| b |
a note in the musical scale |
|
baby grand |
a piano that has a horizontal frame and is strung horizontally.
It is smaller than a concert grand |
| bacchanal |
a scene in opera of intoxication or debauchery |
| badinage |
a term used to describe a piece of music with a playful
mood |
|
badinerie |
a piece of music of light-hearted character. the best known badinerie is the lively last movement of
Bach's suite in b minor for flute, strings and
continuo |
|
bagatelle |
a short light or whimsical piece, usually written for
piano |
| bagpipe |
one of the oldest musical instruments. its distinctive penetrating tone comes from a reed pipe, operated by finger stops, that is sounded by air forced out of the bag through the pipe by the player's arm. the reservoir of air in the bag permits notes to be played continuously. some characteristics, for instance the source of wind supply, may vary in
bagpipes |
|
baguala |
Argentine folk music |
|
baguette |
a drumstick, or a conductor's baton |
|
bailecito |
small dance |
|
baisser |
to flatten a string |
|
balalaika |
triangular instrument, popular in Russia, having three strings tuned in
fourths. Is played, either solo or with other instruments for folk music. |
|
balg |
organ bellows |
|
ballabile |
in dance style |
|
ballad opera |
an opera consisting of spoken dialogue and popular songs-the song's lyrics are changed to fit the plot of the
opera |
| ballad |
a simple song |
| |
a narrative set to song, usually folk-styled verses with or without a
refrain |
|
ballade |
19th 20th century instrumental piece of romantic
character |
|
ballet |
a form of dance, of Italian origin, with orchestral accompaniment. it was established at the
French court in the 16-century and from there developed into a recognized
art form |
|
ballo |
dance |
| band |
a group of instrumental players, particularly when made up mainly of wind instruments and percussion, as in brass band, military band and dance
band |
|
bandola |
Colombian guitarra with 15 strings |
|
bandora |
seven pairs of metal strings |
|
bandurria |
a Spanish stringed instrument, usually with six pairs of
strings |
| banjo |
a fretted instrument which usually has five strings and is plucked with the fingers or a plectrum. used in country music and early
jazz |
| bar |
a small section of written music, marked off by a vertical line across the stave. "bar" refers either to the section, or to the vertical line marking it off. |
|
bar line |
it divides the music staff into measures |
| barber shop |
a type of close-harmony singing that began in the
U.S. in the late 19th-century. Barber shop was originally performed by an all-male quartet but today may be performed by larger groups, with or without female
singers |
| barcarolle |
a barcarolle is a boating-song, generally used to describe the boating-songs of gondoliers in
Venice, imitated by composers in songs and instrumental pieces in the 19th century.
Chopin wrote one such barcarolle for piano, and
Mendelssohn provided four shorter piano pieces of this kind. at the end of the century and in the early 20th century the
French composer Gabriel Faure wrote thirteen barcarolles. There is a particularly well known barcarolle in
Offenbach's opera the tales of Hoffmann (les Contes d'Hoffmann). |
| bard |
minstrel or poet of medieval times |
|
bariolage |
violin technique of quickly shifting between two or more strings. |
| baritone |
male voice between bass and tenor |
| |
wind instrument in the baritone range |
| baroque |
a term borrowed from architecture to describe a particular music style, similarly elaborate and heavily ornamented in
style |
|
baroque music |
music composed between 1600-1750 |
|
baroque period |
the musical era from roughly 1600 to 1750 ad., characterized by the establishment of major and minor tonality, rather than modes, and the introduction of
opera |
|
barre |
lute/guitar technique wherein the forefinger is flattened over all strings,
sharpen the entire instrument |
|
barrel organ |
a mechanical organ wherein the sound is produced within a cylindrical
chamber |
| baryton |
a type of bass viol popular in the 18th-century. Haydn wrote extensively for it because his patron, prince
Esterhazy, played it |
| bass |
the lowest of the male voice types |
| |
the lowest of any family of instruments |
|
bass bar |
a bar glued on the inside under the g string to aid in supporting the bridge, and to equalize
vibrations |
|
bass clef |
the f clef indicating the fourth line of the staff. used in combination with the treble clef to make the grand
staff |
|
bass viol |
a bowed string instrument like the cello. it was the principal member of the viol
family |
| bassa |
play an octave lower than written |
| bass-baritone |
a bass-baritone is a male singer with a range that includes both bass and baritone registers, described by
Wagner, who wrote for this kind of voice, as a high bass |
|
basset horn |
tenor clarinet |
|
basso continuo |
figured bass commonly used in music of the baroque period. it was the normal practice to make use of a bass instrument of some kind, for example a cello or bass viola da gamba and a chordal instrument, a keyboard instrument or plucked string instrument, the part of the latter indicated by numbers added to the music for the bass instrument, showing the chords as a basis for improvised accompaniment or 'filling in' and embellishing of
harmonies |
| bassoon |
the bassoon is a double-reed wind instrument. It is the bass of the woodwind section in the modern orchestra, which can be augmented by the use of a double bassoon of lower
range |
|
baton |
a slender rod that the conductor uses to instruct the orchestra.
