except that corresponding points of their cycles are offset in time
acculturation	The blending of cultures
cadential extension	the prolongation (post-cadential extension) or delay (pre-cadential extension) of a cadence by the addition of material beyond (i.e
art song	A song of serious artistic purpose designed for the concert hall as opposed to traditional songs or folk songs
coda	Closing section of a composition
polepiece	the individual metal poles within the pickups under each string.
supernumerary	A "spear carrier" or non-singing extra; often peasants, servants, soldiers, or crowds of unidentified people who play backround roles.
score	A printed version of a piece of music
twelve-tone row	An ordered collection containing all twelve unduplicated pitch classes used as the basis for twelve-tone composition. Twelve-tone rows are by definition ordered. Therefore, pitch classes remain adjacent to the same pitch classes regardless of how the row is transformed.
venue	A place to perform, such as an auditorium, nightclub, bandstand, arena, or church.
aleatory music	Music composed according to various principles introducing chance or indeterminate outcomes into its actualization in performance.
arch form	A composition that comprises an odd number of sections, usually five, in which the first and last are related, the second and second to last are related (more if there are more than five), and the middle section stands alone, like the head stone of an arch.
tonic leading *	A term used to easily identify one of the three possible diminished 7th chords in any key
tom-tom	Cylindrical-shaped drums, usually found in sets of assorted sizes that produce indefinite pitches.
bolero	The bolero is a Spanish dance, popular in Paris in the time of Chopin and in Latin America
phrase	A natural break or unit in a melody line, similar in function to a clause in a sentence....
andante	Andante (Italian: walking) is a word used to suggest the speed of a piece of music, at walking pace
maestoso	Maestoso (Italian: majestic) is used to suggest a majestic manner of performance, either in mood or speed.
circle-of-fifths	The prime harmonic model of the early eighteenth century
langsam	Slowly (German).
una corda	literally “one string”
chase	A series of short musical passages (trading fours or twos) played by several players at a fast tempo....
l'istesso	see lo stesso, below
waveshape	Synonymous with waveform.
james-lange theory	A theory of emotion which argues that emotional stimuli endender physiological responses, and that emotions arise from the experience of these physiological states
concert band	Instrumental ensemble ranging from forty to eighty members or more, consisting of wind and percussion instruments
brio	literally “spirit”
frequency	the number of vibrations per second produced by a sound (Hertz – Hz.)
cover	A replacement for a role in case of illness, as with an understudy in theater.
cd	Compact Disc. ("Disc" refers to audio and video discs. "Disk" refers to computer disks.)
ttos	Twelve-tone operators represent those operations most frequently used to transform tone rows. They include:
eroico	heroically
magnificat	The Magnificat is the canticle drawn from the biblical words attributed to the Mother of Christ, My soul doth magnify the Lord
requiem mass	The Catholic Mass for the Dead opens with the words Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine (Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord), leading to the use of the word Requiem for the Mass for the Dead
lied	A German song setting of a poem
sublimation	definition goes here
tetralogy	any series of four related works, literary, dramatic, operatic, etc.
brillante	literally means “brilliant”
raked stage	A stage that is sloped upward toward the rear of the stage allowing audience patrons seated at the back of the theater to see performers at the rear of the stage.
harmonist	a person skilled in the principles of harmony
benjamin britten	the German Hans Werner Henze, and the Russian Dmitri Shostakovich
agilita	A directive to perform the indicated passage with lightness or agility
musique concrète	"Concrete music." A musical style originating in France about 1948; its technique consists of recording natural or "concrete" sounds, altering the sounds by various electronic means, and then combining them into organized pieces.
amplitude modulation	(AM)
comodo	(also “comodamente”) literally “comfortable” or “easy”
romance	Originally a ballad; in the Romantic era, a lyric instrumental work.
romantic	A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional, expressive, and imaginative style.
schematic expectation	An expectation that arises due to the existence of a mental schema
interpolation	passage inserted into our text of a play by a later hand
mixolydian	A medieval mode starting on the fifth degree of the diatonic scale with half steps between the third and fourth and sixth and seventh degrees.
exodos	in Aristotle, the section of the play following the last stasimon or choral song; more loosely, the 'finale'
motive	A short melodic or rhythmic theme that reappears frequently throughout a work or section of a work as a unifying device.
indies	Small "independent" record companies, other than the Majors.
mano destra	[played with the] right hand (abbreviation: MD or m.d.)
psalms	The sacred poems from the book of Psalms in the Bible.
minuet	A minuet (= French: menuet; German: Menuett; Italian: minuetto) is a triple metre French dance popular from the second half of the 17th until at least the end of the 18th century
ep	A 7-inch of 12-inch disc that is played at 45 rpm, with usually two songs on each side.
libero	free, freely
"b" side	The "flip" side of a recording; the side that is not usually promoted.
decibel	One-tenth of a bel
repetiteur	A pianist or musical coach in an opera house
lay out	To temporarily cease playing while others continue....
frequency	Rate of vibration of a string or column of air, which determines pitch.
peripeteia	Peripeteia is a sudden reversal, often in fortune of the protagonist
cover recording	A recording made subsequent to the original recording of a particular song.
escape tone	(échappée) A metrically weak dissonance approached by step and left by leap in the opposite direction. Such formations can also be understood as incomplete neighboring tones. (See Nonharmonic Tones)
stage right/left	The sides of the stage from the performer's point of view, i.e., when a singer moves down right, s/he moves right toward the edge of the stage - which is the audience's left.
romance/romanze	(1) A song with a simple vocal line and a simple accompaniment; especially popular in late 18th/19th century France and Italy (2) a short instrumental piece with the lyrical character of a vocal romance.
frequency	Rate of occurrence or rate or repetition
md	see mano destra and main droite
cambiare	to change; i.e., any change, such as to a new instrument
prepared piano	In contemporary music, the modifying of a traditional grand piano by such techniques as placing various objects between the strings.
finalis	1
classicism	The period of music history which dates from the mid 1800s and lasted about sixty years
intonation	The manner in which tones are produced with regard to pitch.
forward masking	See masking.
toasting	A Jamaican name for the rhythmic patter-talk used by disc jockeys.
asperges me	The opening of the Mass in the Catholic service; it is not a number of the musical Mass itself, but sung during the purification of the alter at the beginning of the service
tarantella	The tarantella is a folk-dance from the Southern Italian town of Taranto
synthesizer	An electronic instrument that can duplicate almost any sound and can be used to create entirely new sounds.
chimes	Percussion instrument of definite pitch that consists of a set of tuned metal tubes of various lengths suspended from a frame and struck with a hammer
converging evidence	The view that we can be most confident of our knowledge when, no matter how we look at a phenomenon, the same answer is supported.
tonal hierarchy	See Krumhansl and Kessler key profiles.
c position	Placing your right-hand thumb on middle C and your other right-hand fingers on the four successive white keys.
lyric	The lyric mezzo-sprano gets perhaps the least glamorous of roles, a good whack of them are "trouser" parts (women playing men)
chimes	A set of tuned metal tubes suspended vertically in a frame, and played by being hit with mallets
moto	motion; usually seen as con moto, meaning with motion or quickly
protagonist	The first actor was the main actor whom we still refer to as protagonist
strophic	Having the same music for every verse of the poem as in folk songs and hymns.
a bene placido	up to the performer
serioso	seriously
active attention	The condition where a person willfully directs their mental consideration at some stimulus
luminoso	luminously
modulation	The process of shifting from one key or key area to another within a single musical work or passage
embouchure	The position of the mouth in the playing of wind instruments.
siciliana	A seventeenth - eighteenth century dance in a slow 6/8 or 12/8 time originating from Sicily
stops	Rows of organ pipes that are activated by the player pulling the knob that opens them and then playing the keyboard.
hi-hat cymbal	Two cymbals on a single rod that snap together when operated by a foot pedal....
soubresaut poisson	but where the knees are bent
succession *	see chord succession
brio	vigour; usually in con brio
phrygian	A medieval mode, starting on the third degree of the diatonic scale, whose half steps fall between the first and second degrees and fifth and sixth degrees.
chord succession *	A term referring to any set of chords following on from each other in any way.
conductor	The person who directs a group of musicians.
rococo	Rococo, a term borrowed, as are so many other terms in musicology, from architecture and the visual arts, is used in particular to describe the light decorative French style as found in the work of Couperin and Rameau in the first half of the 18th century.
bellicoso	warlike, aggressive
bracing	the strips of wood found inside an acoustic guitar which are used for support and tonal distribution.
harmony	(1) In general, the simultaneous aspects of music; (2) specifically, the simultaneous playing of two or more different sounds.
complex tone	The term "complex tone" is used to identify tones consisting of more than one pure frequency component
eai	Electroacoustic improvisation; a term that may be used to include such styles and processes also known as "reductionist," "Onkyo," "minimal," and "lowercase" improvised music....
veridical expectation	An expectation that arises due to knowledge about a specific stimulus, such as familiarity with a given musical work
lyre	Ancient plucked-string instrument of the harp family, used to accompany singing and poetry.
