| s |
abbr. for segno, senza, sinistra, solo, soprano, sordini, subito |
|
saccade |
abrupt, shook |
| sackbut |
early form of trombone. some sackbuts had a sliding
bell |
|
sackgeige |
kit |
|
sackpfeife |
bagpipe |
|
saeta |
Andalusia song used for outdoor processionals during lent or
advent |
|
sainete |
Spanish type of comic opera, often approaching low
comedy |
|
saite |
string |
|
salmo |
psalm |
|
saltando, saltato |
leaping, bouncing |
|
saltarello |
a rapid Italian dance in triple metre, examples of which survive from the middle ages.
The rhythm and energy of the dance are similar to those of the tarantella. a well known example appears in the final movement of
Mendelssohn's 'Italian' symphony |
| saltbox |
noisemaker in the form of a cylinder with a crank.
Used by clowns |
|
salterio |
psaltery, or dulcimer |
|
samba |
an Afro-Brazilian dance in double time, with a strongly syncopated rhythm, which became popular in ballrooms across
Europe and the U.S. the music for the dance is also known as samba |
| sampler |
used in electronic music that allows digital reproduction of
sounds |
|
sampogna |
zampogna |
|
sanctus |
"holy." in the mass, the fourth part of the ordinary |
|
sanft |
soft, gentle |
|
sans |
without |
|
saquebout |
sackbut |
|
sarabande |
a slow, genteel dance in triple time, thought to have its origins in the orient.
It came to
Europe via Spain during the 16th-century, and became popular in 18th-century
England. It often appears as a slow movement in a classical suite |
|
sarambo |
Dominican dance form, which evolved from the Spanish
Zapateado |
|
sarangi |
an ancient stringed instrument from India, which is played with a curved
bow |
|
sardana |
a national dance from Catalonia in Spain |
|
sarod |
a traditional Indian plucked string instrument. |
|
sarrusophone |
a double-reed instrument of the oboe family, classed as woodwind, even though it is made of brass. named after
Sarrus, its 19th-century French inventor |
|
sassofone |
saxophone |
| satire |
poking fun at a musical style by imitation, violation, or carrying to
extreme |
|
satz |
movement, or style |
|
sautille |
violin technique of giving a short fast stroke in mid bow, such that the bow bounces off the
string |
| saxophone |
a family of wind instruments, developed in about 1840 by the Belgian
instrument maker, Adolphe Sax. The saxophone has a single reed similar to the clarinet, and is classified as woodwind, even though it has a metal body.
The most important use of the instrument in classical music today is in saxophone
quartets |
| scale |
a collection of pitches arranged from lowest to highest or highest to
lowest |
|
scampata |
chirivari |
|
scat singing |
the insertion of nonsense syllables into a jazz song |
|
scena |
also describes an episode in opera that has no formal construction, and is usually made up of arias, recitative and other elements.
It may be an extended dramatic passage-often involving a single character-such as the sleepwalking scene in
Verdi's Macbeth |
| scenario |
the outline of an opera or play drawn up before work is started on the actual words to be sung, or libretto.
It describes the number of characters and scenes, and sketches the plot of each scene. it also indicates how the music develops, situating the climaxes and the linking
passages |
|
schalkhaft |
sporting |
|
schall |
sound |
|
schellen |
tambourine |
|
scherzando |
literally-joking or jesting. Played in a light-hearted
manner |
|
scherzo |
a light-hearted movement found from the early 17th century in various forms, but used by
Beethoven as an alternative to the minuet in symphonies, sonatas and other instrumental forms.
Chopin expanded the form very considerably. the diminutive scherzino or
scherzetto is occasionally found, while scherzando occurs as a direction to performers. the scherzo, like the minuet, is generally used to frame a trio section of contrasted material. |
|
scherzoso |
in a light-hearted manner |
|
schiettamente |
openly |
|
schlag |
beat, stroke |
|
schlagzither |
plucked zither |
|
schlegel |
drumstick |
|
schleppend |
dragging |
|
schlummerlied |
lullaby |
|
schluss |
end, ending cadence |
|
schlussel |
clef |
|
schnabel |
clarinet or recorder mouthpiece |
|
schnarre |
rattle |
|
schnell |
a direction to play music fast |
|
schola |
papal choir and singing school, designed for training in
chant |
|
schottische |
round dance |
|
schrittmassig |
measured |
|
schusterfleck |
see rosalia |
|
schwegel, schwegelpfeife |
flute |
|
schweller |
swell |
|
schwingung |
vibration |
|
schwungvoll |
animated |
|
sciolto |
freely |
|
scivolando |
a direction to a pianist to draw the finger rapidly up or down the keys.
