Musical Glossary

ADAGIO – At a slow tempo ALLEGRO – A fast and lively tempo ANDANTE – Moderately slow time ARPEGGIO – A musical chord played one note at a time in quick succession ARRANGEMENT – An adaptation of an original piece of music, many times for a unique configuration of players CADENCE – The end of a phrase CODA – (Italian: tail) The ending of a piece of music CONCERTMASTER – The leader of the string section; he or she sits to the conductor’s left, closest to the audience; you will see this person enter the stage to tune the orchestra at the beginning of the performance CONCERTO – A musical composition for one or more solo instruments and an orchestra CRESCENDO – A build in the volume or dynamic of the music CHROMATIC – Using notes not part of the home key or scale; a chromatic scale is made up of all half steps (using all the black and white keys on the piano) DECRESCENDO – Gradually playing music softer FORTE – To play strongly and loudly KEY – The main group of pitches, or notes, that form the harmonic foundation of a piece of music; for example, A Major or C minor LARGO – To play in slow time and a dignified style LEITMOTIF – A recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation MINUET – An elegant dance in triple time; often the third movement of a work MOVEMENT – Distinct sections of a larger work; these often have contrasting moods and are indicated with different tempo markings OPUS – A musical composition numbered as one of a composer’s works (usually in order of publication); noted at “Op.” in a composition’s name ORCHESTRATION – The art of writing for the orchestra and deciding what instruments should play which parts of the music OSTINATO – A part that repeats the same rhythm or melodic element OVERTURE – An orchestral composition forming the beginning of an opera or ballet PHRASE – A small section of a composition comprising a musical thought; comparable to a sentence in language PIANO – To play softly PIZZICATO – (Italian: plucked) A direction to performers on string instruments to pluck the strings POLYPHONIC – Two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody PRESTO – A very fast tempo PRINCIPAL – The leader of each instrumental group, such as Principal Oboe, is generally responsible for leading the group and playing orchestral solos RHYTHM – The arrangement of notes according to their relative length and relative emphasis (beat) RONDO – A musical form that involves the use of a recurrent theme between a series of varied episodes; the final movement of a Classical concerto or symphony is often in rondo form SCHERZO – A light-hearted movement found from the early 17th century in various forms but used by Beethoven as an alternative to the minuet in symphonies, sonatas and other instrumental works SYNCOPATION – In rhythm, the shifting of the expected accent TEMPO – The speed of the music THEME – A short musical passage that states an idea TONE POEM – A piece of descriptive orchestral music, many times in one movement TUTTI – A section where “all” play together as one VIVACE – Spirited, bright, rapid, equaling or exceeding allegro