HIGH FREQUENCY VOCABULARY AND DEFINITIONS

4th Grade

WORD / DEFINITION
Adagio / Slow tempo
Allegro / Fast tempo
Analyze / To examine
Bassoon / Double reed instrument in the woodwind family
Canon / Two or more groups perform the same song starting at different times
Crescendo (cresc.) / Gradually getting louder
Decrescendo (decresc.) / Gradually getting softer
Descant / Harmony part written higher than the melody
Do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-ti-do’ / Melodic pattern stepping upward
Dotted half note / .; in 4/4 time, receives three beats
Dynamics / The loudness and softness of sound
Eighth note, eighth rest / , ; in 4/4 time, receives ½ beat
Ensemble / A group of people performing together
Flat / Musical symbol meaning to lower the sound a half step
Forte (f) / Loud
Fortissimo (ff) / Very loud
Glockenspiel / Instrument with small metal bars in the percussion family
Half note, half rest / ; in 4/4 time, receives two beats
Half step / On a keyboard, two keys side-by-side with no keys in between, i.e., Mi-Fa, Ti-Do
Interlude / A section of music between sections
Jazz / American musical style started in New Orleans, using improvisation and syncopation
Legato / Long; connected
Melodic contour / Shape of the phrase
Mezzo forte (mf) / Medium loud
Mezzo piano (mp) / Medium soft
Moderato / Medium tempo
Motive / A musical theme
Pianissimo (pp) / Very soft
Piano (p) / Soft
Pizzicato / Plucking a string
Quarter note, quarter rest / , ; in 4/4 time, receives one beat
Quartet / Four people performing together
Rondo / A classical form that includes two or more episodes (B and C) and a recurring theme (A) so that the resulting form might be ABACA
Sharp / Musical symbol meaning to raise the sound a half step
Sixteenth note, sixteenth rest / , ; in 4/4 time, receives ¼ beat
Staccato / Short; detached
String bass / Largest instrument in the string department
Style / Distinctive type of music
Syncopation / Rhythm pattern in which important tones are placed on weak beats or weak parts of beats
Tempo / The speed of the beat in music
Theme / A recurring musical idea that occurs several times in a piece of music
Timpani / Large tunable drums in the percussion family; kettledrums
Tuba / Largest instrument in the brass family
Unison / All performing the same notes together
Variation / Modification or changes made in a theme
Viola / Middle-voiced instrument in the string family
Whole note, whole rest / ; in 4/4 time, receives four beats
Whole step / On a keyboard, the distance between any two keys with a single key between, i.e., Do-Re, Re-Mi, Fa-Sol, Sol-La, La-Ti

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06/20/2008