Also known as glissando |
| scoop |
approaching a sung note from below, rather than attacking
it |
|
scordatura |
unconventional tuning in order to make certain parts easier to play, or to alter the tone
color |
| score |
a musical score is written music that shows all parts.
A conductor's score, for example, may have as many as thirty different simultaneous instrumental parts on one page, normally having the woodwind at the top, followed below by the brass, the percussion and the strings.
A distinction is made between a vocal score, which gives voice parts with a simplified two-stave version of any instrumental parts, and a full score, which includes all vocal and instrumental parts generally on separate staves.
To score a work is to write it out in score. A symphony, for example, might be sketched in short score, on two staves, and later orchestrated or scored for the required
instruments |
|
scorrendo |
gliding |
|
scrittura |
commission to write an opera |
|
scucito |
non-legato |
| second |
the smallest conventional musical interval in melody or harmony, formed by two adjacent
notes |
|
secondary triads |
II, III, and VI - the relative minors of the primary
triads |
|
secondo |
second part |
|
seelemant |
requiem mass |
|
seenenvoll |
soulful |
|
segno |
sign used to indicate the beginning of a section to be
repeated |
|
segue |
perform the next section immediately without a pause |
|
seguidilla |
southern Spanish dance form, based on a text that is freely broken and phrases
repeated |
|
sehr |
very |
|
seis |
literally, six, a dance song, often employing the Phrygian
cadence |
|
semi |
half |
|
semibreve |
a whole note with the time value of two half notes or four quarter notes.
The British equivalent is a half a breve |
|
semi-cadence |
imperfect cadence |
| semi-opera |
has been coined to describe the English dramatic works of the later 17th century that combined spoken drama with a significant element of music, as in
Purcell's king Arthur, with a text by Dryden, or in the same composer's the fairy queen, an adaptation of
Shakespeare's a midsummer night's dream. |
|
semiquaver |
a sixteenth note with the time value of 1/16 of a whole note. the
British equivalent is half a quaver |
|
semiseria |
serious opera that contained a significant number of comic
scenes |
| semitone |
half step |
|
semplice |
simply, unaffected |
|
sempre |
always |
|
senhal |
in which a name is hidden in the letters of a song's
text |
|
sentimento |
with sentiment |
|
sentito |
expressive |
|
senza |
without, is found in directions to performers, particularly in phrases such as senza sordino, without
mute |
| septet |
a performing group of seven musicians. a septet also refers to a piece of music written for seven
performers |
| septuplet |
grouping of seven notes played in the time of four or
six |
| sequence |
repetition of a melody at a different pitch |
| serenade |
is often similar in form to the divertimento.
Etymologically a piece for evening performance, usually outdoors, the counterpart of the morning aubade, the title came to have a much more general meaning, although it often suggests a piece of music in
honor of someone or something, an extension of the traditional performance of a lover beneath the window of his mistress. |
|
serenata |
serenade |
|
sereno |
serene |
|
serial music |
music in which classical rules do not apply, and which uses tone
rows |
|
serialism |
a form of music writing based on twelve-tone technique, in which pitch classes,
rhythms, and often dynamics are determined systematically |
|
serialism |
is the important 20th century compositional technique that uses, as a basis of unity, a series of the twelve semitones of the octave in a certain order, which may then be taken in retrograde form, in inversion and in retrograde inversion, and also in transposition. the technique, an extension of late romantic
chromatics, was formulated by Arnold Schoenberg in the 1920s followed by his pupils
Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and thereafter by many other composers. problems arise for the listener in the difficulty of hearing the series, however visually apparent from the written score. |
|
serinette |
miniature barrel organ |
|
serioso |
serious |
| serpent |
a large, ancient, s-shaped wind instrument, usually made of wood.
