Bowing [Eng.] The art of using the bow. The term also refers to the marks used to instruct the player as to which direction the bow should be moved across the strings. The down-bow means that the bow-arm is moved away from the body and the up bow means that the bow-arm is moved toward the body.
String instruments [Eng.] Any musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. The strings are under appropriate tension, and are set into vibration by being plucked (as the harp, guitar, or lute, etc.), strummed (as the harp, guitar, or lute, etc.), struck (as the piano, dulcimer, or clavichord, etc.), or bowed (as the violin, viol, or 'cello, etc.).
Chordophone [Eng.] Generic term used for stringed instruments. Technically it refers to an instrument that is sounded by bowing, plucking, or striking a string that is stretched between two fixed points.
Strike [Eng.] To hit. To perform by stroking keys or strings as in striking a series of chords on the piano (Action by a hammer on a piano string; one of four ways to make a sound on a chordophone).
Chord [Eng.]; [Fr.] accord (m); [Ger.] Akkord (m); [It.] accordo (m); [Sp.] acorde; [Abbr.] acc. The sounding of two or more notes (usually at least three) simultaneously.
Hammer [Eng.] 1- That part of the action of a piano that strikes the strings, thus producing a tone. 2- A device used to strike a percussion instrument such as a bell or chimes (tubular bell).
Strum [Eng.] A performance practice of brushing the fingers over the strings of a stringed instrument.
Action [Eng.] Term applied to the mechanical workings of an instrument, typically of keyboard instruments.
Rhythm [Eng.] The subdivision of a space of time into a defined, repeated pattern. Rhythm is the controlled movement of music in time. It may be defined as the division of music into regular metric portions; the regular pulsation of music.
Music [Eng.]; [Fr.] musique (f); [Ger.] Musik (f); [It.] musica (f); [Sp.] música (f).Any rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic grouping of sounds that is specifically composed and that forms a unity so as to convey a message, to communicate, or to entertain.
Reed [Eng.] A thin piece of cane, plastic, or metal used as the principal vibrating source many instruments. A single reed vibrating against the mouthpiece of the instrument would be found in the clarinet and clarinet families. Double reeds vibrate against each other and are found in the oboe and bassoon families. A free vibrating reed (that doesn't vibrate against anything) can be found in the harmonium, harmonica, and accordion. Metal reeds are typically only found in the pipe organ, harmonium, harmonica, concertina, bandoneon, and accordion.
Woodwind instrument [Eng.]; [Fr.] instrument à vent en bois; [Ger.] Holzblasinstrument; [It.] legno; [Sp.] instrumento de madera. Those instruments that are made of wood and sounded by means of air. The clarinet and oboe families fall into this category, as do the saxophone and the flute families. Although the saxophone is made of brass, it is derived from the wooden clarinet, and is sounded by a reed, thus is is considered to be a woodwind instrument. As well, the flute is made of metal (usually silver), but since it is derived from a wooden ancestor, it too, is considered to be a woodwind instrument.
Electrophone [Eng.] Generic term used for electronic instruments. The term applies to two main classifications of instruments. The first area is instruments that generate their sound electronically. The second is acoustical instruments that have had their sounds amplified and modified electronically (electro-acoustic instruments)
Electronic Instrument [Eng.] Any musical instrument where the sound is produced or modified by electronic means (electrophone). The two basic types of electronic instruments are: where the sound is produced by means of an acoustical instrument such as the violin and then altered electronically; and where the sound is produced electronically.
Instrument [Eng.] Any device used to create music. The major classifications are woodwinds, brass, percussion, and stringed instruments. Keyboard instruments are sometime a separate category, although they produce sounds either by vibrating strings (as in the case of the piano, harpsichord, virginal, etc.) or by the flow of air (as in the organ). Electronic instruments, developed in the 20th century, form a new classification of instruments.
Tone [Eng.] 1- An interval consisting of two semitones, that is a whole step. 2- The particular sound of an instrument or voice, as well as the performer's particular coloring of that sound. For example, the tone produced by a certain clarinetist could be said to be rich, dark, and mellow; this is the result of the natural sound of the instrument, combined with the performer's particular technique of playing.
