Music
Dictionary
NAME
FORM
A
♪adagio a musical term meaning ‘slow’.
♪altoa low female voice.
B
♪ballada song which tells a story.
♪bassoona low sounding woodwind instrument.
C
♪clefa musical sign indicating the pitch of the notes.
♪crotcheta ‘one beat’ note.
D
♪dolcea musical term meaning ‘sweetly’.
♪dueta piece of music for two performers.
E
♪echothe effect produced when a sound ‘bounces’ (reflects) off a s surface, such as a wall, back to the listener.
♪ensemblea group of performers.
F
♪fandangoa lively Spanish dance in 3-beat time.
♪fortea musical term meaning ‘loud’ or ‘strong’.
G
♪glockenspiela tuned percussion instrument with metal bars hit with a beater.
♪grave a musical term meaning ‘solemn’ and ‘slow’.
H
♪harmonicaan alternative name for a mouth organ
♪hymna religious song of prayer or praise.
I
♪interludea piece of music played in between two acts or scene of an
opera, play etc.
J
♪jazza style of popular music. All jazz has two things in common – a
strong rhythmic pulse and an element of improvisation.
K
♪kettle drumsan alternative name for the timpani, large drums found in
symphony orchestras.
L
♪Latin Americamusic from Central and South America with fast, lively rhythms.
Examples of Latin American dances are rumba, samba and tango.
♪lyricsthe words of a song.
M
♪melodya tune.
♪minima two beat notes.
N
♪nocturnea piece of music related to the night or evening.
♪notea) a single sound of definite pitch; b) a key on a keyboard;
c) a sign representing a musical sound.
O
♪octeta piece of music composed for eight players.
P
♪phrasea small section of music (‘a kind of musical sentence’). It may be
a short tune, or just part of a tune.
Q
♪quarteta group of four singers or instrumentalists, a piece of music
written for such group.
R
♪resta period of silence.
♪rhythmthe ‘beat’ or ‘pulse’ which most music has, and the way in which
combinations or beats of different lengths and accents are played.
S
♪sackbutan early type of trombone.
♪scorethe written down form of a piece of music.
♪sopranothe highest female voice.
T
♪tempoa musical term meaning ‘speed’.
♪trioa piece of music for three players.
♪tunea melody, a series of notes organised in such as way as to create a
desired musical effect.
U
♪ukulelea four-stringed plucked instrument looking like a small guitar.
♪unisontwo or more notes sounding together at the same pitch.
V
♪vivacea musical term meaning ‘lively’.
W
♪waltza dance in 3-beat time, derived from the Austrian, Landler.
♪woodblocka percussion instrument made of a hollow piece of wood which is
struck with a beater.
X
♪xylophonepercussion instrument consisting of tuned pieces of wood laid on a
frame.
Y
♪yodela type of Swiss unaccompanied outdoor singing.
Z
♪zampognaItalian bagpipes.
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