It was replaced by the ophicleide in concert use |
|
sesqui- |
prefix referring to fractions whose numerator is larger than the
denominator |
|
sestetto |
sextet |
| seventh |
the interval of seven diatonic degrees |
|
seventh chord |
chord consisting of the root, third, fifth, and 7th degrees of a
scale |
|
sext |
the fifth canonical hour |
| sextet |
a composition for six parts |
|
sextole |
sextuplet |
| sextuplet |
a group of six notes played in the time of four ordinary
ones |
|
sforzando |
sudden strong accent on a single note |
| shake |
trill |
|
shakuhachi |
Japanese flute |
|
shamisen |
a Japanese string instrument, similar to a lute |
| shanty |
a working song sung by seamen on sailing ships, to coordinate the rhythmic movements of a team effort-such as heaving on a
rope |
|
sharp |
represented by the sign #, added before a note, raises its pitch by a semitone. in general terms music that is sharp may be simply out of tune, at too high a pitch. |
|
shawm |
a double-reed woodwind instrument of the 16th-and 17th-centuries; forerunner of the
oboe |
|
sheng |
Chinese type of mouth organ, or harmonica |
| shift |
a change of left hand position on the neck of a stringed
instrument |
| shimmy |
American dance form, like fast fox-trot combined with shaking the entire
body |
|
shivaree |
charivari |
|
sho |
sheng |
|
shofar |
ancient Jewish instrument made of ram's horn |
|
short appogiatura |
one grace note before the melody note |
|
short octave |
result of omitting certain low tones from the ranks of organs resulted in this special arrangement of the lowest keys, which enabled playing big
intervals |
| si |
the seventh tone of a scale |
|
siciliana |
had it's probable origin in a Sicilian shepherd dance or song.
It came to be associated in the later 17th century with the pastoral, particularly in the
Christmas concerto of the period. The Sicilian is normally in compound dotted rhythm and is slow and sometimes melancholy in mood. |
|
side drum |
a small drum, also sometimes referred to as a snare drum, which has a skin at both ends of a shallow cylinder. the upper skin is struck with a pair of wooden sticks, while the lower one is in contact with strings-called snares-which produce a rattling
effect |
|
sight read |
to play or sing a piece of music at first sight |
|
sight reading |
reading and performing music without preparation |
| signal |
fanfare |
| signature |
sign placed at the beginning of every staff of a composition, indicating what key it is in. a time signature is placed at the beginning of a composition indicating the
mete |
|
similar motion |
two or more parts either descending or ascending at the same
time |
|
simile |
to continue to do something in the same way it was formerly notated such as pedaling or
staccatos |
|
simple interval |
an interval between two notes of an eighth-or octave-or less. an interval of more than an octave is known as a compound
interval |
|
simple time |
any music that has a beat that is divisible by two |
|
simplice |
simply |
|
sin al fine |
to the end |
|
sinfonia |
in earlier usage indicated a passage or piece of instrumental music, sometimes an introductory piece, leading later to the
Italian overture, known as the sinfonia before the opera |
|
sinfonia concertante |
is a concerto that uses two or more solo instruments. the title was used in the later 18th century by
Mozart, Haydn
and their contemporaries, and has occasionally been used by composers since then. |
| Sinfonietta |
small symphony orchestra |
| singing |
voice, as in "voice lessons" |
|
singing saw |
musical saw |
| singspiel |
a singspiel is a German form of play with music. The word is used to indicate a stage work that makes some use of spoken dialogue, even in a context of primarily musical interest.
Examples are found in Mozart's the magic flute and in
Beethoven's only opera,
Fidelio |
|
sinistra |
left |
|
sino |
to, until. |
|
sirvente |
troubadour poetry treating politics, philosophy etc. |
|
sistrum |
a percussion instrument, rather like a rattle, with rings attached, that jangle against a metal frame when it is shaken.
It became obsolete, but has found popularity with contemporary composers. |
| sitar |
a long-necked string instrument from India, similar to a lute. it is played with a plectrum worn on the right
forefinger |
|
six-four chord |
the second inversion of a triad |
|
sixteenth note |
semi quaver |
| sixth |
the interval of six diatonic degrees |
|
sixth tone |
one third of a half step |
|
sixty-fourth note |
hemi demisemiquaver (note: instead of actually pronouncing such a long name for such a short note, people sometimes just say "quick
note") |
|
skala |
scale |
| skip |
melodic interval larger than a major second |
|
skolie |
drinking song |
|
slancio |
impetuousness |
|
slargando |
slowing down |
|
slentando |
becoming slower. See rallentando |
| slide |
the movable part of the trombone. an ornament of two or three scale tones.