fuoco	fire; con fuoco means with fire
religioso	religiously
texture	The musical weave of a composition, such as homophonic or contrapuntal
supernumerary or super	An “extra.” Someone who is part of a group on stage but does not sing.
banda	A small group of instrumentalists who play either on the stage or backstage, not in the pit.
poch.	very little
opus	“Work.” With a number, used to show the order in which pieces were written or published.
tenore leggiero	tenore spinto, tenore di forza, tenore di grazia, tenor-boffo,tenore robusto
accentato	accented; with emphasis
demisemiquaver	Thirty-second note
ternary	A compositional form which consists of three major sections, an A section which states the thematic material, a B section which presents a contrasting theme, and a final A section which restates the opening thematic material
groupie	An obsessively devoted female fan of a male rock star, traditionally. Could easily go the other way, too.
introspection	The process of mental self-observation or self-examination
jukebox	An automatic phonograph that plays recordings when money is inserted into a coin slot.
polacca	Polacca, Polish, appears often in the phrase Alla polacca, in the Polish manner, as in the last movement of the first Brandenburg Concerto of Johann Sebastian Bach.
kapelle	Chapel (= German: Kapelle; Italian: cappella; French: chapelle) is a musical establishment, generally of a king, prince or other ruler.
narrante	narratingly
brillante	brilliantly, with sparkle
proscenium	The front opening of the stage which frames the action.
animà©	A directive to a musician to perform the indicated passage of a composition in a lively and animated manner
basso cantante	A bass voice that demonstrates a melodic, lyrical quality, such as the role of King Philip in Verdi's Don Carlo.
position	The layout of a chord
matins	the longest service of the eight daily Office hours in monastic life required by the Rule of St
wah wah mute/pedal	A mute used to create a laughing or talking sound on a brass instrument; a device that creates those sounds on amplified instruments such as the guitar or the electric piano...
work song	A song sung in the same rhythm as a task being done
alexander dargomyzhsky	Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina by Modest Mussorgsky, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin, Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and The Snow Maiden and Sadko by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
ballad	A poem that tells a story, often of a historic, legendary or fairy-tale character.
period	The musical equivalent of a paragraph
brass	The brass section of the orchestra includes metal instruments where the sound is produced by forcing air through a cup-shaped or conical mouthpiece
miserere	Miserere (Latin: have mercy) is the first word of Psalms 50, 54 and 55, and the word appears on numerous occasions in Latin liturgical texts
con slancio	with enthusiasm
pantomime ballet	A ballet-like performance in which moods, action, and narration can be depicted through choreographed bodily gestures.
interlude	A passage connecting sections of a composition....
soprano	the highest of the female voice types, the soprano has always had a place of prominence in the hierarchy of vocal types
ma	but
chorus	the vocal ensemble of men and women who represent townspeople, relatives, guards, who contribute and comment on the action of the plot.
stringendo	pressing, becoming faster
primacy	The tendency for a listener to better recall the first items presented in a sequence
personality	The temperament or characteristic qualities of a person
marcatissimo	very accentuatedly
neighboring tone	A nonharmonic tone that is approached and left by step with a change of diretion
clave	A five-beat pattern that underlies all salsa music....
avant garde	In the art, on the leading edge of a change in style.
scolica enchiriadis	and to the author of the 9th- or 10th-century Commemoratio Brevis de Tonis et Psalmis Modulandis, is first found in a late 8th- early 9th-century tonary from S
measure	A measure is, in English, a bar, in the sense of the music written between the vertical bar-lines written on the stave to mark the metrical units of a piece of music.
ancora	“again” (Italian)
alla	The Italian alla means 'in the manner of' (= French: ˆ la) and may be found in titles like that of Mozart's 'Rondo alla turca', Rondo in the Turkish Style.
ostinato	A short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout an entire composition or some portion of a composition.
tempus imperfectum	i.e
air check	A musical radio broadcast that was originally recorded for distribution to other stations; radio broadcasts that people have recorded off the radio that are sometimes released commercially or bootlegged....
mnemonics	Conscious techniques or strategies used to aid memory.
smorzando	dying away
expression	(I)The general character of a passage or work; (2) the blend of feeling and intellect brought to a performance by the performer.
payola	The practice of bribing disc jockeys to induce them to play particular recordings on the air.
madrigal	A polyphonic vocal piece set to a short poem; it originated during the Renaissance.
creole	Louisiana residents with African heritage mixed with Spanish or French ancestry.
the majors	Major recording companies which dominated the pop market in the 1950s: RCA Victor, Columbia, Capitol, Mercury and Decca.
cadence	cadential The musical punctuation that separates phrases or periods, creating a sense of rest or conclusion that ranges from momentary to final.
tranquillo	calmly, peacefully
functionality *	The concept that some chords are structurally significant in a musical phrase whereas other chords are the result of elaboration of structural chords (i.e
advent	“Arrival.” The four weeks immediately preceding Christmas.
truss rod	reinforcing metal rod for stabilising and adjusting the neck.
pinch	a finger picking technique where two notes are played simultaneously by the right hand by picking the lower one with the thumb and the higher one with a finger
adrenaline	See epinephrine.
ossicles	The three small bones located in the middle ear, including the hammer (malleus), anvil (incus), and stirrup (stapes)
development	In a general sense, the elaboration of musical material through various procedures
council of trent	A series of meetings of leaders of the Roman Catholic Church (1545–1563) to discuss church reforms following the Reformation
istesso tempo	L'istesso tempo, the same speed, is found as an instruction to the player to return to the previous speed of the music.
jim crow laws	Laws of segregation.
repente	suddenly
piacere	usually “a piacere” meaning “at the pleasure” of the performer
experiment	A formal method used in empirical research.
tunkul	quiringua or teponagua
muses	Nine daughters of Zeus in ancient mythology; each presided over one of the arts.
polyphonic texture	(many sounding) simultaneous performance of two or more melodic lines of relative equal interest
benedictus	Part of the standard church mass settings (Its text reads: 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord
ode	Cantata-like musical setting of the lyric poetry form so called.
harp	A plucked string instrument with strings stretched vertically in a triangular frame.
musicals	Dramas that are told through a series of songs, usually with spoken dialogue between the songs.
root position	Root position
prologue	The prologue is that part of tragedy that precedes the entrance of the chorus.
choir	A vocal ensemble consisting of several voice parts with four or five or more singers in each section
membranophone	World music classification for instruments that produce sound from a tightly stretched membrane that can be struck, plucked, rubbed, or sung into (setting the "skin" in vibration)
mobile	flexible, changeable
cognitive revolution	A common designation for the shift in popularity during the 1960s away from behaviorism toward cognitive psychology and cognitive science
slentando	becoming broader or slower (that is, becoming more largoor more lento)
talk	To "tell a story" or "say something" on an instrument: speech-inflected instrumental playing....
zither	Family of string instruments with sound box over which strings are stretched; they may be plucked or bowed
psalm	Psalms are the texts included in the biblical Book of Psalms and retaining an important place in the services of the Catholic Divine Office, sung to plainchant
chord of resonance	Messiaen's term for a chord made up of pitches related to the natural harmonic series:
lip syncing	Moving the lips to synchronize with a prerecorded song, giving the impression that the song is being performed live.
harlem	The best known African American neighborhood in the United States, located in Manhattan, north of Central Park
animé	animated (French)
chamber music	Chamber music is music for a small ensemble of instruments, intended for performance in a room or chamber, as opposed to a church or larger building.
con dolore	with sadness
familiarity effect	The tendency to become more attracted to another person or stimulus due to repeated exposure
semi-opera	The term semi-opera has been coined to describe the English dramatic works of the later 17th century that combined spoken drama with a significant element of music, as in Purcell's King Arthur, with a text by Dryden, or in the same composer's The Fairy Queen, an adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
martellato	hammered out
piacevole	pleasant
cognition	The processes of human or animal thought
autoharp	A zither-type folk instrument of German origin, popular in the USA since the late 19th century
barbiturates	See depressants.
monody	A type of accompanied solo song that evolved in Italy around 1600 in reaction to the complex polyphonic style of the late Renaissance
phenomenology	A formal method used in introspection
anenaiki	a reference to the specific syllables used in Byzantine chomonie which were te-re-rem
marcato	(marc.) marked or emphasized.
arietta	a short aria
t'	you, yourself
office	(Divine) The eight daily worship services, apart from the Mass, in the Roman Catholic Church.
black & tan	A night club with customers of all races.
verse	In poetry, a group of lines constituting a unit
three types of modulation	1
quintuplet	See →tuplet
double dot	similar to dot, the note now must add 3/4 of its value to it's original value
sonority	A general term for sound quality, either of a brief moment or of an entire composition.
compound melodic line	See pseudo-polyphony.
inharmonic	A partial is considered "inharmonic" when its frequency is not an integer multiple of a given fundamental frequency
stream	The auditory experience of a "line of sound"
auditory evoked potential	When an isolated sound is heard, millions of neurons in the auditory cortex are activated
devoto	religiously
calando	decreasing in speed and getting softer.
