Glossary of Musical Terms and Explanation of Program Page Symbols and Abbreviations

Aleatoric music Compositions in which factors such as pitch, duration, rhythms, dynamics, order of events, etc., are not, or not completely, specified by the composer. Also called chance music or indeterminate music.

Adagio (It., slow, at leisure) Slow tempo between andante and largo, or, as used by certain 18th and 19th - century writers, the slowest tempo. A slow movement.

Allegro (It, merry, lively) Fast tempo. A movement in a fast or moderately fast speed, often the first movement of a sonata or symphony.

Allegretto Slightly less fast than allegro, often of lighter texture or character.

Andante (It., walking) Moderately slow tempo, between allegro and' adagio. A movement of moderately slow tempo.
Arco Played by drawing the bow across the strings.

Aria Elaborate solo song found mainly in opera, oratorio, and cantata. Three typical types: strophic (same music repeated for all verses), ostinato (lengthy melodic line over repeated pattern in the bass), and da capo (A-B-A form).

Arpeggio A chord whose pitches are sounded in succession rather than simultaneously.

Atoncility Avoidance of centering around a specified note or key area.

Autograph Manuscript of a musical work in the composer's own hand.

Bar Vertical line through a musical staff dividing it into measures. A measure.
Baroque Period in Western music extending from the end of the 16th century to ca. 1750. Neo-Baroque signifies a return to the style traits of the period.

Beat Unit of musical time.

Binary form Two-part form containing two parts, each repeated, often found in Baroque dance movements or sonata movements.

Cadence Melodic and/or harmonic formula concluding a musical phrase, section, or piece. Common final cadence-dominant to tonic.

Cadenzca Elaborate passage for the soloist(s) interpolated usually near the end of a movement, often not written out by the composer, but left to the performer to improvise.

Canon Exact imitation of the melody in one voice by another, continued for more than one phrase. Best-known example: a round.

Cantabile Songlike, singable.

Cantata Choral or solo vocal form developed in the Baroque period based on secular or religious text, generally with several movements and instrumental ensemble accompaniment.

Chance music See Aleatoric. music.

Chord Three or more notes played simultaneously.

Chromaticism Use of notes not in the basic scale of a composition or passage. Harmonic style frequently using such notes.

Classical 1) In Western music, the period or style beginning tentatively in Italy in the early i8th century, extending through the early 18th century. Also called Classic. 2) In popular usage, "art" or "serious" music as opposed to "popular." 3) In general usage, the GrecoRoman tradition, or basic characteristics of balance, simplicity, and proportion, or standard of excellence. Neo-Classical refers to a return to the style characteristics of the period.

Coda Concluding section of a composition, particularly of a fugue or movement of a sonata or symphony.
Concertmaster Head of the first violin section of an orchestra and often the person in authority next to the conductor.

Concerto Work for one or more solo instruments accompanied by orchestra, often in three movements.

Concerto grosso Baroque concerto contrasting small group of soloists (concertina) against small orchestra (ripieno).

Continuo Baroque practice in which the bass line is played by a low melodic instrument (cello, viol, bassoon) while a keyboard instrument (organ, harpsichord) plays the bass line adding chords above as indicated by numeric figures (figured bass). Also called basso continuo.

Counterpoint, Contrapuntal Texture in which two or more melodic voices proceed simultaneously and relatively independently.

Crescendo Increase in volume. 

Cross-rhythm Rhythmic pattern that fundamentally contradicts the prevailing meter.

Development 1) Growth of a musical idea through change or transformation. 2.) Second section, in a sonata form.

Diminuendo Gradual decrease in volume.

Divertimento Instrumental composition of the late 18th century and later, in many movements, usually in a light entertaining style, often containing dance movements.

Divisi Division of a string section that usually plays the same part, e.g., violas, into multiple parts, e.g., viola 1 and viola 2.

Dominant Fifth note of the scale. In harmonic practice, the chord based on that note.

Dotted rhythm Uneven rhythm - usually long - short-produced when a note (notated with a dot) is succeeded by another of one third the value of the first note.

Double stop Two strings played simultaneously on a stringed instrument.

Exposition First section of a sonata-form movement or fugue, presenting main material.

