Index of Music Terms - Music Glossary

Looking for music definitions? No idea what all this means? There are probably thousands of different terms and words used in music throughout the world. We've tried to take the most used terms and give some basic definitions here.

A cappella	One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.
Accessible	Music that is easy to listen to and understand.
Adagio	A tempo having slow movement; restful at ease.
Allegro	A direction to play lively and fast.
Amadinda	Freenotes Amadinda Xylophone is inspired by a traditional pentatonic xylophone originating in Uganda and is tuned to c major in the pentatonic scale.
Atonal	Music that is written and performed without regard to any specific key.

Baroque	Time in music history ranging from the middle of the 16th to the middle of the 17th centuries. Characterized by emotional, flowery music; written in strict form.
Beat	The unit of musical rhythm.

Capriccio	A quick, improvisational, spirited piece of music.
Carol	A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.
Chant	Singing in unison, texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.
Choir	Group of singers in a chorus.
Chorale	A hymn sung by the choir and congregation often in unison.
Chord	3 or 4 notes played simultaneously in harmony.
Chord progression	A string of chords played in succession.
Chorus	A group singing in unison.
Chromatic scale	Includes all twelve notes of an octave.
Clavier	The keyboard of a stringed instrument.
Clef	In sheet music, a symbol at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.
Coda	Closing section of a movement
Concerto	A composition written for a solo instrument. The soloist plays the melody while the orchestra plays the accompaniment.
Conductor	One who directs a group of performers. The conductor indicates the tempo, phrasing, dynamics, and style by gestures and facial expressions.
Consonance	Groups of tones that are harmonious when sounded together as in a chord.
Contralto	Lowest female singing voice.

Diatonic	Melody or harmony built from the seven tones of a major or minor scale. A diatonic scale encompasses patterns of seven whole tones and semitones.
Dissonance	Harsh, discordant, and lack of harmony. Also a chord that sounds incomplete until it resolves itself on a harmonious chord.
Drone	Dull, monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.
Duet	A piece of music written for two vocalists or instrumentalists.
Dynamics	Pertaining to the loudness or softness of a musical composition. Also the symbols in sheet music indicating volume.

Encore	A piece of music played at the end of a recital responding to the audiences enthusiastic reaction to the performance, shown by continuous applause.
Energico	A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.
Ensemble	The performance of either all instruments of an orchestra or voices in a chorus.
Espressivo	A direction to play expressively.
Etude	A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.
Eye Chimes	Freenotes' Eye Chimes are quite simply stunning piece in both their towering appearance and their low resonant sounds.

Fifth	The interval between two notes. Three whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.
Finale	Movement or passage that concludes the musical composition.
Flat	A symbol indicating that the note is to be diminished by one semitone.
Flying Amadinda	Tuned to C major in the pentatonic scale the Freenotes Flying Amadinda has thirteen Ipe bars suspended between a sturdy frame using coated steel cable.
Form	The structure of a piece of music.
Forte	A symbol indicating to play loud.
Fourth	The interval between two notes. Two whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.
Freenotes	Freenotes are unique, custom made, beautiful handcrafted outdoor musical instruments

Gamelan	A musical ensemble of Indonesia typically featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums, and gongs
Glee	Vocal composition written for three or more solo parts, usually without instrumental accompaniment.
Glissando	Sliding between two notes.
Grandioso	Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played grandly.
Grave	Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.
Grazioso	Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played gracefully.

Harmony	Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.
Homophony	Music written to be sung or played in unison.
Hymn	A song of praise and glorification. Most often to honor God.

Imbarimba	Freenotes' Imbarimba outdoor musical instrument has a unique musical design combining elements of two classic African instruments: the Marimba (a resonated xylophone) and the Kalimba (thumb piano).
Impromptu	A short piano piece, often improvisational and intimate in character.
Instrumentation	Arrangement of music for a combined number of instruments.
Interlude	Piece of instrumental music played between scenes in a play or opera.
Intermezzo	Short movement or interlude connecting the main parts of the composition.
Interpretation	The expression the performer brings when playing his instrument.
Interval	The distance in pitch between two notes.
Intonation	The manner in which tones are produced with regard to pitch.
Introduction	The opening section of a piece of music or movement.

Key	System of notes or tones based on and named after the key note.
Key signature	The flats and sharps at the beginning of each staff line indicating the key of music the piece is to be played.

Leading note	The seventh note of the scale where there is a strong desire to resolve on the tonic.
Legato	Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played smoothly.
Libretto	A book of text containing the words of an opera.
Ligature	Curved line connecting notes to be sung or played as a phrase.

Maestro	Refers to any great composer, conductor, or teacher of music.
Major	One of the two modes of the tonal system. Music written in major keys have a positive affirming character.
Manta Ray	Freenotes' elegant aluminium metallophone with a stainless steel frame. The individual chime tubes are suspended by coated steel cable. The same scale is mirrored to the right and left sides and the range is two octaves and a fifth, the scale is C major.
March	A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.
Medley	Often used in overtures, a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.
Mezzo	The voice between soprano and alto. Also, in sheet music, a direction for the tempo to be played at medium speed.
Minor	One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark, melancholic mood.
Modulation	To shift to another key.
Monotone	Repetition of a single tone.
Movement	A separate section of a larger composition.
Musicology	The study of forms, history, science, and methods of music.

