| c |
first tone of the c scale |
|
c clef |
a clef that indicates which line represents c on a staff, as opposed to a
'g clef', or an 'f clef' |
| c.a |
abbr. for col arco (with bow) |
|
c.b |
abbr. for col basso |
|
cabaletta |
short operatic song in the popular style |
|
cabalistic numerological symbolism |
a method of imbedding hidden messages in music, by using a code of numbers based on which notes are used, their durations, arrangement, subdivision, etc; whereby the composer made symbolic
reference to specific persons, places, or things and/or events in some way associated with the
music |
|
cabocla |
type of Brazilian folk music |
|
caccia |
the hunt |
|
cacharpaya |
fast round from Andean region, or dance performed at
festivals |
|
cachucha |
Spanish dance in 3, similar to bolero |
| cacophony |
a discordant or dissonant sound |
| cadence |
the melodic or harmonic ending of a piece, or the sections or phrases within a piece.
A chord progression that gives a feeling of resolution, or
conclusion |
|
cadenza |
an extended solo passage, usually near the end of a piece, improvised by the performer, or sometimes written out by the
composer |
|
cadenzato |
rhythmical |
|
caisse |
drum |
|
calando |
an instruction to a player that the music should lessen in volume or
tempo |
|
calcando |
rushing, pushing the beat |
| calliope |
an instrument sounded by blowing steam through
whistles |
|
calma, -ando |
tranquil |
|
calmato |
calmed |
|
calore |
warmth |
| calypso |
rhythmic Caribbean popular music, often satirical or humorous. traditionally sung to the guitar, but now often played by a steel
band |
|
cambia |
score direction to retune or grab a different
instrument |
|
cambiare |
a musical instruction indicating some kind of orchestral change, such as using a new
instrument |
|
cambiata |
in counterpoint, a non harmonic tone inserted between a dissonance and its resolution. |
| camera |
secular chamber music, as opposed to church music, or chiesa |
|
camerata |
small art or music schools dating from the 16th
century |
|
camminando |
walking tempo |
|
campana |
bell used in orchestra |
|
campanello |
small bell |
| campanology |
study of bell ringing or bells |
|
canarie/canario |
17th century French dance |
| can-can |
a lively dance involving high kicking by a line of women. originating in
Paris in the 1830s, it was used by Offenbach in the 1850s in his operetta
Orpheus in the underworld and earned the reputation of being quite
daring |
| cancel |
a natural sign, used to remove a previously applied
accidental |
|
cancion |
song |
|
cancionero |
collection of Spanish folk songs |
|
cancrizans |
used to indicate the order in which notes should be read. for example, when a voice repeats a melody, the last note then becomes the starting point. the voice works back through the melody to the first note. essentially, the last note becomes the first and the first note becomes the
last |
| canon |
rigid contrapuntal form in which each voice is an exact copy of each
other |
|
canonic treatment |
in the canonic style |
|
cantabile |
in singing fashion or style |
|
cantando |
singing |
|
cantare |
to sing |
| cantata |
is generally a choral work of some length that also uses solo voices, usually with instrumental accompaniment. the texts used may be sacred or secular. some cantatas use solo voices without chorus or
choir |
|
cantato |
sung |
| canticle |
sacred hymn or song. free verse musical settings from the
bible |
|
cantiga |
13th century Spanish song, usually to honor the
virgin |
|
cantilena |
lyrical vocal melody |
|
cantillation |
unaccompanied chanting in free rhythm. used in particular to describe
Jewish liturgical
chanting |
|
cantino |
the highest string of a lute or viol |
|
cantio sacra |
motet |
|
cantique |
canticle |
| canto |
song or melody. the term col canto instructs the accompanist to follow the soloist's tempo
(time) |
| canto fermo |
a cantus firmus |
|
cantor |
the name used to denote the person leading the singing or chanting in
Jewish and early Christian worship. cantor, kantor in German, also denotes the director of music in a
German protestant church. Bach, for example, was kantor at
St. Thomaskirche in Leipzig |
|
cantus firmus |
a melody that becomes the anchor of a polyphonic
piece |
|
cantus firmus |
fixed melody. this usually describes a melody borrowed from another source and used as the basis of the work, with other melodies being set in counterpoint against it. this was very common during the 14th and
17-centuries |
|
cantus planus |
plainchant |
|
canzona |
song, or ballad, or "in the style of a
song" |
| canzonet |
a light, simple song for one or more voices |
|
caoine |
dirge, keen |
|
capella |
choir, orchestra, or chapel |
|
capellmeister |
kapellmeister |
|
capo |
lit. the head, the beginning |
|
capotasto |
an appliance clamped across the fingerboard of a stringed instrument to sharpen the entire instrument. abbr.