Finale Last movement of a sonata or any of the related forms, i.e., symphony, quartet, etc.

Fugue, Fugal Contrapuntal composition based on the development of a short theme or subject in imitation.

Glissando Sliding movement from one pitch to another, sounding all pitches in-between.

Hemiola Shift of the pervading metric pulse from a division of three to a division of two, or vice versa.

Imitation Closely following repetition of a melody or phrase by different voices; called "strict" if exact, 'free' if slightly changed 

Indeterminacy See Aleatoric music.

Interval Musical and mathematical distance between two notes, measured by scale degrees or steps.

Key Pitch relationships that establish a tone as tonal center or tonic. The key of a work is typically classified as major or minor depending on the scale from which the notes are drawn. A work said to be in one key can contain passages in other keys. 

Largo (it., broad, large) Very slow tempo. Considered the slowest tempo by some theorists, others place it between andante and adagio. A movement of very slow speed.

Measure Rhythmic unit of time made up of beats, set off in written music by bar lines.

Meter Pattern in which a succession of rhythmic pulses is organized.

Minuet Dance of the Baroque and Classical periods in triple meter and moderate tempo; often, with trio, used as third movement of Classical symphony.

Modality, Modal Centering of music around Medieval or Renaissance system of scales, of which major and minor are only two. Often used to describe non-Western or folk music.

Modulation Harmonic motion from one key or tonic to another in a composition.

Motive Smallest unit of a musical idea. Longer units are described as phrases or themes.

Movement A complete and relatively independent part of a large composition. In modern concert etiquette, audience members applaud only at the end of a work, not after individual movements. (In previous centuries this was not so!)

Opera Drama that is primarily sung, accompanied by instrumental ensemble, and staged.

Opera buffa Comic opera

Opus (abbreviated "op.") Literally "work," used to indicate the chronological publication number of a composition within a composer's output. Opus numbers can be unreliable for the actual order in which compositions were written.

Ostinato Short melodic or rhythmic ' figure persistently repeated throughout a composition or section, often in the bass.

Overture Instrumental composition intended to introduce an opera or other dramatic vocal work, or instrumental suite. Since the 19th century, a composition similar to a dramatic overture, but intended for independent concert performance.

Pedal, Pedal Point Aside from the levers operated by foot on a piano or organ, a sustained tone in the lowest register, occurring under changing harmonies in the upper parts.

Perpetuum mobile Continuous rhythmic motion, employing a consistent note value, that proceeds rapidly without pause for an entire section or movement. 

Phrase Musical unit of one or more motives, corresponding to a sentence in speech, or a line of poetry.

Pizzicato Played by plucking the string.

Polyphony Many-voiced texture; also a specific texture of independent contrapuntal voices.

Presto (It., very fast) Faster than allegro. Prestissimo-as fast as possible.

Program music, Programmatic Instrumental music associated with non-musical ideas often inspired by nature, art, or literature.

Recapitulation 1) Thematic restatement. 2) Third section in a sonata form.

Recitative Declamatory style of singing, used particularly in opera, oratorio, and cantata, with a minimum of musical structure. 

Romantic Period in Western music usually considered to have extended from the early 19th century up to the modernist innovations of the early 20th century; often subdivided about 1850. Neo-Romantic denotes a return to style traits of the period.

Rondo Form prominent in the Classical period in which a main theme, in the tonic key, alternates with contrasting episodes in other keys; frequently used for last movements.

Scale Arrangement of pitches, described from lowest to highest or highest to lowest, on which tonal organization is based. 

Scherzo Movement of a sonata, symphony, or quartet that replaced the minuet in the 18th century, or an independent composition; usually written in a light rapid style often with contrasting trio.

Scordatura Unconventional tuning of a stringed instrument. 

Score Musical notation showing all parts arranged one underneath the other.

Serial, Serialism Composition technique arranging pitches, duration, intensity, timbre, etc., so that they always appear in predetermined order; usually associated with twelve-tone system.

Sonata Composition for one or more instruments, usually in several movements; takes on different forms in different style periods.

