The Music Dictionary

Music terms A to Z

Western, Hindustani and Jazz terms, each explained in one line.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z É

A

• A cappella
• A tempo
• Accelerando
• Accidental
• Adagio
• ADSR envelope
• Afrobeat
• Agogic accent
• Alap
• Aleatoric music
• Aliasing
• Alla breve
• Altered scale
• Alto
• Ambisonics
• Amplitude
• Anacrusis
• Analog synthesis
• Andalusian music
• Andante
• Angklung
• Antecedent phrase
• Antiphony
• Arch form
• Arco
• Aria
• Ars nova
• Articulation
• Atonality
• Attacca
• Audio interface
• Augmentation
• Augmented chord
• Authentic cadence

B

• Backbeat
• Balance
• Ballad
• Ballet
• Bansuri
• Baritone
• Baroque
• Bass voice
• Bassoon
• Beat
• Beat subdivision
• Bebop
• Bel canto
• Belt
• Bhangra
• Binary form
• Bit depth
• Blue note
• Blues form
• Bordun
• Borrowed chord
• Bossa nova
• Bouncing
• Bowed strings
• Brass choir
• Break
• Breakbeat
• Breath mark
• Breath support

C

• Cadence
• Call and response
• Canon
• Cantabile
• Cantata
• Cantus firmus
• Carnatic music
• Celesta
• Cello
• Cengkok
• Chaconne
• Chamber music
• Chest voice
• Choir
• Choral balance
• Choral blend
• Chorale
• Chord changes
• Chord-scale theory
• Chromaticism
• Circle of fifths
• Clarinet
• Classicism
• Clave
• Clipping
• Cluster chord
• Coda
• Codetta
• Coloratura
• Common tone
• Comping
• Compound meter
• Compression
• Con brio
• Con moto
• Con sordino
• Concert pitch
• Concertmaster
• Concerto
• Consequent phrase
• Consonance
• Continuo
• Contour
• Contrabassoon
• Contrafact
• Convolution reverb
• Cool jazz
• Cor anglais
• Countermelody
• Counterpoint
• Countertenor
• Crescendo
• Cross-rhythm

D

• Da capo
• Daf
• Dal segno
• DAW
• Decibel
• Decrescendo
• Delay
• Development
• Dhrupad
• Diatonic
• Diction
• Diminished seventh chord
• Diminution
• Dissonance
• Dithering
• Djembe
• Dodecaphony
• Dolce
• Dominant
• Dotted rhythm
• Double bass
• Double reed
• Double time
• Downbeat
• Drop-two voicing
• Duduk
• Duet
• Duple meter
• Dynamic range
• Dynamics

E

• Early music
• Elegy
• Enharmonic
• Episode
• Equalization
• Espressivo
• Euphonium
• Exposition
• Expressionism
• Extended harmony

F

• Fach
• Falsetto
• Fantasia
• Feedback loop
• Fermata
• Figured bass
• Filter cutoff
• Fine
• Flute
• Folk revival
• Forte
• Fortepiano
• Free jazz
• Free rhythm
• French horn
• Frequency
• Fugue
• Functional harmony

G

• Gagaku
• Gain staging
• Gamelan
• Gharana
• Ghazal
• Ghost note
• Glissando
• Glockenspiel
• Grace note
• Granular synthesis
• Gregorian chant
• Griot
• Groove
• Ground bass

H

• Half cadence
• Half time
• Harmonic distortion
• Harmonic rhythm
• Harmonic series
• Harp
• Harpsichord
• Head
• Head voice
• Headroom
• Hemiola
• Heterophony
• Hindustani music
• Hocket
• Hocketing
• Hook

I

• Imitation
• Impressionism
• Improvisation
• Impulse response
• Instrumentation
• Intermezzo
• Interval
• Inversion
• Inversion of melody
• Irregular meter

J

• Jam session
• Jazz standard
• Jor

K

• Key signature
• Kora
• Koto
• Kpanlogo
• Kriti
• Kulintang

L

• Largo
• Latency
• Latin jazz
• Lead sheet
• Leading tone
• Legato
• Leitmotif
• Libretto
• Lied
• Limiter
• Loop
• Loudness normalization
• Lydian mode
• Lyric soprano