A portamento in violin when going quickly from one note to the next.
An Irish peasant dance similar to a polka. |
| slur |
a direction, written as a curved line over two or more notes, indicating that they are joined smoothly as one unbroken phrase.
In music for strings, slurs are played with one bow stroke. in vocal music, they are sung in one
breath |
|
sminuendo |
diminuendo |
|
smorzando |
a direction to fade the volume of the music to
silence |
|
snare drum |
a small drum, also sometimes referred to as a side drum, which has a skin at both ends of a shallow cylinder. the upper skin is struck with a pair of wooden sticks, while the lower one is in contact with strings-called snares-which produce a rattling
effect |
|
snello |
nimble |
|
soave |
smooth, sweet |
| soave |
a direction to play a piece of music tenderly or
gently |
|
soft pedal |
the left pedal on the piano, which alters the position of the keys, so that only one of the two or three strings of each note is struck.
This has the effect of lessening the volume |
|
soggetto |
subject |
|
sogitha |
Syrian chant |
|
sognando |
dreaming |
| sol |
fifth syllable in sol-fa |
|
solea |
plaintive Andalusia folksong |
|
sol-fa |
English solemnization for sight singing |
|
solfege |
vocalizes sung to vowels, or the syllables. Basic music
instruction |
|
solfegietto |
little study |
|
soli |
the whole section plays |
|
solmization |
system of naming the degrees of the scales via
syllables |
|
solo |
a piece, or section of music performed by one player, either alone or with an accompaniment. |
| soloist |
the person who sings or plays a solo piece or
instrument |
|
son |
tone, sound |
|
son chapin |
the national dance of Guatemala |
|
sonare |
to sound |
| sonata |
a composition in three sections. exposition, development and recapitulation. the exposition uses two themes or subjects, and usually concludes with a coda, or short tail-piece. |
|
sonata form |
exposition, followed by development, and
recapitulation |
|
sonatina |
a shorter, structurally simpler version of a sonata, usually with a briefer development
section |
|
song |
a vocal composition with words. it can be sung with or without
accompaniment |
|
song cycle |
a set of related songs, arranged in a particular order for
performance |
|
song form |
the arrangement of sections in a song to contrast similar
and different sections. often, letters are used to represent different parts of a given selection. aba, aaba, abaca,
etc |
|
sonneries |
signals performed by trumpets or bells |
|
sonore |
sonorous |
|
sonus |
offertory, in some rites |
|
sopra |
above |
|
sopranino |
the term for musical instruments pitched higher than the soprano range, such as the sopranino recorder or
saxophone |
| soprano |
the highest female voice-extending at lease two octaves from the b below middle c.
A boy's voice in that range is referred to as treble. An adult male soprano is falsetto or castrato.
Also refers to musical instruments, such as the recorder and saxophone, pitched in the soprano range.
Abbreviated as S. |
|
sordino |
the direction 'con sordino' instructs the player to put on the mute. 'senza sordino', meaning 'without mute', reverses the direction. |
|
sortisatio |
improvised counterpoint |
|
sospirando |
sighing |
|
sostenente piano |
stringed keyboard instrument that produces a non-percussive
tone |
|
sostenuto |
a direction to hold a note for its full time value |
|
sostenuto pedal |
third pedal on a piano. A real sostenuto pedal lifts the dampers that are already off due to their keys being held down.
Some pianos have a third pedal that lifts the dampers off the bass strings,
while maintaining clarity in the upper registers. |
|
sotto |
under, below |
|
sotto voce |
a direction to instruments and voices to play or sing at a scarcely audible
level |
|
soubrette |
often refers to a coquettish female character, typically a maid, sung in comic opera or operetta by a light soprano voice.
