| h |
in the German musical system, b natural, or the key of b
natural |
| |
"hoboken", the cataloguer of Haydn's works; h numbers are used instead of opus numbers for the works of
Haydn |
|
habanera |
is a Cuban dance from Havana, later introduced to Spain.
One of the most famous examples is found in Bizet's
Spanish opera Carmen, where Carmen herself sings a seductive habanera.
Ravel includes a habanera in his rhapsody Espanola and also wrote a vocalize
en forme de habanera, while Debussy makes use of the characteristic rhythm of the dance. |
| hairpins |
a colloquial name for the sings indicating crescendo (<) and diminuendo
(>) |
|
hakenneumen |
hook neumes |
|
halb |
half |
| half cadence |
a cadence that ends on the dominant instead of the tonic. also called an imperfect
cadence |
|
half note |
a musical note that is half the time of a whole note |
|
half step |
the difference in pitch between any two adjacent keys on a piano keyboard. also called a halftone or
semitone |
| hallelujah |
Hebrew word expressing joyful praise of God |
| halling |
a Norwegian folk dance in 2/4 or 4/4 |
|
hammerklavier |
piano |
|
hand horn |
a horn which has no valves and is therefore able to produce only a limited range of tones. see also
horn |
|
hand organ |
portable barrel organ |
|
hand vibrato |
a technique used with a bell set where the player waves his hand back and forth above the bell that was played to produce a vibrato.
Harmonica -the western harmonica or mouth- organ is an invention of the early 19th century, inspired by the ancient
Chinese bamboo mouth-organ, the Sheng. The 20th century chromatic harmonica, of which
Larry Adler has been a leading exponent, has inspired a number of
composers |
|
handstuck |
instructive piano piece |
|
handtrommel |
tambourine |
| hardanger fiddle |
a folk violin, from Norway, with 4 strings above the fingerboard and 4 or 5 sympathetic strings below. accompanies the
halling |
|
harfe |
harp |
|
harmonia |
in harmony |
| harmonic |
a multiple of the fundamental frequency that is associated with complex periodic waveforms, such as those produced by musical
instruments |
|
harmonic analysis |
study of the harmonic progressions used in a piece of
music |
|
harmonic chromatic scale |
chromatic scale written to include notes of major and tonic minor scales, plus the
augmented fourth and minor second; the harmonic chromatic scale built on
c |
|
harmonic mark |
a small circle placed over notes that are produced by finding a harmonic point on a string and touching it, rather than pressing it down to the
fingerboard |
|
harmonic progression |
the movement from one chord to another, usually in terms of their
function |
|
harmonic rhythm |
a perceived rhythm resulting from harmonic changes |
|
harmonic series |
a series of harmonic overtones, the multiples |
| harmonica |
a wind-blown instrument consisting of a casing containing a series of metal reeds. it is played principally in popular and folk music, including the
blues |
| harmonics |
the harmonic tones produced by a vibration that go to make up the aural spectrum of any particular note, or grouping of
notes |
| harmoniemusik |
music for wind band. in its more limited sense the term is used to signify music for wind bands or wind ensembles in the service of the nobility from the middle of the 18th century to the end of the third decade of the 19th century, and their popular counterparts. the
harmony, the band itself, which varied in number from a duo to the often found sextet or octet or to a much larger number of players, had its counterpart in
France and in England, as well as its successors among emigrants to the united states of
America |
| harmonium |
developed in the early 19th century from experiments in the last quarter of the century before, is a keyboard instrument that produces its sounds by means of air from bellows passing through free reeds, metal tongues that are made to vibrate. the instrument has a relatively small classical repertoire, its use either domestic or as a cheap substitute for the church organ.
