| v |
abbr. for vide, violin, voice or voce, volta or volti |
| v"ina |
stringed instrument of India |
|
va |
go |
|
vagans |
the fifth part, in a motet, probably so named because it had no specific
range |
|
vaghezza |
charm, grace |
|
vago |
vague |
|
valor |
time value of a note |
|
valse |
waltz |
| valve |
device for diverting the air flow in a brass instrument away from a section of the main tube and into a tube of a different length, giving a different
pitch |
| vamp |
an improvisation over a simple chord change, used in popular music to accompany non-musical events, or played until the main music is ready to
start |
|
vamphorn |
megaphone used in English churches for announcements |
|
variante |
substitution of parallel key |
| variation |
transformation of a musical theme, retaining some aspects of the
original |
| variations |
variation form involves the repetition of a theme in changed versions. it is possible to vary the melody, its rhythm and its harmony, or to vary by addition. early variation forms include the chaconne and the passacaglia, originally dances based on variations on a simple repeated bass or chordal pattern.
Later examples of variations include
Elgar's well known enigma variations and the Handel,
Haydn and Paganini variations of Brahms |
|
varsovienne |
Polish dance named for Warsaw |
|
vaudeville |
originally a song with a short, amorous text. later applied to short musical comedies interspersed with popular songs.
Today it refers to any light
theatrical entertainment with music. |
|
velato |
veiled |
|
vellutato |
velvet-like |
|
veloce |
rapidly/fast |
| venetian school |
late-renaissance group of composers in Venice whose style included
polyhedral textures and the foundations of orchestration |
|
vent |
wind |
|
ventil |
valve |
|
veranderungen |
variations |
|
verbunkos |
Hungarian soldier dance that was used to lure recruits |
|
vergrosserung |
augmentation |
|
verhallend |
fading |
|
verismo |
is used in connection with the attempts at realism in late 19th century
Italian opera, particularly with Mascagni's opera Cavalleria
Rusticana, followed by Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. |
|
verkleinerung |
diminution |
|
vermindert |
diminished (as in interval) |
|
vers mesure |
the application of French poetry to the principles of classical
Greek |
|
verschiebung |
soft pedal |
|
verschwinden |
fading |
| verse |
a line or stanza |
|
verset |
short organ piece, usual fugal |
|
versetzung |
transposition |
|
verstarken |
to reinforce |
| vespers |
is the evening service of the divine office, elements of which have proved suitable for more elaborate setting than the normal plainchant.
Particularly notable in this respect is the 1610 compilation by
Monteverdi for his published vespers in honor of the blessed virgin. |
|
vezzoso |
graceful, elegant |
|
via |
away |
|
vibraharp |
a xylophone-like instrument with shuttered resonators. the shutters are electronic and produce a vibrato
effect |
| vibraphone |
is a form of met allophone with resonators below its horizontally arranged metal bars and a mechanism to allow a vibrato effect, giving the instrument a characteristic resonance.
It has been used for special effects by a number of 20th century
composers |
| vibrato |
is a technique of vibration used on various instruments and by singers, at one time used sparingly or not at all, but tending to over-use from performers anxious to conceal poor intonation.
In strings-even pulsation or rapid vibration of the fingers of the left hand produced by a combination of finger and arm movement. |
|
vidala |
traditional song of Argentina |
|
vide |
to skip from vi to de, indicates an omitted part |
|
viel |
great |
|
vielle |
the most important stringed instrument of the 13th to 15th centuries, having drone, four fingered strings, but no
wheel |
|
vielstimmig |
polyphonic |
|
vierhebigkeit |
musical phrase with four accents |
|
viertel |
quarter |
|
vif |
lively |
|
vigoroso |
energetic, vigorous |
|
vihuela |
six course guitar of 16th cent. |
|
vinnula |
ornamenting neume |
| vinola |
ornamenting neume |
| viol |
the name of the family of stringed instruments used in the 15th-and 16th-centureis and superseded by the violin family in the
18th |
| viola |
stringed instrument in the violin family. the box is larger than the violin, and it is tuned a fifth
lower |
|
viola da gamba |
a bowed string instrument like the cello. it was the principal member of the viol family. |
|
viola d'amore |
used principally in the 17th and 18th centuries, is a bowed instrument generally with seven bowed strings and seven sympathetic strings, tuned to vibrate in sympathy with the playing strings. the instrument has a peculiar resonance of its own and has a small but interesting modern
repertoire |
|
viole |
viol or viola |
|
violento |
violent |
| violin |
a bowed instrument with four strings, is used to provide the soprano and alto parts in the string section of the modern orchestra and the string quartet.