time variant	Any function is described as time variant if it has an identifiable cycle of inexact repetition
panama canal	A waterway that cuts across the Isthmus of Panama, linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
sixteenth note	a kind of “note” that looks like a black oval with a stick attached vertically to it and then two flags attached to the far end of that stick
episodic memory	Memory pertaining to past events
diocese	the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop
colla	with the (col before a masculine noun, colla before a feminine noun); (see next for example)
a ballata	In the style of a ballad
espirando	expiring; i.e., dying away
heldentenor	A tenor voice with a brilliant top register and a robust baritone-like middle and low voice, capable of great stamina
battaglia	“Battle.” A composition that imitates the sounds of battle and martial music.
fundamental frequency	The principal frequency component of a complex harmonic or pseudo-harmonic tone; the basic cycle of repetition for a periodic waveform
interval	The distance between two tones....
hymn	Sung praise to a deity, meant for communal use and usually in a chordal style.
flutter tongue	A playing technique for woodwind and brass players in which the sound is distorted by rapidly rolling the tongue against the reed or mouthpiece or by growling at the back of the throat
tailpiece	The holder to which the strings are attached at the lower end of the body of a string instrument.
ensemble	A group of musicians commonly known as a band or combo.
eighth note	A rhythmic value of relatively short duration
acoustics	The science of sound
dress rehearsal	The final rehearsal(s), using all of the costumes, lights, etc
binary form	A basic musical form consisting of two contrasting sections (AB), both sections often being repeated (AABB).
proper	The sections of the Catholic Mass that change with the church year
harmonic series	A series of notes produced above a fundamental (the series includes the fundamental) and sounded in a definite order.
canticle	A non-metrical hymn or song.
dolcissimo	very sweetly
galop	The galop is a quick dance in duple metre, one of the most popular ballroom dances of the 19th century
nobilmente	in a noble fashion
commedia dell'arte	Type of improvised drama popular in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italy; makes use of stereotyped characters.
positivist fallacy	If an experience results in no observable behavior, then there is nothing to study
props	Articles used by the performers to enhance the plot, i.e., handkerchiefs (Othello), bottles of wine (L'elisir d'amore), swords (La Forza del Destino), letters (Eugene Onegin).
marcato	Marked, accented, emphatic, stressed.
cannabis	A common non-prescription or "recreational" depressant drug found in marijuana and hashish
stock market	Place where investors may purchase "shares" or small increments of a business.
p3	A feature found in the auditory evoked potential as measured in an electroencephalogram
lynching	Putting an accused person to death, usually by hanging without a lawful trial.
vivacissimo	very lively
act	The division of sections of the story similar to Acts in a play
ténor-bouffe	Trial
kapellmeister	Literally 'chapel master'; refers to the director of music and music making at an establishment, for example a court or church
metamorphosis	Metamorphosis, change of shape, is used particularly to describe the process of thematic metamorphosis, the transformation of thematic elements used by composers such as Liszt, a procedure unkindly satirised by one contemporary critic as the life and adventures of a theme.
medium	Performing forces employed in a certain musical work.
convergent thinking	Deliberate thinking intended to solve some problem or address some task.
solenne	solemn
a&r	"Artists and Repertoire" representative from a recording company ..
sixth	The interval of six diatonic degrees.
risoluto	resolutely
prelude	Instrumental work intended to precede a larger work.
efferent nerves	Nerves which convey signals from the brain to various parts of the body
panpipe	Wind instrument consisting of a series of small vertical tubes or pipes of differing length; sound is produced by blowing across the top.
diotic	The identical sound presented to both ears simultaneously, as in the diotic presentation of musical stimuli to a listener
song cycle	A collection of poems set to music and tied together by mood or story line.
piracy	Copying music illegally, whether using cassettes, CDs, DVDs, or downloading.
cortex	Anatomical term designating the convoluted or wrinkled surface region of the brain (from the Latin word for the "bark" of a tree)
ipsilateral	The anatomical arrangement by which some nerves originating on one side of the body are connected to the cerebral hemisphere on the same side of the body
doxology	a liturgical formula of praise to God
passing chord *	An note combination created by one or more passing notes (see below) where the character and duration of the result has the appearance of being an independent chord in its own right
nicene creed	a declaration of Christian beliefs first codified in 325 C.E., still recited or sung as the Credo in Roman Catholic worship
prepared piano	A piano with the sound altered by the insertion of items such as bolts, screws, pencils, cloth, and even paper on or between the strings.
psalms	Book from the Old Testament of the Bible the 150 psalm texts, used in Jewish and Christian worship, are often set to music.
modesto	modest
bridge	Transitional passage connecting two sections of a composition; also transition
conductor	A person who directs a musical ensemble and who is responsible for all aspects of the performance of the ensemble.
equal-tempered tuning	See natural harmonic series.
moving assembly line	A row of workers and machines along which work is passed until the product is made.
intuition	The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes.
singspiel	German for 'Song-play' - a play with songs between the spoken dialogue
distal cause	The long-range reason for something
te deum	A text that praises God.
mnemonic	Easy to remember.
tenerezza	tenderness
contemporary era	in "Western Art Music", the style period lasting from roughly 1900-present day
english captions	Sometimes called surtitles or supratitles, these translations of the sung words, generated electronically during the opera performance, were first introduced in 1983 and revolutionized opera-going, opening it up to new audiences by making the stories and emotions more immediate and accessible.
riff	Short fragment of melody, usually repeated many times.
poco a poco	little by little
più	“more”
falsobordone	(It., from Fr
avant garde	The advance group in any field, especially referring to the visual, literary, or musical arts, whose work is unorthodox and typically experimental.
autonomy	The condition or quality of being autonomous; independence (e.g., jazz musicians have the autonomy to play chords any way they want).
sextuplet	See →tuplet
barbaro	barbarous (notably used in Allegro barbaro by Béla Bartók)
antecedent	The first phrase of a musical period
malagueña	A malagueña is a Spanish dance from the region of Málaga
dubbing	Also called overdubbing; refers to the technique of adding instrumental, vocal or other sounds to a recording that has already been put on tape. Dubbing requires a multiple-track tape machine to allow one track to be heard while the new one is being recorded.
platinum disc	Awarded to a single that sells in excess of 2 million copies (1 million copies after January 1, 1989) and an album that sells in excess of 1 million copies.
arrangement	An adaptation of a musical composition
fair housing act	An addition to the Civil Rights Act approved by Congress in 1968
scale	A series of notes in a specific, consecutive order.
antihistamines	See depressants.
inconclusive cadence	Ending on anything except the tonic.
tambourine	The tambourine is a small single-headed hand-drum with jingles in its wooden frame
temperare	literally 'to mix in due proportion') a method of painting in which the pigments are mixed with an emulsion of water and egg yolks or whole eggs (sometimes glue or milk)
les six	See Six, Les.
real book	Fakebook (see fakebook).
the big six	1950s rockers Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Fats Domino.
left hand/right hand	A distinction made by drummers' and pianists' for the use of different hands....
stereophonic	A method of sound reproduction based on two channel recording and playback
imperioso	imperiously
quaver	The British quaver is what is called in American eighth note
pants role	A male role portrayed by a female singer
pitch	The highness or lowness of a musical tone, determined by the frequency of vibration of the sounding body.
agile	swiftly
top 40	A listing of the 40 most popular records nationally for a given week, on the basis of radio station playlists and retail sales of singles.
flat	(1) In musical notation, a sign (6) indicating that the note it precedes is to be played a half step lower; (2) the term used to specify a particular note, for example, B6.
te deum	Song of praise to God; a text from the Roman Catholic rite, often set polyphonically.
tonic arousal	Slow changes of base-level arousal
liturgy	A prescribed order of worship in a church, usually applied to the Mass.
intensity	The energy that generates the amplitude or height of sound waves.
ensemble	A group of singers or instrumentalists.
orchestra	sometimes used in conjunction with the latter word, such as the
pathos	The depiction of momentary (transient) emotional states of a person in an opera (see ethos)
afro-cuban rhythms	Beat patterns typical of popular music of Cuba.
mods	Short for "modernists"; the Mods were a '60s youth subculture in England who considered themselves the wave of the future; they usually had jobs, wore trendy clothes, rode around on motor scooters (rather than motorcycles) and took amphetamines.
envelope	The graphic representation of a sound's attack, duration, and pattern of decay.
elegy	An instrumental lament with praise for the dead.
logeion	'stage' (existence and nature uncertain in the fifth century)
tekke	literally 'a dervish lodge') a small shop where hashish was smoked and the rebetika were sung
caffeine	See stimulants.
pizzicato	Playing a string instrument that is normally bowed by plucking the strings with the finger.
bradycardia	A momentary decrease in heart-rate followed by a recovery of the heart-rate -- commonly evoked by some stimulus
ode	Secular composition written for a royal occasion, especially popular in England.
dal segno al coda	same as D.S
press roll	A drum roll (borrowed from marching band drumming) formed by a series of double-strokes of the drum sticks; the press roll is often used to end a phrase, or bring in or help a soloist exit....
