accidental, a symbol used to indicate a momentary departure from the key signature by raising or lowering a note. Common accidental symbols—flat, natural and sharp—placed in front of notes:
adagio
(Italian), "slowly, at ease." Slower than
andante and faster than largo.
ad
libitum (Latin), "at liberty." 1) After an
instrument name (e.g., Violin II ad libitum)
indicates the optional omission of that part. 2)
As a tempo marking it indicates rhythmic
freedom. 3) In a cadenza it indicates
improvisation or rhythmic freedom. Abbr.: ad
lib.
aerophone, a musical instrument that produces sound via a vibrating column of air, i.e., a wind instrument. The French horn is an example of an aerophone:
affettuoso
(Italian), "affectionate."
agitato
(Italian), "agitated."
alla
breve (Italian), "in shortness." Cut time or
2/2 meter. Indicated with the symbol
"¢."
armonici
(Italian), "harmonic." Abbr.: arm. The sound of harmonics (last 5 notes):
art song, a poem set to music for solo voice and piano accompaniment; also known as Lied (German)
Ars nova (Latin), "new art." Musical style that flourished in France and the Burgundian Low Countries during the Late Middle Ages.
assai
(Italian),"much, very." Allegro assai: very
lively.
atonal or atonality, lacking a tonal center or key.
B
B
[plus Roman numeral), abbr. for barré
or bar.
BII indicates a second fret bar.
ballett, a dance-like piece in homophonic texture for a group of solo vocalists. It was characterized by strophic structure and a fa-la-la refrain.
bar or barré (French),
fretting of two or more strings with the first
finger. Indicated with a capitol B and a Roman
numeral corresponding to the fret: BII, bar
second fret. A slash through the letter indicates
a half bar. See capotasto.
Baroque, c. 1600 to 1750, the era in European history between the Renaissance and Classical eras.
basso continuo (Italian), "continuous bass." During the Baroque, an accompanying part that includes a bass line and improvised harmonies.
basso ostinato (Italian) or ground bass, a repeated pattern of bass and chords, typically 8 to 16 measures in length.
beat, the steady pulse underlying most music:
binary form, musical form with two sections of related materials. Typically each section is repeated, yielding an A A B B structure.
biwa (琵琶), a Japanese short-necked fretted lute related to the Chinese pipa and a distant relative of the Middle Eastern oud. Like other lutes, the biwa has a rounded body shape similar to an egg cut in half.
Japanese Women Playing Koto and Biwa (c. 1815) | Both the koto and biwa are chordophones. | Metropolitan Museum of Art
BPM, beats per minute.
brio,
con (Italian), "with vigor."
bugaku (Japanese), imperial court music and dance of Japan.
C
C
[plus Roman numeral], abbr.
for capotasto or ceja, i.e., bar technique. CII indicates a second fret bar. See bar.
cadence, notes or chords that create a sense of repose at the end of a phrase. The final note of Row, row, your boat is a cadence:
cadenza, a virtuosic solo passage inserted into a concerto or other work.
cantata (Italian), "sung." During the Baroque, a narrative work for voices with instrumental accompaniment, typically with solos, chorus, and orchestra.
cantus firmus, (Latin) "fixed song." A pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.
capotasto
(Italian), ceja, cejilla (Spanish).
Fretting of two or more strings with the first
finger. Indicated with a capitol C
and a Roman numeral corresponding to the fret:
CII, bar the second fret. A slash through the
letter (¢) indicates a half bar.
chamber music, instrumental music played by a small ensemble with one player to a part.
chord, a group of three or more notes sounded together.
chord progression, a sequence of two or more chords.
chordophone, a musical instrument that produces sound via a vibrating string, e.g., a stringed instrument. The guitar is a common chordophone:
chromatic scale, a musical scale with twelve pitches, each a semitone (half step) apart:
chorale, 1. a type of four-part harmony hymn originally sung in the Lutheran church after the Protestant Reformation. 2. a choir or choral society.
clarinet, a single reed woodwind instrument popular in both marching bands and symphony orchestras.