The French refer to it as a baguette |
| battaglia |
a composition that imitates the sounds and feel of battle, and martial
music |
|
battement |
any ornament of two adjacent notes |
|
batterie |
percussion family. drum roll. playing the guitar by striking the
strings |
|
battuta |
beat. in strict time. downbeat |
|
baudurria |
instrument of the guitar family |
| be |
the flat sign |
| beat |
the beat or pulse in a piece of music is the regular rhythmic pattern of the music. each bar should start with a strong beat and each bar should end with a weak beat. these may be known as the down-beat (strong, at the beginning of a bar) and the up-beat (weak, at the end of a bar). up and down describe the gestures of a conductor, whose preparatory up-beat is of even greater importance to players than his
down-beat |
| bebop |
refers to the style of jazz pioneered by alto saxophonist
Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Thelonius Monk and others during the early
1940's. The word bebop is an onomatopoeia which describes quick staccato rhythms that often appeared in its melodies. "bebop" is sometimes called "bop" for
short |
|
bec |
mouthpiece of recorder or clarinet |
|
becarre |
the natural sign |
|
bedachtig |
deliberate |
|
begleitung |
accompaniment |
|
behaglich |
with ease, grace |
|
behende |
quickly and gracefully |
| beisser |
mordent |
|
bel canto |
used to describe any fine voice. It was used in the 18th and early 19th-century to describe the singing popular in
Italian operas |
| bel |
logarithmic unit for measuring intensity of sound |
| belebend |
brisk, animated |
| bell |
shaped opening of wind instrument. percussion instrument sounded by moving a clapper inside or by being struck on the
outside |
|
bell-lyra |
glockenspiel |
| bells |
glockenspiel or chimes in the orchestra |
| belly |
the top of the sound box of violins, lutes, etc |
|
bemol |
the flat sign |
|
ben marcato |
well-marked |
|
ben, bene |
well |
| bequadro |
a natural sign |
|
berceuse |
a cradle-song or lullaby, in lilting triple or compound time. the most famous example of the use of this title is by
Chopin, who wrote one berceuse, followed by
Liszt |
|
bergamasca |
rustic dance |
|
bergamesque |
lively 16th and 17th-century peasant dance from
Bergamo, Italy |
|
bergerette |
rustic or pastoral song |
|
beruhigt |
calm |
|
beschleunigt |
accelerando |
|
bestimmt |
with decision |
|
betont |
stressed |
|
bewegt |
is used as a tempo indication meaning something the same as the
Italian 'agitato', although massig bewegt is used as the equivalent of allegro
moderato |
|
binary form |
a two-part song form consisting of an initial section, which is then followed by a contrasting section. (ab), see song
forms |
| binary |
in two sections. music in a binary form was popular in dances of the baroque
period |
| bind |
tie |
|
bis |
twice, repeated. encore request |
|
bisbigliando |
harp technique wherein a tremolo effect is produced by quick repeated finger
action |
|
biscroma |
32nd note |
|
bisdiapason |
interval of two octaves |
|
bitonal |
the use of two different keys, or tonic centers at the same
time |
| bitonality |
using two keys simultaneously. Bitonality originated from the use of modes rather than normal scales.
Common in pre-baroque, folk-derived, and more modern music |
|
block harmony |
series of similar chords |
|
blockflote |
recorder |
| blues |
a type of slow, melancholy, rhythmic song, which originated in black folk music.
Classical composers such as Ravel and
Gershwin were influenced by blues, which is still popular today |
|
bluette |
spark |
|
bocca |
mouthpiece of brass instrument |
|
bocca chiusa |
indicates a wordless humming, with the mouth closed and teeth slightly
parted; used especially in modern choral music |
| body |
resonating box of stringed instrument. the major tube of a wind
instrument |
|
bogen |
bow, slur, or tie |
|
bois |
woodwinds |
|
boit a musique |
music box |
|
bolero |
a Spanish dance that is usually performed by pairs of dancers who accompany themselves with castanets and voices.
