Brechin High School

Music Glossary
N5
Name:
Class:
Teacher:

Styles
Styles

Melody
Melody
/ Harmony
/ Harmony

Rhythm
Rhythm
/ Tempo
/ Tempo

Blues
Lines and spaces Ascending
on the treble clef
Jazz

Descending

Rock n Roll

Accent
Crotchet
(Accented)
1 beat

Texture
Texture
/ Structure
/ Structure
/ Form
/ Form
Unison/Octave

Beat (Pulse) in a bar; 2,3,4.

Harmony/Chord

Step (Stepwise)

On the beat

Solo

Musical

Leap (Leaping)

Off the beat

Accompanied

Scottish

Steps
Repetition

1.

Minim 2 beats
Repetition

Unaccompanied

Latin American

Sequence

Slower

Repetition

Rock

Question + Answer

Faster

Ostinato

Pause

Riff

March

Round

Pop Moving up or down

Improvisation
between notes
which are next to
each other
Chord
Repetition
Discord

DottedReel
Minim 3 beats

Chord Change

Music Performing:
Musical Terms
Blowing
National 3
Bowing

Striking
f forte
(Hitting)
(Loud)

Strumming
p Plucking
piano (Quiet)
Orchestra

Music
Strings Performing:
Literacy
Terms
Brass
National 3
Woodwind
cresc.
crescendo
Untuned
Percussion

Waltz

Tuned
Percussion
(Getting
louder)

Drum Fill

Accordion

Adagio

An exact repeat of a musical idea

Timbre
Timbre/ Dynamics
/ Dynamics

Allegro
Semi-breve 4 beats

Fiddle Performing:
Music
Musical Terms
Bagpipes
dim. diminuendo
4
Acoustic National
Guitar
(getting Quieter)
Electric Guitar
Piano

Bar lines

Organ
Drum Kit
Steel Band

1.

2.

A vertical line used in a

musical score to mark a division
between bars

Scottish Dance Band

Folk Group
Voice

Styles

Melody / Harmony

Rhythm / Tempo

Texture / Structure / Form

Timbre / Dynamics

Baroque

Major/Minor (Tonality)

Syncopation

Canon

Brass Band

Ragtime

Drone

Scotch Snap

Ternary (ABA)

Wind Band

Romantic

Broken Chord/ Arpeggio

Strathspey

Verse and Chorus

Violin, Cello, Double Bass, Harp

Swing

Chord Progression (Chords I,

Jig

Middle 8

Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Pan Pipes,

IV and V in major keys)

Concerto

Change of Key

Recorder
Simple Time:

Theme and Variation

Trumpet, Trombone

Cadenza

Timpani, Snare Drum, Bass Drum, Cymbals,

2 3 4
4 4 4
Opera

Pedal

Compound Time

Triangle, Tambourine, Guiro, Xylophone,

Glockenspiel
Scots Ballads

Scale

Anacrusis

Mouth Music

Pentatonic Scale

Andante

Imitation

Harpsichord
Bass Guitar

Reggae

Octave

Accelerando

Distortion

African Music

Vamp

Rallentando

Muted

Rapping

Scat Singing

A Tempo

Soprano, Alto, Tenor Bass

Ornament

Dotted Rhythms

Backing Vocals

Music Performing:
Literacy Terms
National 4

Styles

Melody / Harmony

Rhythm / Tempo

Treble Stave

Semi-Quaver beat

(Middle C ledger line A)

Texture / Structure / Form

Timbre / Dynamics
mf mezzo-forte
(Medium Loud)

SEE N4 LITERACY
Sequences

Grouped Semi-Quavers

mp mezzo-piano
(Medium Quiet)

A melodic phrase which is immediately

repeated at a higher or lower pitch
Quaver beat

Paired Quavers
+

Repeat Signs

A sign that indicates a section

should be repeated
Simple Time
The music has two, three or four
beats in each bar, and each beat
is a crotchet (1 beat note) and
each beat can be divided into 2.

