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Classical musical terms

m	abbreviation for mezzo, manual, metronome, main, and mano, depending on context
m.d.	right hand
m.m.	metronome marking
machete	ukulele
machicotage	practice of ornamenting solo plainsong with improvised grace notes or melismatic passages between official tones
macumba	one of several regional religious ceremonies practiced by Brazilian Negroes, valued for its magical powers
madrasha	Syrian chant
madrigal	originally a form of vocal composition of 14th century Italy, the madrigal became, in the 16th and 17th centuries, a favorite form of part-song, stemming first from Italy. In England the madrigal became popular in the last two decades of the 16th century in adaptations of Italian compositions and in new works by English composers.
maestoso	majestic or dignified
maestro	a title for a conductor, composer, teacher or performer
magadis	ancient Greek harp with doubled strings tuned in octaves
maggiolata	song for may
maggiore	the major mode
magnificat	the canticle drawn from the biblical words attributed to the mother of Christ, my soul doth magnify the Lord. It forms part of the evening service of vespers, in the divine office of the catholic liturgy, and thus appears in composed settings. As part of the evening service of the church of England it has similarly been subjected to musical treatment
magrepha	organ of ancient Hebrews
main	hand
maitres	choir school of church
majeur	major
major	"greater". a term used to describe certain intervals (seconds, thirds, sixths and sevenths), chords and the Ionian mode
major chord	a triad composed of a root, a third, and a fifth.
major scale	a diatonic scale where the half-steps fall between the third and fourth, and the seventh and tonic. this scale is identical to the Ionian mode
malaguena	a Spanish dance from the region of Malaga. the word is later used to indicate a form of Spanish gypsy song
malincolico	melancholy
mallet instruments	tuned percussion instruments with a piano-like layout of sound bars that are struck by mallets. Examples include the xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel and marimba
mambo	Afro-Cuban dance played in 4/4 time; became internationally popular in the 1940's
man	abbrev. for manual
manche	neck (of violin)
mandola	type of lute
mandolin	stringed instrument similar to, but smaller than, the lute. it evolved in 18th-century Italy. It has four pairs of strings, which are plucked with a plectrum.
mangulina	traditional dance of Dominican republic, in 5
manica	a hand position shift (in violin technique)
manico	violin fingerboard
manicordion	clavichord
mannheim school	a pre-classical group of German symphonic composers whose style including extended crescendos (called steamrollers) and melodies that arpeggiated upward, (called rockets).
mano destra	right hand; often abbreviated m.d.
mano sinistra	left hand; often abbreviated m.s.
manual	the manual is a keyboard for the hands, the word used for instruments such as the organ or harpsichord that often have more than one keyboard. It is opposed to the pedal-board found generally on the organ and much more rarely on the harpsichord or fortepiano.
manualiter	use of the manuals alone (no pedals) in organ
manualkoppel	manual coupler
manubrio	parts of the organ console other than the keyboard; e.g. stop knobs
maqam	a type of Arabic melody
maraca	percussion instrument made of a gourd with dry seeds in it
maracas	percussion instrument of Latin American origin. A maraca is a gourd filled with seeds or beads that rattles when shaken. Maracas are usually played in pairs
marcando	stressing, stressed
marcato	marked, accented
march	a piece of music written for marching soldiers or military bands. It is generally characterized by a strong two-step rhythm
marcia, alla	march like
mariachi	Mexican ensemble
marian	of or pertaining to the virgin Mary
marimba	instrument of African origin, similar to the xylophone, but with wooden bars. It is often used in the percussion section of the symphony orchestra
marinera	dance form adapted from the Chilean cueca, renamed to honor the marines. Also known as tondero
marizápalos	Spanish 17th century popular song
markiert	marked
markig	vigorous
marque	marked
marsch	march
martele	instruction to a player that notes be sharply accented. applies particularly to bowed instruments and the piano
martelatto	hammered
masculine cadence	cadence in which the final chord occurs on a strong beat
masque	a courtly entertainment involving acting, singing, and dancing, with music and elaborate scenery and costumes. masques reached their peak in 17th-century England, when written by Ben Jonson and designed by Innigo Jones.
mass	the solemn celebration of the roman catholic church, of the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
matasin	dance of 16th century, performed by costumed dancers.