Wind instrument [Eng.]; [Fr.] instrument à vent; [Ger.] Blasinstrument; [It.] strumento a fiato; [Sp.] instrumento de viento. Any of several families of instruments which produce sound by means of a column of air. See Aerophone, Woodwind Instruments, Brass Instruments.
Performer [Eng.] An artist who brings a work of creative art to reality. Specifically in music, an artist (musician) who brings a composition to reality.
Mouthpiece [Eng.] The part of a wind instrument that is placed in, on, or by the performer's mouth.
Pitch [Eng.] The specific quality of a sound that makes it a recognizable tone. Pitch defines the location of a tone in relation to others, thus giving it a sense of being high or low.
Tune [Eng.] 1- An air or melody, a succession of sounds that has definite character and shape and is pleasing to the ear. 2- The process of adjusting the pitch of an instrument to itself (to insure correct intonation) and to any other musician or ensemble. Once the process is complete an instrument is said to be "in tune".
Composition [Eng.] Any musical work or production. The act of compiling and inventing a piece of music.
Melody [Eng.] A tune; a succession of tones comprised of mode, rhythm, and pitches so arranged as to achieve musical shape, being perceived as a unity by the mind. In a piece of music where there is more than one voice, or where harmony is present, the melody is the dominant tune of the composition.
Voice [Eng.]; [Fr.] Voix; [Ger.] Stimme; [It.] voca; [It.] voce; [Sp.] voz; [Abbr.] Voc. 1- The production of sound from the vocal cords, often used in music. The voice falls into six basic categories defined by pitch, ranging, from bottom to top, Bass, Baritone, Tenor, Contralto, Mezzo Soprano, and Soprano (three male and three female). The voices are sufficiently different in timbre to be easily distinguished, even when singing the same pitch. Two exceptions are the Castrato and Countertenor in the male voice which are rare. 2- The term is also used in reference to a single melodic line of music (either vocal or instrumental) in a polyphonic composition.
Musical Line [Eng.] A melodic statement which runs through a composition. This line (or voice) can be vocal or instrumental.
Quill [Eng.] The part of a harpsichord jack that actually plucks the string. Traditionally made from a feather, the quill is now typically made from a synthetic such as nylon.
Pick [Eng.] 1- A small piece of plastic (or other material) that is used to strum or pluck stringed instruments of the guitar family. Picks can also be made of metal, bone, shell, etc. to achieve different tone colors. 2- Term used to describe the action in plucking a string on a stringed instrument typically of the guitar family in bluegrass music. A performer can pick the strings with their finger or a pick.
Pluck [Eng.] To cause the strings on a stringed instrument to vibrate by picking or pulling them with fingers or a pick. This is a common means of playing the guitar and similar instruments but also applied to the violin family (pizzicato) and, on occasion, the piano. The harpsichord is also a plucked instrument although it is plucked by a jack rather than the finger.
Percussion instruments [Eng.] Instruments that are sounded by striking, shaking, plucking, or scraping. All instruments such as drums and bells fall into this category. The formal classifications of most Percussion instruments are either Idiophones (instruments that vibrate when struck, shook, plucked, or scraped) or Membranophones (instruments that have a stretched membrane that vibrates when struck, shook, or rubbed). Informally, Percussion instruments may be further divided into those instruments that produce a definite pitch and those that do not. Some whistles (aerophones) are also included in this category of instruments because they tend to be considered sound effects rather than serious instruments.
Keyboard instrument [Eng.] Term for instruments such as the organ, piano, clavichord, harpsichord, etc. which are sounded through the use of a set of keys. These keys are laid out in such a way that the white keys are the keys of the C major scale, and all the semitones in the chromatic scale not represented by the white keys are produced through depressing the black keys.
Harmony [Eng.] 1- The combination of notes sounded simultaneously to produce chords. Usually, this term is used to describe consonance, however, it can also be used to describe dissonance. 2- Countermelodic notes to accompany a tune.