Natural	A symbol in sheet music that returns a note to its original pitch after it has been augmented or diminished.
Neoclassical	Movement in music where the characteristics are crisp and direct.
Nocturne	A musical composition that has a romantic or dreamy character with nocturnal associations.
Nonet	A composition written for nine instruments.

Octave	Eight full tones above the key note where the scale begins and ends.
Octet	A composition written for eight instruments.
Opera	A drama where the words are sung instead of spoken.
Orchestra	A large group of instrumentalists playing together.
Orchestration	Arranging a piece of music for an orchestra. Also, the study of music.
Overture	Introduction to an opera or other large musical work.

Part	A line in a contrapuntal work performed by an individual voice or instrument.
Partial	A harmonic given off by a note when it is played.
Pegasus	The Freenotes Pegasus metallophone is made with twenty-three resonated aluminium bars in the key of C major and A minor
Pentatonic Scale	A musical scale having five notes. For example: the five black keys of a keyboard make up a pentatonic scale.
Phrase	A single line of music played or sung. A musical sentence.
Piano	An instruction in sheet music to play softly. Abbreviated by a “p”.
Pitch	The frequency of a note determining how high or low it sounds.
Pizzicato	String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.
Prelude	A short piece originally preceded by a more substantial work, also an orchestral introduction to opera, however not lengthy enough to be considered an overture.
Presto	A direction in sheet music indicating the tempo is to be very fast.

Quartet	A set of four musicians who perform a composition written for four parts.
Quintet	A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.

Recital	A solo concert with or without accompaniment.
Reed	The piece of cane in wind instruments. The players cause vibrations by blowing through it in order to produce sound.
Relative major and minor	The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key. For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.
Relative pitch	Ability to determine the pitch of a note as it relates to the notes that precede and follow it
Reprise	To repeat a previous part of a composition generally after other music has been played.
Requiem	A dirge, hymn, or musical service for the repose of the dead.
Resonance	When several strings are tuned to harmonically related pitches, all strings vibrate when only one of the strings is struck.
Resonator	Parts of instruments which resonate or vibrate, thus enhancing the sound of the instrument
Rhythm	The element of music pertaining to time, played as a grouping of notes into accented and unaccented beats.
Root	The principal note of a triad.

Scale	Successive notes of a key or mode either ascending or descending.
Scherzo	Pertaining to the sonata form, a fast movement in triple time.
Septet	A set of seven musicians who perform a composition written for seven parts.
Sequence	A successive transposition and repetition of a phrase at different pitches.
Serenade	A lighthearted piece, written in several movements, usually as background music for a social function.
Sextet	A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.
Sharp	A symbol indicating the note is to be raised by one semitone.
Song cycle	A sequence of songs, perhaps on a single theme, or with texts by one poet, or having continuos narrative.
Soprano	The highest female voice.
Staccato	Short detached notes, as opposed to legato.
String Quartet	A group of 4 instruments, two violins, a viola, and cello.
Suite	A loose collection of instrumental compositions.
Swirl	A beautiful outdoor musical instrument from Freenotes made of twenty-six resonated aluminium chimes in the key of C major, ranging in pitch from soprano to alto.
Symphony	Three to four movement orchestral piece, generally in sonata form.

Temperament	Refers to the tuning of an instrument.
Tempo	Indicating speed.
Tessitura	The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.
Theme	A melodic or, sometimes a harmonic idea presented in a musical form.
Timbre	Tone color, quality of sound that distinguishes one verse or instrument to another. It is determined by the harmonies of sound.
Tonal	Pertains to tone or tones.
Tonality	The tonal characteristics determined by the relationship of the notes to the tone.
Tone	The intonation, pitch, and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning, feeling, or attitude of the music
Tonic	The first tone of a scale also known as a keynote.
Treble	The playing or singing the upper half of the vocal range. Also the highest voice in choral singing.
Tremolo	Quick repetition of the same note or the rapid alternation between two notes.
Trill	Rapid alternation between notes that are a half tone or whole tone apart.
Trio	A composition written for three voices and instruments performed by three persons.
Triple time	Time signature with three beats to the measure.
Triplet	Three notes played in the same amount of time as one or two beats.
Tune	A rhythmic succession of musical tones, a melody for instruments and voices.
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.
Tuning	The raising and lowering a pitch of an instrument to produce the correct tone of a note.
Tutti	Passage for the entire ensemble or orchestra without a soloist.

Unison	Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.

Vibrato	Creating variation pitch in a note by quickly alternating between notes.
Virtuoso	A person with notable technical skill in the performance of music.
Vivace	Direction to performer to play a composition in a brisk, lively, and spirited manner.

Waltz	A dance written in triple time, where the accent falls on the first beat of each measure.
Whole note	A whole note is equal to 2 half notes, 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, etc.
Whole-tone scale	A scale consisting of only whole-tone notes. Such a scale consists of only 6 notes.

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Index of Music Terms - Music Glossary