Music Performing:
Musical Terms
National 5
Styles

Melody / Harmony

Rhythm / Tempo

Texture / Structure / Form

Timbre / Dynamics

Symphony

Atonal

Rubato

Strophic

Piccolo, Oboe, Bassoon

Gospel

Cluster

Ritardando

Binary Form (AB)

(French) Horn, Tuba

Classical

Chord Progression (I, IV, V, VI) major

Moderato

Rondo Form (ABACADA)

Viola

Pibroch

Imperfect Cadence

Cross Rhythms

Episode

Castanets

Celtic Rock

Perfect Cadence

Compound Time:

Alberti Bass

Hi-Hat

Bothy Ballad

Inverted Pedal

Walking Bass

Cymbals

Waulking Song

Chromatic

Ground Bass

Bongo

Gaelic Psalm

Whole-tone Scale

Homophonic

Drums

Aria

Grace Note

Polyphonic

Clarsach

Chorus

Glissando

Contrapuntal

Bodhran

Minimalist

Modulation

Coda

Sitar, Tabla

Indian

Contrary Motion

Arco

Trill

Pizzicato

Syllabic

Con Sordino

Melismatic

Flutter Tonguing

Countermelody

Rolls

Descant (Voice)

Reverb

Pitch Bend

Mezzo Soprano

Tone

Baritone

Semitone

A Capella

Music Performing:
Literacy Terms
National 5
Styles

Melody / Harmony

Rhythm / Tempo

Identify tones and semitones

Dotted rhythms

Texture / Structure / Form

Timbre / Dynamics
ff fortissimo
(Very Loud)

A semitone is the smallest distance between

two notes. A tone is two semitones.
Accidentals

Dotted Crotchet 1 beats

pp pianissimo
(Very Quiet)

1.

Dotted Quaver beat

sfz sforzando
(Suddenly Loud)

Scales and Key signatures:

Chords:

Scotch Snap

A very short accented note before a

longer note

1.

A group of (typically three or more) notes

sounded together, as a basis of harmony

Leaps

1st and 2nd time bars

This is a sign to show that when

Jumping between notes which are not
next to each other.

playing a repeat, a different ending

is needed.
is drawn before the repeat
sign and is played only the 1st time,
then follow the repeat sign.
is drawn after the repeat
sign and is played the 2nd time only.

A Z Definition List
A Capella
Accelerando
Accent
(Accented)
Accompanied
Accordion

Acoustic Guitar

Adagio
Alberti Bass

Allegro

Unaccompanied singing.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Tempo Marking: Music gradually gets faster.

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

Emphasis put on a note to make it stand out/sound louder.

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

An instrument with a keyboard in which sounds are produced by squeezing bellows with the arms. Popularly
called a squeezebox in Scottish Music.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

A string instrument which does not require an electric amplifier to produce sound. It is played by strumming
and plucking the strings.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Other instrument(s) or voice(s) supports the main instrument/voice

Tempo marking: Slow

Broken chords played by the left hand whilst the right hand plays the melody. Classical composers used this
technique extensively in their piano music.
Tempo marking: Fast

Anacrusis

The note(s) that appear before the first strong beat of a musical phrase. It sounds as an upbeat.

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

Tempo marking: Moderately slow

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

Styles

N4

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Styles

N5

Notes of a chord played one after the other spread out.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Notes which rise in pitch.

Melody/Harmony

N3

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

No feeling of key, major or minor. Very dissonant. A feature of some 20 th Century Music.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Singers who support the lead singer(s), usually by singing in harmony in the background.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Bagpipes

An instrument which has a flexible bag inflated either by a tube with valves or by bellows, a double-reed
melody pipe, and from one to four drone pipes. Associated with Scotland.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Baroque

Music written between 16001750 approx. Common features include harpsichord and lots of ornaments.

Styles

N4

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Andante
African Music

Common features include voices and/or African drums.

Arco

Instruction given to string players to use a bow.

Aria

A song in an opera with orchestral accompaniment which is designed to show the singers ability.

Arpeggio
Ascending
A Tempo
Atonal
Backing Vocals

Bass Guitar
Beat (Pulse) in a

When a piece of music slows down but then returns to its original speed.

Low pitched electric string instrument and has only four string.
The basic pulse you hear in music. May be grouped in 2, 3 or 4 beats with a stress on the first beat of the

bar; 2, 3, 4

bar.

Binary (AB)

A form in which the music is made up of two different sections, A and B. Each section may be repeated.