Mode [Eng.] A series of notes into which the octave is divided according to specific systems. These systems or modes are used as the basis for composing music. The major and minor scales are modes, as well as the gypsy scale, the Gregorian modes, rhythmic modes, etc.
Bass [Eng.] 1- The lowest part in a musical composition. 2- The lowest or deepest male voice usually of a range of F just below the bass clef to the E above middle C. 3- The lowest pitched instrument in a family of instruments such as the bass recorder, double bass, bass clarinet, tuba, etc.
Baritone [Eng.] 1- The most common range of male voice pitched between the tenor and bass. Usually a baritone has a range of the low G in the bass clef to an F1 above the bass clef. 2- A voice type in barbershop music that singsbass and lead voices. Since barbershop music is also sung by females, the baritone voice can be either male or female in the barbershop genre. 3- The term baritone is also applied to instruments of a lower range such as the baritone horn or baritone saxophone. 4- The abbreviated form of baritone horn.
Tenor [Eng.] 1- The male voice which has a range of C below middle C to G above middle C. 2- Any instrument of that range is said to be a tenor instrument, such as the tenor saxophone and the tenor recorder, etc. 3- In Medieval music, the tenor was the foundation or sustaining part or a polyphonic composition, and in the late Medieval era and early Renaissance, the tenor generally was the melody part.
Contralto [It.] The lowest female voice usually about F below the treble clef to D in the treble clef. This term is sometimes used to distinguish specifically the female alto as opposed to a male countertenor with an alto range.
Mezzo soprano [It.] A female voice similar in range to a soprano, but with a darker colour and the ability to extend the range lower than a regular soprano. The female voice range between soprano and alto.
Soprano [It.] Term used to describe the highest pitched vocal range, usually produced by a female voice, but occasionally produced men's and boys' voices of the soprano range. The range of the soprano is from about C above the treble clef to middle C.
Countertenor [Eng.] A male voice of unusually high range, generally achieved through falsetto. The countertenor has the range of either the female alto or soprano.
Castrato [It.] A male singer who was castrated during boyhood to preserve the soprano or alto vocal register, prominent in 17th- and early 18th-century opera. This practice was sanctioned by the Vatican because women were not permitted to sing in the church.
Polyphonic [Eng.] A style of composition that has many voices, each with its own melody, thus creating a rich texture of sound.
Jack [Eng.] 1- In a harpsichord, clavichord, or virginal, the jack is the device attaching the plectrum to the key, enabling the depression of the key to cause the plectrum to pluck the string. 2- In a piano, the jack is the pivoted, vertical lever that causes the hammer to rise when a key is depressed.
Consonance [Eng.] An accord of sounds sweet and pleasing to the ear as opposed to dissonance. Perfect consonances are the perfect fourth, fifth, and octave, imperfect consonances are the major and minor thirds and sixths.
Plectrum [Eng.] A quill, or a piece of ivory, wood, etc. used to pluck the strings of an instrument such as a harpsichord, mandolin, zither, guitar, etc.
Dissonance [Eng.]; [Fr.] dissonance (f); [Ger.] Dissonanz (f); [It.] dissonanza (f). Two or more notes sounded together which are discordant, and, in the prevailing harmonic system, require resolution to a consonance.
Bass clef [Eng.]; [Fr.] clé de fa quatriéme ligne (f); [Ger.] Bassschlüssel (m); [It.] chiave di basso (f); [Sp.] clave de fa (f). Also [Eng.] F-clef; [Fr.] clef de fa (f); [Ger.] F-Schlüssel (m); [It.] chiave di basso (f). The F clef, the clef that locates f (below middle C on the fourth line).
Great Staff [Eng.] This is a theoretical combination of eleven lines that encompass the bass clef and treble clef staves with the common line between them designating middle C. This Great Staff can also display the third clef (C clef). Today, most identify the Great Staff with just the bass clef and treble clef with no common line between them and no C clef. There is more space between the staves with the line and the C clef notation being implied.