Typical soubrettes are Despina in cosi fan tutte and Susanna in the marriage of
Figaro. |
|
sound board |
a wooden board in keyboard instruments that enhances its
resonation |
|
sound holes |
openings cut in the top of a stringed instrument |
|
sound post |
in the violin family, a small wooden piece wedged between the front and the
back |
|
soupirant |
sighing |
|
sourd, sourde |
muffled |
| sousaphone |
a type of tuba, which encircles the player's body and ends in a large bell facing forward.
Designed by the famous composer John Philip Sousa for playing while marching. |
| sp |
abbrev. for spitze (tip), either of bow, or in pedal board, the toe of the
foot |
| space |
the blank area between two staff lines or leger lines |
| spacing |
the distance between voices, classified as either close or
open |
|
spaltklang |
sonority resulting from the blend of timbres |
|
spatium |
space |
|
speaker key |
a key that opens a small hole that aids a wind player in
over blowing |
|
speaking stop |
a stop that enables sounds (as opposed to a coupler) |
|
sperdendosi |
fading |
|
spezzato |
divided |
|
spiccato |
a direction to play notes on string instruments in a rapid, detached manner, bouncing the bow on the
strings |
|
spiegelfuge |
mirror fugue |
|
spieldose |
music box. |
|
spinato |
even |
| spinet |
early form of harpsichord, on a smaller scale, that was popular between the 16th and
18th-centuries |
|
spirito |
a direction to play in a lively, spirited manner |
|
spiritoso |
with animation, spirited |
| spiritual |
religious song of African-Americans |
|
spitze |
point (of bow, in violin), (of toe, in organ) |
|
sprechstimme, sprechgesang |
vocal coloration halfway between singing and speech |
|
square neumes |
12th century neumatic script characterized by squares to represent
notes |
|
stabreim |
alliteration |
|
staccatissimo |
an extreme form of staccato |
|
staccato |
a direction, marked by a dot over the note, that it should be held for less than its full length. the opposite of
legato |
| staff |
indicates the set of lines used for the notation of notes of different pitches. the five-line stave is in general use, with a four-line stave used for plainchant.
Staves of other numbers of lines were once used. the system, with colored
lines for c and for f, followed principles suggested first by Guido of
Arezzo in the 11th century. Staff notation is the system of notation that uses the stave. |
|
staffless notation |
any notation method wherein pitches are indicated by some means other than a
staff |
|
standchen |
serenade |
| stave |
the five-line framework, on which musical notation is
written |
| steel band |
a band, originally from the west Indies, that plays pans-drums made from the hammered-out tops of oil
drums |
|
steel drum |
percussion instrument made of an oil drum whose heads are indented in such a way that striking different areas of the head produces different
pitches |
|
steg |
bridge (of violin) |
|
stegreif |
improvisation |
|
stendando |
slowing, expanding |
| step |
interval of a second |
|
steso |
slow, same |
|
stil |
style |
|
stimm |
having to do with voice, part, or tone |
|
stimme |
the voice, or part written for voice |
|
stimmung |
tuning |
|
stinguendo |
extinguishing, dying away |
|
stirato |
drawing out |
| stop |
a lever on a harpsichord or organ that controls the use of pipes or strings.
To 'stop' a string on a string instrument is to place a fingertip on it, which causes it to vibrate more quickly, and raises its pitch.
To stop a horn is to place a hand firmly inside the bell to give a different sound quality. |
| stopped pipe |
pipe closed at one end |
|
storta |
cromorne |
| strad., stradivarius |
a very famous violin maker, or any violin of that
vintage |
|
straff |
rigid, firm |
|
strathspey |
slow Scottish dance in 4 containing multiple dotted
notes |
|
straziante |
anguished |
|
street organ |
barrel organ, often erroneously called a hurdy gurdy |
|
streich- |
bow |
|
strepitoso |
boisterous, clacking |
|
stretta |
finishing up at a faster tempo than the preceding
section |
|
stretto |
in a fugue stretto is the device by which a second voice enters with the subject overlapping a first voice, rather than starting after the completion of the subject by the first voice.
The word is sometimes used to indicate a faster speed, particularly at the climax of a movement. |
| string |
string instruments are chordophones, instruments that sound by the vibration of a string of a certain tension.
The string section of the modern orchestra uses first and second violins, violas, cellos and double basses.