Blowing
Blues

Bothy Ballad
Bowing
Brass
Brass Band
Brass: French Horn
Brass: Trumpet
Brass: Trombone

Brass: Tuba
Broken Chord

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Started as Black American folk music, developing from spirituals and work songs. Often in 4/4 time and
patterned on a 12-bar structure and blues scale.

Styles

N3

A folk song, usually with many verses, from north-east Scotland. It tells a story of rural or farming life.

Styles

N5

The sound is produced by drawing the bow across the strings of a stringed instrument, e.g. violin, cello etc.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

A family of instruments made from metal with a mouthpiece e.g trumpet, trombone etc.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

A band of brass instruments and percussion.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Four metres of tubing curled around, with a bell-shaped opening on one end and a mouthpiece in the other.
Can play a large range of notes, low and high. Mellow sounding.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Smallest and highest brass instrument in the brass family. Bright sounding.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

This is the only brass instrument that has a slide instead of valves. Lower sounding than trumpet. Can
glissando (slide) between notes very well.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

The tuba is the largest and lowest brass instrument in the brass family. Bass notes.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

The notes of a chord are played separately.

Melody/Harmony

N4

The sound is produced by blowing into or across the mouthpiece of the instrument e.g brass, woodwind

Cadenza

A passage of music which allows soloists to display their technical ability. Performers used to improvise
cadenzas themselves but eventually composers began to write them into the score. Common place in
Concertos.

Texture/Structure/Form

N4

Canon

Strict imitation. After one part starts to play or sing a melody, another part enters shortly afterwards, with
exactly the same melody.

Texture/Structure/Form

N4

Celtic Rock

A style of music that mixes Celtic folk music and rock together e.g combining violins with electric guitars.

Styles

N5

A move from one key to another key.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Choir

A group of singers who perform together.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Chord

Two or more notes sounding together

Melody/Harmony

N3

A move from one chord to a different chord.

Melody/Harmony

N3

Different progressions using the chords built on the first, fourth, fifth and sixth notes of a major or minor
scale.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Styles

N5

Melody/Harmony

N5

Styles

N5

Change of Key

Chord Change
Chord Progression
I, IV, V, VI

Chorus
Chromatic
Classical

A group of singers, the music written for them or the refrain between verses of a song.
A stepwise series of notes built up entirely of semitones, e.g. C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B .
Music written between 1750 to 1810 approximately. The orchestra grew in size during this period and the
piano was invented. Very interested in form and structure of music.

Cluster

A term used to describe a group of notes, which clash, played together.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Coda

A passage at the end of a piece of music which rounds it off effectively.

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Rhythm/Tempo

N5

Styles

N4

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Compound Time
6 9 12
8 8 8
Concerto

The beat subdivides into groups of 3. The beat is a dotted note which divides into three, e.g. 6/8 = two
dotted crotchet beats in a bar and each beat can be divided into three quavers.

Work for solo instrument and orchestra, e.g. a flute concerto is written for solo flute and orchestra.

Con Sordino

Using a mute changes the sound normally produced on an instrument, dampens the sound.

Contrapuntal

Texture in which each of two or more parts has independent melodic interest; similar in meaning to
polyphonic.

Contrary Motion

Two parts which move in opposite directions, e.g. as one part ascends the other part descends.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Countermelody

A melody played against the main melody.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Cross Rhythms

Contrasting rhythms played at the same time or played with unusual emphasis on notes.

Rhythm/Tempo

N5

Descant (Voice)

A counter melody which accompanies and is sung above the main melody

Melody/Harmony

N5

Notes which fall in pitch

Melody/Harmony

N3

A chord in which certain notes clash. In the 20th century, many composers used discords in their music.

Melody/Harmony

N3

An electronic effect used in rock music to colour the sound of an electric guitar. It gives a 'fuzzy' sound
rather than the usual clean sound.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Descending
Discord
Distortion

Dotted Rhythms
Drone

Drum Kit
Electric Guitar
Episode
Exposition

A short note following a longer one

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

One note or notes held on or repeated in the bass or the low-pitched pipes of a bagpipe which accompany a
melody.

Melody/Harmony

N4

A set of drums and cymbals often used in rock music and pop music.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

A guitar which requires an electric amplifier to produce sound.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

A passage of music linking two musical themes, such as in Rondo Form (ABACADA)

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

This describes the first hearing of the 'theme' and is normally associated with compositions structured in
sonata form or fugue.

