Cathy's Music Dictionary - Post 1 - A Through C
Okay, this is what I've been doing for days and days, and it's finally finished, or I think it is. If you look at the next 4 posts, you'll have the entire alphabet. Please feel free to send me more suggestions or corrections. Thanks everyone! Check out my website, SingitForward.net
Here we go:
without instrumental accompaniment;
no accompaniment or track of any kind.
a tempo
To time or rather a return to the
previous tempo. This can be as simple as
playing or singing through a section that is ritardando (slower) or rubato
(a non-specific tempo), and returning to original “set” tempo, whatever
that tempo was. The term “a tempo” may
also appear in combination with other descriptive, musical terms such as a
tempo giusto (in strict time) or a tempo primo (first or original tempo).
accelerando (accel.)
Accelerating; gradually getting
faster and faster. Usually, the composer
or arranger should stipulate a tempo “goal”, such as Presto (very fast).
accent
To stress or give a particular
emphasis to a specific beat or note in a passage. This is usually shown/signified by a small
arrowhead above the note.
This refers to instrumental music,
which is neither electric or electronic.
It does not necessarily mean
The instruments and/or voice cannot
be amplified; it means the actual instruments themselves do not
electronically-created sounds but only naturally, acoustically generated
sounds.
adagio
Slow but
“at ease” (Metronome: 66-76)
Agitato
Just like
it sounds, agitated with a quickness and urgency
alla
This is NOT a term in and of itself;
it is a “qualifier” that will accompany further instructions, meaning play or
sing in style of whatever the word is that follows. Examples of this are: Alla Marcia (played or sung like a march); Alla Breve (in short style, double meter, 2/2, where the half note
gets one count, as opposed to the quarter note, and there are only 2 beats in
each measure; Alla Cathy would be
singing in the style of ME! I hope you
understand what I’m saying. You could
use this “alla” if your band was
doing a Led Zeppelin song and you wanted the arrangement to be just like the
original, alla Led Zeppelin would
communicate that perfectly.
allegretto
Moderately fast (Metronome: 112–120)
allegro
fast, lively, and briskly, or quick
(120–168 bpm). There are even
versions of allegro such as allegro moderato or allegro vivace (the first of which is “medium or moderately” fast,
and the second, which is very fast).
alto
High (this is, literally, the word
for “tall” in Italian). This is also the
name of the vocal range of a female voice, higher than a tenor but lower than a
soprano. An approximate range for an
alto might be f3 to E5.
Anacrusis
This is better known as a “pickup”
note. It is beat made up of a notes or a
sequence of notes that precedes the downbeat of a measure/bar or musical
phrase.
andante
At a walking pace, which is moderate
but a very easy, moderate tempo. The
metronome setting is between 76-108). Obviously,
this is a pretty big range, so a “walking pace” is definitely up for
interpretation. The faster tempo may be
identified as andantino. Adagietto is a little slower than
Andante, around 72 to 76.
Animato
To play or
sing in an animated, lively way
A piacere
It means, literally, “to your
pleasure/at your will”, which means the performer can suspend the tempo,
rhythms, and even dynamics for a designated section/passage of the music. This is similar to rubato but check that definition for the differences.
Appassionato
To play or sing with passion, which
SHOULD apply to every song but, I guess, for some it is a little more
appropriate than others.
A broken chord, where the notes are played
one after another instead of simultaneously together. An example of an arpeggiated chord in C major
would be singing or playing C-E-G-C-G-E-C, up and then, back down.
baritone
This is the name of the mid-range
male vocal range. It is lower than tenor
but higher than bass. An approximate
range for a baritone might be g2 to E4.
The lowest of the vocal singing and
playing ranges (of bass, tenor, alto, soprano), which has an approximate range
of e2 to C4; a low melody in music that forms the basis for the harmonic
structure of the musical piece, oftentimes, represented by the tonic of a
chord; in an orchestra, this is usually a “double bass”.
beat
The basic unit of musical time. Within the context of a song, there are
stressed and unstressed beats. Each
single rhythmic stroke is a beat or a portion thereof.
bird's eye
This is actually not a “real” term
but is a common “slang” term used for a fermata
because the visual appearance of the fermata
looks very much like a bird’s eye.
It means a performer can hold the note under the “bird’s eye” for as
long as he or she wishes.
block chords
Generally, there are two kinds or
styles for playing chords: block or
broken. A block chord is played so that
all of its components sound simultaneously.
With broken chords, each component is played separately in more of an
arpeggiated style. Block Chord Style was
also a specific type of piano playing, begun by Milt Buckner and George
Shearing. Both hands play chords in the
block fashion, in octaves, and often closely paralleling each other. Though this may sound simplistic, the
technique actually requires a great deal of theory and practice. It is also referred to as locked hands.
bridge
The bridge of a song is a transitional
passage or section, which connects two sections of a composition. In popular songs, the bridge often occurs
after a couple of verses and choruses.
Whereas these sections tend to have similar chord progressions, the
bridge may depart somewhat from this “norm” to add drama and interest to the
song. Songs do not end with a
bridge. The bridge acts as the
transition and turning point to get back, usually, into the final choruses.
Brillante
This is more of a “mood” description
for a performance. It means sparkling or
radiant, which, in a way, should characterize every performance but this
particular expression is used for pieces that require an “extra” bit of glitter
and sparkle for performance.
broken chord
As mentioned above, this is a chord
where the individual component notes are NOT played simultaneously, but in some
sequential way to carry through the song.
An arpeggio is a type of broken
chord.