retrogression	A relatively weak harmonic movement
chorus	Section of a choral piece in which the choir sings together
stanza	a verse of a song
minstrelsy	1
overture	A self-contained orchestral piece preceding a stage work or multi-movement vocal work.
resonance	When several strings are tuned to harmonically related pitches, all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck.
g position	Placing your right hand on the G above middle C and your other right-hand fingers on the four successive white keys.
resolution	Conclusion of a musical idea, as in the progression from an active chord to a rest chord.
genre	General term describing the standard category and overall character of a work.
goliard song	Medieval Latin-texted secular song, often with corrupt or lewd lyrics; associated with wandering scholars.
gong	Percussion instrument consisting of a broad circular disk of metal, suspended in a frame and struck with a heavy drumstick
riff	Short repeated melodic phrases that function rhythmically and sometimes even to undercut the harmonic structure of a musical piece....
auditory	Pertaining to the subjective experience of sound
peripheral vasoconstriction	A general decrease in the diameter of the blood vessels in the limbs and extremeties (fingers & toes) -- often as part of the defense reflex or fight/flight response.
cadences	A one to two chord, chord progression that is used to either end a given section or give the illusion the section is ending.
ternary form	A musical form that consists of three sections, ABA, in which the final section (A) is a repetition of the first section (A), and the middle section (B) contrasts with A.
tone	A sound of definite pitch.
just intonation	See natural harmonic series.
ensemble	An ensemble is a musical passage performed by a group of singers or players together
allargando	broadening, becoming a little slower
bounce	A light, medium fast tempo piece (swing era)....
cognition	The mental process or faculty of knowing, including aspects such as awareness, perception, reasoning, and judgment.
deciso	decisively
gentile	gently
zelosamente	zeal, zealous, zealously
feedback	a sound produced by a string or microphone picking up and amplifying its own signal from a loudspeaker.
facile	easily, without fuss
auber	Hérold and Adolphe Adam
estinto	extinct, extinguished; i.e., as soft as possible, lifeless
siciliana	The siciliana or siciliano (= French: sicilienne) had its probable origin in a Sicilian shepherd dance or song
slapping bass	A name given to rockabilly bassists' practice of slapping the strings against the fingerboards of their instruments as they played.
con affetto	with affect (that is, with emotion)
duration	The length of time that a note is sounded
classicism	The period of music history which dates from the mid 1800's and lasted about sixty years
"a" side	The side of the single recording that is hoped to be the hit side; the side that is promoted.
triangle	A triangular-shaped metal percussion instrument that is struck by a metal bar to produce an indefinite pitch.
flip side	B side.
motivic transformation	Augmentation, Diminution, Truncation, Retrograde, Extension Umbrella term which includes the above terms
choregus	'producer'; person charged with the public duty ('liturgy') of financing the performance of an author's work
jnd	Just noticeable difference
affannoso	A directive to perform the indicated passage with anxious expression
sforzando	forced; Accented at least in relation to the prevailing dynamic but often simply loud
rebec	Medieval bowed-string instrument, often with a pear-shaped body.
passion	The four accounts of the suffering and death of Christ, as given in the first four books of the New Testament, were customarily sung during the Catholic rites of Holy Week to plainchant, with a division of parts where direct speech is involved
assai	literally means “much” or “very much”
humanism	A belief in spirit and consciousness as fundamental, and not reducible to mechanical descriptions
brava!	A term used during applause to commend the performance of female performers on stage
doloroso	sorrowfully, plaintively
chanson	French for "song." A type of Renaissance secular vocal music.
precipitato	precipitately
mass	Central service of the Roman Catholic Church.
k	p, t
reverberation	A type of continuing aura surrounding acoustic events; in nature this is due to the "reservoire-like" properties of enclosures with respect to acoustic energy
acrophase	The time of the day when an individual is typically at his/her greatest arousal or energy level
concertato	An identical word to concerto.
cycle	A song cycle is a set of songs intended to be performed as a group, as in Schumann's Dichterliebe (The Poet's Love) or Schubert's Winterreise (Winter Journey)
open position	Indeterminate contemporary music in which some details of a composition are clearly indicated, but the overall form is left to choice or chance.
brass	A family of instruments with cup-shaped mouthpieces through which the player blows into a series of metal tubes
carol	A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.
toneness	The subjective sensation of how "tone-like" a sound is
imprinting	A social attachment to some object or individual, formed during a critical period of development
am	See amplitude modulation.
depressants	A group of drugs that reduce inhibitions and that generally lower metabolic arousal
rhetoric	Language calculated to produce an effect; the art of effective expression (a word, music critics cannot live without!)
assimilation	The process whereby immigrant groups gradually adopt the characteristics of the host society
trio	A trio is a composition designed for three players or the name of a group of three players
hemidemisemiquaver	Sixty-fourth note
teneramente	tenderly
threnody	song, musical composition, or literary work created to honor or commemorate the dead; a funeral song
apotheosis	The perfect (quintessential) example; to glorify as of supreme worth (used very frequently to describe a piece of music!)
quasi	literally “almost” or “nearly”
flag waver	A spectacular (and usually up-tempo) piece of music (swing era)....
pure tone	See sine tone.
anticipation	A musical foot of three syllables, the first two long or accented, the third short, or unaccented
front desk	The first stand in an orchestral section where the section's principal and co-principal sit
changing meter	a meter made up of some combination of simple and compound
suite	A loose collection of instrumental compositions.
saddle	the point on the bridge for supporting the strings.
nonharmonic tones	(see separate listings)
homily	a sermon, usually on a Biblical topic and usually of a nondoctrinal nature
gavotte	Duple-meter Baroque dance type of a pastoral character.
set	A construction on stage built to suggest place and time in which the singers enact the story of the opera plot.
am steg	A directive to string players to play a particular passage very near, or directly on top the bridge
phorbeia	the leather strap worn around the head of musicians to allow them to attach the double pipes of the aulos
rossini	Bellini, Donizetti, Pacini, Mercadante and many others
attack	The manner in which a tone is articulated....
renaissance	A period in history dating from the 14th to 16th centuries
mass/messe	The principal religious service of the Catholic Church, with musical parts that either vary according to Church calendar (the 'Proper') or do not (the 'Ordinary').
home note	The base note of a piece of music
rockers	An English youth subculture in the '60s that wore leather jackets, rode motorcycles (not motor scooters), and identified with American rockabilly music.
outer ear	One of three conceptual anatomical divisions for the organ of hearing, including also the middle ear and the inner ear
magico	magically
blocking	The moving of people around the stage by the stage director to effect the patterns to be followed in the performance of the opera.
soli	directive to perform the indicated passage of a composition with an entire section of an ensemble as opposed to the directive solo where only one member of the section performs.
ornament	Musical ornaments (or embellishments) are symbols that provide direction for performers to embellish the written musical notation in specific ways
duo	A duo is a piece of music for two performers
conjunct	the nearest degree in the scale, whether the scale is chromatic or diatonic, to a given degree
turnaround	Mr
boogaloo	Also bugalú
bequadro	A natural sign.
magnificat	Biblical text on the words of the Virgin Mary, sung polyphonically in church from the Renaissance on.
reraga	Melodic pattern used in music of India; prescribes pitches, patterns, ornamentation, and extramusical associations such as time of performance and emotional character.
cutting	A technique used by disc jockeys to segue one recording into another using a vari-speed control on one phonograph to maintain a constant beat pattern through the change.
libretto	the complete text of an opera, but literally the "little book" that was published for operatic audiences beginning in the 18th century so that they could read the poetry during the performance (or prepare prior to a performance)
numerosity	The subjective impression of the number of concurrent sound sources
invention	A short, contrapuntal piece.
sordino	see sordina, above
grand opera	Don Carlos, and ending his career with two Shakespeare-inspired works, Otello and Falstaff, which reveal how far Italian opera had grown in sophistication since the early 19th century.
pima	letter names for the picking hand fingers, derived from the Spanish language.
acoustics	(1) the science of sound; (2) the art of optimizing sound in an enclosed space.
movement	Independent section of a longer composition.
singspiel	"sung play"; A form of German musical drama that used spoken dialogue in addition to musical numbers
spiritoso	spiritedly
rubato	A feature of performance in which strict time is for a while disregarded
post horn	The post horn is a relatively simple kind of horn once played by postilions as a signal of the departure, arrival or approach of a coach
subcortical	Anatomical term designating areas of the brain located below the cortex
arpeggio	a succession of chord notes played one after another.
bocca chiusa	with closed mouth
canzone	"song"; a short lyrical song, usually reflecting the singer's state of mind
allargando	Growing broader, getting slower and louder
espr.	expressively
deuteragonist	second actor
hymn	A hymn is a song of praise, whether to a god, saint or hero
repression	definition goes here
tempo	The prevailing time or pace of a piece of music, determined either by its title (e.g
pink noise	A type of broad-band noise
45	A 7-inch-diameter vinyl disc of recorded music that revolves at 45 rpm; also known as a disc, single, or platter.
ax	Also "axe." Any musical instrument....