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Faster

The tempo (speed) increases.

Fiddle

Another name for the violin, used in Scottish music.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Rolling your 'rs' whilst playing a brass or woodwind instrument.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

A group of two or more musicians who perform music in a traditional style, usually accompanied by guitars.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Styles

N5

Melody/Harmony

N5

Flutter Tonguing
Folk Group
Gaelic Psalm
Glissando

Psalms (hymns) which were sung in Gaelic, unaccompanied.

Sliding from one note to another, taking in all the notes in between where possible.

Gospel
Grace Note
Ground Bass
Harmony (Chord)

Music written with religious lyrics, often in praise or thanksgiving to God.

Styles

N5

Melody/Harmony

N5

A theme in the bass which is repeated many times while the upper parts are varied.

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

The sound of two or more notes made at the same time

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

A type of ornament played as a quick, crushed note before the main note of a melody.

Harpsichord

A keyboard instrument which looks like a small grand piano. The keys are laid out in the same way as on a
piano but are opposite in colour the majority of the keys are black, and the raised ones are white. Used
mostly in Baroque music.

Homophonic

Texture where you hear melody with accompaniment or where all the parts play a similar rhythm at the
same time

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Where the melody is immediately copied in another part.

Texture/Structure/Form

N4

A cadence consists of two chords at the end of a phrase. In an imperfect cadence the last chord is chord V
(the dominant) creating an unfinished effect.

Melody/Harmony

N5

The performer creates music during the actual performance. There may be suggested chords as a guide.
Improvisation is an important feature of jazz.

Melody/Harmony

N3

Styles

N5

Melody/Harmony

N5

Styles

N3

Imitation
Imperfect Cadence

Improvisation

Indian
Inverted Pedal
Jazz

Music from India which uses instruments such as the sitar and tabla.
A note which is held on or repeated continuously at a high pitch.
At first this was music created by black Americans in the early 20th century. Common features of Jazz music
include walking bass, syncopation and improvisation.

Jig

A fast dance in compound time. Usually 2 beats in a bar, with each beat dividing into 3 quavers.

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

Latin American

Dance music from South America. Percussion instruments provide lively off-beat dance rhythms.

Styles

N3

Leap (Leaping)

Jumping between notes which are not next to each other..

Melody/Harmony

N3

The notes are played or sung smoothly.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

The music sounds in a major key often described as having a cheery, happy feel to it.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Melody/Harmony

N5

Texture/Structure/Form

N4

Styles

N5

Melody/Harmony

N4

Rhythm/Tempo

N5

Melody/Harmony

N5

Legato
Major (Tonality)
March
Melismatic
Middle 8
Minimalist

Minor (Tonality)
Moderato
Modulation

Music with a strong steady pulse with two or four beats in a bar.
Vocal music in which several notes are sung to one syllable.
In popular music, a section which provides a contrast to the opening section. It is often eight bars long.
A development in the second half of the 20th century based on simple rhythmic and melodic figures which
are constantly repeated with very slight changes each time.

The music sounds in a minor key, often described as having a sadder feel than major.
Tempo marking: Medium speed.
A change of key.

Mouth Music
Musical

Unaccompanied songs with Gaelic or nonsense words, normally sung for ceilidh dances.

Styles

N4

A musical play which has speaking, singing and dancing and is performed on a stage.

Styles

N3

Muted

Using a device which reduces the volume or alters the sound of an instrument.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Octave

The distance of 8 notes eg from C up to C..

Melody/Harmony

N4

Off the beat

Notes played on the weaker beats, eg beats 2 and 4 in a 4/4 bar.

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

On the beat

Notes played on the stronger beats, eg beats 1 and 3 in a 4/4 bar.

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Styles

N4

There are four main sections to an orchestra: strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Organ

A keyboard instrument usually found in churches. It usually has more than one keyboard, plus pedals that
are played with the feet.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Ornament

An ornament decorates a melody by adding extra notes. Ornaments are often short and add melodic and
rhythmic interest.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Opera

Orchestra

A drama set to music with soloists, chorus, acting, and orchestral accompaniment. Contains Arias,
Recitatives and Chorus.

Ostinato

A short musical pattern repeated many times.

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

Pause

A note or rest that is held longer than written.