Classical, a term that refers to both an era and a category of music. The Classical era is approximately approximately 1750 to 1820, falling between the Baroque and Romantic eras. Classical music is also used as a broad catch-all term for Western art music created during the last one thousand years of European and American history.
clef, a symbol placed at the beginning of a staff to indicate the pitch of the notes written on it. A treble clef or G clef:
coda (Italian), "tail." The concluding section of a piece.
con
(Italian), "with." For phrases beginning with
this term, see the second word.
concertino (Italian), in the Baroque concerto grosso, the group of solo instruments pitted against the orchestra or ripieno.
concerto, a musical composition, often in three movements, for an instrumental soloist and orchestra.
concerto grosso (Italian), during the Baroque, a musical composition for a group of solo instruments (soli/concertino) accompanied by a larger group (tutti/ripieno).
consort, an ensemble of Renaissance instrumentalists playing together. A full consort consists of instruments from the same family. A broken consort is comprised of instruments from more than one family.
contrapuntal, refers to a musical texture consisting of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal importance. Often used as a synonym for polyphonic.
countertenor, male singing voice with a range equivalent to the female alto or soprano range.
cresc.,
abbr. for crescendo.
crescendo
(Italian), gradual increase in volume. Abbr.:
cresc.
cut time, alla
breve or
2/2 meter. Indicated with the symbol
"¢."
D
da
capo (Italian), "from the head." Return to
the beginning. Abbr.: D.C. Da capo al fine:
return to the beginning and play to fine. Da
capo al: return to the beginning and skip ahead
to the next occurrence of the sign (the coda).
dal
segno (Italian), "[play] from the
sign." Abbr.: D.S. Dal segno al fine: go to the
sign and end at fine.
D.C.,
abbr. for da capo.
D.S.,
abbr. for dal segno.
decresc.,
abbr. for decrescendo.
decrescendo
(Italian), gradual decrease in volume. See
diminuendo. Abbr.: decresc.
dedillo (Spanish), one finger guitar tremolo technique.
dim.,
abbr. for diminuendo.
diminuendo
(Italian), gradual decrease in volume. See
decrescendo. Abbr.: dim.
dodecaphony, "twelve-tone technique." A method of composing with twelve tones devised by the composer Arnold Schoenberg.
dolce,
(Italian), "sweetly, softly.
doloroso
(Italian), "painful, sorrowful."
downbeat, the accented first beat of a meter or measure, e.g., in triple meter (1-2-3), beat 1 is the downbeat.
dynamics, degrees of loudness or softness in music.
E
Elizabethan, the English high Renaissance framed by the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
electrophone, a musical instrument that produces sound by electrical means. The synthesizer is an example of an electrophone:
equal or even temperament, a tuning system where the semitones of the chromatic scale are all adjusted to be exactly the same size.
erhu (二胡), a Chinese two-stringed bowed chordophone held in the lap and played with a bow. It is closely related to another spiked fiddle, the Middle Eastern rebab.
espressivo
(Italian), "expressively."
étouffé
(French), "suffocate or smother." The technique
of muting (not stopping) a tone on the guitar by laying the
palm on the bridge while plucking the string.
See pizzicato.
étude (French) or estudio (Spanish), "study." A musical composition designed to improve the technique or demonstrate the skill of the player.
Expressionism, an early 20th century musical style in which the composer used jarring rhythms and dissonance to stir emotions from the darkest recesses of the human psyche.
F
f,
abbr. for forte.
ff,
abbr. for fortissimo.
figured bass, notation system for basso continuo. The numbers below bass the notes indicate the intervals of the harmony.
fine
(Italian), "finish, end." See da
capo.
First Viennese School, the three principle composers of the Classical era in late-18th-century Vienna: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven.
flamenco (Spanish), the folkloric music traditions of the Romani of Southern Spain.
forte
(Italian), "loud." Abbr.: f.
fortissimo
(Italian), "very loud." Abbr.: ff.
forzando,
forzato (Italian), "forced." A sudden stress
on a single note or chord in a passage. Abbr.:
fz. See sforzando.
frequency of vibration, the highness or lowness of a musical tone, i.e., pitch.
fugue (French) or fuga (Italian), "flight."A polyphonic composition in which a subject (the theme) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.
furioso (Italian), "furious." Rapidly and with passion.
fz,
abbr. for forzando or forzato.