Dvorak wrote bagatelles for two violins, cello and harmonium, and
Schoenberg made some use of the harmonium in chamber arrangements of works of his own and in versions of two waltzes by
Johann Strauss |
| harmony |
the study of progression, structure and relationships of
chords |
| |
when pitches are in agreement, or consonance |
| harp |
stringed instrument consisting of a large number of strings tuned to the major scale. strings are
sharpened or flatted by means of seven foot-activated pedals |
|
harp lute |
an obsolete instrument combining some of the properties of both harp and
lute |
|
harp stop |
a devise on the harpsichord that dampens the strings, resulting in a much thinner tone, rather like that of a
harp |
|
harpa |
harp |
| harpsichord |
keyboard instrument in which each key activates a plectrum that plucks, rather than hammers the
strings |
| hasosra |
biblical trumpet |
|
hastig |
with haste |
|
haupt |
principal |
|
hausmusic |
music for home use, as opposed to music for public
consumption |
| haut |
high |
|
haut bois |
the words from which "oboe" is derived |
| haye |
a dance figure where the dancers align as hedges |
| head |
membrane stretched over a frame, as in a drum or
banjo |
|
head voice |
the upper register of the singing voice |
|
heftig |
violent |
|
heidentenor |
operatic tenor |
|
heiter |
glad |
| heldentenor |
a heroic tenor with a strong, robust singing voice |
| helicon |
sousaphone, a type of tuba, which has a helical, or spiral, shape and passes around the player's
body |
|
hemidemisemiquaver |
a note with the time value of 1/16 of a crochet, 1/2 of a demisemiquaver, or 1/64 of a semibreve. |
|
hemiola |
when the rhythmic structure in a piece gives the impression that the meter is different from the actual time signature, this is a hemiola. for example, a piece in 4/4 time could have an eighth note run where every third eighth note is accented, giving the run a triplet feel, this is a hemiola |
|
hemitonium |
a half-step |
|
heptachord |
a term used to distinguish the modern octave (7 tones) from the earlier hexachord which has only six
tones |
|
hermaneutics |
interpretation; the scientific assignation of musical motifs to
emotions |
|
hervorgehoben |
emphasized |
| heterophony |
the simultaneous performance of two slightly different
melodies |
| hexachord |
a grouping of consecutive notes, by sixes rather than octaves (intervals of 8 notes). it was introduced in the 11th century and used up to the
17th |
|
hichiriki |
Japanese oboe |
|
hidden fifths |
parallel fifths |
|
hilfsline |
leger line |
|
hinsterbend |
fading |
|
hirtenflote |
shepherd's pipe |
|
hocket |
a device consisting of rapid alternation of two voices with single notes or groups, and
rests |
| hoedown |
similar to a jig or reel, this dance was developed by
African Americans in the 19th-century. Today it is generally used to refer to a square dance or folk
dance |
|
hoftanz |
16th century German dance based on traditional
melodies |
| hold |
fermata |
|
holz |
wood, wooden |
| homage |
a work written by a composer in honor of, or dedicated to another composer. it often owes much to that composer in style or
content |
| homo |
the same |
| homophonic |
a piece or part of a piece with one melody with
accompaniment |
| homophony |
music with a leading voice and chordal accompaniment |
|
homorhythmic |
moving with the same rhythm |
|
homorhythmic chordal |
a piece or part of a piece where all parts have the same rhythm but different
notes |
| horn |
a brass wind instrument, through which sound is produced by the vibrations of the player's lips on the funnel-shaped mouthpiece.
In the mid 19th-century, the range of the coiled horn was extended, mainly in
France, with crooks and valves, hence the name French horn |
| hornpipe |
a lively dance resembling the jig but in 3/2, 2/4, or 4/4 time.
The best-known example is the "sailor's hornpipe". The hornpipe is also an instrument consisting of a wooden
pipe with a reed mouthpiece |
|
hornwerk |
organ pipes set on their own chest in a tower. used instead of
bells |
| hosanna |
Hebrew word expressing triumph |
|
huaino |
dance of Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. The name originates from
Quechan word for funeral. |
|
huapango |
tunes played and danced along the gulf of Mexico |
|
huehuetl |
upright drums made from hollowed logs and played with fingers. from
Aztec |
| hum |
to sing with closed lips |
|
hummel |
fretted zither |
|
humoreske |
humorous piece |
| humoresque |
the term for an instrumental piece of a humorous nature.
Schumann was the first composer to use the term to describe a type of
music |
|
hunting horn |
fashioned from animal horn and used to give signals while hunting, this was the forerunner of the orchestral
horn |
| hurdy-gurdy |
a boxed, lute-like instrument used by street musicians which is played by turning a crank attached to
resigned wheel which scrapes the strings producing sound. |
|
hurtig |
quick |
|
hydraulis |
this direct ancestor of the modern pipe organ was invented in ancient
Greece, it used water to maintain a constant pressure on air that was fed to
panpipes |
|
hydraulos |
water powered organ |
| hymn |
a song, often a chorale, written in praise of God, or for a religious
congregation |
| hyper |
over |
| hypo |
under |
|
hyporchema |
ancient Cretan dancing song |
