Sometimes a piece of music that is basically melody-with-accompaniment (homophonic) will include a single part that is truly independent of the melody. For example, a choral piece might be chordal for a few verses and then, to keep the music interesting and fresh, add an independent part for a flute or for the highest sopranos on the third verse. This is a countermelody, sometimes called a descant part. Gospel and pop singers often add countermelodies, sometimes imrovised, and classical music also contains many, many examples of countermelodies.

Drone

Harmony may be added to a melody with with drones. A drone is a note that changes rarely or not at all (as opposed to pedal tones). Drones can be most easily found in bagpipes music, Indian Classical music and other musics that use instruments that traditionally play drone notes. (See Harmony with Drones.)

Equalizer

An equalizer is a device originally intended to “equalize” or flatten the different tonal characteristics of sound. Today equalizers are more often used to actively accentuate or attenuate certain frequency ranges for creative effect. Many equalizers allow for adjusting the frequency ranges that each knob or fader controls as well as the “Q” factor.

Graphic Equalizer

An equalizer that uses sliders to set frequency levels instead of knobs. It is “graphic” in that the frequency curve can be seen by looking at the position of the faders. Most often, these will have fixed “Q” and fixed frequency for each fader.

Parametric Equalizer

An equalizer with knobs, often having more adjustable parameters than a graphic equalizer.

Paragraphic Equalizer

An equalizer with a combination of the features of a graphic equalizer—faders/sliders to set frequency levels—and a parametric equalizer—knobs to adjust frequency centers of the faders and the “Q” factor of the faders.

Q

The resonance factor of an electronic circuit. The “Q” stands for “quality factor”. In equalizers, it is equal to the half-power point of the frequency range being controlled divided by the bandwidth. In practice, Q controls on equalizers have much the same effect as adjusting the bandwidth. Essentially, they adjust how large of a frequency band a boost/cut control will affect. A high Q factor results in a narrow band with low Q factor resulting in a wide band. However, if the equalizer uses a true Q control, moving the frequency range will change the bandwidth as well. For example, a 4.5 Q at 1KHz gives a bandwidth around 222Hz. Moving the frequency range to 2KHz while keeping the same Q will widen the effect across a 444Hz range.

Polyphonic Note Recognition

The ability to detect multiple fundamental frequencies inside an audio signal.  This is often used for tuners, which detect and tune multiple notes; or some effects, such as octave generation.  The algorithms to recognize multiple frequencies are fairly difficult to do in real time, and the speed of such implementations is largely based on which factors, such as if the number of notes, or their expected frequencies, are known ahead of time.  Alternatively, some effects that normally require note recognition may apply a flat, frequency altering filter to the whole signal, bypassing the need for specific frequency recognition.  Some of the main software algorithms used for polyphonic recognition are MUSIC and ESPRIT.

Sources:

www.earmaster.com

Wikipedia

StackOverflow

Sweetwater.com’s Glossary

From Latin, “to sound”, is a composition for an instrumental soloist, often with a piano accompaniment, typically in three or four movements of contrasting forms and keys.   Sonata means a piece played as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian cantare, “to sing”), a piece sung.

Nitrocellulose

A resin used as a gloss in guitar and other instrument finishes. Many like it for its characteristic yellowing as it ages. There are some drawbacks to it as it can react with certain plastics and foams used in some instrument stands. It is also highly flammable. In addition to its use as an instrument finish, it has been used to make guitar picks, and was used to create early movie film stock. It is created by mixing a nitrating agent into cellulose from wood or other plant pulp.

Moto

Play with motion. Denotes both a visual style, as well as an auditory one.  The player should move with the music, and sound like they are doing so. Variations can indicate more or less motion, such as Poco Meno Mosso (a little less motion) or Piu Mosso (more motion).

