Music Glossary
TEMPO OR SPEED OF MUSIC
Accelerando: Italian for "accelerating." To grow faster and faster
Adagio: At first translated as comfortable, at one's ease, without hurrying, adagio has come to be
accepted as the slowest tempo. Adagio is also used as a noun to designate a slow movement or work.
Andante": Italian for "going." To play a piece at a moderate speed -- not too fast, not too slow
Beat: The regular rhythmic pattern of music. Time is counted in music by using beats.
Grave: Italian for "slow and serious"
Largo: When someone plays music slowly, they are playing largo
Presto: When someone is playing an instrument very quick and fast, they are playing presto
Rallentando: A gradual slowing of the tempo
Rhythm: The pattern of musical movement through time formed by a series of notes differing in duration and stress
Syncopation: Sudden changes in the rhythm of a piece of music, in what notes are accented, and in the value of notes produces syncopation. It often sounds like the music has been cut short and then started again.
Vivace: Italian for full of life. A lively tempo. Composers often used the term to designate a mood rather than a tempo, such as a more vivacious approach to the performance.
STYLE
Accent: When you are playing music, to accent a note is to make it stand out from other notes by playing it differently
Legato: To play notes smoothly, without stopping between notes
Solo: A piece of music (part of a composition or a whole composition) written for a single voice or instrument
Staccato: A direction in musical composition telling musicians to play short, sharp, disconnected notes
Vibrato: A change in the tone of a certain pitch so that it sounds warmer and fuller
NOTES OR PITCHES
Chord: When three or more notes are played at the same time
Dissonance: A harsh or disagreeable combination of sounds, or a combination of sounds that creates a feeling of tension needing to be resolved
Clef: A sign put at the start of each line of a piece of music. The clef tells you what pitch the notes on the stave (staff) are in.
Harmony: A combination of pitches sounding together, such as a chord. The relationship between a series of chords.
Interval: The difference between two pitches. For example, pitches that are two steps apart are called seconds. There are three different kinds of intervals: major, minor, and perfect. Seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths exist as both major and minor intervals, the minor intervals being a half step smaller than the major ones.
Key: The tonality, or scale on which a piece of music is based. The key gets its name from the first note of the scale. The name for a lever that is pressed to play or control pitches on some instruments.
Melody: Notes that are played one after the other to make a tune (a melody)
Note: A musical sound or the symbol used to write it down
Scale: A series of notes played one after the other, either from the lowest note to the highest note or from the highest note to the lowest note. There are many different scales.
Unison: Multiple performers playing or singing notes on the same pitch or in octaves
CONDUCTING INFORMATION
Conductor: The person who makes sure that everyone in the orchestra or choir is playing or singing the right thing, in the right way, at the right time. They stand in front of the orchestra and direct them when they play each song.
Downbeat: When the conductor moves his baton down to show that notes to accent
Score: A copy of a piece of music that has the parts for all the instruments on it. This is what the conductor looks at.
VOLUME OF MUSIC
Decrescendo: Italian for "growing softer”
Diminuendo: Play softer
Dynamics: How loudly or softly to play a piece of music
Forte: Italian for “loud”
Fortepiano: The ancestor of today's piano. The name comes from the fact that a player could play both loud (forte) and soft (piano).
Fortissimo: Italian for "very loud”