A string trio consists of violin, viola and cello; a string quartet consists of two violins, viola and cello and a string quintet either of two violins, two violas and cello, as in the case of
Mozart's work in this form, or of two violins, viola and two cellos, as in the case of
Schubert's famous c major string quintet and the quintets of
Boccheri. other numbers and combinations of string instruments are possible in other
ensembles |
|
string quartet |
music for, or ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola, and a violincello |
|
string quintet |
music for, or ensemble of five stringed instruments |
|
string trio |
music for, or ensemble of three stringed instruments |
|
stringed instruments |
any instruments which sound by means of vibrating strings, set in motion by plucking, striking, or
bowing |
|
stringendo |
pressing or accelerating |
| strings |
stringed instruments |
|
strisciando |
very specific type of glissando |
|
stroboconn |
instrument used to measure frequencies |
|
stroh violin |
instrument in which the usual body is replaced by an aluminum plate connected to an amplifying
horn |
|
stromentato |
played by instruments, instrumental |
|
stromento |
instrument |
|
strophenbass |
using the same bass line for each stanza, but varying the
melody |
| strophic |
style in which the same music is used for each verse, the opposite of through composed, which is used when subtle musical differences are
desired |
| study |
is a piece of music originally designed primarily for the technical development of the player.
Studies came, however, to be compositions of considerable musical distinction, as in the case of the etudes of
Chopin or of Debussy |
|
stufe |
degree of the scale |
|
stutzflugel |
baby grand piano |
|
stuck |
composition |
|
sturze |
bell, as of a horn |
| style |
type of expression, patterns in treatment of melody, form, orchestration, etc. |
|
sub- |
below |
| subdominant |
the fourth note of a scale; chord built on the fourth note of a
scale |
|
subito |
suddenly |
| subject |
a subject is a theme or group of themes |
|
submediant |
the sixth degree of the scale |
|
suboctave |
the octave below |
| subtonic |
the seventh, usually the minor |
| suite |
a set of instrumental pieces, originally based on dance forms and styles, grouped together as one work.
Also a collection of pieces taken from a longer work, such as an opera or
ballet |
| sul, sulla |
on |
|
sumponyah |
biblical reference to an instrument, thought to be a bagpipe or
sackbut |
|
superdominant |
the sixth degree of the scale |
| supertonic |
the second degree of the scale |
| suspension |
sustainment of a consonant note while a different consonant note moves to a dissonance. the suspension is then usually resolved. a chord with a suspension in
it |
|
sussurando |
whispering, murmuring |
|
sustaining pedal |
the middle pedal of the piano, also sometimes used for the damper
pedal |
|
svelto |
quick |
|
svolgimento |
development |
| swell |
gradual increase in intensity |
|
swell organ |
the upper manual of an organ and all its stops. The swell organ pipes are in a case with shutters that may be opened and closed via the swell pedal, thus giving the swell organ some dynamic range. |
|
sympathetic string |
set in motion by the vibration of another string or pulse source but not played directly. |
|
sympathetic vibration |
occurs when the vibration of one drumhead, cymbal, etc.
Causes another drumhead, or cymbal to vibrate. for example, when the top head a snare drum is struck the vibrations from the top head cause the bottom head to
vibrate |
| symphony |
the word literally means 'sounding together'. In the early 18th-century, it meant an instrumental section of a choral work. today, it describes a large-scale orchestral work usually in four
movements |
|
symphony orchestra |
an extended ensemble laid out in sections of strings, woodwind, brass, harp, timpani and percussion.
Orchestras in the 18th-century had as few as 20 instruments, but today more than 100 is not uncommon.
Usually, a conductor directs and coordinates the tempo, dynamics and musical
interpretation |
| syncopation |
the deliberate upsetting of the rhythm in a piece of music to make the accent fall on the weaker beat in the bar, which is not normally accented. syncopation has been used in the music of all periods, and is one of the foremost features of
jazz |
|
synemmenon |
additional tetra chord in which a b-flat was introduced |
| synthesizer |
an instrument that uses electronic means to re-create an almost infinite variety of sounds. modern synthesizers usually have pre-set instrumental and vocal notes, which are operated by means of a keyboard. they have come to prominence mostly in the field of popular music, but also have a place in certain modern orchestral
works |
|
syrinx |
panpipes |
| system |
collection of staves occurring together on a page |