 Pizzicato

To pinch or pluck.  A playing technique that requires the musician to pluck the strings to produce a shorter lasting inharmoic sound.  On bowed instruments, the bow is either set aside or held out of the way to pluck the strings.  On a keyed instrument (piano or harpsichord) the musician reaches in to  manually pluck the strings.  On guitars and bass, the palm mute is how an musician plays in pizzicato.  On sheet muisic, the notation “pizz” means to play in pizzicato and the notation “arco” means to return to normal playing.

Sources:

Merriam-Webster

Wikipedia

Quizlet

To use a bow.

Aria

In music, was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term became used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger work. The typical context for arias is opera, but vocal arias also feature in oratorios and cantatas, sharing features of the operatic arias of their periods.  (en.wikipedia.org)

Contata

Means “sung”.  It is the past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb cantare, “to sing”) is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir.  The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice “cantata da camera” and the “cantata da chiesa” of the later part of that century, from the more substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century to the usually sacred-texted 19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of short oratorio.[1] Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sacred cantata, other cantatas can be indicated as secular cantata. Several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas. Johann Sebastian Bach composed cycles of church cantatas for the occasions of the liturgical year.  (en.wikipedia.org)

Sonata

Means “played”.  In the classic sense was the antithesis of Contata as music at the time was usually a single singer or a single instrument.  Has developed over time to mean musical pieces performed primarily by one instrument, usually a piano or violin but other examples do exist.  Some definitions of Sonata include two instrument combinations as a Sonata and some even include string quartets as a Sonata.

Noise Colors

The term “white noise” is one example of a range of “colors” given to noise patterns based on the relative loudness and/or power levels of different frequencies across the audible range. White noise has equal power level across the entire range. Because of the way humans hear pitch (each octave has double the frequency of the previous), this actually means that higher octaves have more total power than lower ones. For this reason, white noise tends to sound higher pitched or seems to be missing lower frequencies. Pink Noise has it’s power level scaled logarithmically such that any given octave has the same amount of total power as any other. For this reason, pink noise sounds nearly equally loud at the low end and the high end. Gray Noise takes this a step further and attempts to balance the noise in such a way that power level is specifically matched to the way humans hear pitch, including accounting for the spikes in our sensitivity to sounds at particular frequencies. There are several other defined colors, see Wikipedia for some of those.

A two or four line section, rarely exceeding four bars musically, immediately preceding the chorus. It is intended to propel the listener, both melodically and lyrically, into the chorus.  The pre-chorus is optional. However, if the first verse includes a pre-chorus, all subsequent verses typically also include a pre-chorus section. The pre-chorus is sometimes referred to as the lift, the channel climb or B-section.  (http://www.taxi.com/music-business-faq/songwriting/songstructure)

Bridge

Serves as a departure or a release from the rest of the song. It usually consists of two or four lines of lyric, and four or eight musical bars. The bridge’s job is to add a new dimension to the song, take it to the next level, and lead the listener back to the chorus, title and hook, from a new angle. If that’s not enough of a challenge, the bridge needs to accomplish all of this while still managing to sound consistent with the rest of the song.   (http://www.taxi.com/music-business-faq/songwriting/songstructure)

Atonal

A music piece developed without a key.  Atonal music will not fit any key signature as it is written to not have a key.  Unfortunately, most modern examples of Atonal music is 12-tone music, which is a vocabulary word we have already covered.

Melisma

Singing multiple notes over a single syllable, usually for ornamental effect. While the technique has been around for a very long time, it became immensely popular for pop music artists in the 2000s and early 2010s. It has fallen out of favor recently, though it continues to be used by many artists.

“To go faster, like you are going slower.”  A term used by composers to confuse string sections.  Used by the German composer, Gustav Mahler.

A Triplet

Three notes in the space of two, not three in the space of one. For example a triplet over one quarter note is not the same - in that case, it would be written as a triplet over two eighth notes.

Hemiola

Generically, this means a ratio of 3:2. At one point this was used as a description of a perfect fifth since waveforms with that ratio will sound a fifth apart. In recent times, this term has more commonly been used to indicate a rhythm pattern. Formally, it describes a “triplet” or playing three notes in the space normally taken by two. Less formally, it has come to mean playing any rhythm that makes the “feel” different than the notated time signature. For example, playing triplet quarter notes can make 4/4 feel like 6/8 as you would play 4 * 3 / 2 = 6 notes per measure. (Various sources, including https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemiola.)

