Glossary of Musical Terms

accompaniment:  a musical part that supports a melody line

baton:  the thin stick that a conductor uses to lead a musical group

beat:  the main accent or rhythmic unit in a measure of music, usually the strongest accent is on beat one of a measure

cadenza:  an elaborate and highly virtuosic solo line that features the solo performer, often found at the end of a concerto or near the end of arias where the soloist can show off their skills

chord:  a group of three or more notes played at the same time

composer:  a person who writes music 

concertmaster:  the head of the first violin section in the orchestra, helps to lead the orchestra

conductor:  the person who leads a musical group

countermelodies:  a secondary melody played at the same time as a main melody

melody:  a consecutive, sequence of notes that is the principal part of a piece of music, the part you can hum along to or sing along with

pitch:  referring to the quality of a sound, relative pitch means the relationship of one pitch to another in highness or lowness, absolute pitch is the scientific measurement of a note based on the number of vibrations per second, such as A=440 hertz

reed:  a thin piece of material, usually wood, that vibrates to create a sound in a musical instrument such as clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon

swing:  a shift in the rhythmic accent pattern, usually shifted to beat two and four, creating a lilting feel

tune:  the correct musical pitch or the act of adjusting an instrument so it is at the correct pitch

virtuoso:  an extremely talented musician, usually displaying high levels of technical ability

waltz:  a dance written in triple meter with the accent on beat one of each measure