capo |
| cappella |
meaning chapel, is found particularly in the phrase 'a cappella' for unaccompanied choral singing. the words chapel, cappella and kapelle, indicate a musical establishment rather than a place, as in the
English chapel royal, the musicians of the monarch. the spelling capella may also be
found |
|
capriccio |
French term applied to a light, lively, humorous piece of music, particularly to a 17th-century work for the keyboard. it is generally used to refer to the mood of the performer rather than to the specific type of
music |
| carillon |
set of bells, usually in a church tower, on which a tune is played, either manually or
mechanically |
| carol |
a song of joy, praise, or emotion. (usually religious in
nature) |
|
carrure |
the construction of music, especially dances, in phrase with measures of exponents of 2 (e.g.
4,8) |
|
cassa |
drum |
| cassation |
the word 'cassation' is of disputed origin and was used principally in the third quarter of the 18th century in south
Germany to describe a piece of music akin to a divertimento or serenade, music intended primarily for entertainment.
Mozart uses the word to describe three of his own
serenades |
| castanets |
a percussion instrument, consisting of two hollowed-out wooden shells, which are played by clicking them together with the fingers. used by
Spanish dancers. When used in an orchestra, castanets are usually mounted on a small stick to they can be shaken together more
easily |
|
castrato |
a male singer who was castrated before puberty so that he developed a powerful soprano or contralto voice.
Castrati were popular in
Italian churches in the 17th and 18th centuries and became important in Italian
operas; many roles were written especially for them. nowadays, roles originally intended for castrati are sung by
women |
| catch |
a type of round for unaccompanied voices, usually with humorous lyrics.
Each participant sings the same melody but begins at different times |
|
cauda |
the vertical dash attached to certain notes or ligatures in mensural
notation |
|
cavatina |
short simple song usually not having repeat |
|
cedez |
a musical direction which indicates that the tempo should be diminished.
It usually implies that a return to the previous tempo will follow
shortly |
|
celere |
quick |
| celesta |
a small keyboard instrument developed in the later 19th century and using hammers that strike metal bars to give a ringing sound.
Tchaikovsky used the celesta, then a new instrument, in his dance of the sugar-plum fairy in his
Nutcracker ballet. |
| cello |
short for violin cello, the second lowest instrument of the violin family; tuned an octave below a
viola |
|
celtic harp |
a small harp without pedals, which may be played with it resting on the knee. also known as the minstrel harp, or troubadour
harp |
|
cembalo |
harpsichord |
|
centitone |
one one/hundredth of a half step |
|
cento |
an opus composed of selections from other works |
| cents |
1/100 of a half-step |
|
cercar la nota |
vocal technique in which the following note is
anticipated |
|
cervelas |
racket or sausage bassoon |
| cetera |
zither or cittern |
|
chace |
French 14th century canon style |
|
chaconne |
is in origin a dance popular in
Spain in the early 17th century. it came to signify a form in which there are a series of variations over a short repeated bass or chordal pattern. famous examples of the form are found in
Bach's chaconne for unaccompanied violin in his d minor
partite or the earlier chacony in g minor by
Henry Purcell |
| chalumeau |
a simple woodwind instrument with 6 to 8 holes. it was a forerunner of the clarinet. also refers to the lowest register of the
clarinet |
|
chamber music |
music written to be performed by one player to a part-such as trios, quartets, and quintets. the string quartet is the principal form of chamber
music |
|
chamber opera |
an opera of intimate character which usually employs a small orchestra of about 25
players |
|
chamber orchestra |
a chamber orchestra has come to indicate an orchestra smaller in size than the usual symphony
orchestra |
|
chamber symphony |
a small-scale symphony which is performed by only a few
player |
|
chance music |
see aleatory music |
|
change ringing |
the ringing of bells in systematic order |
|
changed note |
a evice, known in Italian as nota cambiata, by which a non-harmonic note is used in strict counterpoint on an accented
beat |
| change ringing |
the ringing of a peal of church bells in a methodical sequence by teams of ringers, each member has a single bell which is pulled by a rope.