acoustical	Pertaining to the objective physics of sound
alternate picking	picking single notes in a continual down and up motion
rhesis	formal speech, often highly rhetorical in nature
attention	The mental state of focusing on some stimulus
scherzoso	playfully
passive attention	The condition where a stimulus attracts our mental consideration
danzon	Also danzón
straight eights	Eighth notes played evenly....
altissimo	very high
double	The ability to play more than one instrument....
romanticism	Broad term for 19th century musical style which mirrored many attributes of the movement of the same name in art and literature
turnaround	Also "turn back." The short chord pattern just before the musicians must "turnaround" to play the same larger passage again....
third	The interval of three diatonic scale degrees.
head arrangement	A musical arrangement made up (usually collectively) during a performance....
langsam	slowly (German)
opus	A single work or composition.
aor	Adult-oriented rock.
four-beat	Also playing in four
epinephrine	A hormone released by the adrenal glands (located above the kidneys) associated with increased arousal
ballade	(1) One of several types of medieval secular songs, usually in A-A-B form; (2) a type of nineteenth-century character piece for piano.
impressionism	Impressionism was a term at first used mockingly to describe the work of the French painter Monet and his circle, who later made use of the word themselves
manual	The manual is a keyboard for the hands, the word used for instruments such as the organ or harpsichord that often have more than one keyboard
race records	Recordings produced in the 1920s-30s exclusively for African American audiences....
heterophony	Performance of a single melody by two or more individuals who add their own rhythmic or melodic modifications.
tipico	"Typical," 'traditional," or "characteristic": a term used to identify popular forms of music with roots in the past of a number of Latin countries and regions....
unconscious	That part of our mental life that remains largely hidden from our direct awareness
frequency	the number of cycles per second, which determines pitch (measured in Hertz, Hz).
norepinephrine	A hormone released by the adrenal glands (located above the kidneys) associated with increased arousal
lugubre	lugubrious, mournful
line	a succession of single notes.
yangqin	A Chinese hammered dulcimer with a trapezoidal sound box and metal strings that are struck with bamboo sticks.
indigenous	Native to a culture; the original people in a region.
septet	A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.
eleventh	The interval of eleven diatonic degrees.
f	The key of F.
passion	A musical setting of the story of the events leading to the Crucifixion.
fieramente	proudly
perdendosi	dying away
act	A large section of a play or an opera
hypothesis	summary, found in our manuscripts, of the play's plot and principal characters, occasionally with some information about the original date of production and an attempt at critical evaluation of the work; the most valuable are those by Aristophanes of Byzantium
mass	The musical setting of the Roman Catholic Church service, usually the Ordinary, but sometimes also the Proper.
syntax	This word is used to describe the rules or patterns which describe musical grammars
mass	(1) The central worship service of the Roman Catholic Church; (2) the music written for that service.
attacca	attack, or go on; i.e., at the end of a movement, a direction to begin (attack) the next movement immediately, without a gap or pause
waltz/valse	A popular ballroom dance in 3/4 time dating from c1800.
principal	A leading role or character in the opera.
concertato	A work for instrumental group and soloist(s), or a small ensemble of soloists with orchestra; 17th and 18th centuries.
ritenuto	Ritenuto (Italian: held back) directs a player to slow down at once.
sospirando	sighing
theme	A musical idea that serves as a starting point for development of a composition or section of a composition.
verismo	Italian for 'realism'; originally a type of 19th century Italian opera which depicted and centered on characters who were socially marginal, often the lower classes.
gig	Synonym for job.
tambourine	A single-headed drum with metal discs loosely set in the frame
leap	The movement of a single musical line by more than a second at a time.
segno	sign, usually Dal Segno (see above) "from the sign", indicating a return to the point marked by
jongleur	; jongleuress (zhong-ler;zhong-ler-ess)Male and female musical minstrels of the Middle Ages.
reductionism	The explanation of complex phenomena as merely the interaction of simpler underlying phenomena; explanation proceeds by accounting for complex wholes in terms of simpler components
colla parte	with the soloist
pitch class	A music-theoretic term equivalent to pitch chroma
bow	In string playing, a bundle of bleached horsehairs stretched tautly between the ends of a wooden stick
scholia	'curlicues'; marginal notes added to our earlier manuscripts by scholars ('scholiasts') who culled their information from a variety of ancient sources
counterpoint	The compositional art of combining two or more simultaneous melodic lines (polyphonic texture); term means "point against point" or "note against note."
fuocoso	fiery; i.e., passionately
rallentando	Rallentando (Italian: becoming slower) is a direction to a performer to play gradually slower.
liberamente	freely
basso profundo	The lowest and often serious bass voice
beats	(Also beatniks) American writers and poets of the '50s and later whose works included social criticisms questioning the lack of individual freedom in American society.
barcarolle	Song or instrumental piece in a swaying 6/8 time (i.e., suggesting the lilting motion of a Venetian gondola).
closed ending	Second of two endings in a secular medieval work, usually cadencing on the final.
exposure effect	The tendency to become more attracted to another person or stimulus due to repeated exposure
flebile	mournfully
bravura	boldness; as in con bravura, boldly
binary form	The term for describing a composition of two sections
single	A 45.
agnosia	A neurological disorder which causes a partial or complete loss of the ability to recognize otherwise familiar stimuli
parody	A composition based on previous work
festivamente	cheerfully, celebratory
double counterpoint	Invertible Counterpoint.
syntactic structure *	The structure that defines the common harmonic syntax for all tonal musical phrases
axe	Synonym for instrument.
ballad	A narrative poem set to music.
speakeasy	A nightclub which operated illegally during Prohibition
interval	the distance, in terms of steps and half steps, of one note from another
work song	Communal song that synchronized group tasks.
depression	Decrease in business activity for an extended period of time.
arrangement	An adaptation of a composition.
tetrardus	respectively, the Greek words for first (D is the finalis), second (E is the finalis), third (F is the finalis) and fourth (G is the finalis), and subdivides each of the four into two, the first of each pair being designated authentus (authentic) and the second plagis (plagal):
soave	smoothly, gently
gospel music	Protestant religious music usually associated more with rural, folk roots than with urban, European traditions
diva	Literally “goddess,” it refers to an important female opera star
rasch	quick, lively (German)
common time	the symbol “C” used as a time signature; another name for “4 / 4″ time
bene	well, as in, for example, ben marcato (meaning "well-marked")
tape loop	A loop of recording tape that repeats a sound or sequence of sounds....
choreography	A dance or the making of a dance.
eccyclema	An eccyclema is a wheeled device used in ancient tragedy.
onset	The initial porition of a sound envelope
sextet	A sextet is a composition for six players or the name of a group of six players.
avant-garde	French for 'in advance'; term used in all the arts to describe any work, style, or school that is considered in its own time to be radical, consciously breaking from previous tradition.
expressionism	A short-lived Austro-German art movement at the beginning of the twentieth century, marked by a focus on the dark, mysterious side of the human mind.
poles of attraction	A term introduced by Stravinsky to describe the harmonic equilibrium of his neoclassical works.
volta	In a repeated section of music, it is common for the last few measures of the section to differ
passionato	passionately
medial cause	The short- or medium-range cause of something
bagatelle	Bagatelle, used as the title of a short light-hearted piece of music, was employed most notably by Beethoven in a series of such compositions for piano
brushes	Drum sticks with wire brushes on the end, sued to produce a quieter, scratching sound....
lusingando	coaxingly
theilen	to divide, to share out, to partition (territory), to share
jitterbug	A lively dance for couples, usually done to swing music.
rap	Urban, typically African-American music that features spoken lyrics, often reflecting current social or political issues, over a background of sampled sounds or scratched records.
pathetique	Affecting the emotions of pity, grief or sorrow; touching.
cortisol	A hormone whose presence is associated with stress
stage right/stage left	The division of the stage from the performer's point of view; when a performer goes stage right, he moves to his own right and to the audience's left.
patter song	A song or aria in which the character sings as many words as possible in the shortest length of time.
second	The interval of two diatonic degrees.
aleatory music	Music in which the composer introduces the elements of chance or unpredictability with regard to either the composition or its performance
liturgy	the prescribed body of texts to be spoken or sung and ritual actions to be performed in a religious service
locrian	A medieval mode starting on the seventh degree of the diatonic scale, with half steps between the first and second degrees and fourth and fifth degrees.
heldentenor	this is the dramatic tenor of the German repertoire, a voice type that must have a distinctive 'ring', weight and spin to portray heroic roles such as Lohengrin (on the lighter side) and Tristan or Siegfried (on the heavier side)
richard wagner	and in particular the Tristan chord
doxology	a short hymn expressing praise to God
seguidilla	The seguidilla or seguidillas is a fairly quick triple-metre Spanish dance
tessitura	In an operatic role, tessitura refers to the area of vocal range within which the major part of the role is sung.
axe	Slang for instrument
improvisato	improvised, or as if improvised
march	Music for marching, such as in a parade or procession, in duple or quadruple time.
chaconne	A chaconne (= Italian: ciaconna; earlier English: chacony) is in origin a dance popular in Spain in the early 17th century
psalmody	1
posato	settled
ritardando	Ritardando (Italian: becoming slower) abbreviated often to rit., is often used as a direction to players.
