The Music Dictionary
Instrument, Ensemble and Orchestra Terms
Every instruments term in The Music Dictionary, with its meaning in music.
- Arco
- A string-instrument instruction to play with the bow rather than pluck.
- Bassoon
- A double-reed woodwind with a broad range and a characteristically reedy lower register.
- Bowed strings
- Instruments such as violin, viola, cello, and double bass sounded primarily with a bow.
- Brass choir
- An ensemble of brass instruments, often valued for its blend and dynamic power.
- Celesta
- A keyboard instrument striking metal plates, producing a bright bell-like tone.
- Cello
- A bowed string instrument typically played seated, with a resonant middle and low register.
- Chamber music
- Music written for a small ensemble, often with one performer per part.
- Clarinet
- A single-reed woodwind known for its wide range and contrasting registers.
- Concert pitch
- A pitch as it sounds, rather than its written equivalent for a transposing instrument.
- Concertmaster
- The principal first violinist, who leads the string section and supports ensemble coordination.
- Contrabassoon
- A low-pitched double-reed instrument sounding an octave below the bassoon.
- Cor anglais
- A lower-pitched member of the oboe family, also called English horn.
- Double bass
- The largest and lowest bowed string instrument of the orchestra, sounding an octave below written pitch.
- Double reed
- A pair of thin reeds vibrating against each other, as on oboe and bassoon.
- Euphonium
- A conical-bore brass instrument prized for its rounded tenor-baritone sound.
- Flute
- A woodwind instrument producing tone from air directed across an embouchure opening.
- French horn
- A coiled brass instrument with a broad color range, commonly called the horn.
- Glockenspiel
- A tuned metal-bar percussion instrument with a brilliant, penetrating sound.
- Harp
- A plucked-string instrument whose strings are typically arranged vertically within a frame.
- Harpsichord
- A keyboard instrument whose strings are plucked by mechanisms activated by keys.
- Instrumentation
- The selection of instruments used in a composition or arrangement.
- Marimba
- A tuned wooden-bar percussion instrument with resonators and a warm sound.
- Mute
- A device or technique that alters an instrument’s volume or tone color.
- Oboe
- A double-reed woodwind with a focused, penetrating tone and expressive lyrical range.
- Octave doubling
- The reinforcement of a musical line by another part sounding an octave apart.
- Orchestration
- The art of distributing musical ideas among instruments to shape color, balance, and impact.
- Organ
- A keyboard instrument producing sustained tones through pipes or electronic sound generation.
- Percussion
- Instruments sounded by striking, shaking, scraping, or related actions.
- Piccolo
- A small flute generally sounding an octave above the written part.
- Pizzicato
- The plucking of strings normally played with a bow.
- Reed
- A flexible vibrating element used to initiate sound in many woodwind instruments.
- Register
- The relative high, middle, or low region of an instrument’s or voice’s range.
- Resonator
- A structure that reinforces or colors particular frequencies of an instrument.
- Saxophone
- A single-reed instrument with a conical metal body, central to jazz and many other styles.
- Scordatura
- A nonstandard tuning of strings used to alter range, resonance, or technique.
- Section leader
- A musician responsible for coordinating a group of performers within an ensemble.
- Solo
- A passage or work featuring one performer or instrument prominently.
- Sul ponticello
- A string technique performed near the bridge, producing a bright, often glassy sound.
- Sul tasto
- A string technique performed over the fingerboard, generally producing a softer tone.
- Timbre
- The distinctive quality of sound shaped by spectrum, attack, decay, and other acoustic features.
- Transposition
- The shifting of music to another pitch level while preserving interval relationships.
- Trombone
- A brass instrument commonly changing pitch with a slide, though valve models exist.
- Trumpet
- A high brass instrument with a clear, projecting sound, usually played with valves.
- Tuba
- A low brass instrument supplying foundational bass tones in many ensembles.
- Tutti
- A passage in which the full ensemble or designated group performs together.
- Viola
- A bowed string instrument larger and lower than the violin, with a rich middle register.
- Violin
- A high-pitched bowed string instrument central to orchestral and chamber repertoire. In Carnatic music it accompanies the singer in most concerts. There it is played seated, its scroll resting on the player's foot.
- Woodwind quintet
- A chamber ensemble usually comprising flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, and bassoon.
- Xylophone
- A tuned wooden-bar percussion instrument producing a relatively bright, dry tone.
- Zither
- A family of string instruments with strings stretched over a body without a projecting neck.
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