M

• Maestoso
• Maqam
• Marcato
• Marimba
• Mastering
• Mbira
• Mediant
• Melakarta
• Melisma
• Melodic sequence
• Messa di voce
• Meter
• Metric modulation
• Metronome mark
• Mezza voce
• Microtonality
• MIDI
• Minimalism
• Misterioso
• Mixing
• Modal interchange
• Modal jazz
• Modulation
• Morendo
• Morna
• Motet
• Motif
• Motivic improvisation
• Musical theater
• Musique concrète
• Mute

N

• Neapolitan chord
• Neo-soul
• Neoclassicism
• Nocturne
• Noh
• Noise floor
• Nonchord tone

O

• Obbligato
• Oboe
• Octatonic scale
• Octave doubling
• Offbeat
• Opera
• Opera seria
• Operetta
• Oratorio
• Orchestration
• Organ
• Ornament
• Ostinato
• Ostinato melody
• Oud
• Overdubbing
• Overtone
• Overture

P

• Palindrome
• Panning
• Parallel key
• Passacaglia
• Passaggio
• Pastoral
• Pedal point
• Pentatonic scale
• Percussion
• Period
• Pesante
• Phantom power
• Phase cancellation
• Phonation
• Phrase
• Pianissimo
• Piano
• Picardy third
• Piccolo
• Pickup measure
• Pitch correction
• Pizzicato
• Plagal cadence
• Plainchant
• Pocket
• Polychord
• Polymeter
• Polyrhythm
• Polytonality
• Portamento
• Portato
• Power chord
• Presto
• Program music
• Psychoacoustics
• Pulse

Q

• Qawwali
• Quantization
• Quartal harmony

R

• Raga
• Rallentando
• Rasa
• Recapitulation
• Recitative
• Reed
• Refrain
• Register
• Relative key
• Renaissance polyphony
• Repertoire
• Requiem
• Resonance
• Resonator
• Retrograde
• Reverb
• Rhythm changes
• Rhythm section
• Riff
• Ritardando
• Ritenuto
• Romanticism
• Rondo
• Rubato

S

• Samba
• Sample rate
• Sampling
• Santoor
• SATB
• Saxophone
• Scat singing
• Scherzo
• Scordatura
• Secondary dominant
• Section leader
• Sempre
• Senza vibrato
• Sequence
• Serialism
• Sforzando
• Shakuhachi
• Shell voicing
• Shuffle
• Side-slipping
• Sidechain compression
• Sight-singing
• Signal-to-noise ratio
• Simile
• Simple meter
• Sinfonia
• Sitar
• Smorzando
• Solfège
• Solo
• Solo chorus
• Sonata
• Sonata form
• Soprano
• Sostenuto
• Soundscape composition
• Spectralism
• Spectrogram
• Sprechstimme
• Staccatissimo
• Staccato
• Stage presence
• Standard progression
• Stop-time
• Stretto
• Stride piano
• Strophic form
• Subito
• Subject
• Substitution
• Subtractive synthesis
• Suite
• Sul ponticello
• Sul tasto
• Supernumerary
• Suspension
• Swing
• Swing feel
• Symphonic poem
• Symphony
• Syncopated bass
• Syncopation

T

• Tactus
• Tag ending
• Tala
• Tanpura
• Taqsim
• Tar
• Tempo
• Tempo giusto
• Tenor
• Tenuto
• Tessitura
• Text setting
• Thaat
• Theme and variations
• Through-composed
• Timbila
• Timbre
• Time signature
• Tinikling
• Toccata
• Tone poem
• Tonic
• Topline
• Tranquillo
• Transient
• Transition
• Transposition
• Tremolo
• Tresillo
• Trill
• Triplet
• Tritone
• Tritone substitution
• Trombone
• Troubadour
• Trumpet
• Tuba
• Tuning system
• Tuplet
• Turnaround
• Tutti
• Tuvan throat singing
• Twelve-tone row
• Two-feel

U

• Udu
• Unison singing
• Upbeat
• Upper structure

V

• Vamp
• Variation
• Variation set
• Verismo
• Verse–chorus form
• Vibrato
• Vibrato rate
• Viola
• Violin
• Vocal fry
• Vocal onset
• Vocalise
• Voice leading
• Voice type
• Voicing
• Vowel modification

W

• Walking bass
• Walking line
• Waltz
• Warm-down
• Warm-up
• Waveform
• Wavetable synthesis
• Whistle register
• Woodwind quintet
• Word painting
• Word stress

X

• Xylophone

Z

• Zarzuela
• Zero crossing
• Zither
• Zurna
• Zydeco

É

• Étude