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Pedal

Short for pedal point. A note which is sustained, or repeated continuously, in the bass beneath changing
harmonies.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Pentatonic Scale

Any five-note scale. In practice, the most common one is that on which much folk music is based,
particularly Scottish and Celtic.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Perfect Cadence

A cadence consists of two chords at the end of a phrase. A perfect cadence is the dominant to tonic chords
(VI). In the key of C major, chords GC.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Piano

A keyboard instrument which produces sounds by hammers striking strings

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Pibroch

Music for solo bagpipe, in theme and variation form, and with grace notes.

Styles

N5

Changing the pitch of a note, for example by pushing a guitar string upwards.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Pizzicato

Abbreviation pizz. An instruction given to string players to pluck the strings instead of using the bow.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Plucking

Sound made when you pluck the strings of a stringed instrument with a finger or fingers.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Pitch Bend

Polyphonic

Texture which consists of two or more melodic lines, possibly of equal importance, which weave
independently of each other.

Pop

A style of popular music played by a group of musicians.

Styles

N3

Question & Answer

An opening phrase which is often followed by an answer.

Melody/Harmony

N3

Styles

N4

Ragtime

A style of dance music which became popular at the end of the 19th century and which helped to influence
jazz. It features a strongly syncopated melody against a steady vamped accompaniment. Often played on
piano, e.g. Scott Joplin rags

Rallentando
Rapping
Reel
Reggae

Repetition

Reverb
Riff
Ritardando
Rock
Rock n Roll
Rolls
Romantic

The tempo (speed) of the music gradually slows down.

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

Styles

N4

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Styles

N4

Melody/Harmony
Rhythm/Tempo
Texture/Structure/Form

N3

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

Rhythm/Tempo

N5

A style of popular music with a heavy, driving beat. Usually features electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit.

Styles

N3

1950s American music which grew from the combined styles of jazz, blues, gospel and country.

Styles

N3

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Styles

N4

Rhyming lyrics that are spoken and performed in time to a beat. Rapping is popular in hip-hop music.
A Scottish dance written in simple time with two or four beats in a bar.
Reggae music was developed in the late 1960s in Jamaica. It has quite a distinctive sound and has the
characteristic of strong accents on the 2nd and 4th beats of the bar.
A musical idea is heard more than once.

An electronic effect which can give the impression of different hall acoustics.
A repeated phrase usually found in jazz and popular music.
The music slows down.

A very fast repetition of a note on a percussion instrument, eg on a snare drum or timpani.

In music, the period 1810-1900. The music focused on nature, an emphasis on the individual's expression
of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against
established social rules and conventions. Larger orchestras with more harmonies and expression were
prevalent.

Rondo Form
(ABACADA)

A form where the first section (A) keeps returning, in between different sections B, C etc.

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Round

Each part sings or plays the same melody, entering one after the other. When they reach the end they start
again. e.g. Frre Jacques.

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

Rubato

Translates as 'robbed time' which means the music will speed up and slow down in order to allow for
expression, therefore there will not be a strict tempo maintained.

Rhythm/Tempo

N5

A sequence of notes moving by step in an ascending or descending order.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Scat Singing

Nonsense words and sounds are improvised by the singer. Sometimes the singer is imitating the sounds of
instruments. Used mainly in Jazz singing.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Scotch Snap

A very short accented note before a longer note.

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

Scots Ballads

A Scottish song which tells a story. Examples of Scots ballads are 'Flower of Scotland' and 'Loch Lomond'.

Styles

N4

Music which represents the various elements of Scottish music eg accordians, bagpipes, fiddles, dance
music and vocal works such as bothy ballad, scots ballad etc

Styles

N3

A band which plays traditional Scottish music for people to dance to. The instruments
may include fiddle, accordion, piano, bass and drums.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Semitone

Half a tone, eg G to Ab on a keyboard. From one fret to another on a guitar.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Sequence

A melodic phrase which is immediately repeated at a higher or lower pitch

Melody/Harmony

N3

Scale

Scottish

Scottish Dance
Band

Simple Time
2 3 4
4 4 4

The music has two, three or four beats in each bar, and each beat is a crotchet (1 beat note) and each beat
can be divided into quavers (1/2 beats).

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

The tempo (speed) decreases.