afficionado	"affectionate"; a Spanish term for a passionately knowledgeable individual.
synopsis	A short version of the story of the opera, usually one or two pages.
lamentando	lamenting, mournfully
plainchant	Plainchant is the traditional monodic chant of the Catholic and Eastern Christian liturgies
piano	A stringed instrument played by a keyboard that causes hammers to hit the strings.
speed metal	A faster version of Thrash Metal. (See Thrash Metal.)
e	The key of E.
leggero	Leggero means light (= French: léger) and is used as a direction to performers.
anomia	A neurological disorder which causes a marked inability to name otherwise familiar stimuli
bootleg	Recordings or made or sold without the permission of the performers or a recording company....
staccato	(1) In musical notation, a dot placed above a notehead to indicate that it is to receive only about half its regular value; (2) in performance, the pronounced separation of adjacent notes.
zeit	Time (German)
upstage/downstage	The position on stage farthest or nearest the audience
woodshed	[also know as: shedding] Rehearsing or practicing alone....
caesura	A sudden silencing of the sound; a pause or break, indicated by the following symbol: //
john adams	and Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie exemplify the dramatisation on stage of events in recent living memory, where characters portrayed in the opera were alive at the time of the premiere performance.
stock arrangement	A commercially published musical arrangement....
texture	The interweaving of melodic (horizontal) and harmonic (vertical) elements in the musical fabric
audio frequency	Any frequency audible to the human ear
self-actualization	A term associated with the work of psychologist Abraham Maslow
piangevole	plaintive
hertz	The unit of frequency, defined as the number of cycles or complete oscillations per second
un poco	a little
bravo	Literally “brave, courageous.” A form of applause when shouted by members of the audience at the end of an especially pleasing performance
fusion	A synthesis of elements of jazz and rock
hymn	Song in praise of God; often involves congregational participation.
salsa rhythm	Popular music from Cuba based on rhythm patterns from Africa; salsa music often includes an improvisational montuno section.
ethnic	Pertaining to people who are not part of a mainstream population but are recognized as a group on the basis of certain distinctive characteristics, such as religion, language, ancestry, culture, or national origin.
renaissance period	Era in the history of Western music extending from c1400-c1600, and exemplified by the compositions of Josquin Desprez, Lasso and Palestrina.
aubade	Morning-song
comprimario	"next to the first"; A singer who plays a secondary role such as a confidante, servant, messenger
development	The elaboration of melodic, thematic, harmonic or rhythmic material.
ruvido	roughly
semihemidemisemiquaver	Hundred twenty-eighth note.
trouser role	A role which depicts a young man or boy, but sung by a woman
antara	Andean panpipes typically made of cane or clay
orchestra pit	The area below the stage, usually, where the orchestra is situated
pitch unit	Unit of pitch (abbreviated p.u.) in Ernst Terhardt's model of pitch perception
binary form	A two-part form; a musical structure containing two main divisions. Often each of these is repeated. They may be equal or unequal in length; in the latter event the second section is normally the longer. Generally the first section leads from the tonic key to a related one (most often the dominant), while the second reverses this direction. Many dance movements of the 17th and early 18th centuries are written in binary form, as are most keyboard works by Domenico Scarlatti and many short movements and works of the 18th and 19th centuries.
todesca	in the late 16th-century, a type of villanella that mocked the accent of Germans speaking Italian
nicotine	See stimulants.
aria	Lyric song expressing intense emotion
gold disc	An award given to a single that sells 1 million copies (500,000 copies after January 1, 1989) and an album that sells 500,000 copies.
supernumerary	A performer who appears in a non-singing role.
lent	The season of the church year from Ash Wednesday to Easter (40 days, not counting Sundays).
period	The elapsed time between the beginning and end of a single cycle of a periodic waveform
sostenuto	Sostenuto (Italian: sustained) is a direction to performers to play smoothly.
deus ex machina	"god out of a machine"; A stage or literary device that represents a last minute salvation of a dicey situation by a god/goddess who's been watching the plot unfold from afar
shortened version	dude idk
tempo comodo	convenient speed
sequence	often a term for a song or a chordal pattern.
tre corde	Literally "three strings"
interval	The distance between any two musical notes.
dishabituation	The phenomenon of re-attending or re-orienting to a stimulus after having habituated to a similar stimulus
simile	similarly; i.e., continue applying the preceding directive, whatever it was, to the following passage
fingerboard	A piece of wood extending from the body of a string instrument; the strings are attached to the end of the fingerboard.
irato	angrily
anapest	A musical foot consisting of two short notes or syllables, followed by one long
te deum	The Te Deum (Latin: We praise Thee, O Lord) is a canticle sung in thanksgiving and forming a part of the Divine Office, where it appears after Matins on Sundays and major feast days
label	In some cases, listeners attach conscious labels to perceptual categories or cognitive states
collage	A technique drawn from the visual arts whereby musical fragments from other compositions are juxtaposed or overlapped within a new work.
energico	A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.
proximate cause	The most immediate cause of something
subito	suddenly
cycle	The action of a vibrating system such that its pattern of change passes through a complete turn of events
iambic trimeter	the spoken meter of Greek drama, said to resemble daily speech; basic metrical scheme: ̌ ̄ ̌ ̄ \| ̌ ̄ ̌ ̄ \| ̌ ̄ ̌ ̄
interpretation	The manner in which a performer carries out a composer's performance directions.
toccata	A piece for keyboard, usually technically demanding, intended as a display for virtuosity.
refrain	A verse which repeats throughout a song or poem at given intervals.
millisecond	Unit of time equivalent to one thousandth of a second.
bridge of a guitar	A piece of wood or metal attached to the body of the guitar to which strings are attached, or over which they pass.
dominant leading *	A term used to easily identify one of the three possible diminished 7th chords in any key
enfatico	emphatically
con amor	with love, tenderly
storyville	The New Orleans tenderloin district in which some of the first jazz musicians played
combinatoriality	A term coined by Milton Babbitt -- references the operations by which one hexachord of a twelve-tone row can be transformed to match the other hexachord in the row. Combinatorial operations center primarily around TTOs.
lied	German for 'song(s)'; in particular, a style of 19th century German song distinguished by the setting of texts from the literary tradition and by the elaboration of the instrumental accompaniment.
g	The key of G.
amphetamines	See stimulants.
serial music	A type of composition based on twelve-tone technique
una	one, as for example in the following entries
priming	The tendency for a stimulus to facilitate the processing of some related ensuing stimulus
cacophony	Discordant sound; dissonance.
parabasis	In Old Comedy, the parabasis was a pause around the midpoint in the action during which the coryphaeus spoke in the name of the poet to the audience.
calore	warmth; so con calore, warmly
supernumerary	A person with a non-singing role in the production.
auditory streaming	The subjective sense of connectedness -- where two or more successive sounds appear to arise from the same sound-generating source
contralateral	The anatomical arrangement by which some nerves originating on one side of the body are connected to the cerebral hemisphere on the opposite side of the body
french overture	A popular type of introductory movement in baroque music that begins with a stately section using dotted rhythms (very long followed by very short notes) followed by a faster fugal section
tempo	Tempo (Italian: time) means the speed at which a piece of music is played
gaudioso	with joy
polyrhthm	The use of several patterns or meters simultaneously, a technique used in 20th century compositions.
spontaneous recovery	The process of re-sensitising following a period of habituation to a recurring stimulus
acting	scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance
chanson	French polyphonic song, especially of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, set to either courtly or popular poetry
bitonal	The simultaneous combination of two different melodic or harmonic patterns, each being characteristic of a different key. It is frequently used in 20th-century music and is a means to create powerful expression.
diva	'goddess'; A female opera star of rank or pretension.
martellato	hammered
attention	A military bugle call, in the category of warning calls, played to warn the troops that they are about to be called to attention
phrase	a musical sentence.
celebrant	the priest officiating at the Eucharist
suite	A collection of compositions
avec	With, as in avec verve "with spirit"
bel	The unit of level, named after Alexander Graham Bell
interval	The acoustical distance between two pitches, usually reckoned by the number of intervening scale degrees.
alcohol	See depressants.
magnifico	magnificent
neoclassical	A 20th century style of composition exhibiting a return to the use of structural forms and stylistic features employed in earlier times.
telefonhírmondó	a telephone newspaper in Budapest
crotales	A pair of small pitched cymbals mounted on a frame; also made in chromatic sets.
brio	Brio (Italian: vivacity, fire or energy) appears as an instruction to performers as, for example, in allegro con brio, fast with brilliance and fire, an indication used on a number of occasions by Beethoven.
invention	The two-part Inventions of Johann Sebastian Bach are contrapuntal two-voice keyboard compositions, and the word is often understood in this sense, although it had a less precise meaning in earlier music.
frequency	The rate of speed of sound waves.
camber	the curvature of the fretboard, also known as the radius.
noradrenaline	See norepinephrine.
alexia	A neurological disorder which causes a partial or complete loss of a former ability to read
instrument	Mechanism that generates musical vibrations and transmits them into the air.