With 12 bells, the number of variations can amount to nearly 480
million |
|
chanson |
a French song. the word is used to indicate songs from the troubadour compositions of the middle ages to the art-songs of the 19th and 20th
centuries |
| chant |
a simple type of harmonized melody or type of medieval church
music |
| chanter |
a pipe in a set of bagpipes containing sound holes, on which melodies are
played |
|
chanterelle |
highest string |
| chantey |
work songs sung by sailors |
| chapel |
signifies, in the ordinary sense, a place of worship.
In music it may be used to indicate a group of musicians employed by the church or by the court, as in the
English chapel royal, the group of musicians employed by the English monarch, or, in later continental terminology, any musical
establishment |
|
chapel master |
the director of music in a church |
|
character piece |
instrumental piece composed to express a very definite
feeling |
|
characteristic note |
leading note |
|
characteristic piece |
a musical piece representing a particular mood, place, or person. often using in describing piano
solo's |
|
charango |
south American small guitar with 5 double strings. the body was traditionally made from an armadillo shell, though it was occasionally made from wood. it is commonly used in folk music, where it is played by strumming with the fingers across its
strings |
| charivari |
deliberately distorted and noisy performance, shivaree (American),
katzenmusic (German), or scampata (Italian) |
|
charleston |
type of foxtrot |
|
chasse |
hunt |
|
chef d'orchestre |
conductor. Person who directs a musical performance |
|
chelys |
lyre |
|
cheng |
Chinese harmonica |
|
chest of viols |
a set of viols-usually 6 of them-in various sizes.
Called this because in the 16th and 17th centuries, viols were often stored together in a chest.
Composers often wrote for them all as an ensemble |
|
chest voice |
the lowest register of the voice, which the singer feels to be coming from the chest (as opposed to head voice). tenors use this to make high
notes |
|
chevalet |
bridge (instrumental) |
|
cheville |
peg |
|
chevrotement |
unsteady singing |
|
chiaramente |
clearly |
|
chiave |
clef |
|
chiesa |
designed for use in church |
|
chiesa "church" |
church music, as opposed to chamber music, or camera |
| chimes |
tubular bells. also used for carillon, glockenspiel, or other
bells |
|
chinese block |
hollow wooden block used as percussion instrument |
|
ching |
Korean gong |
|
chironomy |
a term for neumatic signs lacking pitch indication |
|
chispa |
air similar to the bambuco, using alternating groups of three and
four |
|
chitarra |
guitar |
| chitarra |
name used for a guitar |
|
chitarrone |
long-necked lute, or archlute, with extra bass strings. used particularly to accompany solo singing, popular in the 16th and
17th-centuries |
|
chiuso |
term used to describe horn notes, when they are 'stopped' or 'closed' by placing the hand in the bell (the open end of the
horn) |
| choir |
a choir is a group of singers. The word is generally used to indicate such a group in a church, or the part of the church in which such a group is normally
placed |
|
choir organ |
a small organ or manual used to accompany a choir |
|
choral society |
glee club, community chorus |
|
choral symphony |
a symphony using a chorus, or a symphonic work written for
voices |
| chorale |
a chorale is a German Lutheran hymn-tune, a number of which were composed or arranged by
Luther himself and adapted in later centuries to various harmonies, the most famous of all by
Johann Sebastian Bach. The word is also used in
America to signify a choir or chorus |
|
chorale prelude |
an introduction to a chorale, was developed in 17th century
Germany as an organ composition based on a chorale melody. the form is found in the later 17th century in the work of buxtehude and in the early 18th century most notably in the 45 chorale preludes of
Johann Sebastian Bach. |
|
choralmotette |
choral motet |
| chord |
a chord is the simultaneous sounding of two or more notes. the adjective is
chordal. The study of harmony involves the correct placing of chords with relation to each
other |
|
chordal |
a form of music in which a single melody is accompanied by sets of chords, rather than a competing counter
melody |
|
chordal style |
consisting of a series of chords |
| chordophone |
describes a type of instrument in which the sound is produced by a vibrating string. common examples include a guitar, harp and violin. |
| choreography |
the art of arranging a dance. this is particularly used in
ballet |
| chorister |
boy choir member |
|
chorlied |
song for choir, usually unaccompanied |
| chorus |
a group singing together, more than one to a part, as opposed to soloists. also used to describe the refrain of a
song |
|
chroai |
micro tonic modifications of the two movable tones of the tetra
chor |
| chromatic |
motion by half steps; or pitches used outside of the diatonic scale in which they normally
occur |
|
chromatic scale |
scale of half steps (c, c#, d, d#, e, f, f#, etc.) |
|
chronos |
the temporal unit of ancient Greek music |
|
church cantata |
a choral work written for performance during a church
service |
|
chyn |
seven-stringed instrument of Chinese origin, made of hollowed piece of
wood |
| cimbalom |
a large Hungarian concert dulcimer, used in cafe, concert, and folk
music |
|
cimbasso |
a term used by the composers Verdi
and Bellinin to describe the lowest brass instrument in an operatic score.