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

The notes are short and detached

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

A West Indian band whose instruments are made out of oil drums called pans. The top of each
drum is hammered into panels to make different pitches.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Moving up or down between notes which are next to each other

Melody/Harmony

N3

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

The sound is produced by hitting the instrument.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

The family of instruments which have strings. The sound is produced by dragging a bow across the strings
or by plucking them with the fingers.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

A cello is slightly smaller and slightly higher in pitch than a double bass. It can be played using arco or
pizzicato.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

String: Clarsach

A small Scottish harp, used in folk music. Clarsach is Gaelic for harp. The strings are plucked.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

String Instrument:
Double Bass

The largest and lowest instrument of the string family. It can be played using arco or pizzicato.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Slower
Solo
Staccato
Steel Band

Step (Stepwise)
Strathspey
Striking (Hitting)
Strings

String: Cello

One instrument or voice. A prominent instrument or voice can be solo even when part of a larger ensemble.

A Scottish dance with four beats in a bar and usually featuring the Scotch snap.

String Instrument:
Harp

This instrument belongs to the string family. It is usually about 1.8 metres high, weighs 36kg and has 47
strings. The strings are plucked.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

String Instrument:
Sitar

A plucked, stringed instrument from India. Its basically an Indian guitar easy to remember because sitar
rhymes with guitar.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

String Instrument:
Viola

It is slightly bigger and lower in pitch than the violin, but looks similar. It can be played using arco or
pizzicato.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

String Instrument:
Violin

This instrument belongs to the string family. It is the smallest and highest pitched instrument in the string
family. It can be played using arco or pizzicato.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Strophic

A song which has music repeated for verses/choruses, therefore the same music will be heard repeating
throughout the song.

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Styles

N4

Melody/Harmony

N5

Styles

N5

Rhythm/Tempo

N4

Texture/Structure/Form

N4

Strumming
Swing

Syllabic
Symphony
Syncopation
Ternary (ABA)

A finger, fingers or plectrum are drawn across the strings of an instrument, usually guitar.
A jazz style which started in the 1930s and was performed by a big band. The numbers and types of
instruments in the big bands increased during this period, through the influence of swing.

Vocal music where each syllable is given one note only.

A large work for orchestra, usually in four movements.
Strongly accented notes playing off or against the beat. Syncopation occurs in all kinds of music.
A B A 3 part form: Section A, followed by a B section which is a different melody, than a return to the A
section.

Theme and
Variation

The structure of a piece where the melody is heard (the theme), then returns several times with variations.

Texture/Structure/Form

N4

Tone

The distance between two notes, equivalent to two semitones (for example, two frets on a guitar).

Melody/Harmony

N5

Trill

Moving quickly and repeatedly between two notes which are a step apart.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Tuned Percussion

Tuned percussion is a percussion instrument used to produce musical notes of one or more pitches, as
opposed to an untuned percussion instrument which is used to produce sounds of indefinite pitch.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Tuned Percussion:
Bongo

Fairly high-pitched drums, joined in pairs and usually played with fingers and palms.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Tuned Percussion:
Glockenspiel

The metal bars are laid out in a similar pattern to the piano and are played with beaters.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Tuned Percussion:
Tabla

a pair of small hand drums used in Indian music, one of which is slightly larger than the other and is played
using pressure from the heel of the hand to vary the pitch.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Tuned Percussion:
Timpani

A large drum with skin stretched across a large bowl. It was traditionally made of copper, but is more
commonly now made of fibreglass. A common technique used on timpani is a Roll.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Tuned Percussion:
Xylophone

The wooden bars are laid out in a similar pattern to the piano and are played with beaters

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Unaccompanied

There are no instruments playing in the background.

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

Unison (Octave)

Singing or playing the same notes at the same time.

Texture/Structure/Form

N3

Untuned
Percussion

Untuned percussion is a percussion instrument used to produce sounds of indefinite pitch as opposed to a
tuned percussion instrument which is used to produce musical notes of one or more pitches.

Untuned
Percussion:
Bass Drum

Usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music. It is the largest drum of the orchestra

Untuned
Percussion:
Bodhran

An Irish wooden drum, held in one hand and played with a wooden beater.

Untuned
Percussion:
Castanets

A percussion instrument popular in Spanish music. The instrument consists of a pair of concave shells
joined on one edge by a string. They are held in the hand and used to produce clicks for rhythmic accents or
a ripping or rattling sound consisting of a rapid series of clicks.

