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Musical Terms
A list of technical musical terms and the correct definition
| Musical Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Accelerando | Increase of speed in music |
| Accent | Stress of one tone over others, making it stand out |
| Accompaniment | Music that goes along with a more important part |
| Adagio | Slow, leisurely |
| Allegretto | Moderately fast, lively. Faster than Andante, slower than allegro |
| Allegro | Lively, brisk, rapid |
| Andante | Moderately slow, a walking speed |
| Baroque | Relating to the period from about 1600 - 1750, characterized by grandeur and heavy elaboration of design in music |
| Binary Form | the structure of a musical composition consisting of two main sections |
| Cadence | Closing of a phrase or section of music |
| Cantata | A short lyric form dealing with secular or sacred subjects |
| Chord | Three or more tones combined and sounded simultaneously |
| Classical | Referring to that period from approximately 1750 - 1800, characterized musically by objectivity of the composer, emotional restraint, and simple harmonies |
| Consonance | A simultaneious sounding of tones that produces a feeling of rest |
| Crescendo | Gradually growing louder |
| Da Capo | From the beginning |
| Diminuendo | Gradually growing softer |
| Dissonance | A simultaneous sounding of tones that produces a feeling of tension or unrest and a feeling that further resolution is needed |
| Dolce | Sweetly, softly |
| Dynamics | Varying intensities of sound throughout a given musical composition |
| Espressione | Expressively |
| Fermata | A pause, stop, or interruption |
| Fine | The end of a musical piece |
| Forte | Loud, strong |
| Fortissimo | Very loud |
| Grave | Heavy, slow, pondereous in movement |
| Gusto | In good taste, tasteful |
| Harmony | The sound resulting from the simultaneous sounding of two or more tones consonant with each other |
| Interval | The distance between two tones |
| Istesso Tempo | The same tempo |
| Legato | Smooth, flowing |
| Largo | Large, broad, slow and stately |
| Legato | Smooth and connected |
| Lento | Slow |
| Melody | An arrangement of single tones in a meaningful sequence |
| Maestoso | Majestic, dignified |
| Meno | Less |
| Mezzo Forte | Moderately loud |
| Mezzo Piano | Moderately soft |
| Molto, Molta | Much |
| Obbligato | Required, indispensable |
| Ostinato | A repeated melodic or rhythmic fragment |
| Piano | Softly |
| Pianissimo | Very soft |
| Presto | Fast |
| Phrase | A section of a composition comprising a musical thought |
| Polyphonic | Two or more melodies sound simultaneously |
| Polyrhythms | Two or more keys are used simultaneously |
| Ritardando | Gradually slower |
| Retrograde | melody is played backwards |
| Romantic | 19th century musical period characterized by subjectivity on the part of the composer, emotionalism in music, longer musical forms, and richer harmonies |
| Root | The tone of the scale upon which a chord is built |
| Root Position | The postion of a chord in which the root appears as the lowest tone |
| Rubato | a modification of the strict rhythmical flow |
| Scale | A series of tones in a specified order |
| Scherzo | A sprightly movement |
| Sforzando | Explosively |
| Slur | two or more notes executed in a smoothly connected manner without a break |
| Sostenuto | Sustained |
| Spirito | Spiritedly |
| Staccato | Sounded in a short, detached manner |
| Syncopation | The rhythmic result produced when a regularly accented beat is displaced onto an unaccented beat |
| Tempo | The rate of speed at which a musical compostion is performed |
| Theme | A short musical passage that states an idea |
| Timbre | The quality of a musical tone |
| Tone | 1. A musical sound 2. The quality of a musical sound |
| Tutto, Tutta | All, whole |
| Vivace | Spirited, bright, rapid, equalling or exceeding allegro |