In most modern performances, this is a tuba |
| cinelli |
cymbals |
|
circle of fifths |
sequence of key signatures arranged in ascending
fifths |
|
cistre |
lute or guitar |
| cither |
a plucked wire-strung instrument with a pear-shaped body and a flat back. it was commonly used between the 16th and
18th-centuries |
|
cithern |
a plucked wire-strung instrument with a pear-shaped body and a flat back. it was commonly used between the 16th and
18th-centuries |
| citole |
a plucked wire-strung instrument with a pear-shaped body and a flat back. it was commonly used between the 16th and
18th-centuries |
|
clairon |
bugle |
| claque |
members of the audience, usually in an opera house, who are hired by a performer to show enthusiasm by clapping and calling for encores. |
|
clarabella |
an organ stop with a flute-like tone |
|
claribel |
an organ stop with a flute-like tone |
| clarinet |
a woodwind instrument with a wooden body and a single reed. it has been in use since the mid 18th-century.
It forms part of the symphony orchestra, the military band, and the dance band and is also used as a solo instrument in chamber
music |
|
clarino |
was the word often used in the 17th and 18th centuries for trumpet. now the word describes the upper register of the trumpet, much used in the baroque period, when the trumpet, lacking valves, could only produce successive notes in the highest register, an art that later fell into temporary
disuse |
| clarion |
small trumpet |
|
clarone |
bass clarinet |
|
clarsech |
Gaelic harp |
| classical |
music that has a permanent quality and is not merely popular or
light |
| |
describe the music of the classical period, estimated between 1750 and 1820, as personified by
Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven; |
|
classical era |
the musical period from the late 1700s to the mid 1820s, characterized by more rigidly defined musical forms, increased attention to instrumental music, and the evolution of the
symphony |
|
clavecin |
harpsichord |
| claves |
a pair of wooden sticks that are struck together to set the rhythm of
Latin-American dance music |
|
clavicembalo |
literally means a 'keyed dulcimer' and is used to denote a harpsichord. usually abbreviated to
cembalo |
| clavichord |
soft-toned keyboard instrument with strings, which are hit by metal 'tangents'. popular as a solo instrument from the 16th to 18th-centuries and revived today only for the performance of early
music |
|
clavier |
usually refers to a clavichord, but can refer to any keyboard instrument. its original meaning was 'keyboard'. |
| clef |
the symbol used at the beginning of a staff to indicate which lines and spaces represent which notes. in modern
practice, only three clefs are commonly used, the 'g clef' or treble clef, the
'f clef' or bass clef, and the 'c clef', when used as an alto clef. |
| clinician |
lecturer, course director (a "clinic" is a group of medical
patients) |
|
cloche |
bell |
|
close harmony |
a style of harmonizing in which all the supporting harmonizing notes lie near the
melody |
| close |
cadence |
| cluster |
a group of adjacent notes on the piano keyboard, which are played
together |
|
coda |
concluding section of a movement or work, added as a way of rounding it off. often brief, but sometimes extended and
elaborate |
|
codetta |
small coda, or short transition to a new section |
|
col arco |
with the bow, following pizzicato |
|
col canto |
instruction to the the accompanist to follow the soloist's tempo
(time) |
|
col legno |
striking the string of a violin with the stick |
| col |
with |
|
colla parte |
with the part |
| colla voce |
with the voice |
|
collegium musicum |
association of amateurs for serious music. Now mostly found at
universities |
|
coloratura |
originally signifying coloring, the word coloratura is generally used to describe vocal music that is extensively ornamented and calls for ability in a very high register.