p300	Same as P3.
remote keys	The keys represented directly opposite one another on the circumference of the circle-of-fifths
haut	Medieval category of loud instruments, used mainly for outdoor occasions, as distinct from bas, or soft, instruments.
global perspective	A worldwide point of view, including awareness of and respect for the lifestyles, traditions, values, and arts of nations and cultures.
book	The repertoire of a band or singer....
chops	Synonym for technique.
agraphia	A neurological disorder which causes a partial or complete loss of a former ability to write
hymn	A song or poem that praises.
liturgy	The text of the Roman Catholic Mass (reenactment of the Last Supper) service, also used by some Protestant religions.
conductor	One who directs a group of performers
paraskenion	wings extending out from either end of skenê (existence in fifth century disputed)
mystic chord	A chord used by Scriabin consisting of various types of fourth:
stop	(double, triple, quadruple) In string playing, the sounding of two, three, or four strings at once.
bar	a section of music for a grouping of note values over a given length of time, also know as a measure.
sonore	sonorous
moldy fig	A 1940s modern jazz fan's derogatory term for a fan of traditional jazz....
parlando	"speaking"; The term directs the singer to imitate speech in singing
mäßig	moderately (German)
speaker	circular cone for projecting amplified sound.
pop song form	The structure of repeated and contrasting sections of a song in which each section (represented as letters when the form is described) is usually similar in length and corresponds to an AABA, or some variant on that organization.
symbolism	A subtle French poetic style from the late nineteenth century that stressed the sound and color of the words and suggested rather than clearly outlined the meaning or story behind the text.
variation	A modified version of something previously performed in which some elements of the original remain.
strepitoso	noisy, boisterous.
veloce	with velocity
melodic anchoring	See anchoring.
morendo	dying away, fading away
tenor	The male voice which has a range of C below middle C to G above middle C.
cell	In certain twentieth-century compositions, a brief, recurring musical figure that does not undergo traditional motivic development.
pastoral	A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.
progressive jazz	Modern jazz (c
bel canto	(1) A manner of singing (from the Italian 'beautiful singing') originally exhibited by Italian singers of the late 18th century emphasizing smoothness and beauty of sound throughout the full vocal range (2) Italian opera of the first half of the 19th century, so named because of its emphasis on vocal virtuosity in closed numbers.
heart rate	(abbrev
slide guitar	a method of guitar playing that produces a gliding sound by pressing a metal bar or glass tube against the strings
prosody	The blending of words and music or matching of lyrical and musical accents
mute	Mutes (= Italian: sordino; French: sourdine; German: Dämpfer) are used to muffle the sound of an instrument, by controlling the vibration of the bridge on a string instrument or muffling the sound by placing an object in the bell of a brass instrument.
measure	a group containing a fixed number of beats.
diva	Literally, "goddess." A term used to categorize a leading soprano who puts on airs or who has been deified by her fans; although not always used as a compliment, the term has gained popularity (and more goddess-like connotations) in the world of popular music and culture.
objectionable parallels	Parallel fifths/octaves
lindy hop	See "jitterbug."
morceau	“Morsel.” A musical work or composition.
baroque	Time in music history ranging from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries
scena	An extended composition for solo voice and accompaniment, made up of several continuous but contrasting sections, some of a recitative-like character, others more song-like.
backward masking	See masking.
white noise	By analogy to "white light", white noise consists of all frequencies within a specified range of frequencies (usually the entire audible range)
rent party	A gathering in one's home for which an admission fee is charged in order to raise money to pay the rent or other bills.
modulation	a shift from one “key” to another within the same piece of music
ballad	Ballad, derived from the late Latin verb 'ballare', to dance, came to be used primarily to describe a folk-song of narrative character or a song or poem written in imitation of such a folk-song
duration	The length of time a pitch sounds
masking	The difficulty or impossibility of hearing one sound due to the presence of another sound
pick	also called “plectrum,” a hard flat piece of material (usually plastic) used to strike the strings instead of a finger of the right hand
bravura	The term implied brilliance and dexterity in singing as in the terms 'bravura singing' or 'bravura aria'.
vernacular	The most familiar and most used language of the people of a nation, region, or a cultural group
side-drum	The side-drum or snare drum is military in origin
trading eights	Also "trading fours," etc
stanza	The division of a poem that consists of a series of lines arranged together
badinerie	Badinerie (French: teasing), indicates a piece of music of light-hearted character
virtuosity	In a composition, a focus on exceptional technical demands; in a performance, a focus on exceptional technical display.
arpeggiation	The transformation of a chord into a series of notes played one after another
curtain call	At the end of a performance all of the members of the cast and the conductor take bows
tuned tubano drums	A fabulous set of five outdoor drums made by Freenotes. Available in a range of vibrant colours and ready to be installed at any height.
spectrum	A graphic display or other representation of the frequency content of a signal
theme	The musical basis upon which a composition is built
antique cymbals	A set of two small disks of brass each held in one hand of the performer that are played by being struck together gently and allowed to vibrate
middle ear	One of three conceptual anatomical divisions for the organ of hearing, including also the outer ear and the inner ear
testosterone	An androgen -- commonly associated with men, but also produced in lower quantities in women
sit in	Musician's slang for performing with a group.
ballad	A slow song, usually of a romantic nature; sometimes used for any song of the AABA or similar popular song form....
a bene placito	Up to the performer
lontano	from a distance; distantly
insistendo	insistently, deliberate
eucharist	the Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper, in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed
coro/pregón	Call-and-response between soloist and the coro (Latin)
alternate takes	The various takes recorded of a piece of music at a single recording session, that for whatever reasons were not chosen to be used
neoromanticism/post-romanticism	Vague terms generally denoting efforts to retain the aesthetic and/or mood of Romantic Period composition, while adding to it through the application of more recent techniques.
octet	An octet is a composition for eight performers.
humoresque	Schumann was the first composer to use the title Humoreske for a relatively long work for piano, the humour of the title used rather in the sense of a mood of one sort or another
thirty-second note	A note of very short duration
gravement	gravely, solemnly (French)
context	Social, economic, and political circumstances prevalent in a society that may influence the nature of a creative work.
canon	(1) Strict imitation, in which one voice imitates another at a staggered time interval; (2) a piece that uses canon throughout, such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
acutus	The earliest form of musical notation from the two signs of Greek prosody (written text to be performed) indicating stress, pitch, length of syllables in the text
leggiero	lightly, delicately.
dirge	A piece that is performed at a funeral or memorial service.
blow	To improvise (on any instrument); to play....
phrase	A natural division of the melodic line (like the sentences of speech)
triad	A chord consisting of a root, and two other members, usually a third and a fifth.
choreographer	The person who designs the steps of a dance.
lacrimoso	tearfully; i.e., sadly
marziale	literally “martial”
cake walk	A dance contest in Congo Square
image	The mental representation associated with some sensory experience
quarter note	The most common rhythmic value or duration of a note
pathos	Evoking pity or compassion.
lullaby	A cradle song.
sensory dissonance	A theory of dissonance which proposes that maximum unpleasantness arises between two pure tones when their points of maximum excitation on the basilar membrane of the cochlea are separated by roughly 0.4 millimeters (or 40% of a critical band)
verismo	"truth"; A theatrical style in the late 1800s that depicted ordinary, everyday characters in melodramatic situations
musique concrete	Music composed by manipulating recorded sounds—specifically “concrete,” real-world sounds (noises, nature sounds, etc.) rather than sounds that are generated electronically.
dissonance	An active, unstable sound
caprice/capriccio	Term describing a variety of short composition types characterized by lightness, fancy, or improvisational manner.
organ	Originally a wind instrument in which sets of pipes are controlled by a keyboard that sends air from a blower into the pipes
band	An instrumental ensemble, usually made up of wind and percussion instruments and no string instruments.
horn section	The section of a jazz band that includes brass and woodwind instruments; also, a group of French horns.
exposition	Opening section
t.d.	a member of the Irish Parliament or Dáil (Dála is the genitive case of Dáil)
dichotic	Different sounds presented to separate ears simultaneously, as in the dichotic presentation of musical stimuli to a listener
incalzando	getting faster and louder
manrico	Calaf and particularly in Otello
enteric nervous system	That branch of the peripheral nervous system which controls the viscera, including the stomach and intestines.
seventh	The interval between the first and seventh degrees of the diatonic scale.
matrix number	Numbers and letters stamped near the center of a 78 RPM recording indicate the number of the take on the record....
omaggio	homage, celebration
shape	The interrelationship through time of the parts or sections of a piece
ethos	The constant, total character (as opposed to transient moods) of a person depicted in an opera (see pathos). [Greek ethos: custom or character.]
chanson	French for 'song'; in particular, a style of 14th-16th century French song for voice or voices, often with backing instrumental accompaniment.
production	The combination of sets, costumes, props, lights, etc.
oblique motion	Two melodic lines where one moves while the other is stationary.
rake	The slope of the stage with the highest point at the back.