Relative Key

The major and minor scales that have the same key signatures but start at different points in the scale. The relative key of any scale is the sixth note in that scale (although may be sharped or flatted).  For example, the relative to C major is A minor so:

C-D-E-F-G-A-B

1-2-3-4-5-6-7

1. An attenuator circuit used to reduce the signal from certain microphones to prevent clipping in the pre-amp. The circuit might be part of the microphone, a separate component, or built into the pre-amp. An electronic circuit designed to attenuate the output of a device by a given amount. For example, some microphones have so much output that they can overdrive the input stage of many mic preamps. To prevent this, mic designers will include a switchable “pad” on the output stage of the mic, attenuating, or reducing the mic’s output by 10 or 20 dB.

2. Sustained and harmonious background sound in a musical arrangement. This term typically describes strings or synthesizer tones playing chords or otherwise “filling” sounds—via reverb, doubling, etc.—that change smoothly and slowly, if at all. Pads are often used to add weight to an otherwise thin mix.

Swing Time

A timing signature where the note between beats is played much closer to the following beat rather than directly in the middle.  Several sources have suggesting thinking of swing time as a virtual triplet where the main beat is played on 1 and the mid beat played on 3.

Rag Time

Ragtime is not a “time” (meter) in the same sense that march time is 2/4 meter and waltz time is 3/4 meter; it is rather a musical genre that uses an effect that can be applied to any meter. The defining characteristic of ragtime music is a specific type of syncopation in which melodic accents occur between metrical beats. This results in a melody that seems to be avoiding some metrical beats of the accompaniment by emphasizing notes that either anticipate or follow the beat (“a rhythmic base of metric affirmation, and a melody of metric denial”^[25]). The ultimate (and intended) effect on the listener is actually to accentuate the beat, thereby inducing the listener to move to the music.

An instrument similar to a violin but played by a rosined wheel turned by a crank.  Notes are changed by pressing keys that depress the strings.  Multiple drone strings make it sound similar to bagpipes.

Scale Degree:

A name for each note in the scale.

Tonic:

The first note in each octave of the scale. Also called the “root” or “center”.

Supertonic:

The second note in the scale. The name comes from the note being above or “super” the tonic.

Mediant:

The third note in the scale. It gets its name from being half-way between the tonic and the dominant.

Subdominant:

The fourth note in the scale. So called, because it is below, or “sub”, the dominant.

Dominant:

The fifth note of the scale. It is considered second in importance only to the tonic, hence “dominant.”

Submediant:

The sixth note in the scale. Its name comes from being halfway between the upper tonic and the subdominant.

Leading Tone:

The seventh note in the scale in major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales. When played, it always sounds like it should “lead into” the tonic.

Subtonic:

The seventh note in the natural minor scale (identical to the Aeolian mode). The name is changed because it has less of a “leading” feel than the seventh note in major scales.

Falsetto:

Singing in a range that is one octave into the modal voice and above the modal voice.

Modal Voice:

The normal speaking register, based upon the pitches of various vowels.  This means that modal voice and, thereby, falsetto differ by the spoken language of the song.

Bracket and Brace:

Visible structures used to combine multiple staves on sheet music, joining the staves together to signify they are to be played at the same time. Brackets are used to combine separate parts or instruments, as in an orchestral score combining all the different instruments on one sheet. Braces are used to combine different multiple parts for a single instrument, such as the right and left hand staves for a piano score.

Sources: http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/23 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degree_(music)

Also known as Passaggio or sometimes a vocal break, these are pitch ranges where a singer has to shift between registers. Sometimes this will coincide with a noticeable pitch gap, change in tone, temporary jump beyond the desired pitch, or other problems. Typically, these bridge areas can be reduced in size or eliminated through training.