A typical part for a coloratura soprano is that of the queen of the night in
Mozart's opera the magic flute (die
Zauberflote) |
|
combination note |
the sound produced when two loud notes are sounded together, which is not the same as the sound produced when either of them is sounded
separately. sometimes known as the resultant tone |
|
come |
like |
|
comic opera |
an opera with light-natured music, comedy, and a happy ending. in contrast to grand
opera |
|
comma, schisma |
small pitch differential between supposedly identical intervals obtained through different
combinations |
|
commedia del arte |
a style of stage presentation developed in Italy around
1500 |
|
commodamente |
see commodo or comodo |
|
commodo |
comfortable; convenient |
|
common chord |
a chord composed of a root, third, and fifth |
|
common meter |
the meter of a four-line stanza with eight, six, eight, and six syllables per line.
This is the meter commonly found in the four-line hymn verse. also referred to as a ballad
meter |
|
common time |
another name for 4/4 time, in which there are four quarter notes to the
bar |
|
common tone |
a note that remains the same between two different
chords |
|
community chorus |
choral society, though there are differences everywhere among the various terms for choral
organizations |
| comodo |
at a moderate speed |
| compass |
the range of notes available to a voice or instrument, from the highest to the lowest. with brass, wind, or stringed instruments, the lowest note is fixed and the higher notes depend on the skill of the musician. for voices, the normal compass is about two octaves, through it is possible to extend this through
training |
|
complex time |
asymmetric meter, sometimes called composite meter - meter such as 7/8 that mixes simple and compound
pulses |
|
composite meter |
more often called asymmetric meter. complex time - meter such as 7/8 that mixes simple and compound
pulses |
| composition |
the art of composing an original work of music. The resulting piece of music is also known as a
composition |
|
compound binary |
sonata form |
|
compound interval |
an interval greater than an octave, such as a ninth, or
eleventh |
|
compound meter |
a meter with more than six beats per measure, and containing two or more accented
beats |
|
compound stop |
on organ, a mixture stop |
|
compound time |
music that has a meter not classifiable as simple time, which has a beat divisible by two.
Compound meters are simple meters multiplied by three, such as 6/8, 6/4, and 6/2.
The time signatures must be divisible by three (but not be three itself) |
| comprimaria |
a female singer with a supporting role in Italian opera.
Comprimario is the male equivalent |
| comprimario |
a male singer with a supporting role in
Italian opera. Comprimaria is the female equivalent |
|
con amore |
an instruction to the player of an
instrument meaning 'with love' or 'lovingly' |
|
con brio |
an instruction to the player
meaning 'with spirit' |
|
con moto |
with motion |
| concert |
a musical performance in front of an audience. It is usually given by several performers, opposed to an event in which only one or two performers are involved, which is generally called a
recital |
|
concert band |
a band, consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, as well as double bass and saxophone. in
Europe, often called a wind band or symphonic wind ensemble |
|
concert grand |
largest size of piano |
|
concert pitch |
international standard where a is 440 hertz |
|
concertant(e) |
part in a piece of music is a part that calls for some element of solo performance, as in a classical concerto.
The word is found in the phrase sinfonia concertante, which is used to indicate an orchestral composition with two or more solo instruments, a title used from the late 18th century
onwards |
|
concertato |
in a concerted form, which means that the music is performed by several people, all of whom are on essentially equal terms. the term is commonly used in baroque
music |
| concertina |
a small, hexagonal-shaped instrument with bellows, similar to the accordion, but without a piano-like keyboard.
Instead, it has only studs, operated by the fingers, which produce only a relatively small number of notes.