matins	the first of the canonical hours
mattinata	a song intended for performance in the morning
maultrommel	Jew or jaw harp
maxixe	Brazilian urban couple dance
mazurka	Polish country dance in triple time. It first became popular outside Poland in the 18th-century. The mazurka was brought into the concert repertoire by Chopin, who wrote 50 or so
me	mi
meane	the middle part
measure	bar, meaning the metrical unit; "twelve-bar blues" is always "twelve-bar blues," however
mechanical instruments	devices designed to produce music without a performer; e.g., music boxes, player piano's
mechanik	action, as of a piano
medesimo	same
media cana	dance of Argentine cities
mediant	the third degree of a scale
medio registro	divided stop
medley	series of well-known tunes played in succession, possibly connected by a musical bridge
mehr	more than one
meistersinger	middle class continuation of the earlier minnesingers
mejorana	song of Spanish origin seen in panama
mejoranera	Panamanian five-stringed guitar
melidoca	a wind instrument with a keyboard
melisma	multi note sometimes improvised vocal passage sung on a single syllable
mellophone	circular brass instrument resembling the French horn
melodic chromatic scale	chromatic scale written American-style, with sharps on the way up and flats on the way down (see harmonic chromatic scale).
melodie	the French art-songs of the 19th and 20th centuries are known as melodies, the counterpart of the German lieder
melodrama	a dramatic work with a musical setting where the dialogue is spoken-for the duration of the work or for certain scenes only. Many operas have melodramatic scenes of this kind.
melody	a succession of notes of varying pitch, which form a recognizable musical shape
membranophone	any instrument in which the sound is produced by a stretched membrane
memby	native instruments of the Guarani, still used widely in Paraguay and parts of Brazil
meme	the same
meno	less
meno mosso	less motion; slower
mensur	meter, mensuration
mensural music	polyphonic music wherein each note has a rigidly determined value
mente	the mind. alla mente means "what comes to mind," i.e. improvised
menuet	minuet
merengue	popular dance of Santo Domingo
mescolanza	medley
messa di voce	technique of voice control consisting of a crescendo and decrescendo
messe	mass
messel	corruption of mathal, an Arabic term used to denote mathematical relationships of intervals that were deemed to be consonant.
mesto	sad or mournful
mesure	measure, meter
metamorphosis	change of shape, is used particularly to describe the process of thematic metamorphosis, the transformation of thematic elements used by composers such as Liszt, a procedure unkindly satirized by one contemporary critic as the life and adventures of a theme.
meter	the pattern of regular pulses defining a composition. the meter is indicated by the two numbers at the beginning, and the patterns are marked by bar lines
metric notation	notation where horizontal space corresponds to time. used to assist the performer in reading. metric notation is often compromised to conserve space and printing costs
metronome	apparatus which sounds an adjustable number of beats per minute. particularly useful for setting speed when practicing. metronomes are traditionally mechanical but may now be electronic
metronome marks	tempo marks consisting of a reference note equated to a metronome speed. for example, quarter note = 92 means 92 quarter notes per minute
mette	matins
meza voce	an instruction to sing in a quiet, retrained manner
mezza	'half', middle
mezzo	medium, part, half
mezzo forte	medium loud
mezzo piano	abbr. mp moderately soft
mezzo soprano	the female vocal register between soprano and alto
mezzo voce	soft, half voice
mi	the third degree of the major scale
microtone	an interval smaller than a half step
middle c	the c key in approximately the middle of the keyboard
military band	a regimental band made up woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. The term is also used to describe civilian bands of similar constitution
mineur	minor
miniature score	pocket-sized score, designed for reading along with performances.
minim	a note with half the time value of a semibreve, or whole note
minim rest	half rest
minimalism	music that uses short melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns that are repeated again and again. These patterns often create a hypnotic effect.
minnesinger	German musicians of noble birth
minor	lesser, smaller. When referring to keys, refers to one of a group of scales in which the third is flatted
minor scale	a diatonic scale made up of eight notes, from the key note to its octave. In ascending order, the sequence of intervals between the notes is as follows. tone-semitone-tone-tone-semitone-tone-tone. The name of the scale is taken from the key note.
minstrel	the word minstrel has been used loosely to indicate a musical entertainer, providing his own accompaniment to his singing. The medieval minstrel, a secular musician, flourished between the 13th and 15th century, generally as an itinerant singer
minuet	a triple metre French dance popular from the second half of the 17th until at least the end of the 18th century. It appears as an occasional element of the baroque instrumental suite and later as a movement in the pre-classical and classical symphony and allied forms, gradually replaced by the scherzo. The minuet usually has a complementary trio, a contrasting section in similar metre
mirliton	a group of devices that uses a vibrating membrane to distort sound. The mirliton is a type of membranophone. the best-known mirliton is the kazoo
mirror composition	composition in retrograde or inverted intervals
miserere	the first word of psalms 50, 54 and 55, and the word appears on numerous occasions in Latin liturgical texts. there is a famous setting of psalm 50 (= 51 in the Hebrew and English Psalter) by the early 17th century Italian composer Gregorio Allegri, the property of the papal chapel, written down from memory by Mozart at the age of fourteen, during his visit to Rome in 1770.