Untuned
Percussion:
Cymbals

A percussion instrument, round in shape and made of metal.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Untuned
Percussion:
Drums

A percussion instrument sounded by being struck with sticks or the hands, typically cylindrical, barrelshaped, or bowl-shaped, with a tight skin over one or both ends.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Untuned
Percussion:
Guiro

This instrument belongs to the percussion family. It is made of wood that has been hollowed out and has
ridges cut into the outer surface. A wooden stick is scraped along the ridges to produce the sound.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Untuned
Percussion: Hi-Hat

Used as part of a drumkit, they consist of two cymbals (one upside-down) that are hit with a stick or brush,
and opened/closed with a foot pedal.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Untuned

This instrument belongs to the percussion family and is played with sticks or brushes. This drum can act as

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Percussion:
Snare Drum

two different instruments a side drum and a snare drum.

Untuned
Percussion:
Tambourine

This instrument belongs to the percussion family. A wooden or plastic frame has pairs of metal jingles
attached and is mostly played by the hand striking or shaking the instrument.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Untuned
Percussion:
Triangle

This is a piece of metal in the shape of a triangle, open at one corner, and struck with a metal beater. It is an
untuned percussion instrument, as it cannot play a range of notes.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Vamp

A rhythmic accompaniment with a bass note played on the beat and a chord off the beat. Usually played on
piano or guitar.

Melody/Harmony

N4

Verse and Chorus

A structure/ form popular in many songs. The music of the verse will repeat, often with different words, and
between verses the chorus will normally repeat and features different music to the verse.

Texture/Structure/Form

N4

The human instrument used to speak or sing.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

The lowest female voice.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

A male voice whose range lies between that of bass and tenor.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

The lowest male voice.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Voice:
Mezzo Soprano

A female singer whose voice range lies between that of a soprano and an alto.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Voice: Soprano

The highest range of female voice

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Voice
Voice: Alto
Voice: Baritone
Voice: Bass

Voice: Tenor

A high-pitched, adult male voice.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Walking Bass

A bass line (low notes) often featured in a variety of jazz styles. It goes for a walk, up and
down a pattern of notes, and is often played on a double bass.

Texture/Structure/Form

N5

Rhythm/Tempo

N3

Styles

N5

A scale containing no semitones but built entirely on whole tones. Debussy used the whole-tone scale in
some of his pieces which were influenced by Impressionism.

Melody/Harmony

N5

Wind Band

A band with woodwind, brass and percussion instruments playing music composed for the concert hall
rather than for marching

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Woodwind

Instruments which produce sounds by blowing across a hole, against an edge or through a single or double
reed. They need not be made of wood.

Timbre/Dynamics

N3

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Waltz
Waulking Song

Whole-tone Scale

A dance with three beats in a bar in simple time.

A rhythmic song sung in Gaelic by the women in the Western Isles of Scotland while they waulked the
woollen cloth to soften and shrink it. Sometimes the singing is led by a soloist with a response from the rest
of the women.

Woodwind:
Bassoon

A large and low instrument, with a doubled-back tube over four feet long, played with a double reed and
holes stopped by keys.

Woodwind:
Clarinet

A woodwind instrument with a single-reed mouthpiece, a cylindrical tube with a flared end, and holes
stopped by keys.

Woodwind :
Flute

A wind instrument usually now made from a metal tube with holes that are stopped by the fingers or keys,
held vertically or horizontally so that the player's breath strikes a narrow edge.

Woodwind
Instrument:
Oboe

A nasal sounding woodwind instrument with a double-reed mouthpiece, a slender tubular body, and holes
stopped by keys.

Woodwind
Instrument:
Pan Pipes

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Pipes which are graded in size and are bound together. The sound is made by blowing across the top of the
pipes.

Woodwind
Instrument:
Piccolo

A small flute sounding an octave higher than the ordinary one.

Timbre/Dynamics

N5

Woodwind
Instrument:
Recorder

There are four main types of recorder: descant, treble, tenor and bass. The recorder is a whistle-like
instrument end-blown and usually made from wood or sometimes plastic.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4

Woodwind
Instrument:
Saxophone

A woodwind instrument with a single reed attached to a mouthpiece like that of a clarinet, used especially in
jazz music.

Timbre/Dynamics

N4