G
gagaku (雅楽, Japanese), imperial court music of Japan.
gamelan, a traditional instrumental ensemble of Indonesia, typically including many bronze percussion instruments.
gayageum (가야금, Korean), a Korean string instrument belonging to the zither family.
gayageum byeongchang (Korean), traditional Korean musical style where singers accompany themselves on gayageum.
gliss.,
abbr. for glissando.
glissando
(Italian), "slide." A rapid succession of
pitches made by sliding a finger up or down a
string. Indicated with a straight line between
note heads. Abbr.: gliss.
Gothic, latter part of the Middle Ages, c. 1150-1450.
golpe
(Spanish) "blow, stroke." Percussive tapping on
the guitar body. See tambora.
grave
(Italian), "heavy, solemn." Slow and serious.
Similar to adagio.
grazioso
(Italian), "graceful."
Gregorian chant, also known as plainsong, is the sacred melody of the medieval Roman Catholic Church.
ground bass or basso ostinato (Italian), a repeated pattern of bass and chords, typically 8 to 16 measures in length.
H-I-J-K
har.,
harm., abbr. for harmonic or
harmoniques.
harmonic
(English), harmoniques (French),
"overtone." Abbr.: har., harm. See armonici. The sound of harmonics (last 5 notes):
harmony, the process of connecting and organizing chords.
hertz, Hz,
abbr. , the SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second. Hertz may be used to numerically indicate pitch, e.g., 440Hz = A4.
heterophony, a texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line, e.g., one line is rendered simply while, at the same time, another line is embellished.
homophonic, musical texture in which a melody is supported with chords.
Hornbostel-Sachs System, a method of classifying instruments according to how sound is created: string vibration (chordophone), membrane vibration (membranophone), vibration of the entire instrument body (idiophone), vibration of air inside the instrument (aerophone) or vibration via electronics (electrophone).
hydraulis (Greek), a pipe organ invented in Greece during the 3rd century BC.
Idée fixe, a theme that appears in all five movements of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and represents the beloved.
idiophone, a musical instrument that creates sound by vibration of the entire body of the instrument when struck, shaken, or scraped. Typical idiophones include the bell, gong, rattle, cymbal and xylophone. Here's a xylophone:
Impressionism, an anti-realistic and anti-romantic musical style from late 19th century France, centering around the compositions of Debussy and Ravel.
intabulation or intavolatura (Italian), an arrangement of a vocal or ensemble piece for keyboard, lute or other plucked string instruments. Intabulation literally means "to write in tablature" and was a common practice during the Renaissance era.
interval, the distance between two pitches.
jig, a spritely fold dance from Ireland, often in compound meter.
gayageum (가야금) (Korean), also kayagum or kayageum, is a plucked chordophone belonging to the zither family. | Wikimedia Commons
kendhang (Indonesian), a two-headed drum typically used in gamelan.
kī hōʻalu, a solo guitar playing style developed in Hawaii and featuring open tuning. Also known as slack-key guitar.
Kora, a lute shaped chordophone with 21 strings and played like a harp.
koto (箏), a Japanese zither about two meters in length, with thirteen silk strings passed over small movable bridges. The koto is closely related to the Korean gayageum and Chinese zheng.
L
larghetto
(Italian), slow and broad but faster than
largo.
largo
(Italian), "wide." Slow and broad.
legato
(Italian), "bound." Played smoothly with no
separation between notes.
leggiero
(Italian), "lightly." Light, nimble and quick.
Abbr.: legg.
lento,
lentamente (Italian) "slow."
libretto (Italian), the text or lyrics of an opera, musical, cantata or oratorio.
ligado (Spanish), slur technique, i.e., use of the left hand fingers to hammer or pull off notes.
lute, a plucked stringed chordophone with a short fretted neck, round back and flat front shaped like a halved egg.