misterioso	mysterious
misura	measure or beat
mit	with
mixed voices	combination of men's and women's voices
mixolydian	the modal scale where the half steps occur between degrees 3 & 4, and 6 & 7. Major with a flatted 7, often used in jazz and Celtic music
mixolydian mode	a medieval mode whose scale pattern is that of playing g to g on the white keys of a piano
mobile	changeable, flexible
modal	pertaining to modes
modal rhythm	see rhythmic mode
modality	the use of modes, usually other than major or minor
mode	an order or scale of notes producing an alternative to the major or minor scales
moderato	moderate speed
modern	music written in the 20th century, or contemporary music
moderno	modern
modinha	sentimental song deriving from Italian opera
modo	used as the prefix to a direction to a musician or singer, as in in modo di, meaning 'in the manner of'
modulate	to change to a different key or tonal center
modulation	change of key within a piece
modus	mode
modus lascivus	medieval name for the mode corresponding to c-major, which was avoided in church music, but widely used in secular music of the time
moll	minor
molto	very or much, as in molto allegro, meaning 'very quickly'
monacordo	clavichord
monochord	instrument of one string
monodrama	a melodrama for one character, with sung or spoken text accompanied by music
monody	a song performed by solo voice accompanied by music
monophonic	describes music with a single line of melody, without accompaniment, as opposed to homophonic, when one line leads, but with an accompaniment. See also polyphonic, when there are two or more lines of equal importance
monophony	music in only one part, and without accompaniment. plainsong is the classic example
monothematic	based on a single theme
monotone	a single unvaried tone, as produced by a drone
montonero	Spanish counterpart of the minuet
morbido	soft or gentle. not to be confused with morbid
morceau	"morsel". a musical work or composition
mordent	an ornament consisting of a single alternation between a given pitch, and the one immediately below or above it-- called an inverted mordent
morendo	instruction that the music should fade gently away
moresca	pantomimic dance performed in Moorish costumes
morris dance	English folk dance which dates back to the 17th-century, traditionally (but not always) performed by men
mosso	is generally found in the phrases piu mosso, faster, and meno mosso, slower
motet	a choral composition, usually on a religious text
motif	a short musical idea, or melodic theme that runs through a piece
motion	pattern of changing pitches, as opposed to rhythm
moto	motion
mouth organ	harmonica
mouthpiece	the part of a wind instrument that the performer puts to his mouth
mouvement	movement
movable do	system in which "do" is the keynote, and may be transposed to any key, as opposed to fixed do, wherein all syllables associate with absolute pitches
movement	a section of a more extended work that is more or less complete in itself, although occasionally movements are linked together, either through the choice of a final inconclusive chord or by a linking note, as in the first and second movement of Mendelssohn's violin concerto.
movimiento	movement, motion
mozarabic chant	medieval church chant style of Spain
muance	mutation
muffle	to reduce the sound produced by a drum, by placing a cloth over the drumhead
multimetric	meter pattern in which the meter changes frequently. see hemiola
mundharmonika	mouth organ
munter	merry
murciana	localized fandango, named after murcia
murky	bass accompaniment in broken octaves
musette	a bagpipe popular in France during the late 17th-century. Also a musical piece similar to the gavotte, with a bass part having bagpipe-like drone
music	from the Greek muse. the art and science of combining timbres, pitches, and rhythms in a way that satisfies and stirs the emotions of the listener
music appreciation	musical training in which listening intelligently to, rather than producing music is stressed
music box	a clockwork mechanism invented at the end of the 18th-century. rotating pins sound notes by plucking the teeth of a special 'comb'
music drama	opera, specifically that of Richard Wagner and his successors
musica	music
musical	the successor to musical comedy. showboat has been hailed as the first great musical
musical bow	a bow where the string is plucked or scraped and the sound is intensified with a resonating chamber, or the mouth is used as such
musical comedy	a type of play with music, similar to operetta, with catchy tunes and a comic and romantic storyline, popular in Britain and the U.S. in the late 19th-and early 20th-centuries. Chu Chin Chow was one of the most successful
musical glasses	an instrument made up of various sizes of drinking glasses, filled with liquid or sand to produce different pitches when rubbed with a damp finger
musical saw	a saw played as a musical instrument with either a bow or a stick
musicology	the academic study of music
musique concrete	music composed by manipulating recorded sounds, specifically acoustically generated real-world sounds
muta	instruction to a musician to change, in mid-performance, either from one tuning to another, or from one instrument to another
mutation	voice change. violin shift
mute	a device that is fitted to an instrument to soften or otherwise alter its tone. this may be an object placed inside the bell of a brass instrument, or on the bridge of a stringed instrument.