Concertinas were popular in the 19th-century but have now been virtually
replaced by the accordion |
| concertino |
The concertino is the small group of solo instruments used in a concerto grosso in contrast to the whole body of the orchestra, consisting of ripieno players (see concerto grosso). a concertino may also be a small concerto (see
concerto) |
| concertmaster |
orchestra leader, or just "leader"; as a verb, the orchestra is "led by so-and-so," meaning that so-and-so is what
Americans would describe as a concertmaster or concertmistress. "concertmaster" can refer to a male or a
female |
|
concert-meister |
the principal violinist in an orchestra |
| concertmistress |
orchestra leader, or just "leader"; as a verb, the orchestra is "led by so-and-so," meaning that so-and-so is what
Americans would describe as a concertmaster or concertmistress. "concertmaster" can refer to a male or a
female |
| concerto |
a piece of instrumental music that contrasts a solo instrument or a small group of solo instruments with the main body of the orchestra. in the earlier 17th century the word had a more general significance, but in the early 18th century it came to mean primarily a work as described
above |
|
concerto grosso |
usually used to refer to 17th and 18th century orchestral works in which there is an interplay between the solo troupe of concertino players and the main orchestra, or ripieno |
|
concitato |
agitated |
| concord |
a chord, or combination of notes, which seems to be complete in itself and in total harmony. the opposite of
discord |
| conduct |
to direct the performance of a group of musicians, with motions of the hands or with a baton. the conductor beats time, gives the musicians their cue so that they enter at the right moment, and generally ensures the musicians play together as a group. he or she also decides changes of tempo, the balance of sound, and the emotional
emphasis |
| conductor |
musical director of orchestra or chorus |
|
conductor's part |
an orchestral score that has been reduced to only a few
staves |
|
conductus |
a type of medieval song with Latin verses on a secular or religious
theme |
|
conga |
a long drum played with the fingers and hands, which originated in
Latin-American bands and was introduced into the percussion section of the post
1950's orchestra |
| conjunct |
successive degrees of the scale |
|
consecutive interval |
the progression of like harmonic intervals in a composition. for example, c played with the e above, followed by f played with the a above, gives two identical intervals of a
third |
| consequent |
a phrase resolving the previous phrase, an answer |
| conservatoire |
a school for musicians. the term comes from the
Italian word conservatorio meaning an orphanage where children received an education, including music. the equivalent in
English is conservatory. the German equivalent, conservatorium, is also sometimes used in
Australia |
| conservatorium |
a school for musicians |
| console |
the "desk" part of the organ which contains all those parts of the instrument that are at the organist's command, such as the pistons, manuals, pedals, and stops, but not the
pipes |
| consonance |
sounds that are in agreement in terms of physical generation of sound; i.e. sounds found in the harmonic series of a pitch being harmonized, in contrast to
dissonance |
|
consort song |
modern term used to describe the type of English song from the 16th and 17th-centuries accompanied by a consort-usually of viols. it was sung by one or more
voices |
| consort |
instrumental chamber ensembles, or music composed for
said |
|
contano |
rest |
|
continental fingering |
the system now adopted all over the world, which indicates which fingers are to be used for which notes.
The thumb is indicated as 1 and the fingers as 2 through 5 |
|
continuo |
abbreviation for basso continuo, which means a continuous
bass. it describes a type of accompaniment prevalent in the 17th and early 18th-centures, usually played on a keyboard instrument. the player worked out the correct harmonies from the bass
notes |
|
contra |
against. as a prefix, means an octave below, e.g.,
contrabassoon |
|
contrabasso |
refers to the double bass, which is the lowest pitched of bowed stringed
instruments |
|
contrafagotto |
contrabassoon |
|
contralto |
female alto singer, referred to as an alto or a
contralto |
| contrapuntal |
composed according to rules of counterpoint |
|
contrary motion |
parts moving in opposing directions in pitch |
|
contratenor |
originally the third voice part, added to the cantus/discantus
pairing |
|
contredanse |
a dance in which couples face each other |
|
coperti |
used to indicate that a drum is muted with a cloth |
|
coperto |
covered, muffled. a vocal technique |
|
copla |
couplet |
|
cor |
horn |
|
cor anglais |
English horn. this is not a horn at all, but a woodwind instrument belonging to the oboe
family |
|
cor de chasses |
hunting horn |
|
coranto |
courante |
|
corda |
string Used in instructions to piano players. una corda, "one string" is an instruction to play with the soft pedal. tre corde "three strings" and tutte le corde, "all the strings", cancel this instruction. |
|
corista |
tuning fork |
|
cornemuse |
type of bagpipe |
| cornet |
a wind instrument made of brass. it has a cup-shaped mouthpiece and three valves. it looks like a short, squat trumpet but is easier to play and has a softer sound. it is used mainly in brass and military