Cataclimico
I just LOVE
this name! It means short but loud! Be your own cataclysm.
chops
This is a slang term but it is very
commonly used to describe a singer and player’s talent and abilities. If someone is particularly good, you might
say he or she has great “chops”. You
will also see that for a singer, you might remark on his or her “pipes”, in the
same way.
A group of two or more notes played
simultaneously. Most of the time, chords
are actually at least 3 or 4 notes, as in triads or 7-chords but these chords
create a harmonic structure to support a melody or a solo line, and establish
or strengthen the appropriate “key” and scale of the particular song. The simplest chords are triads, which are made
of the first note of a scale and then the third and fifth of that same scale. For example, in the scale of C Major
(C,D,E,F,G,A B,C), the triad would be C,E,G. Seventh chords use four notes: they consist of
a triad with an added major or minor third. For example, in the scale of G Major
(G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G), the fourth note of the seventh chord would be G,B,D,F. There
are also much more complex chords, of course, but these are the most common and
the most basic.
chorus
This is the refrain of a song, which
contains the “hook”, usually the song title, and the most memorable lines of
the song. This may be repeated any
number of times, alternating between verses and other sections, such as solos or
a bridge. Obviously, not all types of songs have a “chorus” or refrain. An Art Song would be an example of a song
without a Chorus.
In Western music (The America’s,
Canada, Europe, Australia would be the source of this music but thanks to the
Internet and modern media, really much of the world LISTENS to this music),
major and minor scales, which make up the framework of popular music, are made
up of 8-tone scales from a note in a lower octave to the same note an octave
higher, by mathematical calculation. The
Chromatic Scale does not have the constraints of one of these scales; it
encompasses ALL 12 (twelve) notes in an octave, played either ascending or
descending by half-steps. You don’t hear
or really use Chromatic scale work in popular music work but if you work in
jazz, fusion, or more experimental forms of rock, this scale will definitely be
an essential ingredient.
clam
This is another slang term but it is
definitely “musician’s-ese” in that all musicians use these slang terms, and in
this case, this term is used to refer to a mistake, missed note, or out-of-tune
not.
All of us sing or play a “clam”
every now and then. It keeps us humble
and working hard.
This means, literally, a tail. The coda is a section added onto a musical
piece and, as you can tell from its literal meaning, it comes at the end of the
music. This does not occur with every
piece of music but is frequently added after the original composition is
completed but the composer realized his or her composition needs something
“extra” to take it to its finale.
This is a time signature (check that
definition below). In fact, this is the
MOST common of all time signatures. It
is called 4/4 time, which means the musical piece has four beats in each measure
and a Quarter Note (again, see that definition below), gets ONE count. The time signature may be written on the
Musical Staff (look for “Staff” definition below) as 4 over 4 but it is also often
written on the as .
The symbol is not a C as an abbreviation for common time (though it is a great
way to remember this), but a broken circle; the full circle at one time stood
for time based around three beats per measure, 3/4.
con
This is another one of those
“qualifiers” that proceeds another “clarifying” word or phrase. Con means “with or as in”, and
examples of con are con fuoco (with fire); con moto (with motion); and con dolcezza (with sweetness and
delicacy).
The lowest female singing
range. This term, however, is rarely
used outside of Classical circles.
cover or cover tune
This is a song that is not
“original” to its performer but was actually composed, recorded, and usually
made famous by a different performer or band. Anyone else who performs the song
must then, “cover” the song and any performance by individuals other than the
original artists, are performing a "cover tune”. It is also true that if you perform with a
band, in order to work in certain clubs, they require you to guarantee a
certain number of “covers” or “cover charges” (fees charged to customers for
entrance to a club or a particular performance). Ultimately, more “covers” means more income
for you but starting out this may be quite challenging.
Gaining in volume. Juxtaposed against Decrescendo, which is a
decreasing of loudness.
crossover
This is many people’s dream; it can
certainly be a monetary miracle. To
“crossover” means that music, which you created for one musical genre
“translates” across to one or more others.
A perfect example of this is the music of Taylor Swift. Whether you like her or not, Taylor Swift
began as a “country bumpkin” and became a multi-million-dollar fashion,
fitness, music, video, and probably anything else she wanted Icon. This all began with Country Music but soon
she “crossed over” into Pop and Folk Pop Music, and truly, the sky was the
limit! There are also “crossovers” in
Audio Engineering. A Crossover In an
audio engineering context, a crossover is a frequency filter system that
divides the frequencies in a signal into low and high or low, mid, and high
components. In this way, the different frequencies can be routed to the appropriate
speakers.
crunch
This is a heavy metal and thrash
metal style of electric guitar playing, usually by a rhythm guitar player. It is a highly distorted, mid-boosted tone,
which uses palm muting to create a characteristic heavy rhythmic sound.
This is another name for 2/2 time or
meter, which means that there are 2 beats per measure but more importantly, in
this case, that a Half Note gets one count, NOT a Quarter Note. This takes GREAT adjustment but is,
obviously, very important. Indicated by 
.
This comes from a literal cut of the 
symbol
of common time. Therefore, in Cut Time a Quarter Note is
only “half a beat” long, and a measure has only two beats (in Cut Time, there
would be 4 Quarter Notes in one measure).
.
This comes from a literal cut of the 
symbol
of common time. Therefore, in Cut Time a Quarter Note is
only “half a beat” long, and a measure has only two beats (in Cut Time, there
would be 4 Quarter Notes in one measure).
Post 2, coming up in a minute.
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