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a Capella |
no instruments; just voices |
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tempo |
speed of a musical section; adagio means slow; allegro mean fast; several others |
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aria |
a solo singer with accompanying instruments; typically in an opera |
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brass |
instruments such as trumpet and trombone; horns made of brass |
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canon |
a composition in which the melody line is exactly imitated by overlapping lines |
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cantata |
an un-staged musical composition for voices and instruments, with arias, duets, choruses, etc |
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chamber music |
music for performance in a space smaller than an auditorium, such as at a home |
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chord |
three or more notes played together in a harmonic manor |
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concerto |
a multi-movement piece for a solo instrument and orchestra |
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crescendo |
a portion of music with rising volume |
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dissonance |
chords with an inharmonic, "wrong" sound |
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harmony |
chords with complementary tones; may be major or minor key |
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fugue |
a baroque musical form in which a stated musical theme is followed by various imitations of it |
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full step |
a span of two of the twelve equal-interval notes in an octave; frequency change of about 12.5% |
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half step |
a span of just one of the twelve equal-interval notes in an octave; frequency change of about 6% |
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key |
defined set of 7 notes, within every octave, starting at a specific note and using defined intervals |
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key: major |
a set of notes beginning with any of the twelve tones, proceeding with full, full, half, full, full, full steps |
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key: minor |
a set of notes like a major key but the third note is dropped a half step; less 'happy' feel |
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libretto |
the printed text of the words in an opera or other voice performance |
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Mass |
main type of worship service in the Roman Catholic Church, with at least the following musical sections: |
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Kyrie: Asking for God’s mercy |
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Gloria: Praising God |
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Credo: Musical setting of beliefs, or creed |
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Sanctus: Holy, Holy |
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Agnus Dei: Lamb of God |
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octave |
a doubling of frequency, such as from middle C to the C which is eight white keys later. |
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opera |
musical form based on historical, mythological, or contemporary char's, with singers, costumes & orch. |
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plainchant |
monophonic worship music of the early Catholic church; eg Gregorian chant |
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polyphony |
combination of two or more simultaneous melodies |
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program music |
any music correlated to or conveying a storyline; opposite of pure or absolute music |
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rhapsody |
a one-movement episodic piece with a range of highly contrasted moods, colour and tonality |
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requiem |
a funeral mass |
(*Exposition/Development/Recapitulation) |
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sonata |
a multi-movement* arrangement used in the classical period for various solo instruments and orchestra |
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symphony |
a multi-movement arrangement used in the classical period for orchestral compositions |
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theme and variations |
a composition with an initially stated theme, followed by variations of that theme |
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toccata |
a keyboard musical form with virtuosic segments meant to show the performer's skill |
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twelve-tone music |
compositions which purposely avoid the usual major and minor key conventions |
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voice parts |
soprano (higher women’s), alto (lower women’s), tenor (upper men’s), and bass (lower men’s) ranges |
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woodwinds |
instruments originally - and maybe still - made of wood; such as clarinet and saxophone |
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Ron Jones, Albuquerque NM, January 2014 |
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