coda	The conclusion to a piece of music that functions like a summing-up, or an afterthought
strepitoso	noisy
alliteration	A characteristic of ancient Northern European poetry such as Beowulf consisting of the use of words with the same initial letter
tachycardia	A momentary increase in heart-rate -- commonly evoked by some stimulus
arrangement	The specific organization or performance order of a given composition (i.e., who plays what when).
lullaby	A lullaby (or cradle song) is a song intended to lull or pacify an infant by reducing the infant's level of arousal
vivo	lively
intimo	intimately
interval	the distance between two tones.
keiser	Telemann and Handel
cognitive penetrability	A term coined by Pylyshyn to denote the degree to which a cognitive process can be consciously influenced
ordered sets	In serial composition, ordered sets are those in which the sequential ordering of elements does not change. The only allowable transformations are TTOs.
protagonist	lead actor, usually assumed to have taken the most demanding roles
energico	energetic, strong
bridge	(1) A passage connecting two sections of a composition; (2) on string instruments, a small piece of wood that holds the strings above the body.
cutting contest	Musical game of one-upmanship where the performers attempt to outdo each other.
mano sinistra	[played with the] left hand (abbreviation: MS or m.s.)
upstage/downstage	Positions on stage; upstage is toward the rear of the stage and farthest from the audience while downstage is toward the lip of the stage, closest to the audience
mass	The most solemn service of the Roman Catholic Church
verbal behavior	Any behavior involving spoken or written utterances
silenzio	silence; i.e., without reverberations
multi-instrumentalism	Playing instruments of different types as a means of expanding a musician's creative possibilities...
monophonic	A method of sound reproduction based on a single channel for recording and playback
degree	A note of a scale, identified by number.
peripheral vasodilation	A general increase in the diameter of the blood vessels in the limbs and extremeties (fingers & toes) -- often as part of the orienting response.
dub	A copy of another recording....
eardrum	See timpanic membrane.
heel	the reinforced section of the guitar neck where it joins the body.I
electromyography	The recording of electrical changes in muscles as measured on the surface of the skin
calliope	A musical instrument consisting of steam whistles, played by means of a keyboard.
flag	See →beam
hymn	A song of praise and glorification
lent	slow (French)
duration	Length of time something lasts; e.g., the vibration of a musical sound.
quintuplet	Five notes that take up the time of four (or another number).
claque	A group of people hired to sit in the audience and either applaud enthusiastically to ensure success or whistle or boo to create a disaster
double bass	The largest and lowest-voiced member of the bowed string family of instruments
melancolico	melancholic
vite	fast (French)
topical	Related to the skin
harmonic progression	The movement from one chord to another, usually in terms of their function.
bitonal	The use of two different keys, or tonic centers at the same time.
schnell	fast (German)
open form	Indeterminate contemporary music in which some details of a composition are clearly indicated, but the overall structure is left to choice or chance.
recitative	Sung dialogue that moves the action along by providing information
andante	at a moderate pace (literally, at a walking pace)
con larghezza	with broadness; broadly
crotchet	A crotchet is the British English term for what is called a quarter note in American English
septet	A septet is a composition for seven players or the name for a group of seven players.
auxiliary chord *	A note combination created by one or more auxiliary notes (see below) where the character or duration of the result has the appearance of being a chord in its own right
interpolations	See quote....
volante	flying
movement	A separate section of a larger composition.
mechanê	crane used to portray figures in flight, often divinities (hence the term deus ex machina: 'the god from the machine')
tempo giusto	in strict time
introit	“Entrance.” A psalm (or psalm verse) sung at the beginning of the Roman Catholic Mass.
stretch out	An opportunity to play as long as one wishes to....
action	Term applied to the mechanical workings of an instrument, typically of keyboard instruments
episode	A section of the composition where the principal subjects are missing
cycle	a series of related musical structures, e.g
incidental music	Short musical segments that accompany or highlight dramatic moments in a play or other stage work.
supertonic leading *	A term used to easily identify one of the three possible diminished 7th chords in any key
con	with; used in very many musical directions, for example con allegrezza (with liveliness), con amore (with tenderness); (see also col, colla, above)
hornpipe	The hornpipe is a rapid British dance that exists in various metres, triple, duple and quadruple
koto	Japanese plucked-string instrument with a long rectangular body, thirteen strings, and movable bridges or frets.
cover recording	A recording made subsequent to the original version; it may or may not follow the style or lyrics of the original.
subdeacon	a cleric ranking below a deacon
action	the height of the guitar strings above a fret or fretboard, usually measured from the top of a fret to the bottom of the string.
fundamental bass	In the theory of Jean-Philippe Rameau ("Traite de l'harmonie," 1722), a bass line consisting of the roots of a succession of chords. Rameau's formulation of the principles of chord inversion and of harmony as governed by a succession of roots underlies much of modern harmonic analysis.
vocables	Words in Native American songs having no meaning and intended only as vocal sounds.
delta blues	The country-blues style of Robert Johnson and others who came from the Mississippi delta region.
alla	to the, in the manner of (al before masculine nouns, alla before feminine)
rosa ponselle	Beniamino Gigli, Jussi Björling, Feodor Chaliapin, and "The Three Tenors" (Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, and José Carreras).
arrangement	The selection and adaptation of a composition or parts of a composition to instruments for which it was not originally designed or for some other use for which it was not at first written
ars antiqua	Term used by 14th century writers to distinguish the French sacred polyphonic musical style of the 13th century (c
marching band	Instrumental ensemble for entertainment at sports events and parades, consisting of wind and percussion instruments, drum majors/majorettes, and baton twirlers.
fresco	freshly
sequencer	An electronic device that stores a series of tones to be played back later
baroque	The period in music history that spans from ca
dal segno al fine	from the sign to the end; i.e., return to a place in the music designated by the sign (see preceding entry) and continue to the end of the piece
malinconico	melancholy
minim	A minim is the British term for a half note
lyric-dramatic tenor	these roles, while still essentially lyric, demand some dramatic color and fire: Rodolfo in La bohème, the Duke in Rigoletto, Alfredo in La traviata and Faust are to be included."
binaural	Pertaining to two ears, as in the binaural presentation of musical stimuli to a listener
call and response	The practice of singing in which a solo vocalist, the caller, is answered by a group of singers. The practice is also used with instruments, but its origins are vocal.
roll	A sustained sound on the drums produced by fast alternate strokes of the drum sticks....
john frederick lampe	who wrote using Italian models
capo	a device clamped to the strings with a screw, elastic or spring mechanism
expressionism	Musical style used as a means of evoking heightened emotions and states of mind
bigsby	a type of tremolo/vibrato unit.
march	A form of music written for marching in two-step time
a prima vista	at first sight; i.e., playing or singing something at first sight of the music sheet
monaural	Pertaining to a single ear, as in the monaural presentation of musical stimuli to a listener
tempo	The speed of a musical passage or composition.
dochmiacs	a meter peculiar to tragedy, expressing extreme agitation or distress; typical metrical schemes: ̌ ̄ ̄ ̌ ̄ and ̄ ̌ ̌ ̄ ̌ ̄
griots	African singers who memorized their tribe's history through their songs.
works progess administration	A United States government agency created in 1935 to provide paying jobs for unemployed workers.
giusto	strictly, exactly, e.g. tempo giusto in strict time
jitter	The variability in frequency as measured from cycle to cycle
modern	Music written in the 20th century or contemporary music.
turnaround	A short melodic or harmonic passage usually comprised of a I VI II V progression (or variation thereof) that returns ("turns around") to the beginning of a section or top of the form.
mark	To sing very softly or not at full voice
madrigal	(Italian madrigale, “song in the mother tongue”) Setting of secular poetry as a polyphonic vocal work, often featuring elaborate musical depiction of the text, and popular in sixteenth-century Italy and Elizabethan England
vespers	One of the Divine Offices of the Roman Catholic Church, held at twilight.
a capella	Unaccompanied vocal music
geschwind	quick, fast (German)
autonomous	Not controlled by others or by outside forces.
opus	A "work"; opus numbers were introduced by publishers in the seventeenth century to identify each of a composer's works.
sostenuto	sustained, lengthened
tommaso traetta	attempted to put these ideals into practice
resonance	The acoustic disposition of physical bodies and enclosures to promote energy at one or more frequencies or bands of frequencies
phrase	a musical sentence or idea; analogous to a phrase in language, it is a shorter unit which makes up a complete “melody”
cd-rom	Compact disc-read only memory
stage director	The person responsible for directing the movement of the characters and creating the story on stage.
affabilita	A directive to perform the indicated passage with ease and elegance; with affability; in a pleasing and agreeable manner
multimedia	Rapidly developing technology that enables information of all kinds-text, still images, moving pictures, sound-to be stored and retrieved on a single digital medium, such as CD-ROM or videodisc.
chant/plainchant	Monophonic music used in Christian liturgical services
tape splicing	The technique of cutting apart and putting together pieces of pre-recorded tape.
fm synthesis	Frequency-modulation synthesis; a superior version of electronic synthesis introduced in the consumer market by Yamaha in 1982.
cadence	A point of rest at the end of a passage, section, or complete work that gives the music a sense of convincing conclusion