bands |
|
cornetto |
a wind instrument made of wood or ivory, or nowadays reproduced in fibre-glass. it has a cup-shaped mouthpiece, like brass instruments, but finger-holes, like a recorder, and was much used in the 17th and earlier 18th centuries, often to support or even replace treble voices. the bass of the cornetto family is the serpent, once found in village church bands in
England and now revived |
|
corno |
horn |
|
corno di bassetto |
bassett horn, an instrument similar to the clarinet but lower in pitch. it was used by
Mozart in his requiem |
| corno inglese |
English horn |
| cornopean |
an early type of cornet. also used to denote an organ stop, with a soft but
trumpet like sound |
| cornu |
ancient roman horn |
|
coro |
chorus |
|
corona |
pause, hold. see fermata |
| coronach |
funeral dirge of Scotland |
|
corrente |
courante |
| corrido |
a Mexican folk idiom derived from the romanza |
|
cortege |
solemn march |
| cotillon |
18th/19th century dance led by a couple, and followed by the other
couples |
|
coule |
appogiatura styled ornament |
|
coulisse |
the sliding part of a slide instrument |
| count |
beat or rhythmic pulse |
| counter |
part played against another |
| counterexposition |
the second exposition, as in a fugue |
| counterfugue |
fugue in which the melodic answer is the first subject
inverted |
| countermelody |
less important melody that can be played along with the main
melody |
| counterpoint |
refers to the art of combining two or more melodies, so that when they are played together, they form a a
harmonious whole |
| countertenor |
a tenor that has an unusually high vocal range |
|
country dance |
a kind of social, or village, dance which originated in England
and was taken to France and Germany |
|
coup d'archet |
bow stroke |
|
coup de glotte |
a method of singing that uses the two membranes above natural vocal
chords |
|
coup de langue |
tonguing, pertinent to wind instruments |
| coupler |
a device connecting pedals or manuals of an organ, so that when one is played, the other plays as
well |
| couplet |
two lines (usually rhyming) |
|
courante |
a dance in triple time, which occurs in the baroque
suite |
| course |
a group of strings tuned in unisons or octaves, used to augment the
volume |
|
course director |
clinician |
|
covered fifths |
see hidden fifths |
|
cow bells |
clapper less bells similar to those worn by cows in Europe.
Struck with a drumstick |
|
crab canon |
a counterpoint piece in which one part is identical to another, but
backwards |
|
crash cymbal |
single suspended cymbal struck with a drumstick |
| credo |
"I believe". In the mass, the third part of the ordinary. the
creed |
|
crescendo |
gradually increasing in volume or intensity |
| crescent |
a Turkish instrument made by stringing small bells in a crescent
shape |
| croisez |
indication to cross the hands in piano playing |
| crook |
the detachable part of the tube on wind instruments such as horns and trumpets. it is made in different sizes to give a different basic key to the instrument. today valves are generally used
instead |
| croon |
a soft, low singing or humming. lullabies are crooned. crooning into a microphone, often accompanied by a dance band, was popular between 1920 and
1950 |
| crooning |
a style of soft singing made possible by the invention of the
microphone |
|
cross fingering |
complicated fingering on wind instruments in which holes are alternately open and closed. the keys on modern instruments have rendered cross-fingering
obsolete |
|
cross relation |
a chord progression in which a note in the preceding chord is altered chromatically, and then appears in another part of the succeeding
chord |
|
cross rhythm |
simultaneous use of different rhythmic patterns, or different
accents |
|
crotal |
a type of small bell, such as a sleigh bell |
|
crotale |
the modern name for the ancient, or antique, cymbal. this orchestral percussion instrument differs from the standard cymbal in that it is tuned to a definite pitch and has a more delicate
tone |
| crotchet |
a note with a quarter the time value of a semi breve, or whole note.
This is known as a quarter note |
| crumhorn |
a wind instrument, hook shaped and with a double reed, played in the 16th and 17th-centuries. there are at least six sizes, each playing a different
range |
|
csardas |
Hungarian dance, with two alternating sections, one slow and sad, the other fast and
fiery |
| cuckoo |
a toy instrument used in music written specifically for toy instruments. the best known of these is the toy
symphony |
| cue |
a short passage from another part printed in small notes to assist with
entrances |
|
cueca |
Chilean dance |
|
cuivre |
used as a direction to players, instructing them to use a forced, ringing
tone |
|
cut time |
a time signature indicating two counts in each measure (2/2, time signature), the half note gets one
count |
| cycle |
refers to any set of musical works-often songs-which are intended to be performed together as a group and are usually linked by a common musical idea or
theme |
|
cyclic |
term for a musical form made up of several contrasting
forms |
| cymbal |
percussion instrument consisting of a metal plate which is struck with a beater or clashed against another cymbal. a standard cymbal has no definite pitch, but some sound higher than others. two cymbals mounted face-to-face on a rod and struck with a side-drum stick are known as choke
cymbals |