Ravel's orchestral Bolero is for ballet, not for dancing a real bolero |
|
bombarda |
bass range oboe. organ stop |
| bongo |
a small drum struck with the fingers, used particularly in latin-american dance
bands |
|
boobam |
modern percussion instrument made of bamboo |
|
boogie woogie |
specific type of blues, usually upbeat and realized on
piano |
| bop |
jazz with solo improvisations, see also bebop |
|
bordun |
see bourdon |
|
borrowed chord |
use of a chord in a key in which it is not diatonic, or the substitution of a chord from a different key into a
work |
|
bouche |
mouth |
|
bouche fermee |
with closed mouth |
|
bouffe |
used in opera Bouffe, meaning comic opera |
|
bourdon |
large organ pipes. lowest drone on hurdy-gurdy |
|
bouree |
a duple-rhythm French dance sometimes found in the baroque dance suite, where it was later placed after the sarabande, with other lighter additional
dances |
|
boutade |
capricious dance or instrumental piece in similar
style |
| bouts |
in the violin and guitar families, the curves in the sides of the instrument, especially the c-shaped inward curves that form the
waist |
| bow |
a stick with horsehair stretched across it, used to play the strings of the violin and other string
instruments. "to bow" means to play with the bow |
|
bowed harp |
harps from northern Europe |
| bowing |
the use of a bow |
| brace |
curly bracket connecting two or more staves |
|
braille music notation |
a system of indicating music with raised dots, such that it might be read by the blind. |
| brass |
the brass section of the orchestra includes metal instruments where the sound is produced by forcing air through a cup-shaped or conical mouthpiece. the brass section usually consists of trumpets, trombones and tuba and
French horns |
|
bratsche |
viola |
|
brautlied |
wedding song |
|
bravo |
excellent |
|
bravura |
describes a musical performance that displays a bold and an extraordinary display of technique. it was commonly used in the 18th-century to describe the aria di bravura, which required a great degree of technical skill from the
singer |
|
breath mark |
it looks like a comma at the top of the staff. it means, take a
breath |
|
breit |
largo |
|
breve |
originally the standard musical note, but has come to be the longest. this is because longer notes have fallen out of use and shorter ones have been introduced. the time value of the breve is equivalent to two semibreves |
| bridge |
the piece of wood on a string instrument, such as the violin or guitar, which both supports the strings and transmits their vibrations to the body of the instrument. it also refers to a short section that links together two important sections of a large-scale symphony, or similar
work |
|
bridge passage |
a secondary passage using to connect two themes. modulation is common in bridge
passages |
|
brillante |
brilliant, showy |
| brilliant |
instruction to a player to play with great verve and vivacity. |
|
brindisi |
drinking song |
| brio |
vigor, life, spirit |
|
brioso |
with vigor |
|
brise |
turn. In violin, detached bowing |
|
broderie |
coloratura |
|
broken chord |
a chord in which notes are played one after the other, rather than at the same
time |
|
broken octaves |
octaves in which the components are sounded in
succession |
|
brumeux |
misty |
|
brummeisen |
Jew's harp |
|
brummstimmen |
with closed mouth |
|
brunette |
French popular song |
|
bruscamente |
roughly, brusquely |
|
bruststimme |
chest voice |
|
buccina |
roman brass instrument |
|
buchstabenschrift |
letter notation |
|
buffa |
used in opera to describe comic parts. also used in opera
Buffa, meaning 'comic opera' |
|
buffet |
organ case |
| buffo |
used in opera to describe comic parts. also used in opera
Buffa, meaning 'comic opera' |
| bugle |
brass instrument used by armies to signal military movements. perhaps originally a hunting horn. alto and brass versions of the ophicleide are known as 'keyed
bugles' |
| burden |
refrain. drone of bagpipe |
|
burla |
jest, in jest |
| burlesque |
a humorous, playful form of entertainment, usually involving exaggeration or a
parody |
|
burletta |
an old-fashioned term for a light operatic comedy, or musical farce. it was popular in the late 18th and early
19th-centuries |
|
burrasca |
composition depicting a storm |
|
buysine, buzine |
medieval trumpet |
|
buhne |
stage |
|
byzantine music |
liturgal chant music of the eastern orthodox church.
it is named after the ancient city of Byzantium, which is now
Istanbul |