St. Mary Magdalene with a Lute | Van Eyck to Bruegel, 1400-1550 | Museum Boymans-van Beuningen
luthier (French), "lute builder." A maker of stringed instruments such as violins, lutes and guitars.
M
madrigal, a part-song of sixteenth century Italian origin for several solo voices and set to a short poem.
maestoso
(Italian), "majestically."
major scale, a seven-tone scale with the interval pattern of whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. The eighth tone starts the pattern over at the octave. This scale may also be symbolized as solfège syllables, do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do and sounds thus:
marcato
(Italian), "marked." With emphasis or stress.
Abbr.: marc.
mass, Roman Catholic Eucharist or Holy Communion service.
melisma, a group of notes sung to one syllable of text.
membranophone, an instrument that produces sound via a stretched membrane, e.g., a drum. The snare drum is a membranophone:
meno
(Italian), "less." Meno mosso: less moved
(slower).
mensural notation, musical notation used for European music from the late 13th century until about 1600. Mensural notation from the late 16th century:
metàlico
(Spanish), "metallic." Play near the bridge. See
sul ponticello.
metallophone, xylophone-like instruments with tuned metal bars, rods or bowls and usually stuck with a mallet.
meter, grouping of pulses into regular patterns of stressed and unstressed beats. A grouping of strong-weak (1-2) is called duple meter; strong-weak-weak (1-2-3) is triple meter; etc.
meter signature or time signature, two numbers written one over the other: the top number specifies beats per measure whereas the bottom number indicates the note value equal to one beat.
metronome, a device, invented in 1815 by Johann Maelzel, used to play a beat for practicing music and specifying tempo.
mezzo
forte (Italian), "half loud." Moderately
loud (softer than forte, louder than mezzo
piano). Abbr.: mf.
mezzo
piano (Italian), "half soft." Moderately
soft (louder than piano, softer than mezzo
forte). Abbr.: mp.
mf,
abbr. for mezzo forte.
Middle Ages, c. 450-1450.
minuet (French), a moderate 18th century French dance in triple time, often in binary form. Minuet and trio expands the simple binary minuet into a longer structure of A B A, and was popular as a third movement in Classical sonatas and symphonies.
moderato
(Italian), "moderately." A tempo midway between
andante and allegro.
modulation, change of key.
molto
(Italian), "very, much." Molto accelerando:
accelerate greatly.
monody, solo vocal style from 17th century Italy distinguished by having a single melodic line and instrumental accompaniment.
monophonic, musical texture consisting of a single melodic line.
morendo
(Italian), "fading away, dying."
mosso
(Italian), "moved."
mp,
abbr. for mezzo piano.
N-O
namdo minyo (남도민요, Korean), folk song from the southern region of Korea.
Neoclassicism, an early 20th century musical style based on traditional forms such as the concerto grosso, fugue and symphony, and often paying tribute to earlier masters such as Bach and Handel.
nocturne (French), "of the night." A single movement work of a romantic or dreamy character suggestive of night, typically written for piano.
non
troppo (Italian), "not too much." Allegro
non troppo: lively [but] not too
lively.
non-metric, music lacking a consistent background pulse and meter.
octave, the interval from do to do, i.e., an interval encompassing the distance of eight tones in a major scale. The scale pattern of do, re, mi, fa, so, la ti, do starts over at the octave.
opera (Italian), "work." A dramatic work in one or more acts, set to music for singers and instrumentalists.
opus (Latin), "work." Often used to denote compositions by a composer.
oratorio (Italian), a large work for orchestra and voices, typically with a libretto based on stories from the Bible. Handel's Messiah is the best known example of an oratorio.
orchestra, an instrumental ensemble, especially one combining bowed string, woodwind, brass and percussion sections and playing classical music.
P
p,
abbr. for piano.
pentatonic scale, a scale with five notes per octave:
perdendosi
(Italian), "dying away." See morendo.
pesante
(Italian), "heavy." Play with emphasis.
piacere,
a (Italian), "to please." With rhythmic
freedom.
pianissimo
(Italian), "very soft" (softer than piano).