Sonata form Common structure that presents musical ideas through exposition, development, and recapitulation (often preceded by an introduction and followed by a coda), within a harmonic scheme: tonic (home) key, excursions to other keys, return to tonic.

Step 1) A scale degree. 2) The distance between neighboring scale degrees, either a whole tone or sernitone (half step).

Stretto Piling up of fugal entries so that voices enter before the previous voice has completed its statement.

Subject Musical theme.

Suite Instrumental composition consisting of several movements in dance character, usually in the same key. Later suites are often extracts from an opera or ballet. 

Suspension Sustained or "heldover" note of a chord that becomes dissonant when other voices of the chord move to a new harmony, usually resolved down a step or half step.

Symphony In the broadest sense, an orchestral composition, often consisting of four movements. 

Symphonic poem See tone poem.

Syncopation Displacement of the normal accent by transferring it from a strong to a weak beat. 

Tempo Speed at which a composition is performed. Common tempo markings from slow to fast: Largo, Lento, Adagio, Andante, Allegretto, Allegro, Vivace, Presto, Prestissimo.

Ternary form Composition or movement in three sections following the pattern A-B-A. Also called song form.

Text painting See word painting. 

Theme Musical idea, often a melody, serving as the basis for a composition or section thereof. 

Theme and variations Form in which a self-contained musical unit is presented and then followed by a series of modifications of the original material.

Third-related juxtaposed keys or tonalities distant from one another by the interval of a major or minor third-for example, C major and E major.

Tonality, Tonal Centering of music around one note or key.

Tone poem Programmatic orchestral composition in one movement. Also called a symphonic poem.

Tonic First or home note of a scale; key note.

Triad Chord made up of three tones: one (root), with two others in the intervals of a third and a fifth above. 

Trio (1) Composition in three voices. (2) Composition for three performers. (3) Second section in a symphony or sonata minuet or scherzo movement, followed by a repetition of the minuet or scherzo.

Twelve-tone music 20th-century system of composition in which a certain order of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale, and derivations of that order, are systematically followed throughout a work. 

Variation 1) Technique of altering or elaborating a musical motive, phrase, or section. 2) Section employing this technique. 

Vivace (It., lively) Used separately to indicate a tempo equivalent to allegro or faster, but often used with allegro: Allegro vivace. 

Whole-tone scale Scale made up only of whole-step intervals, i.e., intervals spanning two half steps. The octave is divided into six such intervals' Its perfectly symmetrical nature erases traditional scale degree functions in a harmonic system, thus it is often employed to evoke drifting or floating sensations.

Word painting Musical depiction of word or line of text in a vocal piece.

CATALOGUER ABBREVIATIONS
Many works carry an identifying opus number (see Opus above), others a cataloguer's number. Common cataloguers are abbreviated:

BVIV Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis or Bach works catalog, for the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Some publications employ 'S." numbers, which stands for Schmieder, author of the Bach works catalog. 

D. Deutsch, cataloguer of Schubert's works.

G. Gérard, cataloguer of Boccherini's works.

Hob. Hoboken, cataloguer of Haydn's works.

J. Johns, cataloguer of Weber's works

K. Kirkpatrick, cataloguer of Domenico Scarlatti's works. Scarlatti's works also bear "L.' (Longo) numbers and "P." (Pestelli) numbers.

K. Köchel, cataloguer of Mozart's works. "K. Anh" stands for works in K6chel's addendum (Anbang) to the main catalog. K6chel's name has been retained as author of the catalog, though other scholars have revised it. First published in 1862, the catalog is in its sixth edition-known as K⁶-published in 1964. Aspen Music Festival programs give K⁶ numbers, which are often the same as the traditional catalog numbers. When the number has been revised, the, K6 number is given first, followed by the traditional number in parentheses.

RV Ryom Verzeicbnis, or Ryom catalog, for Vivaldi's works. Vivaidi's works also bear F. (Fanna) numbers and P. (Pincherle) numbers.

S. Searle, cataloguer of Liszt's works. Liszt's works also bear "R." (Raabe) numbers.

Sz. Szollosy, cataloguer of Bartok's works.

W. Wotquenne, cataloguer of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's works. H. numbers, based on Helm's newer catalog, may eventually be used instead of W. numbers.