Bar/Measure and Hypermeasure:

A combination of measures of length X surrounded by other hypermeasures of length X where each hypermsure has it’s own “feel”.  Similar to a phrase, but to be a hypermeasure it must be with other hypermeasures.

Conductor:

A person who conducts a music group or ensemble. Director: a person who directs an entire performance, which may include music, acting, dancing, props, etc. In a performance that is onlymusic, the conductor and director are often the same person, and used interchangeably.

Alto Clef:

The clef between the bass and treble clefs.  The alto clef is centered on middle C and is used by multiple instruments such as the viola, English horn, and trombone.  Higher notes played on a double bass or bass guitar are also in the alto clef range.  A picture of the clef may be found here: http://nmelementarystrings.weebly.com/viola-alto-clef.html

A canon in music is a device in counterpoint in which a melody announced by one voice or instrument is imitated by one or more other voices or instruments, entering after the first has started, in the manner of a round. The word canon may describe the device as it occurs in a piece of music or a complete composition in this form, like Pachelbel’s well known Canon.   (https://www.sfcv.org)

Crab Canon: (also known by the Latin form of the name, canon cancrizans)

An arrangement of two musical lines that are complementary and backward, similar to a palindrome. Originally it is a musical term for a kind of canon in which one line is reversed in time from the other (e.g. FABACEAE played simultaneously with EAECABAF). A famous example is found in J. S. Bach‘s The Musical Offering, which also contains a canon (“Quaerendo invenietis”) combining retrogression with inversion, i.e., the music is turned upside down by one player, which is a table canon.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_canon)

Counterpoint:

A form of musical composition where multiple melodies are combined to form the whole. Significant consideration is given to the interaction between the melodies. This may include specific harmonies but is generally more focused on the creation and release of harmonic tension. There are many types of counterpoint. Species counterpoint is a specific tool used for musical training and has many strict rules. Free counterpoint is more commonly used and significantly relaxes those rules. Round, canon, and fugue are well-known techniques for creating contrapuntal pieces.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint)

Alberti bass:

A special type of chord figuration that alternates 1 5 3 5 and repeats as an accompaniment figure. It is very common in the music of the 18th century Classical style and is named after the composer Domenico Alberti, who used it frequently. (http://solomonsmusic.net/glossary.htm)

Anything other than pitch and loudness that distinguishes one sound from another. AKA: color, tone quality, texture

It has been subdivided differently by different folks. For example: tone/noise, spectrum (harmonics), ADSR, changes in envelopes, prefix.

Formant:

“Harmonic augmented by resonance.” This shows up as a somewhat more dominant harmonic that changes at a different rate from overall pitch. This becomes evident when doing pitch adjustments (e.g. auto-tune), especially with vocals. Many pitch shifting plugins will have a special “formant” control that allows the formant to be shifted separately for a more natural sound.

XLR (as in XLR cable):

• X = Ground
• L = Left
• R = Right

Pitched and unpitched percussion:

• Pitched percussion is a drum, mallet instrument, or any other percussion instrument that is specifically tuned for a particular pitch to match the key or melody of a song.
• Unpitched percussion is any percussion instrument that is not specifically pitched, though the instrument may be tuned (e.g. a snare drum). Even though a snare drum is tuned so that it sounds good, it is (usually) not tuned to a particular pitch to match other instruments.
• The terms “tuned percussion” and “untuned percussion” were replaced with pitched and unpitched, due to the confusion of being able to tune “untuned” (unpitched) instruments. Many percussion instrument can be used as either pitched or unpitched.

Organology:  The science of musical instruments.

Raag Pahadi: 

An Indian Raga which is a scale as well as a way of playing the notes.  Has different scales for ascending and descending.  (See Image:  http://raag-hindustani.com/Scales3.html)

The twelve notes used in Hindustani raga music, their Western equivalents, solfa-syllables, and notations. An introduction to the basic diatonic scale. (See Image: http://raag-hindustani.com/Notes.html)