| g |
the fifth degree of the c major scale |
|
g clef |
a clef that indicates which line represents g on a staff, as opposed to a c clef, or an f
clef |
|
gabelgriff |
cross fingering |
| gagaku |
Japanese instrument |
| gaitilla |
Spanish nasal sounding organ stop |
| galant |
term used to describe the formal, courtly style of music prevalent in the 18th
century |
|
galeron |
ballad in isosyllabic quatrains, popular on the Colombian
llanos |
| gallant |
light elegant, rococo style |
| galliard |
dance typical of the 16th century |
| galop |
a fast 19th-century ballroom dance in 2/4 time, used frequently by the
Strauss family |
|
gamba |
is in English used colloquially to designate the viola da gamba or leg-viol, the bowed string instrument popular from the 16th until the middle of the 18th century and held downwards, in a way similar to that used for the modern cello, as opposed to the viola da braccio or arm-viol, the instrument of the violin family, held on the arm or shoulder. |
| gambang |
Indonesian instrument made of sound bars resting on a resonating
trough |
| gamelan |
an Indonesian instrumental ensemble, featuring gongs, drums, wind, and string
instruments |
| gamme |
musical scale |
| gamut |
scale or range |
|
ganz |
entire |
|
ganze note |
whole note, whole rest |
|
ganzschluss |
complete cadence |
|
ganztenleiter |
whole tone scale |
|
ganzton |
whole tone |
|
gapped scale |
scale with intervals greater than a whole step. the pentatonic scale is a gapped subset of the diatonic. many oriental scales also have
gaps |
|
garbato |
graceful |
|
gassenhauer |
popular or street song |
|
gathering note |
the tone sounded before singing to give the singers their
pitch |
|
gato |
Argentine rural dance, characterized by lively movements and hemiola |
|
gauche |
left |
|
gaudioso |
praiseful, joyful |
|
gavotte |
an old dance of French origin in 4/4 time, beginning on the third beat of the bar.
It began as a folk dance but was soon performed at court functions. |
|
gebrauchsmusik |
utility music, for amateurs |
|
gebrochener akkord |
broken chord |
|
gebundener stil |
strict contrapuntal style |
|
gebunen |
legato |
|
gedackt |
stopped |
|
gedampft |
damped |
|
gedehnt |
prolonged in time |
|
gefahrte |
the answer of a fugue subject |
|
gefuhl |
expression |
|
gefuhlvoll |
with feeling |
|
gegenbewegung |
contrary motion; also, inversion of a theme |
|
gegenfuge |
counter fugue |
|
gegensatz |
contrast |
|
gegenthema |
counter theme |
|
gehalten |
held, sustained |
|
gehend |
andante |
|
geige |
violin |
|
geisslerlieder |
processional songs of 14th century |
|
geistlich |
spiritual |
|
gekkin |
Japanese guitar |
|
gekoppelt |
coupled |
|
gelassen |
placid |
|
gelaufigkeit |
technical ease, competence. |
|
gemachlich |
comfortable, leisurely |
|
gemassigt |
moderate |
|
gemeindeleid |
congregational hymn |
|
gemendo |
moaning, lamenting |
|
gemessen |
restrained |
|
gemischte stimmen |
mixed voices |
|
generalbass |
thoroughbass |
|
generalpause |
a rest for the entire orchestra, usually a surprise after a dramatic
part |
|
generalprobe |
dress rehearsal |
| German dance |
describes generally the triple meter dances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, found in the
landler and the waltz. there are examples of this dance in the work of
Beethoven and of Schubert |
| German flute |
transverse flute, as distinct from recorder |
| German sixth chord |
an augmented sixth chord, which contains a flat third from the
tonic |
|
gesamtausgabe |
complete edition |
|
gesang |
song |
|
gesangbuch |
song book |
|
gesangvoll |
cantabile |
|
geschick |
skill, technical mastery |
|
geschleift |
legato |
|
geschwind |
nimble |
|
gesellschaftslied |
song belonging to the middle classes, as distinct from
court song or folksong |
|
gesteigert |
increased |
|
gestopfgt |
stopped |
|
gestossen |
detached |
|
geteilt |
divided |
|
getragen |
slow |
|
ghironda |
hurdy gurdy |
|
giacoso |
instruction to a musician to play in a merry, lighthearted
manner |
|
giga |
jig |
|
gigelira |
xylophone |
| gigue |
a rapid dance normally in compound duple metre gigue became the accepted final dance in the baroque instrumental suite. |
|
giocosamente |
cheerfully |
|
giocoso |
is sometimes found as part of a tempo instruction to a performer, as in allegro giocoso, fast and cheerful. the same
Italian adjective is used in the descriptive title of Mozart's
opera Don Giovanni, a drama giocoso. |
|
gioioso |
joyous |
|
giro |
turn |
|
gitana |
gypsy |
|
gittern |
a type of early guitar with 4 pairs of gut strings, which was played in the middle
ages |
|
giusto |
right, firm, just |
|
glass harmonica |
