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Glossary of music terminology. A variety of musical terms are encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special musical meanings of these phrases differ from the original or current Italian meanings.
From basic terms like ‘melody’ and ‘rhythm’ to more complex ones like ‘negative harmony,’ we break things down in a way that’s easy to understand. Each term links to a guide that explains it further. So go ahead, explore, and make the language of music a little less mysterious with our music dictionary!
May 30, 2024 · Musicians use a tuning fork to help. Crescendo. Crescendo (Italian for “growing”) means to swell in volume. The opposite music terminology is decrescendo. Da capo / D.C. Da Capo (literal Italian for “from the head”) is music terminology that lets musicians know to start “from the top” or “from the beginning”.
Drone. A sustained low pitched tone that can play continuously throughout a piece of music. Also referred to the part of an instrument that produces the sound, such as certain pipes in the bagpipes. Drone is also a genre of music, consisting of minimalistic, ambient and often low sustained sounds.
Minim - A two beat note. Minor - A type of key with a set pattern of notes (the minor scale). Octave - An interval or gap of eight notes. Pentatonic - A five note scale. Quartet - A musical group ...
Arioso [It.]: Airy, like an air; melodious; in the manner of an aria. Armonioso [It.]: Harmoniously. Arpeggio [It.]: To play on the harp; a broken chord where the notes are played or sung in sequence (as a harp), one after the other, rather than simultaneously as a chord.
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Oct 13, 2022 · C. Cadence: a musical phrase that comes to a rest. Call and response: musical form consisting of a melodic phrase (the call) answered by another (the response), used often in jazz and blues music. Canon: musical composition in which a melody is imitated by one or more voices at a fixed interval.