It was developed in something approaching its modern form in the 16th century, gradually coming to occupy an unrivalled position because of
it's remarkable acoustical properties and its versatility. particular distinction was added by the great violin-makers of northern
Italy and of the Austrian Tyrol, while the later 18th century brought gradual changes of construction of both bow and instrument to provide greater resonance. |
|
violin family |
a family of four-string instruments originating during the 17th century, tuned in fifths, and characterized by rounded backs and shoulders, f-shaped sound holes, and deep middle bouts. see violin, viola, cello, and
bass |
| violoncello |
bass member of the string instrument family, the principal member of which is the violin. tuned an octave below the
viola |
|
violone |
is the double bass of the viol family, although the word was once occasionally used with less accuracy to indicate the cello or any large
viol |
|
virgil clavier |
practice piano that doesn't sound, but allows practice of
touch |
| virginal |
is a small harpsichord of varied shape and size. the word was used very generally in
England in the 16th and 17th centuries for instruments of this type, with a keyboard and a mechanism by which quills plucked the horizontally stretched strings. the etymology of the word is uncertain, although it allowed obvious scope for
Elizabethan and Jacobean punsters |
|
virtuoso |
great skill, or a performer of great skill |
|
vista |
sight |
|
vite, vitement |
swiftly |
|
vivace |
a musical direction to play fast |
| vivacity |
liveliness |
|
vivo |
alive |
| vocal |
of, or pertaining to the human voice |
|
vocalise |
a vocal work, whether an exercise or not, that has no words. there is a well known and frequently transcribed
vocalize by Rachmaninov, and vocalization is also called for in an orchestral context with the chorus parts of
Neptune in
Holst's suite the planets. |
| vocalization |
a long vowel with no text |
| vocalize |
to practice on a vocalize, to phonate in preparation for
singing |
|
voce |
voice |
|
voci |
voices |
| voice |
is used technically in music to indicate a particular musical line, even if this is intended for an instrumentalist and not a singer.
The
American 'voice-leading' is the equivalent of the English 'part-writing', writing different parts or lines of music for simultaneous
performance |
|
voice exchange |
restatement with voice parts exchanged |
|
voice leading |
the principles governing the progression of the voice
parts |
| voicing |
on the organ, tuning. on piano, adjustment of the felts on the hammer to alter the tone
quality |
|
voile |
subdued |
|
voix |
voice |
|
vokal |
vowel |
|
volante |
in a light flying manner |
|
volata |
fast passage |
|
volkslied |
folk song |
|
voll |
full |
|
volta |
a dance, usually in fast triple time, featuring a series of leaps, when the woman is swept high into the air by her partner.
Very popular in the 16th-century, in the royal courts of western Europe |
|
volteggiando |
crossing the hands on keyboard |
|
volti subito |
quick page turn |
| voluntary |
organ piece, usually improvisational played at church |
| voodoo |
Haitian religious ritual, the source of most national
music |
|
vorausnahme |
anticipation |
|
vorbereiten |
to prepare, especially organ stops |
|
vordersatz |
primary subject |
|
vorhalt |
suspension |
|
vorspiel |
literally. Foreplay. Used for prelude, introduction or
overture |
|
vortrag |
physical realization, performance |
|
vortragszeichen |
expression indications |
|
vorwarts |
continue |
|
vorzeichnung |
key or time signature |
| votive |
chant or hymn honoring a particular saint, or the virgin
Mary |
|
vox |
human voice |
|
vuoto |
empty, used to indicate open string |
| vv |
abbr. for violins |
