ABA Form

Also known as Ternary form, ABA refers to a piece of music composed of two distinct sections: A section is followed by B section, A section returns and closes the work

Andante

Moderately slow

Andantino

A little faster and brighter than andante

Cadenza

From cadence, a cadenza is the improvised or written-out virtuoso passage played by a soloist during a concerto, often without orchestral accompaniment and generally in the first and last movements of a concerto.

Canon

A compositional technique in which a melody is imitated after an interval

Chromaticism

Literally, movement by half-steps; also refers to the introduction of chromatically altered pitches that do not belong in the key of the piece

Cimbalom

A large concert dulcimer originating in Hungary and played with small hammers rather than plucked or strummed

Coda

A musical section used to wrap-up thematic material at the conclusion of a piece or movement

Contrary Motion

Type of melodic motion in which two voices or parts move in opposite directions

Counterpoint

A compositional technique in which the voices or parts are conceived as independent lines performed simultaneously

Cross rhythm

The simultaneous use of conflicting rhythmic patterns

Development Section

The second section of Sonata form: the development section immediately follows the exposition and usually incorporates previously heard thematic material through a series of modulations creating a sense of tonal ambiguity

Dotted rhythm

A dotted note is a note with a small dot written after it indicating that the dot increases the duration of the note by half of its original value. Dotted rhythm is a repeated pattern of these crisp long-short notes

Double-dot

Use of two dots after a note prolonging it by three-quarters of its original length

Episode

Typically used to describe a secondary passage in a fugue, an Episode may also refer to a section of music containing thematic material of secondary importance

Exposition Section

In Sonata form, the opening section, usually consisting of the principal melodic materials that will be heard throughout the work

Fugue

Compositional technique in which two or more voices repeatedly imitate a short melody called the subject or theme

Hornpipe

An animated dance of British origin usually in 3-beat time, popular from the 16th-19th centuries, resembling the jig

Intermezzo

Lighthearted theatrical musical interlude between acts or scenes of an opera or play; also a movement of such character in instrumental music

Inversion

1) the rearrangement of the notes in a chord so that the lowest note is not the root of the chord; 2) turning a melody upside down

Largo e piano

very slow and quiet

Lebhaft

Lively, brisk

Leggiero

Literally, light, or to play as lightly as possible

Marcato

A variation on staccato (“short”) articulation, marcato indicates to play short with slight elongation or emphasis

Melisma

Originating in Gregorian chant, a technique of singing a group of notes for one syllable of text

Motive, Motif

The shortest melodic and/or rhythmic figure that is intelligible and self-existent; motives are derivative of themes and may be as short as two notes

Obbligato

An independent accompanying melodic part to the main melody; also known as a countermelody

Pedal Point

In harmony, a long sustained note usually occurring in the bass with changing harmonies above it

Pizzicato

A technique by which the strings are plucked rather than bowed

Polytonal

The simultaneous use of two or more independent keys

Recapitulation

The last section of Sonata form, following the exposition and development, in which the initial thematic material is repeated, more or less in its original form

Recitative

Declamatory vocal style of speech-like, free rhythmic form to represent dialogue in contrast to the sung style of arias

Rondo

A compositional style in which one section intermittently returns between contrasting sections;

e.g., ABACAD, A being the recurring theme; also known as the refrain theme

Semi-Tone, Half Tone

In Western music, the smallest interval between two notes

Sequence

The repetition of a short musical passage at a higher or lower pitch, or in the case of a harmonic sequence, in a series of chords

Sforzando

Musical indication that a note or chord is accented or played in a forceful manner

Sonata Form

At its most basic, a type of music construction prominent in the Classical and Romantic periods, typically consisting of three sections—Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation, occasionally followed by a coda

staccato

Form of musical articulation, signifying an unconnected note, which is separated or detached from its neighbors by a silence.

Stretto

In a fugue, the imitation of the subject theme in close succession

Strophic

A simple song form in which the same music accompanies each stanza, occasionally with minor variations

Sul ponticello

‘On the bridge’: instruction to bow close to the bridge to produce a thin, glassy sound

Syncopation

Rhythmic device that gives the feeling of lively and irregular rhythm by changing the emphasis from strong beats to weak beats

Tarantella

A Neapolitan dance in 6/8 time

Tonic

The first scale note of a key and its tonal center

Tremolo

A musical effect of shaking or trembling created by rapid back-and-forth bow strokes or rapid alternation of two notes

Trill

An ornamentation of a more or less rapid alternation of a note with the note or semitone above or below it