Abbr.: pp.
piano
(Italian), "soft." Abbr.: p.
pipa (琵琶, Chinese), Chinese lute.
pitch, the highness or lowness of a musical tone. Also known as frequency of vibration and expressed in Hertz (Hz).
più
(Italian), "more."
più
mosso (Italian), "more moved."
Faster.
pizz.,
abbr. for pizzicato.
pizzicato
(Italian), to pluck or pinch the strings of a bowed instrument such as violin. On plucked string instruments such as guitar, pizzicato is used to indicate muting or palming the strings. Abbr.:
pizz. See étouffé. The sound of violins playing pizzicato:
plainsong, also known as Gregorian chant, is the sacred melody of the medieval Roman Catholic Church.
poco
(Italian), "little." Poco crescendo: crescendo
slightly.
poco
a poco (Italian), "little by little." Poco a
poco crescendo: crescendo in small
increments.
polyphonic, musical texture consisting of two or more melodic lines of relatively equal importance. Often used as a synonym for contrapuntal.
pp,
abbr. for pianissimo.
prestissimo
(Italian). As fast as possible.
presto
(Italian), "quickly." Very fast, faster than
allegro.
Primitivism, an early 20th century musical style that borrows or evokes sounds from non-Western or prehistoric cultures.
program music, instrumental music intended to evoke images, stories or a sense of place.
Q-R
quasi
(Italian), "almost." Quasi allegro: almost
allegro (slightly slower than allegro).
raga (Sanskrit), "color, musical tone." A melodic structure or pattern of notes used in classical Indian music.
rall.,
abbr. for rallentando.
rallentando
(Italian), "slowing down." Abbr.: rall. See
ritardando.
rasgueado
(Spanish). A strumming technique that uses the
fingernails to strike the strings, often in a rapid and percussive rhythm. Abbr.: rasg.
reentrant tuning, tuning used on guitars, lutes and ukuleles where a bass string is tuned an octave higher than expected. Ukulele reentrant tuning:
Renaissance, c. 1450-1600, the era in European history between the Middle Ages and Baroque.
ripieno, (Italian), the group of instruments accompanying the concertino in the Baroque concerto.
risoluto
(Italian), "resolute, energetic."
rit.,
abbr. for ritardando.
recitative (French) or recitativo (Italian), a style of singing in operas, oratorios, and cantatas in which speech rhythms are used. The resulting sound is half way between speaking and singing.
ritardando
(Italian), "gradually slowing down." Abbr.:
rit., ritard. See rallentando.
ritenuto
(Italian), "held back." A sudden slowing of
tempo. Abbr.: riten.
ritmico
(Italian), "rhythmic."
ritornello (Italian), the recurring tutti section in the Baroque concerto grosso.
rondo (Italian) or rondeau (French), a musical form with a recurring theme (A) alternates with one or more contrasting themes called episodes. Typical rondo schemes include A B A C A and A B A C A B A.
Romanesque, latter part of the Middle Ages, c. 1000-1150
Romantic, c. 1820-1900, the era in European history between the Classical and Modern eras.
rubato
(Italian), "rob." Use of a flexible
beat.
S
SATB, abbreviation for soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
scordatura (Italian), altering the normal tuning of a stringed instrument.
segue
(Italian) "follows." Indicates that a movement
or section should continue without a
break.
sempre
(Italian), "continuously, always." Sempre
legato: continuously legato.
senza
(Italian), "without." Senza tempo, senza misura:
without a strict tempo.
sforzando,
sforzato (Italian), "forcing." A sudden
stress on a note or chord. Abbr.: sfz or sf. See
forzando.
sfz,
sf, abbr. for sforzando or
sforzato.
simile
(Italian), "same." Continue in the same
manner.
sitar (Persian), a large, long-necked Indian lute with movable frets.
slenthem (Indonesian), a metallophone (metal xylophone) used in gamelan.
slentando
(Italian), "slowing down."
solfège, musical syllables: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do.
sonata (Italian), "sounded." A composition for instrumental soloist, typically in several movements.
sonata form, a musical form in three sections—exposition, development and recapitulation—in which two themes are developed according to set key relationships.
sotto voce (Italian), "quiet voice." Singing in a quiet voice.
sound wave, a wave of compression and rarefaction, by which sound is transmitted in an elastic medium such as air.