a set of wine glasses that resonate when a wetted finger is rubbed around the rim of the glass. the glasses are tuned by changing the amount of liquid that is inside the
glass |
|
glee club |
community chorus. choral society |
| glee |
entertainment music |
|
gleichmassig |
even |
|
glissando |
a way of playing the piano or harp, involving rapidly sliding up or down the scale, in which every tone or semitone can be clearly heard. often confused with portamento |
|
glocke |
bell |
|
glockenspiel |
a percussion instrument made up of tuned metal bars arranged in the same way as piano keys. the keys produce a
chime like sound when they are played with small hammers that are held in
hand |
|
gloria |
"glory". in the mass, the second part of the ordinary |
|
glosa |
diminutions |
|
golden section |
a mathematical proportion where the ratio between a small section and a larger section is equal to the ratio between the larger section and both sections put together. used by many 20th century
composers to determine the point of climax for a given work. |
|
gondollied |
gondola song |
| gong |
percussion instrument originating in the orient. it consists of a vertically suspended concave piece of metal, struck with a padded
stick |
|
gopak |
lively dance of Byelorussia in duple time |
|
gothic music |
music contemporary with the style of gothic
architecture |
|
grace note |
a note that is played as an ornament to the main melody. in a musical score, it is often printed in smaller
type |
|
graciozo |
instruction to a musician that a piece is to be played
gracefully |
|
gradatamente |
gradually |
|
gradevole |
pleasing |
|
gran |
grand, big |
|
gran cassa |
bass drum |
|
grand jeu |
full organ |
|
grand opera |
a general, imprecise term used to describe either opera that is all sung with no spoken dialogue, or the spectacular, large-scale type of opera popular in the 19th-century, or "serious" opera as opposed to
operetta |
|
grand pause |
annotated by two slashes, //, it indicates a stop in the music in which the players wait until they are directed to continue. if one is playing a solo then he would decide when to
continue |
|
grand piano |
a piano in horizontal, wing-shaped case, as opposed to an upright
piano |
|
grand staff |
the combination of a staff line notated in treble clef with one notated in bass clef. used primarily in scoring for piano, and other keyboard instruments, this staff is also sometimes used to score vocal works, such as hymns. |
|
grandezza |
grandeur |
| grandioso |
gracefully |
|
grave |
is used as an indication of tempo and mood, meaning slow and
serious |
|
gravicembalo |
harpsichord |
|
grazia |
grace, gracefully |
| grazioso |
forms the Italian adjective grazioso, used as an indication of expression and of tempo, particularly in the 18th
century |
|
great organ |
the principal manual of an organ, located below the swell and above the choir organ (if any). it contributes big
sound |
|
gregorian chant |
plainchant, the modal chant of early Christian and continuing catholic worship and its derivatives, is often known as
Gregorian chant, after pope Gregory the Great , St. Gregory, to whom the attempt at
standardization of the chant in the late 6th century is attributed. |
| gross |
great |
|
grosse fuge |
as part of one of his later string quartets. technically the writing of fugue remains an important element in the training of
composers |
|
grosso |
grand, full |
|
ground bass |
repeated bass pattern |
|
guajira |
people from the rural interior of Cuba, applied to a rural style of
song |
|
guarania |
guarani ballad in slow 3 |
|
guida |
theme (of fugue) |
|
guidon |
direct |
|
guimbard |
Jew's harp |
| guitar |
the modern concert guitar is a plucked string instrument generally with six strings.
The instrument has a long history, in one form or another. in more recent times it became popular in
Vienna in the early 19th century with the work of the Italian composer and guitarist
Mauro Giuliani and in Paris with the Catalan Fernando Sor. In Spain it
was the national instrument. The player Andres Segovia had a strong influence on the form of the modern guitar, the repertoire of which now includes fine concertos by the composers
Joaquin Rodrigo, Manuel Ponce, Villa-Lobos, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and others. |
|
guitar family |
instruments with the flat face of a guitar, including. cittern, chitarra, battente, balalaika, ulelele, banjo, bandurria, yuehchyn |
|
gusle (aka gusla) |
a type of fiddle with only one string. played in the
Balkans |
|
gusli |
a Russian string instrument similar to the zither |
|
gusto |
taste, style |
|
gymel |
two part polyphony based on thirds, sixths and tenths |