Middle C [Eng.] The name given to the note that has the pitch value of 261.63 Hz. It is the note on the ledger line halfway between the bass and treble clef on the great staff.
Ledger lines [Eng.] The short, horizontal lines added to the top or the bottom of a staff for the reception of notes too high or too low to be represented on the staff proper.
Hertz [Eng.] The unit in which the frequency of a note is measured. One hertz is one cycle per second.
Treble clef [Eng.]; [Fr.] clé d'ut de sol (f); [Ger.] Violinschlüssel (m); [It.] chiave di violino (f); [Sp.] clave de sol (f). A symbol located at the beginning of a staff to indicate the pitches of the notes placed on the lines and spaces of the staff. The treble clef is also called the "G clef" because the symbol at the beginning of the staff (a stylized letter "G") encircles the second line of the staff, indicating that that line is the g1 (or g above middle C).
Texture [Eng.] Term which refers to the vertical structure of a composition. That is to say, how many parts or voices there are, what the configuration (close, open, etc.) of the voices is, how the voices interact, etc.
Tuning [Eng.] The adjustment of the pitch of an instrument. Also, the set pitches to which an instrument is tuned.
Soundboard [Eng.] The thin, wooden sheet in a stringed instrument usually made of spruce or a similar wood, which serves to enhance the volume and tone of the instrument.
Soundhole [Eng.] A hole in the soundboard of a stringed instrument that enhances the volume and tone of the instrument.
Machine head [Eng.] A pegbox that uses a series of worm gears used to control the tension of the strings on a stringed instrument. These devices have been in use since the 18th century on especially the guitar and double bass.
Pegbox [Eng.] The location on stringed instruments into which the tuning pegs are inserted. This is where the player adjusts the tension of the strings to control its pitch. Typically, the tuning pegs are inserted into the sides of the pegbox as with the violin family. Some string instruments, such as ukeleles and some banjos, where the tuning pegs are inserted into the pegbox on a right angle to the fingerboard use the term pegdisc or pegboard. The system that uses worm gears instead of a tuning peg is called a machine head.
Neck [Eng.] The part of a guitar, violin, lute, or other related instrument that extends from the pegbox to the body of the instrument and upon which the fingerboard is found.
Fingerboard [Eng.]; [Fr.] touche; [Ger.] Griffbrett; [It.] tastiera. The part of the neck of a stringed instrument where the fingers of the left hand stop the strings.
Fret [Eng.] A narrow strip of wood, ivory, or metal set into the neck of some stringed instruments (such as the guitar) which mark the exact points where the string should be "stopped" to produce the notes more brilliantly and in tune.
String [Eng.]; [Fr.] Corde; [Ger.] Saite; [It.] Corda; [Sp.] Cuerda. A thinly stretched natural or artificial fiber or metal that is attached to string instruments. The string is tightened to an appropriate tension, and set into vibration by being struck, plucked, or bowed. The gut string was the most common fiber used in early instruments, however, modern instruments use strings made out of steel, nylon, and other synthetic materials.
Musician [Eng.] Any person showing a degree of ability as a performer on an instrument or voice or in composition. This person may have had formal training in music but does not necessarily need to pursue music as a vocation.
Backbeat [Eng.] A term used in American popular music to describe a continuous heavy accent on beats 2 and 4 in jazz and rock and roll music.
Rock music [Eng.] Popular music of the late 20th century, especially among the younger population. Rock music originated in the 1950's in America, but swiftly became popular in Europe and throughout the world. In the late sixties and seventies, many British rock composers and performers became popular in the United States as well as in Europe. This style of music is characterized by a driving backbeat, electric guitar, and vocals. Rock music has been associated in the past with youth rebellion and protesting, but has developed into a more accepted form of entertainment among most age groups.
Folk music [Eng.] A term used to describe music of the common people that has been passed on by memorization or repetition rather than by writing, and has deep roots in its own culture. Folk music has an ever-changing and varying nature, and is deeply significant to the members of the culture to which it belongs.