Spanish Phrygian, a gapped scale used in flamenco:
staccato
(Italian), "detached." Note durations are shortened
by stopping the sound immediately after
articulation. Indicated by a dot over or under
the note.
strophic, repeating the same music (“strophes”) for successive texts in a song
subito
(Italian), "suddenly." p subito: suddenly
soft.
suite, a set of instrumental compositions—mainly dances or dance inspired movements—designed to be played in succession.
sul
ponticello (Italian), "on the bridge." Playing
the string near the bridge. Produces a bright and metallic
tone. Abbr.: sul pont. or pont.
sul
tasto (Italian), "on the fingerboard." Playing
the string over the fingerboard. Produces a soft, hollow tone.
Abbr.: tasto.
sul,
sulla (Italian). Preposition meaning at, on
or on the. Sul Re or sul D: on the D
[string].
symphonic poem, also tone poem, a single movement programmatic work for orchestra.
symphony, a composition for orchestra, typically in four movements organized in a fast-slow-dance related-fast tempo scheme.
T
tabla (Hindi), a South Asian membranophone similar in size to bongos.
tablature, musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches. Lute tablature:
tala (Sanskrit), "hand clapping, musical time." A traditional rhythmic pattern in classical Indian music.
tambora
(Spanish), "two-headed drum." Percussive tapping
on the body of an instrument. See golpe.
tambura or tanpura, a large four-stringed lute used in Indian music as a drone accompaniment.
tanto
(Italian), "so much." Non tanto: not so
much.
tempo
(Italian), "time." Speed of the beat.
tempo mark, descriptive word or words used in a score to indicate tempo, e.g., allegro con brio (cheerful with vigor).
tempo
primo (Italian), "first tempo." Return to
the original tempo.
ten.,
abbr. for tenuto.
teneramente
(Italian), "tenderly."
tenuto
(Italian), "held." The holding of a note pass
its indicated value, slightly delaying the
following beat. Indicated by an abbreviation
(ten.) or a short dash (-) over or under the
note.
ternary form, a three-part musical form where the first section (A) is repeated after the second section (B) ends, yielding an A B A structure.
theme and variation form, a technique where a theme is stated and subsequently repeated in an altered form.
through-composed, a composition without repeated sections, i.e., new musical material throughout.
timbre, the unique character or quality of sound produced by an instrument or voice. Also known as tone color.
time signature or meter signature, two numbers written one over the other: top number specifies how many beats are contained in each measure whereas the bottom number indicates the note value equal to one beat.
tirando
(Spanish), free stroke.
tremolo (Italian), rapid repetition of a single note.
triad, achordmade ofthreemusicalnotes: the chord root with tones a third and fifth above the root.
tristamente
(Italian), "sadly, sorrowfully."
twelve-tone technique or dodecaphony, method of composing with twelve tones devised by the composer Arnold Schoenberg.
U-V-W-X-Y-Z
ukulele ('ukulele, Hawaiian), small member of the guitar family with four courses and commonly tuned G-C-E-A.
un
(Italian), indefinite article similar to 'a' in
English: un poco rubato, a little rubato.
vivace
(Italian), "lively, brisk." The same or faster
than allegro. If used after another term
(allegro vivace), play faster than the first
term's normal tempo.
vibrato, enhancement of a musical tone by rapidly fluctuating pitch slightly sharp and flat. A flute playing a major scale with vibrato on each tone:
vivo
(Italian), "lively, brisk."
whole tone scale, a scale made of six tones separated by whole steps:
wind instrument, also known as an aerophone, is a musical instrument that produces sound via a vibrating column of air. The trumpet is an example of an wind instrument:
