Musical Terms & Terminology - Commonly Used Vocabulary & Language in Music

Musical Terms

• Minor - refers to a form of the tonal system and music based on the minor keys, generally having a melancholic and sad sound. In this diatonic scale the pattern or steps followed is - whole-half-whole-whole-half-whole-whole - C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb-C
• Monotone - repetition of a single tone.
• Melody - musical notes when played in succession form a melody.
• Musicology - is the study of music, its various forms and history.
• Mute - To turn off or muffle the sound usually of an instrument.

• Natural - a note which is in its normal pitch - neither higher nor lower (sharp or flat).
• Nocturne - music meant for the night time, piece of music that brings about the nocturnal mood.
• Notation - refers to how you write music.

• Octave - represents the beginning and end of a Scale - from C to C - 8 full tones.
• Octet - A musical piece or composition for 8 performers or musical instruments.
• Opera - refers to a musical drama or presentation where the words are sung rather than spoken by each character. The pitch at which this musical drama is performed is usually high.
• Orchestra - In an orchestra, a large group of musicians and instrumentalists play different kinds of musical instruments together.
• Orchestration - means to write and arrange music especially to be played by an Orchestra.
• Organ - this is a keyboard instrument. Sound of different pitches is produced when air passes through pipes of various size and forms.

• Parody - is usually based on some previous work and it re-uses or recreates.
• Pentatonic Scale - Such a scale is made of 5 notes.
• Pitch - determines how high or low a sound is.
• Polka - refers to a Bohemian dance, a popular ball-room dance of the 19th century.
• Prelude - a piece of music that comes before or introduces another musical piece.
• Presto - fast or quick
• Progression - chords and their successive movement

• Quarter note - Crotchet in western notation.
• Quartet - refers to four musicians or performers.

• Rhapsody - is a free style or form of instrumental musical piece.
• Recital - is a performance either solo or with some accompaniment.
• Relative Minor & major - The Major or minor scales having the same key signature.
• Rhythm - refers to the arrangement or organization of notes based on time or their duration.

• Scale - An ascending or descending lineup of notes of a key
• Sharp - denoted by the symbol '#' shows an increase in a note by one semitone.
• Soprano - it is the highest female voice
• Staccato - played briefly, short
• Sonata - it is a complex piece of music
• Stanza - a song's verse
• Symphony - refers to a combination of three or four orchestral pieces
• Staff - In order to write musical notations, a staff is used which consists of five parallel horizontal lines with spaces between them. Notations are written on and between these lines in a staff.

• Tempo - means the time and defines the overall speed of a piece of music.
• Timbre - is the quality of sound
• Time Signature - helps to determine the number of beats to a measure and is depicted by a numeric sign in sheet music.
• Tonality - refers to the tonic pitch or the relation between the notes and their tone.  
• Tonic - is the 1st tone or keynote in a scale
• Treble - is usually used to mean the upper half of the vocal range.
• Trio - meant for three
• Triplet - means to play 3 notes in the same time as one or two notes.
• Trombone - is a brass instrument with a cup-shaped mouthpiece and a slide.
• Tune - is the melodic arrangement of tones which creates a melody that can be played by a musical instrument or sung.
• Tuning - Instruments are tuned by either lowering (bringing down) or or raising (bringing up) their pitch to improve / correct the tone of the notes.

• Unison - is used when two or more singers sing the same notes together or when two or more instrumentalists play the same notes simultaneously.
• Virtuoso - the term is used to refer to a talented performer who has great technical skills in music and performance.
• Whole Note - is a note equivalent to two half notes and 4 quarter notes, also known as semi breve.

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